beef – Elsie Hui

March 14, 2015

Caesar’s Steak House Downtown – Calgary, Alberta

We have actually been here before, and it’s a place where we’d go back to – so we did! We made a reservation here for a special occasion at the Caesars Steakhouse downtown Calgary location. We lucked out with parking on the side street, but apparently there’s complimentary valet parking after 5pm.

We sat down and ordered some drink. We ordered the same thing, the Caesars – one regular, and one virgin. It was off to a rough start as our waiter had messed up placing whose drink goes with whom. So, I ended up with the alcoholic one in front of me – but I was quick to tell it wasn’t a virgin drink. The drink did taste really good though! Then, came our toast, which was a few pieces of buttery toast – grilled! Once slice had cheese and the other was plain. It was really buttery and quite tasty!

For an appetizer, we had their Escargot which came out in their shells, instead of the typical escargot plates which we really enjoyed from here! The meat was tender and the flavours were tasty and buttery – and it was even sauteed in butter with walnut & butter filling!

Then came a bowl of soup, we had their French Onion Soup which was standard. Nothing special, but definitely nothing to complain about. It was just a little bowl, so it wasn’t substantial as we were excited for our steaks at this point!

We then got a salad, their House Salad with their house dressing. This was quite a disappointment as the salad was wilted and drenched with dressing… it unfortunately didn’t look or taste too good – but it’s a salad, not the main highlight of our trip here!

Finally, the highlight of the show – I ordered the small New York Strip with a side of twice baked potatoes! It was fantastic! The meat was cooked perfectly, it was tender and juicy and tons of flavour!

My husband had their T-Bone Steak which he enjoyed thoroughly and devoured! Well, to be honest, I had quite a bit of his steak as well. The fries were good, but nothing too special or anything!

Our overall experience was good! We enjoyed what we came here for, with a few hiccups. We were told while we were ordering that there was no Steak Dianne, and the table right next to me, pretty much in the seat next to me got one… so, I was a little disappointed with that. Steaks are worth the trip to Caesars downtown location for sure though!

Caesar’s Steak House

512 – 4 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 264-1222

November 5, 2013November 5, 2013

Tropical Delight Noodles House – Calgary, Alberta

Nothing warms one up more than hot and spicy food – so on this cold Saturday afternoon, that’s what we wanted! We heard wonderful things about Tropical Delight Noodle House in the Northeast end of Calgary, located in a strip mall with very little parking. This place is worth seeking out though, so be patient with them as they’re quite popular and they’ve got really limited hours (Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5:30PM).

Once inside, there it wasn’t too bad as it looks like other customers didn’t want to venture out during a snowfall warning day — so we got seated quite quickly this time! I started by ordering one of their Red Bean Drinks, well, it was called that in Chinese, don’t remember their English name given, but it was actually really good! It was the perfect subtle amount of sweetness and even though it was cold outside, it was still a nice treat!

I knew what I wanted, I wanted their Laksa Noodle Soup which was hot, flavourful and delicious! It hit the perfect spot in my belly! This spicy bowl of soup had shrimp, tofu, egg, and fish ball with rice vermicelli, of course in their awesome soup!

We also ordered their 2 Item Combo which was suppose to come with a drink — and they never gave it to us. It wasn’t something we needed, so we actually just left without a word about it at the end, since I paid $5 for my drink, I felt like I had to finish it instead. Anyway, for this combo, we had rice with beef randang and curry chicken. It looks like Chinese beef stew with 2 pieces of curry chicken. Both were really delicious and filling too!

Overall, an excellent choice for a place to put on your to-go list if you like ethnic and spicy food. Not everything is spicy, even though I do recommend the laksa! The Beef Randang was extremely delicious and I know my husband would recommend that before the laksa! Well, there you go, you gotta go now and figure out if you like the soup or the rice more!

Tropical Delight Noodles House

4604 12 St NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 261-1811

November 8, 2011November 9, 2011

All Beef Catering & Eatery

After we’ve been eating at a few “smoke houses”, we were really craving something quite similar, and we were recommended to All Beef Catering & Eatery for BBQ style beef. They use “AAA” Alberta beef and they magically transform it into perfection! This little hidden gem is in the Industrial area in Calgary’s southeast corner at the intersection of 52nd Street and 64th Avenue. It is on the west side, so I find it best to go East on 61st Street and then South (right hand turn) onto 52nd Street – making a simple right hand turn into their parking lot.

We ordered 2 sandwiches, both for $9.95 + taxes and we split them. The first one we ordered was the BBQ Beef on a Kaiser Thinly sliced beef simmered in Bull’s Eye BBQ sauce, served on a kaiser with creamy coleslaw and baked beans. The beans was sweet and tasty, while the coleslaw was crisp and not over dressed, but creamy. These sides were just as delicious as the main event, the BBQ Beef on a Kaiser! The BBQ beef was extremely tender and juicy, and covered in their BBQ Sauce, which surprisingly wasn’t over powering at all! It was messy and the bottom piece of the kaiser bun was drenched and over saturated in BBQ sauce, but it made for a delicious sandwich altogether.

Whenever possible, I try to not turn down an opportunity to try a Philly cheese steak sandwich, so I decided to order and try their Philly! It wasn’t nearly as messy, and it was made of the typical thinly sliced beef, onions, mild peppers, melted cheese on a kaiser with creamy coleslaw on the side. I think the meat that they choose for this sandwich was a little too dry, but probably perfect for the beef dip as it’ll have some sort of gravy. Besides it being a tad on the dry side, it was super tender and quite a tasty Philly. The mountain of beef slices they use make quite a filling lunch, and probably a great dinner.

As much as I would love to be back for a fresh sandwich for dinner, All Beef Catering & Eatery isn’t opened for dinner. They are only opened to cater to the businesses in the Industrial Area, so they are opened weekdays from 11:30AM to 2:00PM Monday through Friday, except for holidays when they are closed.

This is a great place to get a big lunch – and it’s worth it! The really do fill the sandwiches jammed pack with meat and I think it was a great discovery! I will be back if I’m in the area at the right time!

All Beef Catering & Eatery

10-5200 64 Ave SE Map
Calgary, AB T2C
(403) 291-2513
allbeefcatering.com

May 28, 2011May 31, 2011

Kim Chi Korean Delight

Food courts don’t need to be ordinary anymore! Market mall has added the Kim Chi Korea Delight, and it is indeed quite delightful! I normally get stuck with the regular food court franchises, and it’s quite refreshing to see something new!! So, of course I went to try it. When I went, I want to say it was still quite new, so it’s not as good as can be.

I’ve ordered Japchae (Stir-fry potato glass noodle with vegetables with beef), and you can choose between beef, chicken, shrimp, vegetarian. It was a great dish, and I really enjoyed the flavour, and the texture of the glass noodles.

We also ordered the special at the time with beef and chicken Bulgogi. Normally, the bulgogi is vegetable and meat stir-fry with Bulgogi sauce with rice and a choice of beef, chicken, shrimp, vegetarian. The special tasted really good, however the beef was a little tough.

Kim Chi Korean delight will definitely be in a the running next time I need to eat at Market Mall food court, as it was a great option when I didn’t want the ordinary!

Kim Chi Korean Delight

3625 Shaganappi Trail NW
Food court in Market Mall
Calgary, AB T3A

April 30, 2011March 15, 2019

Tang Toasted Subs & Grill – Calgary, Alberta

This morning, I woke up really wanting a good Vietnamese submarine. I didn’t want to go all the way to my favorite place in Chinatown, so I decided to give Tang Toasted Subs & Grill a try.

It wasn’t as I hoped for… as my expectations were really high — however, the sub was flavorful with it’s sauce from the chicken. I had the Satay Chicken, and my husband had the Mega Sub (Sate Chicken and Beef). I think the actual sub bun wasn’t as fresh or something. Usually when you toast bread, it’s got a distinctive taste and smell, which these subs seems to be lacking. The carrots weren’t actually pickled, or it was just really lightly done… or the carrot sticks were too large. You couldn’t taste the “pickled” part of it, which usually adds to the taste of a Vietnamese Sub.

We did see a lot of their customers eating the rice bowls, which really was just vermicelli bowls, and they looked like they were enjoying themselves! I guess if I was in that area, I would go in to give it a try too! 🙂

Regardless, it’s a great place for a quick cure! And, a place I will return to try other selections which I didn’t get to this time.

We were going to get drinks, as both of us love bubble tea — however, they do not use fresh fruits, as you can see the powders they use. Neither of us are fans of powder bubble tea, so we opted out this time. They called these drinks smoothies at Tang.

Tang Restaurant: Toasted Subs & Grill

909 33 Heritage Meadows Way SE
Calgary, AB T2H
(403) 258-1808