banff – Page 4 – Elsie Hui

October 13, 2014October 13, 2014

Lake Louise Station Restaurant – Lake Louise, Alberta

It’s Thanksgiving 2014, and this year instead of making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, we ventured to Lake Louise on our way home from BC and stopped at Lake Louise Station Restaurant which is a hidden gem, tucked away and seasonal! We were quite lucky to get a table as we didn’t even make any reservations!

Inside was really rustic, like an old wood cabin train station with a wood burning fireplace in their main dining room. We were seated in an inside room, which was pretty much how it would look like if there was a conductor there. We did see a train go by and that was the highlight to the ambiance experience! One we got seated, I knew I wanted to warm up with a spicy Virgin Caesar and it was delicious!

Once we ordered our meals, a plate of bread and bugger came out. The bread was really fresh, with a subtle sweetness to it. It tasted great with butter and as dull/boring as it looks, it was excellent!

With our 3 course dinner, we had a choice between soup and salad. We both opted for soup as it was cold outside. The soup of the day was their Cream of Asparagus and it was very delightful! It wasn’t so creamy that it’s thick, but it had a nice texture to it with great taste of asparagus. It was cooked nicely as well, as the colour didn’t resemble overcooked asparagus!

For the entree, we both decided to have their Turkey dinner which was huge as it came with slices of turkey meat with gravy, seasonal vegetables, stuffing, and some potatoes. With it was some cranberry sauce and coleslaw. It was delicious and I ate everything up!

Our dessert was where we picked different desserts! I had their Strawberry puffed pastry which was really nice strawberries with whipped cream inside a puff pastry triangle, topped with cinnamon/nutmeg. It was a really nice dessert, although not light, it tasted light!

The other dessert was their Pumpkin Pie which was little individual sized pumpkin pies. The filling was really good, and the crust could be better – but it was still an awesome pumpkin pie. I personally think it would have been nice if they heated up the pumpkin pie a little, but I know they were busy!

Overall, a fabulous dining experience in a piece of history! The atmosphere – you couldn’t beat it, and the service was really helpful, friendly and quick. The food was tasty and was perfect for our Thanksgiving dinner!

Lake Louise Station Restaurant

200 Sentinel Rd
Lake Louise, AB
(403) 522-2600

October 2, 2014November 10, 2014

Afternoon Tea in Fairview Dining Room – Lake Louise, Alberta

I have wanted to experience Afternoon Tea for year now, and I finally got my first opportunity at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise inside the Fairview Dining Room which was a wonderful anniversary present I got. We waited for a table by the window to overlook Lake Louise and it was a fantastic view for sure! We sat down at the table and it was already ready for us which made us really excited.

We started with their seasonal fruit salad which was really perfectly cut and prepared and tasted great! The fruits were sweet and it as just a nice summery treat!

Then, came the star of the show, our 3 tier afternoon tea platter with our dainty sandwiches on the bottom, scones in the middle and desserts on the top! It was as amazing as it looks!

The finger sandwiches was fresh and amazing! My favourite would be this little guy on the croissant and the smoked salmon sandwich. Everything was amazing – so it’s pretty hard to pick just one!

Then, the middle tier was the scones and those were absolutely amazing. With the fresh berry compote and devonshire cream, it was a delight! But, nothing beats my favourite tier, the desserts! The best dessert on this try for me was their Coffee Eclair.

We had such a great time here, instead of waiting 14 years before our next visit, we’re planning to make this an annual event as they do change up their afternoon tea menu – so it will never be the same!

Fairview Dining Room

111 Lake Louise Drive
Lake Louise, AB
(403) 522-3511

October 2, 2014November 10, 2014

Giorgio’s Trattoria – Banff Alberta

I’ve been to Giorgio’s Trattoria in Banff before – a few years ago, but never for lunch. This time, we stopped in for a relaxing lunch and it was great! We got a table outside and it was a great way to spend the afternoon.

We started with an appetizer of Atlantic Mussels which was a big bowl of PEI mussels cooked in a tomato fennel sauce. The mussels were really plump and fresh, so they were really good. The sauce was tasty and not over powering and not water downed either. It was a great dish and set the bar for a really good lunch ahead!

I ordered their Canadian Pizza which I thought was an individual sized pizza. It turns out to be quite large so I ended bringing half of it home. The pizza crust was really good, and hand generous amount of toppings making the pizza quite delightful.

Then, it wouldn’t be an Italian place if we don’t eat pasta – especially they advertise themselves for homemade fresh pasta, so we ordered a bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese where we added meatballs to the meal. The pasta was delicious and the meatballs – tons of flavour. The sauce they used was a meat and tomato sauce which I thought was a little bit watery so it wasn’t as flavourful as it could be.

Overall, we still love this place. Even though so many years has passed, it still has great food, great service and a wonderful ambiance. It’s always worth the price tag for a treat so great!

Giorgio’s Trattoria

219 Banff Avenue
Banff, AB
(403) 762-5114

October 1, 2014

Sushi Bistro – Banff, Alberta

We accomplished a hike up Ha Ling Peak and decided we would reward ourselves with sushi. We got into Banff and stumbled into Sushi Bistro which is just off Banff Avenue – right near Brewster’s Mountain Lodge. We didn’t have to wait too long to get seated as it was tail end of the dinner rush when we arrived.

We sat down and ticked off all the good things we wanted to eat. We started with Deep Fried Chicken which came out in a little plate. The chicken was delicious and juicy and fried really nicely, not greasy.

Then, we got in a little bowl, which we thought was strange, our Salmon Sashimi, the fish was really fresh and the portions was quite generous, especially for the price ($6 for 5 pieces).

We had an assortment of sushi’s that we like so we ordered some Surf Clams, Inari and spicy tuna roll. All the sushi was delicious and fresh and tasted really good!

Our last item we ordered was on their menu under Ramen Noodle and it turned out to be a big bowl of ramen! It was delicious and it only cost $9.50 which is at par with all the other places or cheaper. The soup was really tasty and the ramen texture was nice.

Overall, the experience was amazing. Service was great, food was fabulous and the prices were very reasonable. It’s a nice quiet restaurant tucked off the busy street – but it doesn’t mean the place isn’t busy!

Sushi Bistro

208 Caribou St.
Banff, AB
(403) 762-4000

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014

Skoki’s Waffle and Frozen Yogurt – Banff, AB

We were wandering around Banff, when we stumbled upon a new frozen yogurt place which was neat as we’ve been seeing a lot more of these places pop up. This particular one is called Skoki’s and it’s located right on Banff Ave, which is an optimal location!

Once you walk in, you walk along the left wall to the back where you pick up a cup or line up for a waffle bowl. The waffle bowls look pretty thin, but I wasn’t hungry so I opt’ed for just a normal bowl. As you walk along the wall, you come to the wall with all the frozen yogurts. Fill it up with as much or as little of your favourite flavours!

When you’re done picking your selection – you can go to the topping bar and load your cup with toppings! Then, you get your bowl weighted and paid.

Finally, you get to enjoy your custom created treat! The yogurt was really good and the topping selection was quite large. It definitely was a great little treat!

Skoki’s Waffle and Frozen Yogurt

109 Banff Ave
Banff, AB
(403) 985-2220