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Pie Junkie – Calgary, Alberta

I like pies, and I had a family in town for a month and I decided to try to get pies to make… but that never happened!! So, on Pie Day I wanted pie and found myself on a drive to the other end of the city to get some pie at Pie Junkie to bring back home, heat up and eat!

When we got there, there was a lineup and it was great to see!! I love supporting local businesses and this is one I’m happy to support. I got myself a Aussie Beef Pie and I wasn’t sure what it was. It’s a great pie with a flaky buttery crust filled with ground beef and then there was some gravy/sauce that spilled out in the centre!! It was amazing and it kind of reminded me of sheppards pie filling.

We also got their Butter Chicken Pie and it was quite tasty. It wasn’t really a butter chicken taste, but it was a delicious chicken filling with a bit of heat! The crust was also flaky and buttery and it’s almost like the Jamaican pie crust!

Then just as we’re paying, I needed a sweet pie. Everyone knows I have a sweet tooth and I got their Coconut Cream Pie which was absolutely beautiful!! The cream was light and fluffy, and great coconut taste!

Overall the pies were stuffed to the brim and was packed full of flavours! To reheat was simple as it said heat up in a cold oven 250F until you see a puddle of butter in the bottom. It was perfectly heated up and these pies are the best I’ve ever had!

Pie Junkie

8 Spruce Centre SW,
Calgary, Alberta,
403-452-3960

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Bennys Breakfast Bar – Calgary, Alberta

I went to visit my sister branch the other day and drove by Bennys Breakfast Bar and I was so excited to try this place! This place is packed and very retro looking inside which I absolutely adore!

I ordered one of their Eggs Benedict and it was amazing! I picked the Monte Cristo which is a bennys on a brioche french toast with turkey, ham and Swiss cheese! It was a familiar bennys but it was a great new twist on the traditional!

I also love perogies so I ordered their Montreal Smoked Meat Hash and added perogies! What an amazing breakfast bowl! It was very filling as it was full of everything – but all things amazing!

This has become a little place that I tell people to try when they’re in the area! I’m really glad I stumbled upon it. I am also glad it’s not my office that’s here otherwise I would be ordering from here way too often!

Bennys Breakfast Bar

7007 11 St SE,
Calgary, AB
403-252-3443

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Pho Vy – Calgary, Alberta

I was looking for a Vietnamese noodle soup that wasn’t too far and wanted to try a new place. We found Pho Vy and it turns out it is a staple place for a coworker because he lives a few blocks away! It would’ve been fun had I known and called him to join me.

I absolutely love Shrimp Salad Rolls and it’s no exception here! The shrimp was fresh and the peanut sauce was delicious.

I ordered their Chicken Submarine and it was on a wonderful baguette with amazing flavours in their meat which really was perfect the way it was. I think there was a good amount of meat to topping ratio and I just really enjoyed the bun.

Then, we ordered a Satay Beef Noodle Soup for variety and it was good! The portions were big and the flavours in the satay was tasty. It wasn’t filled with spice where you can’t taste it so it was pretty amazing.

Overall, it was a nice little place. It was busy and I can see why! There’s ample parking outside, and the food was great! The service was a bit slow, but it’s a place where you don’t need much.

Pho Vy

13750 Bow Bottom Trail SE,
Calgary, AB
403-455-8822

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Tin Tin Dim Sum – Calgary, Alberta

We went to Chinook Centre and went to one of my favourite little store when we stumbled by Tin Tin Dim Sum and it was packed!! We decided we were doing absolutely nothing so we’d join in the fun!

We were not that hungry to be honest but wanted to try LOTS of things… so, we ate lots! I found on the menu what they called Egg White Bunnies and I had no idea what that was so we ordered some. It’s like marshmallow meringue that’s super light and not sweet at all. It was weird using my chopsticks and ripping the bunnys head off, but it’s all good.

I also decided to have an order of their Black Peppered Short Ribs as I recently made some Korean short ribs and enjoyed them so I wanted to just have some. These weren’t as tender but the flavours were absolutely amazing!

I’ve taught myself to make traditional Radish Cake, but I like just just steamed. I’ve never been too successful pan frying my recipe as I don’t like it firm. The recipe here is still soft but it doesn’t fall apart pan fried. There was plenty of radish in the cake so it was delicious.

Something I don’t usually order is Steamed BBQ Pork Buns as buns are very filling I ordered them and ate them all anyway! The inside had a good amount of filling and the texture of the steamed bun was really silky and thin but it doesn’t fall apart at all. There’s still a nice sauce in bun and it was very tasty.

Alright, just when you think it wasn’t enough food, the Pork Shu Mai is always one of my go to dim sum menu items, so I had to get this as well!! The dumplings were pretty big in size and like everything else tasted really good.

Just when we were about to leave, we got a complimentary order of their Mango Pudding which was super awesome! I actually NEVER order this but it was so much fun because it brought me back to my childhood! What a fun and delicious surprise!!

Overall, I love this place. It’s great as there’s parking here, and then if you over eat you can walk around the mall to help you digest! At first I wondered what they do for the later hours but when I looked again, they had some Western Chinese dishes! Brilliant!

Tin Tin Dim Sum

6455 Macleod Trail SW,
Calgary, AB
403-253-7742

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Monki Breakfastclub & Bistro – Calgary, Alberta

I was actually searching for a fun place to go to after I went to an eye exam and got some interesting news and it was about lunch time. I decided to go to the YYC Hot Chocolate Fest to see what I could find and I stumbled upon Monki Bistro and I made a reservation to their Beltline location. We did find street parking right across the street as it was an afternoon that was blowing snow!

I actually did order their feature hot chocolate that they called Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Hot Chocolate and the name is long, the drink was hot, the whipped cream was fresh, the drink was fantastic!! It was a decadent drink that wasn’t too sweet, and the toppings was the perfect amount!

From the eye doctor, I was told to eat more fish, Omega 3’s, and leafy greens. Yes if you know me personally, you know when I stopped listening!! So, I ordered their Salmon Bene with “fruits” that made the plate so beautiful!! The benedict was perfect with smoked salmon with capers ontop of a perfectly toasted muffin. There was a piece of tomato on it and it was as nice pop of freshness. The menu did say there was an option for pink prosecco hollandaise and I purposely didn’t feel like saying anything but it wasn’t offered when they took the order. Beyond that, this was a perfect smoked salmon eggs bene!!

Another of my favourites is Perogies and when I saw it on the menu I ordered it!! The Monki Perogies came on this hot skillet with their hashbrowns and it really was amazing pockets of pillow awesomeness! The sweet chipotle sauce really made it taste like one of my favourite BBQ chips so I enjoyed this dish thoroughly!

Overall I absolutely loved this brunch place! It was a random cold and late afternoon and the place was packed still. It’s cozy and charming, the staff was fantastic and the food was perfect!!

Monki Breakfastclub & Bistro – Beltline

1301 10 Ave SW,
Calgary, AB
(587) 352-7131