calgary – Page 52

August 31, 2011March 17, 2019

Sushi Bar Zipang – Calgary, Alberta;

After just over a year of wanting to try Sushi Bar Zipang I finally went! It was great, the fish was fresh and reasonably priced.

The sashimi slices were really thick as well – which made it really good, and justified the price! The location is a little restaurant, and with constant customers – they’ve built a reputation for success here!

I would definitely go back given the opportunity! The restaurant had a dining area and a sushi bar area, and the overall ambiance was very quiet and casual. The service was alright, but the food was just excellent.

I love starting with Gyoza’s, and oddly enough, they don’t have any here! They have quite a large selection of appetizers, but they just didn’t have dumplings — unless of course, I just missed it.

We ordered from the sushi/sashimi sheet, and from there, we selected sushi such as hokki – surf clam,
smoked salmon and hotate – scallop. All of these were really good as well. We had no complaints at all during the entire time we were at Zipang.

We ordered spicy salmon roll which consisted of salmon, spicy sauce, lettuce and the spiciness was just right, you still get the salmon flavour without the spiciness to overwhelm the entire sushi. It was well balance and one of my favorites for the evening.

Then, we ordered an Alaska roll which was sushi wrapped with smoked salmon, avocado, cream cheese and this wasn’t as flavourful of an Alaska roll as some other places I’ve tried. It seemed to be lacking some flavour, but you definitely got the cream cheese taste. I think they may have put too much cream cheese in.

Just to have a wider selection of sashimi, we ordered their Special Assorted Sashimi and this assortment had salmon, tuna, octopus, and scallops. It was actually really good, and this plate came with 14 pieces of sashimi for $19.50, which is quite a good deal!

And, at the end, we ordered an order of Agedashi Tofu, and it wasn’t really a good deal at all. It was $5.00 for only 2 pieces of tofu, and we all know tofu isn’t expensive. It tasted good, but it wasn’t worth it in my opinion.

Overall, I will be back, I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the sushi, and the sashimi… and that’s all that matters in a Japanese restaurant when we’re out for sushi! 🙂

Sushi Bar Zipang

1010 1 Ave NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 262-1888

August 30, 2011August 30, 2011

Harbour City

We recently went back to Harbour City after many years of trying new places, and Harbour City being one of our favourites, we chose to go there again. The quality of food has decreased, unless it’s the same, but we’ve been eating much better dim sum. But, it’s still not bad at all. We’ve definitely had worse, and for it’s price, it’s quite reasonable! (you pay what you get! – Reasonable price, reasonable food)

One thing I like most about Harbour City is the fact they still do it “old style” meaning they still bring out the bamboo steamers table side with a cart/trolley. Many restaurants have switched to a sheet of paper and they’ll just take out what you’ve ordered. I really enjoy the old style, but it always makes me over eat – since they always bring something that looks really good to the table side. This is really good from the restaurant business perspective though!

We’ve tried our typical items as always to compare and contrast: Shrimp dumpling (or known to lots as Har Gow) here was really large, and the shrimp was decent. It didn’t have any odd tastes or anything, but the texture isn’t as crisp as “fresh” shrimp dumplings. The skin was relatively thin, it’s standard for dim sum places in Calgary. One bamboo ste4amer comes with 4 large shrimp dumplings.

Another would be the Pork Dumplings (known as Siu Mai) was another really large portion! This bamboo steamer came with 4 large siu mai’s and they were really good! Pork Dumplings is something you really can’t go wrong in when you’re eating or making! Of course, it’s just minced pork with some Chinese mushrooms, and sometimes shrimp basically!

The Chicken Feet wasn’t something I enjoyed from Harbour City. This is one of the items I remember loving, and it’s changed. It’s as though it was a left over, and they added water to the chicken feet to heat it back up. If you look at the picture, the colours seemed washed out… well, it looked like that! The skin was falling apart, as were the bones (really over cooked) and it was unfortunately kind of tasteless in flavour. I am not sure if it’s just my steamer that was like that, or if it has changed or what’s going on, but I’m almost afraid to try it again from here! 🙁

Moving on though, the lady who pushed the dim sum to us kept asking if we wanted Spareribs so eventually we caved and got some. Funny thing though, she didn’t give us spare-ribs, she gave us Pork Tendons! After it arrived on the table, I looked at it and said “it’s not cooked, spareribs shouldn’t be translucent!” until I realized it’s not. It was really good though, the black pepper sauce was extremely peppery. But, because it wasn’t something I wanted, I didn’t bother finishing it. I wasn’t about to argue with anyone either, so I just ate as much as I could and left the rest.

One of my old time favourites that I seem to only be able to get from Harbour City is the Shrimp balls with corn which is a steamed ball with shrimp in it, with corn kernels on the outside. It sounds weird, I know, but the balance of flavour and texture actually works! The sweet and crispness of corn, and the chewy ball of shrimp – it’s actually really good! It’s one of those dishes that you have to have when you’re here! I know a lot of people that don’t like it though…

And, the highlight of this dim sum trip would be the Curry Cuttlefish and it’s my highlight not because it’s extra good or anything… it’s more the fact I haven’t had it for almost 2 years from anywhere, and I saw it, and I had to order it. It’s one of those things I didn’t expect to have at the end, but I just had to. And, am I ever glad I did! The texture was great, the flavours were there, it was just an all round great dish! I’m not sure why I don’t order this more often…

Last but not least, it’s a BBQ Pork Pineapple Bun, and it’s basically a BBQ Pork Bun, but inside what the Chinese call a Pineapple Bun from the top of the bun that mimics the look of a pineapple. It’s a sweet pastry bun, with a crumbly crunchy top. The top is similar to a cookie, and the bun itself is soft sweet – it’s a wonderful bun by itself also.

Weird thing about this trip, I didn’t get Beef Tripe, mainly because I didn’t see it being pushed passed my table, or they pushed it, and didn’t say anything to me. Oh well, I’m happy with most my meal here at Harbour City! Few things I never really understood about this restaurant, it’s the awkwardness of the location where you pay the bill… it’s tucked away in the corner, with spare tables and chairs. It’s quite a mess there, and I don’t know why they did it this way. And, the place is painted dark blue… which isn’t really an Asian colour… so, if I was to hold a special event, I’m not sure I’d pick it from the colours. It’s not going to look nice in pictures! Oh well, those are just some funny things I thought up of… and regardless of those weirdness, I enjoyed my experience here at Harbour City again, even though it’s changed.

Harbour City

302 Centre St S
Calgary, AB
(403) 269-8888

August 25, 2011June 2, 2019

Holy Smoke Barbeque and Smoke Pit – Calgary, Alberta

I was recently introduced to Holy Smoke Barbeque and I have to say that I LOVE it! It’s delicious, and once you walk by the building, you can smell the meat being smoked! Outside of their washrooms is the wood that they use and it makes the “washroom area” smell great too!

I actually stuffed myself really full at Holy Smoke BBQ and it was worth it! I had a small Chopped Beef Brisket Sandwich with couple of ribs! It’s so neat here, they sell rib by the bone for only $1!! And, it’s fall off the bone tender, with the right amount of smokiness! I did use some sauce just to try, and I really liked their house sauce, so I used it to dip my ribs into the sauce.

The beef brisket sandwich was really tender and juicy, and I was actually a little worried when I first ordered it because I hate it most when it’s not tender enough to bite through. Here, it’s done to perfection. This is my favourite smoke house so far!!

We also ordered the Manwich Sandwich which was a combination of the beef brisket and the pulled pork, and this was a large sandwich! It’s topped with some coleslaw and a pickle, which adds not only a bit to the sandwich, but some acidity to balance the flavours. It’s a wonderful sandwich, and a must try if you’re hungry!

Overall, we definitely will return as I mentioned, it’s our favourite place for smoked meat right now!

Holy Smoke Barbecue and Smokepit

4640 Manhattan Rd SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 605-9365

August 24, 2011March 24, 2019

Calgary Court Restaurant – Calgary, Alberta

Calgary Court Restaurant is a restaurant that is located in Chinatown and has been around for quite awhile now. Of course, like all Chinese restaurants, service isn’t their number one priority, so in order to get food from here, you either have to be a regular customer or be very patient. I’ve even had experiences where I walked out as I was seated for about 30 minutes and no tea or menu… but, I still go back, since they do make me good food.

One of my favourite hot drinks is the Hot Honey Water and there’s nothing wrong with ordering it, besides the fact you can make it at home. I sometimes just want it and I’ll order it instead of milk tea.

We’ll also order Milk Tea and often swap out evaporated milk for sweetened condensed milk. It’s one of my favourite drinks as well, but it takes more effort to make it at home.

We always returned to Calgary Court for breakfast as I’ve been mentioning we’ve been getting up early on weekends lately – may as well enjoy the nice weekends while they last now days! But, I’ve ordered one of my favourites and it’s also my dads favourite so it’s a dish that always reminds me of my dad. This dish is the Shredded Pork with Snow Cabbage with Vermicelli which is quite a filling breakfast if you think about it. It’s different, but it’s always a delicious one for me.

Another breakfast that we like to order is Deep Fried Pork Chop with Macaroni, and yes, I can make it at home… but it’s fun to eat these kinds of meals as they always come in combos that are very reasonably priced. This meal was the macaroni with Chinese Milk Tea and butter toast for under $6! You really can’t go wrong with prices like this!!

These breakfast combos are offered daily from 8am until 11am, and there are lunch specials afterwards, but they’re not as neat in my opinion!

Calgary Court Restaurant

119 2 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 264-7890

August 17, 2011March 10, 2019

Alley Burger Food Truck

We went to try Alley Burger Food Truck prior to the pilot project, when they opened a week prior – probably to get a system going just to test the waters before the event that was put on by Mayer Nenshi.

We got there quite early and we saw the Alley burger park it’s truck. We then had to wait for some supply trucks to come and do their deliveries. When it was all said and done, we waited for 3 hours to try a burger! It was lunch time, and I made the mistake of coming on an empty stomach, not expecting such a long wait!

On the menu is basically 2 types of burgers: The Whole Truck Burger is their 100% Beef burger, and the Alley burger is 100% Pork Burger. When we got to the front of the line though, Connie came out of the truck to erase the Alley Burger from the menu as it pretty much sold out right in front of us. The Alley burger is very special as it is different from all other burgers: pork and roasted garlic sausage patty with Quebec cheese and piri piri aioli which sounds extraordinary, but we’ll have to try it next time!

So, we ordered a small Whole Truck Burger and a regular Whole Truck burger (the difference is one patty or two), and even though I was hungry, I’ve passed a point of really hungry – so if I ate too much then, I would feel sick. So, I just stuck with a bit of greasy food! LOL! You’re able to put toppings on the Whole Truck burger which is great as you can customize it to the way you like it. These toppings are Piri Piri Aioli, Brassica Mustard, Sliced Pickles, Jalapenos, Onions, Lettuce, Tomatoes. For an extra dollar each, you can have additional toppings of Cheese curds, Farm Egg, Bacon. The burgers were quite large, regardless of which size you choose! The patties are tender, juicy, and cooked to perfection. My bun on the other hand was a little charred, but at least toppings and condiments made it all better! 🙂

We also tried their fries, as it was deep fried in duck fat and being Asian, one of the best fats to use is duck fat! It’s delicious! And, needless to say, the fries were delicious! There were some seasoning shakers you’re able to use and sprinkle onto your fries, we chose the Smokey Bacon and Cheddar flavour, and the other flavours that they had were: Truffle Salt & Pepper, Chipotle Bite, Curry in a hurry, Sea Salt and Spicy Portuguese. The fries tasted good without seasoning, but adding that extra bit took the fries to a whole new level! I would recommended trying one of their shakers!

Everything was so good, I’m sure there will be a next time!! 🙂 Just gotta go even earlier, because watching them set up doesn’t mean you’ll get the food you want!! I’m so happy for the success of food trucks! The best part about this entire experience was being star struck when Connie DeSousa was taking orders and handing them out to their customers. Connie was awesome on Top Chef Canada and her restaurant in downtown Calgary – CHARcut was really good too! So, the overall experience was just a great experience to just be apart of it all! What a privilege it was!