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Red Lobster: Crabfest – Calgary, Alberta

Crabfest is an event that Red Lobster put on annually, and this year, the commercials attracted me more than ever – so I went to try Crabfest for the first time! We didn’t order any starters or anything, but

Red Lobsters is wonderful for their Biscuits which is always buttery, garlicky and delicious! Of course, I inhaled almost all of those before anything else came!

For a drink, I wanted a nice drink, but alcoholic free as I am almost certain I am allergic to alcoholic. I ordered the Strawberry Smoothie which was a wonderful drink, and I would recommend it to all the kids, and people who don’t drink alcohol. It was really refreshing and full of strawberry flavour. Well, in actuality, it is called Sunset Strawberry which is a “Sail Away Smoothie“.

We ordered a Snow Crab & Roasted Garlic Seafood Bake which was 1 full pound of steamed snow crab legs paired with tender shrimp and sea scallops roasted in a garlic and white wine broth. Served with sweet corn on the cob and red potatoes. The steamed snow crab was fantastic, and it was really fresh! As we’re cracking through the shells, it snaps so easily! For crustaceans, if the shells are soggy or they don’t “crack” it’s really not fresh! But, I was really surprised how fresh, and how much food we got with this seafood bake! Even the shrimp and scallops were bigger and better too! The corn was really sweet and infused in the seafood broth – which was wonderful!

We also ordered Crab Crusted Tilapia which had fresh tilapia topped with a creamy blend of sweet crab meat, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs, then baked crispy and golden. Served with fresh broccoli. I really didn’t care much for this dish, as I’m not a fan of Parmesan cheese. I eat a lot with my nose and eyes, and I just can’t stand the smell of Parmesan cheese. It was worse when I tried another bite after the dish was cold.

The last thing we tried was the Red Lobster – Seaport Lobster & Shrimp and this was really good. It was a plate with a fire-grilled split Maritime lobster tail, savory garlic shrimp, and a skewer of jumbo garlic grilled shrimp. I got this over some mashed potatoes. The lobster tail was really good and fresh. The garlic shrimp was not my favourite at all. It was soggy/mushy and just in a little tub of garlic butter. The shrimp that was on the skewer was a million times better, both taste and texture!

By the end of the night, there was no room for dessert! We have had dessert from Red Lobster before, and it’s good, but it’s not worth filling ourselves up to the brim. Overall, a super satisfied night with family over really good seafood.

Red Lobster

6100 Macloed Trail
Calgary, AB
(403) 252-8818

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Wasabi Japanese Restaurant Ltd

I’ve recently been introduced to Wasabi right on 16th Avenue, and it’s a great little location! The fish is fresh and good, and the prices aren’t bad either! We came for dinner, and the service was quick too!! But, you must make sure you’re receiving everything you’ve ordered, as they almost forgot to give us our salmon roe. At least they didn’t make a huge fuss about it, they just quickly made it for us. They didn’t apologize or anything, as I think in the back of their mind, we ate it and we’re trying to get more… regardless, there wasn’t any problems, and that’s the main part.

We weren’t too impressed with the rolls though… they looked almost the same as we ordered the Dynamite Roll and a Wasabi Special Roll. We actually asked them if we got them both, and she said yes! But, I guess that was our mistake as one of them had shrimp and the other one just seemed to be stuffed with avocado (Wasabi Special Roll)… The Dynamite roll has shrimp tempura and avocado, and the Wasabi Special roll was avocado, salmon, and cucumbers.

We started the evening with a nice bowl of Miso Soup which wasn’t bad! It wasn’t overly salty like some other places, it was just right! Then, we had our plate of BBQ Squid which was a tad over-cooked which made it a bit chewy but the flavour was so good, it was such a minor detail – we ate the whole thing up! (or maybe I did!)

Following that, came our plates of sushi!! Yay!! We ordered things like Hokkigai, which was not only my favourite, but it was one of the items for a dollar! It made it extra good! We also enjoyed rolls and sashimi – both Salmon and Tuna and they gave huge pieces of salmon and tuna!! They didn’t look as good as it tasted, and that’s always a pleasant surprise! 🙂

At the end of the day, we were all very satisfied and our bellies were really full!! The best thing about Wasabi right now, they have a $1 menu!! That’s right, there are special items that you can get for only $1!! As it’s all said and done, it’s a great little location for what it’s worth! I definitely will be back to enjoy more delicious sushi! By the end of the night, we were way to full to have any dessert or anything else for that matter! But, all is good!

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant Ltd

Central 16 Ave N
602 16 Ave NW
Calgary, AB
(403) 282-0092

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Choklat – Calgary, Alberta

During a stroll down 9th Ave in Inglewood, we ran across this store called Choklat which I was really excited about. I love nothing more than chocolate! 🙂

We stepped inside the store, and the entire store smelled like chocolate, and that gave me a good sugar rush as is and made me more excited. We bought a few treats to try it out and purchased a chocolate cupcake, a chocolate caramel cookie and some chocolate milk

The chocolate from Choklat is quite different, it is smooth, but not velvety smooth – but regardless, it was chocolate! I quite enjoyed the cookie, but I love cookies!! It’s actually more like eating a candy bar than a cookie, which was really confusing for me!

The chocolate cupcake was really neat! It was made into a square cupcake instead of a round one! 🙂 I like that little twist! The batter was much more heavy and dense than some other cupcake places, and I found it to be quite dark! The icing on top was really yummy, but a little “stiff” of icing. As I bit into it, the entire thing came off, instead of making my face full of chocolate mess! I’m not sure which is better… but I guess no mess for the day would be a good idea.

This is a location where I would be back if I was in the area wanting a small treat, but I can’t say I’ll make a special stop for it.

Choklat

1327 9 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 457-1419

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Insomnia Coffee Company – Calgary, Alberta

Everytime I’m downtown at Olympic Plaza I always walk by Insomnia Coffee Company and has always wanted to just sit down by the window and watch the hussle of people going by! I finally did that, and this cafe is very modern, clean, and quite good! It is a really good coffee house in town, and the coffee is quite strong! The latte art wasn’t as nice as some, but something is definitely better than nothing!

Even though I didn’t try their baked good, they sure look really tasty and fresh! And, that’s amazing, considering I visited this cafe on a weekend! I just sat down and enjoyed a wonderful cup of latte and it was so relaxing – and watching the festivals outside their large windows.

Overall, this place is wonderful! They welcome you with warm smiles, and they don’t mind if you sit there and do nothing but stare out the window! 🙂 I’ll recommend this location if you’re in the area looking for a nice cup of coffee!

Insomnia Coffee Company

239 8 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G
(403) 767-9934

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Bliss & Co Cupcakes and Desserts

I had to give Bliss & Co Cupcakes and Desserts a try when my friends, and friends of friends say a place is good! It’s definitely not bad for a dessert/cupcake place with the convenience of a mall location. However, it doesn’t taste nearly as fresh as cupcakes from an actual cupcake bakery… and we have so many of those around the city!! It’s a good place to go if you’re really craving one and you just happen to be at Chinook Centre. The wonderful thing about Bliss is that they are Peanut Free which opens the door to MANY customers!

I found the icing to be hard – which makes me think “old” (sitting out all day)… which is the strangest thing as they seem to sell out of their cupcakes nightly. I love cupcakes and I haven’t been successful at making my own yet, but this one just doesn’t seem to satisfy me to the point of complete satisfaction. However, as mentioned – if I needed to fulfill my craving right then and there, it’ll do just fine! I’ve tried a few flavours in search of a better one, and from the list of strawberry, caramel bliss, after eight and island dream, my favourite would be After Eight as mint chocolate cupcakes is a fail proof combination. I was hoping that Island Dream would rank top, but it was just greasy tasting! 🙁

I do have pictures, somewhere… I’ll post them when I find them! 🙂

Bliss & Co Cupcakes and Desserts on Urbanspoon

Bliss & Co Cupcakes and Desserts

Chinook Centre 6455 Macleod Trail SW
Calgary, AB T2H0K5
(403) 281-8821