stephen avenue – Elsie Hui

September 30, 2018September 30, 2018

Goro + Gun Japanese Noodle Bar – Calgary, Alberta

I go to Stephen Avenue maybe a few times a year and I’ve been going there when Goro + Gun is closed, but this one time I finally made it there! Just as I was done and leaving the mall, I saw it was opened and had to go in.

This was just a light lunch or snack as I wasn’t intending to eat at this hour, but we started with their Gyoza’s mainly because the people next to us had some and they looked amazing. When ours came to the table, I was right!! The skin was thin, the filling was tasty, and I didn’t really use their sauce at all. Their blend of pork filling and spices was perfect and the sesame vinaigrette was delicious as well even though I thought it wasn’t necessary.

We ordered 2 noodle dishes that were quite different. We ordered their Tonkotsu Ramen that was filled with a generous portion of ramen, topped with some BBQ Pork Belly and my favourite, red ginger! All this amazing bowl of ramen was warmed by a perfect blend of their pork broth.

The other noodle dish we ordered was their Yakisoba which was their brothless noodles with BBQ pork belly, sunny side egg, green cabbage, bean sprouts, red ginger, bonito flakes! This is definitely different from any yakisoba from a food court as this was amazingly delicious!

At the end of the day, I’m really glad we decided to spontaneously stop in here and have some noodles! We already paid for parking, so why not!

Goro + Gun Japanese Noodle Bar

#245 – 225 7th ave SW
(inside Scotia Centre)
403-237-5596

February 1, 2015August 16, 2020

Monplaisir Delicacy – Calgary, Alberta

We were introduced to Monplaisir which is located on the food court level of TD Square in the corner. Here, the offer delicious French Macarons and Belgium Chocolates. I haven’t tried their chocolates yet, but we have tried a few of their macarons!

We decided to try a small sample box, where we bought 6 delicate macarons. They asked us to leave it out a few minutes to take the chill off before eating, so we decided we’d get a drink from a nearby place in the food court. The custom box looks amazing and almost too good to eat, but we did pull the first one out and tried their Earl Grey flavour. You do get a hint of Earl Grey taste and scent, it’s subtle, sweet and nice! The Earl Grey one is the yellow one with the greenish filling!

With such a delicious macaroon, I had my hopes high as I tried their Chocolate Coconut and I was not disappointed. You get a nice rich chocolate taste and then the sweet coconut comes through afterwards. You do get coconut shreds in your bite as well!

Creme Brulee was always a sweet dessert we enjoy a lot, so we had to try their Creme Brulee flavour. This one really didn’t taste like much to us, but kind of sweet. It did offer the sugary crunch on the side but if you closed your eyes, creme brulee wasn’t the what came to mind – maybe vanilla.

our all time favourite flavour from Monplaisir would be their Espresso which was really fragrant with espresso aromas and flavours. You know what it is when you bite into it and it tastes absolutely amazing!

As Pistachio was another macaroon that we tried, it wasn’t as amazing as hoped. You definitely get a hint of pistachio but for whatever reason, I was hopping it would be more intense. Now I think it’s silly that I had that expectation as these are small delicate treats – so I do like this flavour!

The last one we chose to try on this visit would be the Wedding Almond. Not sure about the name but you definitely get the almond taste and flavour – which is really nice!

Overall, we thoroughly enjoy the macarons here and has been back a few times already! It’s great as they are opened on weekends as well as they are in a mall!

Mon Plaisir

Suite 410, 751 3 St SW
Calgary, AB
(587) 538-0690

December 21, 2014

Rose Garden Thai Restaurant – Calgary, Alberta

I really enjoy eating Thai cuisine and we had an chnace to make it to Stephen Avenue one afternoon where Rose Garden was actually opened for lunch! Without hesitation, we went inside and the place is decorated beautifully!

Once we sat down, we we were approached by really friendly staff and they were quick and knowledgeable. We started with an appetizer called Spicy Deep Fried Thai Fish Cakes and they were really delicious! The fish cakes were flavourful and tender while fried to a nice golden brown outside crisp! It’s like no other appetizer we have had before and I enjoyed this thoroughly. It was not fishy at all!

We had an order of their Thai Curries and we decided we would try their Yellow Chicken curry with potatoes and chicken strips. The curry was mild to medium and it came with quite a few pieces of chicken. The presentation was extraordinary which was really nice!

The last dish we tried was their Pineapple Curry with Prawns which was my favourite. I really like prawns and pineapples, so I ate this dish completely! It was spicy, but it was toned down with the crushed pineapples and coconut milk! It was delicious and I would recommend this dish if you enjoy fruits in your savoury dishes!

Of course, a Thai meal wouldn’t be completed with Coconut Rise to soak up all the delicious sauces from the dishes! We ate everything up – thinking there would be leftovers for the following day or dinner. We couldn’t bare the thought of this waiting to get reheated! It was quite an enjoyable lunch!

Overall, the food and service was top-notch! The location can be tricky if you’re not use to parking downtown or don’t like paying for parking. There’s always the option for public transportation as well. The prices seems a little high, but the location is quite exceptional! It was a fantastic experience and we hope to be back again soon!

Rose Garden Thai

112 8 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 263-1900

December 3, 2013December 3, 2013

Mango Shiva – Calgary, Alberta

I’ve been meaning to try Mango Shiva for a few years now… but usually when I’m downtown on Stephens Avenue, it’s normally during a Saturday afternoon, when they’re not opened. This one weekday, we were downtown and decided to finally make our stop in!

This visit was during a cold spell, so we quickly went in and ordered some Chai Tea and it came out on a tray with lovely presentation! The tea was quite alright, even though I preferred it a little more flavourful with spices! But, I guess there are different types of chai!

We knew we were going to order some curries and split them over rice and naan, and this naan selection is fantastic, I’ve never tried Honey Coconut Naan which I knew I was going to get immediately! I didn’t care what curries we get, it was the naan I wanted to try! I’m so glad I did, it was a subtle sweet with shredded coconut inside. The best part was, I watched the cook make the naan which must’ve made it a few notches better!

Like everyone else in the world, I do like Butter Chicken so I got an order of that! It was creamy and smooth and just as a butter chicken sauce should be. There wasn’t a ton of pieces of chicken, but what we had was extremely delicious and flavourful. Their tomato sauce was the perfect sauce to go with my rice!

My husband appreciates spicier food, and he loves vindaloo, so we also ordered the Vindaloo Pork which does sound a little funny, but it was a wonderful balance of sweet and spice! They described it as braised pork shoulder and belly in spicy potato vegetable curry with pineapple salsa! I don’t usually eat that spicy, but it was manageable and quite fragrant and flavourful – especially with the sweet naan!

I love this place, even though it’s out of my way and a bit pricy for what we got, I still really enjoyed it. I like that it’s not the typical East Indian restaurant and that the menu items aren’t the same stuff! So, overall I was really happy and we left with a warm and full belly! The service was top notch and it was just a warm and inviting environment!

Mango Shiva

218 8 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 532-8980

May 5, 2013

Blue Vinny Diner – Stephen Avenue Calgary

Nothing beats a breakfast on the weekend, diner style! We found ourselves at Blue Vinny Diner one weekend morning, and we walked in and thought the place must be new, as the waitress was running around like mad, they ran out of tons of things on the menu, and it almost appeared they didn’t know the menus yet. I guess they’ve been opened for a bit, but it just didn’t feel like it! This restaurant is located right on Stephens Avenue, so foot traffic is at an ideal place.

Once we got seated and what not, we ordered some tea, and we were ready to order. I ordered their Perogy Bowl which was exactly as it sounded, a bowl of perogies with bacon and sour cream. They had quite a few pieces in the bowl and the toppings didn’t overwhelm the perogies either. I enjoyed my perogies and I ate the entire thing! The bacon was nice and smoked and it was perfect, tasty and crunchy!

The other item we ordered from the menu was the Vinny’s Breakfast which was 6oz of Rib Eye steak, 2 sunny side eggs with hashbrown and toast! This was a big and filling breakfast, and best of all, it was super tasty!

We really enjoyed the modern diner experience here! The people were friendly and the food was tasty! So, there’s no complaints from me here!

Blue Vinny Diner

105 – 8th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 263-3880