Pho Tai Vietnamese Noodle House – Calgary, Alberta

We found ourselves up North as we were looking to try Pho Tai, as our friends has recommended this place to us for a new dish we’ve never tried.

Once we were seated, they put us in the first table on the left – which they forgot about us. What was going to be a quick lunch turned a little long and almost painful as they didn’t bother to take our order. But, when we finally ordered, I got their Vietnamese Chicken Sweet and Sour Soup which has been a new soup that I’ve started to love. They are always bigger portions than the regular pho soups – but usually sweet from pineapples and sour from their Elephant Ear stems, but now days they tend to use lime juice.

The new dish we came to try was their Vietnamese Crispy Crepe which was like a fried egg omelette with pork, shrimp and fresh herbs inside. Then you have lettuce on the side with their fish sauce mixture and you eat it together. I’m not sure how you eat it, but we took ours apart and ate it like a messy salad.

Overall, the food was decent – it wasn’t the best, but it was neat as there was unique items on their menu, which make them special. The people we dealt with in the restaurant was Chinese, so I’m not sure if their kitchen was authentic Vietnamese. The service was a little poor, but we got what we came here for. I think the prices was high for a Vietnamese restaurant, however these were special items ordered – so a bit higher does make sense!

Pho Tai Vietnamese Noodle House on Urbanspoon

Pho Tai Vietnamese Noodle House

3168 Sunridge Blvd NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 769-9401

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted my own cooking now… but, I recently was asked to make my best friend a fail proof recipe for something chicken and fail proof. I chose to teach her Chicken Pot Pie as it’s very versatile, and you really can’t goof on it.

Ingredients: Serves 2 (you can always make more!)
2 pieces of boneless/skinless chicken thigh (or 1 piece of chicken breast)
1 chopped carrot
1 chopped small onion (1/2 Large onion)
1 stalk of celery
1/4 cup Frozen corn (optional)
1 pack of puff pastry
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbsp flour
3/4 to 1 cup milk

First off, preheat the oven to 375C or 400C, I like to use 375C on my toaster oven as I’m only making 2 pies. Then start by chopping all the vegetables and putting it aside. Then, chop the chicken, and I just do a quick marinade with just salt and pepper. You can add more flavouring to it if you want. Sometimes, I use seasoning salt as well…

Then, I saute the chicken in a pan, low and slow until it cooks through about half way or a little more than half way. Then, I put the vegetables in and cook the entire thing until it’s cooked through. When I get to the cooked stage, I can taste the ingredients to make sure there’s enough flavour throughout.

I then remove all the cooked ingredients out of my pan and start my roux. I keep the heat on low and melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, I put the flour in and make sure it’s completely absorbed. I cook it longer to make sure there’s no flour taste. I normally let the butter brown before I call it done, and the flour/butter mixture will be a dough like consistency.

Once I’ve achieved that stage, I put the milk in add mix with a whisk. As it cooks, the milk mixture becomes creamy and thick, like a gravy! When it’s about the thickness I’d like it, I will add in my cooked chicken and vegetables and taste it again. If I find my gravy is too thin, I cook it longer… if it’s too thick, add more milk. At this stage, you can add the corn if you opted in for it.

When this is ready, scoop the pot pie fillings into a shell. Then, cut the puff pastry into a shape to top it off. Sometimes, I purchase the pre-cut ones to make my life a little simpler.

Now, we just pop the entire thing in the oven and let it bake for about 40 minutes (or until the crust looks golden and delicious). I find in my oven, it takes about 40-45 minutes. Take it out and be careful as it’s really hot!

Now, you’re ready to enjoy your “kind of homemade” Chicken Pot Pie! 🙂

Kilt & Caber Ale House – Calgary, Alberta

Every once in awhile, I have the need for some chicken wings and this time, I found myself on the patio of Kilt & Caber in McKenzie Towne. It’s not a hard location to find at all, and it’s a nice place!

We were seated outside (on a warn evening, of course) and it wasn’t bad! With a newly installed fireplace in the space, it was quite inviting! So, I ordered my drink of choice during this phase, my Virgin Caesar!

From there, we started with wings! We got Salt and Peppered Wings as it was during their wing night! The wings were really good, fried nicely and flavoured fully! Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside… and it wasn’t meatless wings where it’s just skin and bones! So, we were very satisfied! The picture doesn’t show that it looks good, but we often don’t ask for the celery and carrot sticks when it’s a choice! Veggies isn’t something I eat if I have a choice!

I was trying to eat a little meal, so I ordered their Greek Wrap with soup, and it wasn’t a little meal at all! The wrap was made of their naan, stuffed with chicken, lettuce and cucumbers, and topped with their tzatziki sauce! It was a decent wrap, nothing extraordinary, but not bad either! The soup was their soup of the day, Cream of Broccoli and it was pretty good, and it seemed to be perfect for a chillier patio evening!

My husband ordered the strangest looking Sheppard’s Pie which was rectangular! Strangely, he ordered it with a salad as well, so it was just strange. The Sheppard’s pie tasted fine, but it didn’t seem like it was made fresh. It almost seemed like it was just defrosted and a giant bowl of brown gravy was poured on top. At least he ate the entire thing, but everything tastes better with gravy!

Overall, I think this is a great place for wings and drinks. Unless you’re looking for an average meal where nothing really matters, then it’s fine! I really enjoyed the wings, so I’m sure I’ll be back for those! It is an Ale house afterall! I’m not sure what I was thinking!

Kilt & Caber Ale House on Urbanspoon

Kilt & Caber Ale House

53 High St SE
Calgary, AB
(403) 257-6297

Banana Leaf Tropical Cuisine – Calgary, Alberta

I’m not sure where it came from, but my husband has had a craving for Laksa noodles, so we ventures to the North and ended up at Banana Leaf Tropical Cuisine The location isn’t hard to find, yet it’s at a strange place. It’s at the intersection of 32nd Ave with 32nd Street, in an area where you would think it’s all automobile stuff. But, this means there’s lot of parking!

We got inside and was seated in no time. They were busy, but they managed it really well. We did order some drinks, and I ordered their Honey Lemon Tea which tasted a lot like a lemon iced tea! Go figure! It was decent.

My husband on the other hand ordered their Soy Milk with Grass Jelly and he really liked it. It’s a combo that we never would’ve thought of, but now, I’m sure I can make it at home too!

The actual food here was absolutely amazing! We ordered to share their Seafood Curry Laksa with their yellow noodles as I thought it was more authentic, but who knows. It’s quite a spicy bowl of noodles with tons of flavours. It was quite amazing if you’re into this kind of Malaysian cuisine!

The other dish we ordered to share was their Hainanese Chicken Rice which was also a hit! It had a big mountain of ginger fried rice, a large piece of chicken, with their sauces! It wasn’t spicy like the laksa, but it was quite delicious. A tad on the greasy side, but overall an excellent dish!

Overall, this restaurant was a great stop! The prices were very reasonable, the food was delicious and the portions, well, they were huge! It’s a small shop with just a handful of employees, so be patient, and hopefully they’ll serve you up something amazing too!

Banana Leaf Tropical Cuisine on Urbanspoon

Banana Leaf Tropical Cuisine

3330 32 Street Northeast
Calgary, AB
(403) 450-3880

Blue Dragon Tomato & Sweet Chilli Cooking Sauce

I haven’t cooked with my Blue Dragon cooking sauces in awhile now, and today I just felt like trying their Tomato and Sweet Chilli Cooking Sauce and I’ve got to say, it ranks really high in taste for me!

I made a simple dinner with this sauce so I first sauteed my onions with the chicken slices, until the chicken is almost completely cooked.

Once the chicken is almost done, I add the sauce, and mix it completely. Then, I add the asparagus (or any kind of vegetable). I just had fresh asparagus from the market, so it’s what I used for this day! 🙂

Now, I just let the entire contraction simmer away in the wok until the asparagus is at tender crisp – and I claim it done! It’s a delicious dish of food with tons of sauce to serve over rice – that’s how I had it!

Overall, I love this sauce and it’s a great balance of the spice and sweetness from the tomato. I’m sure I’ll buy this again as I’m sure it’s going to be great with noodles too!