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M Palace – Calgary, Alberta

I like that there’s now more dim sum options in the South as we found M Palace on Macleod Trail while going for a random car ride. The place was quite busy when we got there, but we didn’t need a lot of space so they had a table for us.

We ordered some random things that are our typical standard dim sum for us to compare and contrast. I knew I wanted Beef tripe as it’s often one of my favourites because it’s something I wouldn’t make! It’s got great flavour here, but it was a bit chewy. Just a bit more time in the steamer would’ve made it amazing!

I know a lot of my co-workers think I’m absolutely disguising as I like eating Chicken Feet and they keep reminding me what chickens step in. Guess what, I don’t care! I actually like eating this so I will continue! I only live once, and I’ll fill my belly with what I want. This was pretty good here and I think I’ll take an order back to the office next time!

A dish that is so simple that I enjoy would be Rice Crepes and it’s something I’ve tried to recreate at home. It’s so different homemade, but not really worth all that effort. It’s fine getting it fresh from elsewhere like the restaurant! It was smooth and thin here and that’s almost the only requirement! Simple and perfect.

Something I make every year near Chinese New Years would be Shanghai steam buns and it’s a pork dumpling with actual soup in it made with bone marrow. It’s time consuming but I like that ones I make as it’s actual soup and not full of oil. It’s not bad here, but it’s a lot of hot dripping oil that leaks from the dumplings here.

The last thing we ordered is definitely something I make a lot during the winter months, also hugging Chinese New Years as it’s got great symbolism and tastes great. I love trying everyone’s own recipes and it’s not something we can compare, no matter how much you eat of it. Pretty darn good here!

Overall, it’s a decent place! Not bad for dim sum without going to Chinatown or up North. It’s a great place to go if you’re looking for a quick fix for dim sum!

M Palace

10400 Macleod Trail SE,
Calgary, Alberta
(587) 333-3088

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Heartland Cafe – Okotoks, Alberta

I’ve been eyeing going to Heartland Cafe for a very long time. There has been previous occasions where I’ve been there and no one seated us so we walked away. Finally, we went there one afternoon and there was actually some service!

It took awhile before the waitress came give us our menus let alone take our order. So, be prepared to spend an afternoon here if you’re going for lunch, but the food is worth it! I already went there with the anticipation it’ll take a long time from previous times so I started with a drink. I did order their Flat Iron Steak Sandwich with their soup of the day and it was something worth the wait!

We also had a their Ahi Tuna Tacos but we ate it like a lunch and it was really fresh and light. It was mouth watering and tasty.

The environment was great as we sat outside on their patio. It was fun to watch the people go by and I guess it was a car show that weekend so we got to watch unique cars go by. The food was amazing and worth every second!

Heartland Cafe

46 McRae St,
Okotoks, Alberta
(403) 995-4623

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Broken Plate – Calgary, Alberta

It was a special day, and we chose to celebrate it at Broken Plate on Macleod Trail. We lucked out with the table without reservations as the place filled up quickly on a Friday night.

We sat down and the service was amazing and prompt! We ordered our drinks and appetizers and they came out relatively quick. We decided to start with their Prawns Santorini which was like a soup with bread and prawns. I wasn’t sure how to eat it, but I ate all the bread and prawns. It was amazing! The prawns were large, fresh and delicious. The soup was not a soup but a sauce, but we ate it like a soup. It was roasted red pepper sauce and that was full of flavour on it’s own.

I ordered their daily special which was the Steelhead Trout which was as perfectly cooked piece of fish on the grill, over a bed of risotto with seasonal vegetables. The trout was topped with a citrus and blueberry sauce which was absolutely divine! The sweetness of the blueberry with the tartness of the citrus on the fish was a unique and delicious combination.

Lamb seems to be a thing for Greek cuisine, so we also ordered their Leg of Lamb roast which was a hearty main dish, but it wasn’t too rich or heavy. The chunks of lamb was tender and flavourful, great lamb flavour on it’s own as well. Mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables accompanied this perfectly cooked lamb.

Overall, the experience here was perfect. We didn’t even let them know it was for any occasion and everything was amazing on it’s own. I would definitely recommend Broken Plate for any night, but a comfortable and semi-casual place.

Broken Plate

10816 Macleod Trail SE
Calgary, Alberta
403-225-9650

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The Bro’kin Yolk Mahogany – Calgary, Alberta

I’m going to start by saying I’ve been cleaning up posts from the beginning of this blog so back end has been doing house keeping and this is not forgotten! But, I have been searching the internet looking for a new breakfast place to eat and found Bro’kin Yolk that’s close to home and they take a text to reserve a table technique. We lucked out as I didn’t know about this until we got there, and we were early enough that we actually beat the rush. This is the beauty of waking up early!

Started the breakfast with Nutella Hot Chocolate as sugar was what I wanted, and not the caffinie. This drink was as delcious as it looks!

I love to eat eggs benny! If you get to eat breakfast with me, you should know it’s often one of my staples. Whether you’re a friend or a coworker, or family, it’s not unusal. So, it’s not unusual that I ordered myself their Upstream Benny which is a traditional Eggs Benny with salmon!

Of course my other half gets to eat as well, and he got ordered himself Short Rib Hash, and he’s pretty particular on how he likes his hashbrowns, although it wasn’t how he loves it, he really enjoyed this hash! I’m pretty sure it has everything to do with me spoiling him and cooking the way he likes.

Overall, this is a fantastic little place to go to. It’s not the biggest, but it’s definitely busy! Be sure to take advantage of their advanced reservation system by texting! I think that’s really cool!

The Bro’kin Yolk

1410 7 MAHOGANY PLAZA SE
CALGARY, AB
(403) 457-5955

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Gorilla Whale – Calgary, Alberta

This was a fun afternoon here at Gorilla Whale which is a place that takes a spin on Japanese food. Nothing here is “traditional” but it’s exciting!

I wasn’t sure what to have, and one of the managers came and sat with me and introduced some of her recommendations to me. She told me to try their Chicken Chicken Bang Bang Noodle Soup so, I ordered that! This noodle was in a Japanese curry broth with chicken, crispy fried chicken skin, with pickled ginger! This was a really neat mix of ingredients and taste! The fried chicken skin was amazing and I would eat an entire plate of it!

The other thing we ordered was their Karaage Burger and this was really different. The fried chicken was really crispy and delicious. It was not greasy at all. The bacon was amazing and was almost he star of the show! The mixture of flavours here was unique and it compliments each other.

Overall, it was an amazing experience and definitely not your traditional Japanese restaurant. I enjoyed the modern twist and the fun spin!

Gorilla Whale

1214 9th Ave SE
Calgary, AB
587-356-2686