restaurant – Page 7

August 2, 2013August 2, 2013

Basil Ultimate Pho and Fine Vietnamese Cuisine – Calgary

We found ourselves seeking out for more Vietnamese food, and this time we ended up in the Northeast at a place called Basil Ultimate Pho. It’s just off 32nd Avenue and it’s not hard to find! It’s a large place with signage!

We were greeted really quickly and by we kind of knew what we wanted to try. We started with their Beef Spring Rolls which was a deep fried spring roll with beef in it. It was a neat change to their typical pork, and you knew it was beef!

I ordered theier Ultimate Sub which was a mixture of sate beef and chicken on a toasted baguette, with the typical Vietnamese sub toppings. The sub was really good and had a nice heat level to it.

Of course we’d order some pho, we’re at a pho place! We ordered a Pho Tai which is always our go to one! They called it Rare Steak Pho here, and it’s basically the same thing!

Overall, the experience here was nice. The location was large, spacious and clean. The service was great and the prices seem a little high for a what it is. It was an average visit for the pho, but I really enjoyed the Vietnamese sub!

Basil Ultimate Pho and Fine Vietnamese Cuisine

10, 2770 32nd Ave. NE
Calgary, AB
(403) 457-0808

July 21, 2013

Primrose Restaurant – Rimrock Resort Banff

It was our anniversary and we knew we wanted to celebrate by going to Banff – so we did and had dinner inside the Rimrock Resort at one of their dining rooms called Primrose Restaurant. The service was excellent here, and the servers attention to detail was spectacular!

Once we sat down and ordered our drinks, a bread basket came out with some neat butters and dips! I actually forgot what they were, but I believe it was something like a mint butter, balsamic vinegar and olive oil and the last was like a blueberry butter. Regardless of what the butters were, they were very tasty!

We only ordered one starter as I prefer a dessert instead of an appetizer – my husband is the opposite! So, he ordered a bowl of Local Beef Barley Soup which was really a nice soup, tons of flavour and just enough barley to be nice!

For my entree, I chose their Lobster Pappardelle which was as pasta with tons of seafood consisting of lobster, salmon and crab with a Creamy Mascarpone Reduction with Egg Noodles. This dish was actually the winner of the 2012 Food and Wine Festival, which was one of the reason why I had to try it! And, it was a winner in my books as well as everything was perfectly cooked and delicious! Generous portions of both the egg noodles and the seafood!

My husband ordered their Cowboy Pan which was a delicious mixture of Beef & Lamb, Marinated with Smoky Herbs & Spices, with some vegetables. The meat was topped with an onion garlic yoghurt, which was really a great balance with the meat! All the meat was tender and juicy and cooked to perfection! It was a great pan!

My dessert was their Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee which is a chocolate creme brulee (obviously) with toasted coconut meringue and sour cherry compote. It was great as the sour cherry compote really helps to cut the richness of the chocolate brulee!

Overall, we had a wonderful time! Parking can be tricky as there wasn’t too many… they have guest parking but if you’re a guest, you need to park on the street and walk on over! The prices were within reason, ranging from $20 o $25 per entree, but they were large and tasty!

Primrose Restaurant

198 Mountain Ave
Banff, AB
(403) 762-1865

March 4, 2013March 4, 2013

Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi Calgary

Japanese food and cuisine in general has always been a favourite of mine – always! I go for Japanese things for great times only – mostly in celebration for something. However, once in awhile, all I want is a great bowl of Japanese noodles, and I’m glad I found Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi even though I’ve only tried their noodles so far!

This restaurant is located right on 16th Avenue and it’s not hard to find. Parking can be trickier, but I just park in the residential areas and walk over (but be careful with the parking permit zones). The restaurant interior is quite dark, but it’s still really comfortable! The staff was really nice and friendly, and the food was relatively quick and delicious. We didn’t have anything fancy to drink as we came here on New Years Eve and we knew there would be check stops everywhere. We just ordered Green Tea which is the usual drink for me when I go to a Japanese restaurant!

We started the evening with a simple appetizer, the Tako Yaki, and basically it’s just a ball of pieces of octopus that is deep fried! It’s an amazing snack/treat! These often come with a sauce that is drizzled on top of the takoyaki’s, and this appetizer was excellent! I really enjoy watching the dancing bonito flakes too – as they tend to wave around when they touch hot foods, and they’re so thin that any breeze/draft will make them wiggle! 🙂 Anyway, these tako yaki’s was stuffed with pieces of octopus with a really nice batter – and deep fried to a delicate crisp!

I ordered a bowl of Shio Ramen which was a large bowl of ramen noodles in a light salt soup base with nice fatty BBQ pork (which I picked), and some veggies. It had a little bowl on the side where I could mix up some toppings for my noodles as well! I liked the fun and interactive way to customize my meal! The ramen had a nice chewy bite and the delicious fatty BBQ pork was nothing less than perfect! I would totally ask for more pork and just pay extra!

My other half ordered something quite fancy actually!! His had an interactive element to his dish as well. He ordered Hot Shikiji Udon which was a bowl of udon noodles with some tempura shrimp, and tons of little things on top that was fried (which added tons of texture to the bowl of noodles), and on the side was a little flask of soup that you pour into the bowl yourself. There was also a quails egg where you can put in the noodle which adds a nice creaminess to the dish. It was neat bowl of udon as the soup hit the fried croutons and bean curds – it really thickened up the soup – making it extremely hearty and filling!

Dinner was awesome, and even though we were sooo stuffed, we still decided to have some dessert. We ended splitting a scoop of Green Tea Gelato which was absolutely refreshing and helped me digest actually! I didn’t feel nearly as stuffed after the gelato – which sounds really odd, I know!

It was a perfect way to end the year, and I’ll be back, as it’s the perfect way to end any day! Even though I know they’re opened for lunch, I think because the portions are so large, it’s a dinner place in my mind! I’ll also have to go back anyway to try their sushi and other noodles! I can’t wait!!

Shikiji Japanese Noodles and Sushi

1608 Centre St N
Calgary, AB T2E
(403) 520-0093

December 8, 2012December 8, 2012

Wood Restaurant & Lounge Canmore

We took walk through Main Street (8 Street) in Canmore, Alberta which is basically one of the only streets in Canmore. We didn’t know where to eat, and found ourselves walking straight through the door of Wood Restaurant & Lounge just as the snow began to fall.

We walked in and was seated in these large cozy chairs right by the fireplace! What a perfect place to be during this snow! I really enjoyed the ambiance here! The only thing that was kind of wierd was the bathrooms, where they are located in the lower levels, and the men and ladies washrooms were in completely different areas!

I started the meal experience by ordering some hot tea. I thought it was strange that the waitress didn’t ask me what kind of tea I would like, but instead, she brought me a plate of awesome tea, which was Revolution Tea brand.

From here, I ordered their special, which they called Chicken Gyros which wouldn’t be the name I would call this dish I ended up receiving! It was awesome, don’t get me wrong – it just wasn’t made with chicken cooked on a vertical spit… at least I think anyway (which is the technical definition of gyros). Regardless, it was a great chicken sandwich in a pita, and I ordered it with a Brisket Soup on the side – which was one of their soup of the day!

We also ordered the Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich which was made of layers of thinly shaved smoked brisket smothered in BBQ sauce and piled onto a bun! Yes! It was as tasty as it sounds! We loved it! In fact, my brisket soup tasted a lot like this sandwich, only less BBQ sauce flavour and made much more heartier! Kind of like a twist on a borscht!

By the end of this meal, as good as all the food was, we were completely stuffed and saved no room for dessert! It’s quite a bummer as I would have loved to have a dessert from here – since the food was quite delicious!

Wood Restaurant & Lounge

838 8 St
Canmore, AB T1W2B8
(403) 678-3404

November 25, 2012May 14, 2013

Kam Do Bakery 金都餅店 – Richmond, BC

We’ve always had some wife cakes or wintermelon cakes from Kam Do Restaurant and Bakery since we have some famil here, and whenever they visit – they always bring some! It has always been delicious, and it was truly a treat to experience their pastries here fresh! We even had some breakfast meals here as well, and it was delicious!

This restaurant/bakery is located in a small strip plaza, and parking is available in the back. It’s pretty easy to find and there’s often a lot of people once you get through the doors – but be careful, not all of them are waiting to get in to the restaurant area of the place! I just sat down and ordered a Satay Beef Instant Ramen which isn’t something I typically order, but this particular day, it’s what I really wanted. The beef is so tender and delicious with it’s satay sauce that really made this super yummy! It is almost a fail proof item on menus, but you’ll be surprised, lots of places can fail you! It was fast and perfect here!

Along with the noodles, it came with a sausage, egg and a sweet bun! This was really intersting to me, as I never see it on a plate of it’s own, but it was fun! The bun was really fresh, with a subtle sweetness to it. It was really soft and you can just tell it was taken out of the oven not too long ago!

We also had another usual order from us for breakfast, and it was the Peppered Steak Breakfast which was slice of “beef steak” covered in their peppered sauce. The meat again was really soft and tender and the flavours of their sauces are unbelievable!

The best thing about eating from a Chinese restaurant for breakfast is the fact it’s always cheap! Needless to say, it was an excellent deal, and never forget to pick some wintermelon cakes or wife cakes up before you leave this place! This restaurant and bakery is truly a hidden gem and a great place to be for any time of day!

Kam Do Bakery 金都餅店

6211 #3 Rd
Richmond, BC V6Y1N3
(604) 231-9216