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Lemongrass West

I’ve been hearing great things about Lemongrass and I think the reports I’ve been hearing about are regarding the Lemongrass East, which really wasn’t the location I wanted to go to – primary due to the location. So, we opted out to Lemongrass West which the plaza this is located at was under some renovations.

We just ordered some tea as we really didn’t want to drink anything fancy this late afternoon/evening. It’s fine, their typical tea! But, we did order some appetizers, and we tried their Lemongrass Chicken Salad Rolls which I thought was a tad pricey, however, it is quite unique so it is kind of worth it… if you look at it that way! The skin on the wrap was a little dry, making it a little hard… so you know it’s pre-made. The flavour of the salad roll was decent though, and it looks fantastic!

I ordered something kind of neat, it was under the wonton noodle section (as the numbering system was kind of out of order), but it’s called Tamarind Chicken Soup and not thinking too much about it, the description made it sound delicious. So, I ordered it. When it came, it was a noodle soup looking bowl, but it didn’t come with noodles… it was all beansprouts! I was shocked the waitress didn’t say anything when I ordered it, or asked if I wanted noodles. At the end of the day, it was a tasty soup and it had nice pieces of chicken (lots of it too). It would be an excellent choice if you order it with rice noodles.

My other half ordered their Vietnamese Beef Stew which was a noodle soup. This one actually sounds like it wouldn’t be, but it was actually under the noodle soup section of the menu. The beef was tender and they were rather generous with the portions of both meat and noodles. The soup was awesome, and tons of flavours!

Overall, it was a weird experience here for me. I like it,and loved that there was full and vibrant flavours in everything! Service was fine, typical Asian place service. The place is decent, I’ll probably try to remember it if I’m in the area, but yet, there also tons of other things to try too! 🙂

Lemongrass West Vietnamese Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Lemongrass West Vietnamese Cuisine

3715 51 St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 242-2633

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Mug Shotz Sports Bar & Grill – Calgary

I’m often looking for a great place for delicious wings, and when a friend told me about Mug Shotz I thought “why not!?” This location turns out to be a tad tricky to find for the first time. It’s not exactly located RIGHT on Ogden road as the address suggest, but it’s right behind it, right before you reach Blackfoot Trail.

We got here on a Wednesday night and it was packed already! So, we sat at the bar and then later moved to a table. We ordered quite a few wings as I love wings, and of course we tried their signature Mug Shotz Salt & Pepper Wings which was amazing!

We also got an order of their Sweet Thai Chili Wings which was absolutely delicious! Sweet Thai Chili sauce is great on anything and everything, and wings are no exception! Sometimes when you order wings and it’s a saucy type, the texture isn’t as great, but here – they were able to maintain the chicken wing texture with a hint of crisp and it definitively helped to absorb all the sauce.

Then, we decided we would try their Dill Pickle Wing which was another amazing wing. If you love pickles, this is definitely the wing to order! As gross as it looks and kind of sounds, it’s really amazing! Think of a fried chicken sandwich without the bread and all the other toppings… you’re left with amazing meat and pickles!

At the end of this visit, I’m glad to say I’ve found a great new wing place that offers great tastes, flavours, and all at a great price! The wings are large and full of meat – and they all taste like what they claim they should taste.

Mug Shotz Sports Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon

Mug Shotz Sports Bar & Grill

12, 2808 Ogden Road SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 264-4441

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Surahi Restaurant – Calgary

I really enjoy the flavours of Indian Cuisine, and a friend/coworker actually recommended me to Surahi Restaurant which I’m so glad I took her advise! The location of this restaurant is behind the Co-op off Maclead Trail, it can be a little tricky to get into – but worth the effort!

Once we sat down, we were greeted by the waitress. She was quite friendly, but the service is a tad slow. It was fine though, as we were looking for a slow, quiet, and relaxing dinner – with excellent food! And, that’s what we got! We ordered a cup of Chai Tea which came out in a little tea pot, and was poured table side from a high height to get the froth. The flavours was there and subtle.

We started our evening with an appetizer, where we ordered a plate of Beef Samosas, and it comes with 2 samosa an order. The samosas were quite greasy, but the skin was thin and crispy. The beef filling was stuffed and packed with flavours. It was a great appetizer despite of the grease! It’s worth it!

For the dinner entrees, we wanted something different from butter chicken and the usual food. With that said, I ordered the Fish Masala, which was huge dish of fish that was coated and fried. Then, it was cooked in delicious Indian tomato and onion sauce. It was delicious, the sauce was creamy and the fish was fresh!

The other entree we ordered was Lamb Kashmiri which the menu described the dish as lamb cooked in cream, apple and mild spices. I fell in love with this dish as it had sweetness, creaminess and spiciness all together and it was very balance and delicious. This is definitely my new favourite curry dish.

With the curries, we ordered some Butter Naan which was extremely fresh and delicious. It had just the perfect amount of butter and flavour on it. It’s a great vehicle for the curry sauces.

And, of course we have some rice as well, so we ordered the Coconut Pilau to go with the delicious curries. What a great meal! We loved the curry sauces and we loved every bit of it. We gave this place a chance and ate everything ordered! It was so good we couldn’t even order a dessert.

Overall, the prices are comparable with other places I’ve been to, and the dishes are a little bigger as well – making it a very decent deal. The restaurant is very clean and the food is excellent. We will definitely be back without hesitation!

Surahi Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Surahi Restaurant

8906 Macleod Trail SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 212-1324

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Blondes Diner – Calgary 4th Street

The most wonderful meal for me is breakfast – and my favourite place to enjoy breakfasts are at diners. I love them, old style, new style or even no style! I first heard about Blondes Diner from watching TV actually… on Top Chef Canada, they have a chef that’s a contestant on the show. Right away, I knew I had to try this diner! The location of this diner is right on 4th street and I believe it use to be a Greek restaurant at this location. It’s easy to find and quite spacious inside. Parking is a little trickier, but that’s the area!

We went in on a Sunday, relatively late in the afternoon – for sure past noon. There was still a line up for a table which is a good sign! The service was casual, but it wasn’t slow! By the time we got to our table, our waitress came right away. It was a awful weather outside, so I decided to have a nice cup of Hot Chocolate which I enjoyed thoroughly! I wish it was a tad bigger because I was almost done my hot chocolate by the time my lunch got to the table. Well, maybe I was just enjoying it too much! 🙂

Looking around the restaurant, it was really clean and modern. There were seats with plastic chairs and some cozy chairs! I was fortunate enough to sit by the window in the cozy chairs! It was a really relaxing experience at Blondes, and that’s something I love!

I love coconut, and so when I saw it on the menu, I knew I had to try their Crispy Crepe which the menu describes it as coconut frangipane, seasonal compote, whipped creme fraiche! It turns out as a delicious thin crepe with shredded coconut filling inside, and topped with pineapple compote! Wow, this was such a delight to have and something I wouldn’t mind having again and again!

We didn’t know what else to order, and thankfully they had a delicious sounding featured breakfast! This breakfast was a hot beef sandwich with a side of chickpea salad. The hot beef was full of flavour and it sat on a nice thick toast with tons of gravy on top. The chickpea salad was so refreshing and would be an awesome side for a summers night!

Overall, we had a great time here! It was fun and exiting and a nice modern take on a diner and more upscale. With that said, it’s just a nice breakfast/brunch/lunch place instead of a diner! But, worth it was worth the visit!

Blondes Diner on Urbanspoon

Blondes Diner

2005 B 4th St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 474-3867

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Homemade Pizza

I just made a bunch of ham and what I really wanted was a ham pizza. So, instead of going to the grocery store and purchasing a premade crust, I figured I would try my hand at making one.

Ingredients: (makes 1 medium or 2 small)
2 cups of All Purpose Flour
2 cups of water
1 package of yeast (traditional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

The first thing you need to do is activate your yeast. I poured my yeast into a little bowl and put 1/4 cup of warm water to dissolve the yeast. Then, I added my teaspoon of sugar. Just leave it for about 10 minutes and it should have expanded and almost doubled in size.

From here, I mix together the flour and salt and the yeast mixture. Then I slowly combine with the rest of the water in stages. I keep mixing until a ball of dough forms. My dough ball here was much more sticky than it probably should have been, but I left it anyway. Just knead it for a few minutes and when you’re ready, let it sit to rise and rest. I put saran wrap on top and left it for about 45 minutes.

After the ball of dough has doubled in size, you can knead it out on a floured surface to the crust shape you like. I didn’t use a pizza tray or anything as I like it kind of rustic, so I just rolled out a thick crust of a random shape on my silicon mat.

After I got my crust ready, I now preheat my oven to 425F and I start decorating my pizza with toppings. I do this rather gently as I’m probably letting it rise again for the second time as I wanted my crust more bread like.

When your pizza is topped with all the goodies you would like, pop it into the oven for about 25 minutes. It comes out delicious, kind of like a pizza bread! 🙂 You could have brushed the crust with butter or oil or even egg wash if you like a prettier crust. I just left mine as is.

Now, after the cooking period, take the pizza out of the oven, and slice it if you want – but you’re ready to enjoy a simple and delicious home made pizza!