Calgary Archives - Page 12 of 12

February 8, 2013

Oriental Palace

It’s Friday night and there’s no food in the fridge. Still looking for a good Chinese delivery. Decided to try Oriental Palace as the ratings on Urbanspoon were very good. Ordered at 6:30, told the wait was an hour. Reasonable. We were about to call them again after an hour and a half. Then it arrived.

The food was pretty good. It was hot, tasted fresh; was not over salted or greasy. We ordered grilled pork and vegetable dumplings, three kinds of seafood with bean curd hot pot and stir fried mixed vegetables. Being cheap, I made my own steamed rice while waiting. The dumplings I could tell were from frozen and commercially made. The wrappers were thick. The Szechuan chili oil was a nice touch. Both the seafood and stir fry were tasty although there was more bean curd than seafood.

I can forgive the transgressions with the food but not the delivery time. Better to tell us an hour and a half rather than an hour. Will look for amother Chinese delivery.

February 3, 2013

Calypso's Taverna

Ah, Calypso’s. This would be my second visit after a memorable first one a couple years ago. Some of us were quite hungry as we had spent a few hours in the climbing gym. We ordered the appetizer platter which advertised for two, but big enough for the four of us. It came with calamari, poseidon garithes, spanakopita, soutzoukakia, tzatziki and pita. It was very filling and delicious. I had the Kleftiko, which is slow roasted lamb shank. It was some of the best lamb shank I’ve ever had. They also had a roasted suckling pig as a special. I would have liked to try that too.

The service is not boring. Very Greek I assume. It was attentive, but not overbearing. Be prepared to eat or take it home as the portions are substantial. Has all the trappings of a family run restaurant. One of those gems that should eventually catch the eye of shows such as You Gotta Eat Here!

KleftikoTry out house specialty. Lamb slowly roasted to perfection — Kleftiko
Try out house specialty. Lamb slowly roasted to perfection

Appetizer Platter for TwoCalamari, poseidon garithes, spanakopita, soutzoukakia, tzatziki and pita — Appetizer Platter for Two
Calamari, poseidon garithes, spanakopita, soutzoukakia, tzatziki and pita

February 3, 2013

Big Catch

With a name like that I would expect big things. Well, it is a small food stand in the Kingsland Farmers Market. But the sushi is big restaurant quality. I had the Nine One One roll, which was crunchy wonton bits and tuna topped with salmon, fire sauce, tobiko, green onion and cayanne pepper. It is normally ridiculously hot but I had them turn it down to medium. They take the time to prepare it right, so they sent me off with a pager so I could shop while I waited. When I came back, my roll was artfully presented, completed with vegetable flowers on a nice plate. If it weren’t for the plastic tray (and the seating) I would have thought I was in a nice restaurant. One of the owners works full time in IT and does this on the side. I suspect they are going to open a real restaurant at some point. If not, I think they should.

I did take a photo, but my phone is on the fritz. At some point I will upload the picture.

January 9, 2013

Farm

Fresh. Local. Farm. Second time here and it was just as good as the first. Service was a tad slow to start, but we dawdled over the menu. We had a lot of questions about the food and our server seemed to know the menu. They have quite the variety in their daily specials. I really liked my pork duo. The crispy and fatty pork belly was a nice contrast to the meatiness of the medallion. The crispness of the carrot went really well with the flavor of the creamed cabbage.

I found the atmosphere to be quite loud, seeing that it was a full house. No matter, enjoyed the food. I love the house pickles.

Broek Acres pork duet panko encrusted pork medallion, crispy pork belly, creamed cabbage, poached BC apples, butternut squash puree, whiskey glaze — Broek Acres pork duet
panko encrusted pork medallion, crispy pork belly, creamed cabbage, poached BC apples, butternut squash puree, whiskey glaze

Silver Sage strip steak butter basted strip steak, local roasted potato and vegetable medley, red wine reduction, crispy fried onions — Silver Sage strip steak
butter basted strip steak, local roasted potato and vegetable medley, red wine reduction, crispy fried onions

December 31, 2012

Shigatsu Fusion Japanese Sushi Lounge

Missing the old Gunkan sushi, but eager to see what popped up in it’s place, we headed to Shigatsu. I’ve heard lots of rave reviews, so we went there for lunch. I like the decor. It seems well suited to a romantic dinner. We had a late lunch around 2pm so we were the only customers in the restaurant. I wonder if it would be loud if it was full.

We started off with the Aji Fry, which was tempura fried horse mackerel on greens with a mustard vinaigrette. Tasty. We each had combo meals, a roll combo and sushi combo. I do admit that it was a plain choice. We must not have been in an adventurous mood. I thought it was pretty average. We also had a Dynamite roll which I thought was pretty good. The complimentary Rice Krispie balls dessert was interesting. Service was good (We were the only ones in the restaurant for most of our meal). I appreciated the creativity in their menu and felt that I didn’t give them a fair chance by ordering normal items. Will be back for some of the fusion and more unique choices.

Roll combo (top) and sushi combo Rice Krispies Balls

December 29, 2012

Istanbul Restaurant Ltd

Ever since my visit to Pizza Pide, I had been wondering whether there was a similar place in Calgary. I decided to try Istanbul which serves pide amongst other Turkish delights. Pun intended. We started with the calamari, which was good, but I found the accompanying onions a bit over salted. Hubby had the lamb shank which they claim to be amongst the best in Calgary. Both of us would agree. I tried a yogurt drink called ayran. It is an acquired taste. It is yogurt mixed with cold water and salt. Very tart. I had a pide with chicken, tomato, green pepper and onion. It was quite good, but not quite like Pizza Pide’s. They have an extensive menu and I will be back to try some of their other items.

The owner is also the chef and service can be a bit slow when it gets busy. But the food is worth it.

September 8, 2012

Billingsgate Lighthouse Cafe

I’ve known about this place for a while, but just got around to trying it. Billingsgate Fish Co. has both a seafood market and a diner. Their fresh sea food in the market is superb. I brought home oysters in the shell and pickeral. The cafe is a nice idea, you can pick anything from the market and they will cook it for you. This is mostly a fried fish kind of a place. My friend had the Boston clam chowder. I sampled it, it was good, but had a strong flavor of tarragon. I find tarragon to be pretty overpowering and should be used sparingly.

We shared the crab cakes which tasted house made. Very good. The oysters in the burger were plump and delicious, but they spent too much time in the deep fryer and were dark brown. Same with the fries. For a diner, I think its’ good value. I would come back if only for the freshness of the seafood.

September 4, 2012

Big Fish Dockside

Where in landlocked Calgary, can you find good seafood? Big Fish! This would be the second time I’ve visited, and it won’t be the last. If you like oysters on the half shell, Mondays are two for one. We made a raid on them. Their fish dishes were perfectly cooked, and full of flavor. We also had dessert. The Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie with Praline Vanilla Bean Mousse and Caramel was sooo good! Holiday Monday, we practically had the restaurant all to ourselves. We had a diverse group (including a gluten free diner) and our server was very patient with offering menu suggestions. Will return to sample more of the menu.

They source what they can locally and the fish… well it’s pretty fresh.