southwest – Elsie Hui

March 1, 2015

Purple Perk – Calgary, Alberta

We were wandering around Mission area when I got a little hungry. We walked into Purple Perk as their special at the door was very interesting to me at that time!

I ordered a nice cup of Latte to enjoy during my quiet visit to Purple Perk. The coffee was rich and quite delicious and it was really perfect for a chilly morning!

The special of the day was Spaghetti Bolognese which was a huge plate of food, with garlic toast, the plate was pretty much covered with spaghetti and that was covered with an awesome meat sauce! The food here was excellent as the pasta was cooked to perfection and the meat sauce was saucy, meaty and tasty!

This was a really amazing place to either sit and chill, or grab a bit for a meal or snack! The options here are endless and the coffee and food was delicious!

Purple Perk

2212 4 St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 244-1300

January 30, 2015August 16, 2020

Signature Palace – Calgary, Alberta

We weren’t sure what we wanted to eat one evening, and we stumbled to the Southwest Calgary and found Signature Palace Restaurant which is in a strip plaza. The place isn’t difficult to find and there’s tons of parking. It seems like it’s a popular place as we kept seeing customers come in and out either dine in or take out!

As odd as this sounds, we started the dinner with an appetizer of Chicken Wings. They were large wings which made the price tag a little more bearable. It was over $10 for the plate of wings but they were really tasty, juicy, and crispy!

We ordered more lunch items of dinner, where we split a Beef Flank Noodle Soup, and the beef flank was tender and the portions was huge. The soup was quite tasty for being a plain soup. There was a few beef tendons which I love. We have always loved beef flank with the flat rice noodles and it made this dish perfect!

Then, we shared another of my favouriets, the Perserved Vegetables with Pork Noodle Soup and this was in rice vermicelli noodle soup – the way I know it to be. Tons of toppings and the portions again was really generous!

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised with the quality of food, and portion of size. The staff was really friendly and the bathrooms were cleaner than expected! This turned out to be a great place and we’re excited to go back one day to try a Chinese dinner here!

Signature Palace

1919 Sirocco Dr SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 246-8883

January 4, 2014

Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus – Calgary, Alberta

I really love trying places that people can’t stop talking about, and this is one of them! This place is called Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus which specializes in Dutch pancakes, which is more like a crepe as it’s thin. The location is pretty easy to find, but because this place is so awesome, there’s always a line up! So, either go early or be prepared to wait! This is also a Food Network’s “You Gotta Eat Here” recommendation as well!

We sat down and I ordered a tea, as it was pretty chilly outside and we did have to wait in line. We weren’t expecting to be as busy as it was, but it’s great and worth the wait! When you order coffee, you get a biscuit as well, so that’s pretty fun!

For the actual pancake, I ordered the one with Ham and Pineapple as I love Hawaiian Pizza, I figured I’ll have my pancake inspired by that pizza. They called it Ham, Ananas en Kaas, a Classic Pannenkoeken! It was absolutely delicious with the thin pancake that was delicate, the flavours on top wasn’t over powering. It was a great balance of sweet and savoury!

The other pancake we ordered was a full savoury one, which was Spek, Gerookte worst en Champignons Classic Savoury Pannenkoeken, which was a pancake with bacon, smoked sausage and mushroom! Again, this was delicious and better than pizza or pancakes from a regular place!

Overall, this was absolutely amazing! I think about returning here all the time, but I talk myself out of it. We’re into trying new things, but once I’m out of ideas, I’m sure this will be a place I will be lining up for again!

Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus

2439 54 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 243-7757

October 31, 2013

Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters – Calgary, Alberta

I was trying to be lazy and just have a nice cup of coffee. We figured we’d try Phil and Sebastian over at Marda Loop… so we drove all the way there for a cup of latte! It was a busy Saturday afternoon, so the wait was lengthy and there weren’t enough tables and chairs as most of the seating was taken up by people on their laptops.

We eventually found a spot near the front, by the window. I think it’s a winter syndrome when everyone’s got their winter gear out and it takes up a lot of room. So, you gotta get cozy in this busy cafe! At least everyone was friendly!

I just ordered a latte, it was pretty dark, but it’s okay! I love that they always do the foam art on top! It makes me think my drink tastes a million times better with it!

Overall, my experience was a positive one! I really enjoyed my latte, the area was awesome, and the people were great! I do like this location over their Chinook Centre location — even though Chinook does have covered parking and a mall!!

Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters

2043 33 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 686-1221

October 27, 2013October 27, 2013

Bow River Vietnamese Restaurant – Calgary, Alberta

We’ve heard really good things about a Vietnamese Restaurant named Bow River Vietnamese Restaurant which is located at the intersection of Elbow Drive and Heritage Drive. At first, we thought it as the larger strip mall complex at this intersection, but it is actually located on the main floor of the building across the street. Parking is quite limited, but we were lucky enough to have grabbed a parking spot.

The interior of the restaurant looks more like a Chinese restaurant, but it was fine. It looks like an authentic restaurant, as it feels like you’re eating at home with their dining room chair selection.

We started with their Shrimp Salad Rolls which was surprisingly better than it looks! We’ve been to so many places where they premake their salad rolls, and I’m quite confident these are made to order.

I normally order my usual – no matter where I go for a first time Vietnamese restaurant. If it’s good, then I will go back and try something different! So, back to my Rare Beef with Beef Ball Pho and this was really good. Although not a lot of beef balls, it had a ton of beef. The broth had tons of flavour and it was even better enhanced with other sauces.

My other half had ordered his usual as well, the Rare Beef Pho and he really enjoyed it. They were basically the same thing, but we like to think it’s different! The size of the orders were quite large and we were quite stuffed after this wonderful lunch!

Overall, we were pleased with this restaurant. The service was a little slow, as they weren’t busy in the house. They did have a lot of take out orders, so they must’ve been running behind from it.

Bow River Vietnamese Restaurant

8408 Elbow Drive
Calgary, AB
(403) 259-6099