Posted on

Karma Fine Indian Cuisine – Calgary, Alberta

When the weather is cold outside, and after being what seems to be stuck at home, spice is always something I crave. Whether it’s Thai curry, Indian Curry, Szechuan spices or whatever, I need the heat of the spice! This time, I went for Indian Curry not too far from home off 130th Ave Southeast to Karma Fine Indian Cuisine. The location of Karma is just off Deerfoot Trail and 130th Eastbound – and you turn in towards Canadian Tire and Superstore.

I was going to enjoy a nice hot cup of Chai Tea, but opted out for something a tad different. I had a glass of Mango Lassi which is a very common Indian and Pakistani drink which is yoghurt based (lassi). Basically it’s made of pureed mango, yoghurt and water – and depending on how much water/ice they put it would depend on how thick it is. Sometimes, some places have it so thick that you suck so hard to only get a little drop. The consistency here was really good, as it was thinner than a milkshake, but definitely thicker of a drink. One thing I like about this drink from Karma is the fact they don’t use ice! It never separated which is something I like about my drinks!

This visit to Indian food, I really wanted to try different things, and so, instead of the usual suspect of coconut rice, this time, we got Saffron Rice which looked like a bowl of Christmas rice! It was beautiful! It didn’t have as much flavour on it’s own like coconut rice, but it was very fragrant!

Staying on the different track, I wanted to have lamb with my curry, so we ordered a Lamb Boona which they described as a Karma special made with traditional curry cooked with herbs and spices. This sounded like a wonderful choice as it’s like their “house special” and to me, those are always good! The lamb was really tender, and there were quite a few pieces of lamb in the curry too! We got the curry in mild and you definitely get the kick, but it’s a tender kick.

Now, for the twist on my naan, we normally get the garlic naan (which is fantastic from Karma), we got Keema Nan which is made with white flour bread stuffed with mildly spiced round beef. We normally don’t get the stuffed ones, but since I went to England and tried Indian Edge with their stuffed naan, I had to get it again (at least some version of it!). This was delicious and I would definitely get keema nan again, or other meat stuffed into my nan! Keema naan is just stuffed with some sort of “seasoned ground/minced meat” and varies from location to location, as Keema just means “minced meat”

Then, for my favourite dish of curry for the evening, we ordered a plate of Prawn Korma which obviously had prawns in it, but cooked in a mild curry enriched with cream, nuts and spices.

My overall experience here at Karma was a VERY positive experience, and I have no problems returning or bringing friends & family here who like eating Indian curries! I’m sure when my sister and brother-in-law come and visit me, I’ll take them here for dinner! I’m sure they’ll love it – but it’s definitely not as good as the curry where they are…

Karma Fine Indian Cuisine

4600 130 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 257-4977

Posted on

Koreana BBQ Restaurant

Ahh, something different and totally delicious!! We popped into Koreana BBQ Restaurant with some great friends to try it out and it was so good! The prices were a little high, but it definitely could be a lot worse in the city! The space was open and there were private booths along one ends and regular booths on the other edge. In the centre were regular tables and all the tables throughout had the option of having a BBQ flame right at the table!

As most Korean places, they give you a wide selection of kimchi first and then your actual meal. Here, they gave us not only a large selection of kimchi, but they also had a really good soup with it. It was kind of like a miso soup, with more ingredients in it.

We ordered Seafood pancake (Hae Mul Pa Jeon) which was made with tons of seafood and made into an egg pancake with green onion! It definitely tasted as good as it looks and the dipping sauce it came with added just the right amount of sweetness and saltiness to the omelette.

We also ordered a delicious Korean cuisine soup, the Pork Bone Spicy Soup with Potato and Vegetable (Gam Ja tang) which was full of flavours and spice! The pork was fall of the bone tender and juicy and the potatoes and vegetables made it nice and hearty!

As you can now see, there were huge chunks of potatoes and tons of spices in this soup on the pork and throughout! It was a wonderful soup and extra special – perfect for a cold winter day!

The final dish we enjoyed for the evening would be the Marinated Grilled Beef Short Ribs in a large order – and we got them to cook it for us. It was cooked to perfection, tender, and the sauce that goes with it was unbelievable!

I am sure we will be back, either to try dishes such as these, or even their Korean Hot Pot and maybe even the actual Korean Tabletop BBQ!

Koreana BBQ Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Koreana BBQ Restaurant
17-7400 Macleod Trl S
Calgary, AB
(403) 452-1020

Posted on

Sunterra Market – West Market Square

I really like markets, and one of my favourite markets would be Sunterra Market even though it’s kind of expensive. I particularly enjoy going to the one at West Market Square as it offers a small eatery and has great grocery shopping! I enjoy buying fresh products from here, and a bunch of other stuff too! The food that they prepare from their kitchen isn’t bad at all either – and the prices are pretty decent!

I really enjoy having their Butter Chicken and I had my butter chicken over rice instead of spinach. For about $8, you get a pretty generous serving of rice and butter chicken, and even some naan! The chicken is always tender and the curry is very mild in flavour. The sauce is delicious and creamy and perfect over rice!

My other half ordered from the Daily Hot Carve and on this particular day, it was Roast Beef with vegetables and potatoes. Again, the serving is really large, definitely more than a mall food court amount and this plate was just under $10! There was at least 3 slices of roast beef which was quite thick of a cut (irregular, but overall thick) which is always nice! The vegetables were roasted peppers and they were surprisingly sweet, plus tons of potatoes which were good on it’s own, or with the roast beef sauce!

Since the first visit to Sunterra, where they gave me a sample of their Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice, I’ve made it a ritual where I purchase if nothing – at least a bottle of their orange juice. Sure, it costs more than other ordinary orange juice, but you actually watch them squeeze this juice out and it’s so good – year round! Of course, it’s best in the summer when the oranges are at their prime season. This is one thing I’d highly recommend if you’ve got nothing else to get from Sunterra!

Sunterra Market, West Market Square on Urbanspoon

Sunterra Market, West Market Square

1851 Sirocco Dr SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 266-3049

Posted on

Zellers Family Restaurant – Chinook Centre

For the last 2 years on Boxing Day and random days throughout the year, I’d find myself inside a Zellers and eating at their Family Restaurant. This year is no different, we got to Chinook Centre bright and early on Boxing Day to make sure the lines weren’t insane. Last year, we waited 3 hours for our lunch, and this year we went for breakfast.

I usually enjoy a Hot Chocolate with my breakfasts, and I was quite hesitant to order one for breakfast as I didn’t want my hot chocolate to be all cold if my meal took 3 hours to come. I took a chance and ordered a cup anyway! Luckily, breakfast is much faster and it only took 20 minutes – so I didn’t have to enjoy cold chocolate!

For breakfast, I ordered Western Denver Omelette which was a giant omelette with sweet peppers, onions, sauteed with diced ham.

The other breakfast we ordered was called Meat Lover’s bacon, sausage and ham served with 2 eggs. To top this meal off, it also had sides of country styled potatoes and toast

Overall, I really like coming here and I’ll miss it if and when it goes away when Target takes over. It’s a great alternative to eating at the food court and it’s just a little different!

Zellers Family Restaurant – Chinook Centre

6455 Macleod Trail S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
403-253-3932

Posted on

OEB Breakfast Co.

We made it to OEB Breakfast Co for breakfast this one Sunday – and it was a cute little place where a lot of people seem to gather. Immediately once in the door you’re in their coat room – where we had to wait for a table. Eventually, the line went right out the door, and even thought it was a cool morning, it didn’t stop their hungry guests from waiting outside!

When we finally got seated, we were actually at a table instead of the central common table – which is a neat way to seat a lot more in a smaller space.

I ordered The One That Did Not Get Away North Pacific smoked cod & egg scramble, green onions, crisp potatoes, brown butter Hollandaise, vegetarian kelp caviar. This was a fun dish as everything was in a giant bowl! I tried to eat it graciously and orderly, but I found more fun and flavour when I mixed up the entire bowl and ate whatever I had in my spoon! The smoked cod was a great choice as it added just the perfect depth of flavour with a hint of smokiness! I absolutely loved their potato wedges – they were cooked perfectly and had a nice crisp outside of each wedge, yet it was soft and fluffy in the inside.

We also ordered a delicious Smoked Steelhead Salmon, a three egg scram-blettes With green onions & Spanish capers. The omelette was perfect as it was full of flavour and veggies – it was perfect on it’s own. But, to top it off a few notches, the smoked steelhead salmon really made this feel like a five star breakfast!

This was a fun breakfast place, where the prices are reasonable – especially for it’s portion sizes and the amount of food and flavour you get! It’s a small restaurant, so be prepared to wait! It was sure worth it though! Everything was super delicious and I am sure I’ll be back someday soon!

Oeb Breakfast Co. on Urbanspoon

Oeb Breakfast Co.

824 Edmonton Trl NE
Calgary, AB T2E3J6
(403) 278-3447