LUNCH AT MENYATAI JAPANESE RAMEN - Kensington

I love going down to Kensington on Sunday mornings, mostly due to free parking. This is my last trip down on the weekend till April since I have volunteered to work weekends during the whole month of March. I'm so nice. Since this is the last week of YYC Hot Chocolate, I had a couple of hot chocolates left that I wanted to try in the area. There are also two more ramen places in Kensington left for me to try. So I stopped by Menyatai a few minutes after it opened. I was greeted at the door with a friendly hi and smile. There is no yelling of Japanese greeting here which is okay me. The place was almost full with one table and the bar left. I sat at the bar. The servers there all seemed very nice and attentive, and the place is very small but modern.

The place doesn't solely sell ramen. They had the typical Japanese appetizers, tempura, udon, and Don (rice bowls), but no sushi. Judging from all the people around me, everyone ordered ramen. The service here is great but getting the food takes time. I noticed it did takes a while to get food, but I wasn't in hurry to be anywhere, and they come out in groups. My order, I saw, came out at the same time as two other tables. All the waiting was made up for how delicious the ramen was.

Tonkotsu Ramen with Onigiri Set $12.95 + $2.00

I usually get the miso broth as a comparison to the other ramens I have had, but I just wasn't feeling the Miso at the moment. So, I opt to go for a plain pork broth. Upon having an initial taste of this broth, all I can say was "Oishii!" This broth is so rich and full of flavour. I can just drink this up which I did. In Japan, if you enjoy what you eating, you usually show it by making slurping sounds. Oh, I wish I could make loud slurping noises, but I was pretty sure the people beside me will give me weird looks so I slurped quietly. Everything in this ramen bowl was excellent. The noodles were tender and soft to my liking, and the cha siu was just perfect with the right amount of fat. I didn't opt to get extra pork slices. Further, there was crispy raw bean sprouts, corn, seaweed, half a boiled egg, green onions, red ginger, and black mushrooms. There was different flavor and texture in every bite.

When you order ramen or udon, you get an option of making a 'set' for an additonal few dollars. You can add an onigiri, inari sushi, negi meshi. I know I said they don't serve sushi, and it is true. Inari sushi is sushi rice wrapped in a bean curd sheet, and negi meshi is rice bowl with green onions, fish flakes, bean curd, roe, and seaweed. I opt to get an onigiri for $2.00 extra. Onigiri is a rice ball. Menyatai has their flavoured with fish flakes. The onigiri was big and tasty. You can easily pick it up by the seaweed and eat it. This rice was pretty packed so it didn't lose its shape or fall apart when you bite into it.

Overall, I whole-heartedly recommend this place for ramen. The service is top-notch. The food may be a little slow coming out but the food was well worth the wait. The prices are on-par compared to the other restaurants in the area.

Menyatai Japanese Ramen
24-12 St NW
403-263-3666

LUNCH AT BLAZE PIZZA - Northeast

Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza is located behind Sunridge Mall besides Five Guys and by Buffalo Wild Wings on 32nd Street in the N.E. It is U.S., California-based, chain, and you can tell once you see the menu. They have the calories listed after each item listed. I have been to California a few times, and twice in the last year, and I don't remember seeing any Blaze Pizza joints around.

My friends and I decided to stop by here after the Home and Garden Show since none of us have tried Blaze Pizza yet. I think they were having a change over in staff since there were a few people working for that few minutes that I went up to order. I didn't get any explanation on how the ordering process work but I eventually figured it out - it's like Subway. My friend who was a few minutes behind me got the full explanation. You can build your own pizza or do their signature pizza for the same price, $10.45. Only the one-topping and the Simple Pie, cheese pizza, are cheaper. Each pizza dough is pressed by a cool looking machine once the order is placed. The order-taker writes your name on this parchment paper where the pizza goes on and circles your order on it. The next part was a little confusing. I ordered one of their specialty pizza but the person adding the toppings kept asking me what I would like on it. It kinda confused me since I wanted what I ordered, but I did get a few extra toppings with it. I pointed my order out on the parchment to the person after we gave each other confusing looks. She didn't ask me if I wanted any more toppings after this and proceeded to add what was on the specialty pizza list which was fine. After they pile all your toppings on, they put your pizza in a very hot 800 degree F open-flamed oven for about 180 seconds. They have a person there to check it constantly. At this point, you pay for your pizza and any other salads, dessert, and drinks. Once your pizza is done, another person calls your name while they slice your pizza and place it on the pan or take out box. Drinks, condiments (red pepper flakes and Parmesan), and half size pizza boxes for your leftovers are all around the corner.

Art Lover $10.45

Artichokes are one of my favourite vegetables. So any pizza with artichoke on it will most likely be picked by me. Art lover has artichokes, mozzarella, ricotta, garlic, and dollops of red sauce. In addition to the main ingredients, I got ground beef and spinach. The pizza is thin crust, my favorite kind, and the open-flamed oven crisp the pizza edges quite nicely. Everything on the pizza went well together and was delicious. I had a good experience building this pizza.

I'm glad that this restaurant showed up in the N.E. or else I will never go to it. Pizza is definitely not one of my go-to food, but I know where to go when I want a personalized pizza. I don't know about putting the calories on the menu. I'm aware that it make people food conscious, but I'm kinda turned off by it.

Blaze Pizza
2618 32nd Street NE
403-291-0985

BREAKFAST AT CORA BREAKFAST AND LUNCH - Northeast

Located in Sunridge Mall, this is a popular joint especially during brunch hours on weekends. I remember waiting up to 1 hour to get a table because my friends were too stubborn to change locations, but it did give us time to catch up outside the restaurant. The key is to wake up early on the weekend and come early for breakfast. Usually around 9am, there are few tables available. This is what my friends and I did on Saturday. Since we were going to the Home and Garden Show, we met up at Cora for breakfast. I just left my car at the mall and we all car-pooled down to BMO Centre. I haven't got caught yet, but the parking is apparently very strict at the mall (4 hours max.), and there are people driving around checking the cars according to my friends. I don't know if I believed them or not because I don't think the mall have the technology to check.

Anyways, I haven't been to Cora in a long time, like maybe a year ago. Apparently, they have changed their menu and added more items. I was surprise because for the longest time they didn't. There are only two things I always get at Cora, the benny's or the Surprise. This time, it took me a while to peruse the menu since there are more stuff. On the menu, there is also an option for a smaller portion which is a good idea so people don't waste food. Some of my friends don't like it here because of the massive amount of fruit they give you, but I think they found the dishes that doesn't come with fruit and stick to it, like some of the omelette dishes. One of my friends, this time, was pretty happy that his dish only had one strawberry on it. He is a vegetable guy. Anyways, since I don't eat big breakfasts, I was conservative in my ordering.

Delicious Cherries pancakes $11.15 (2 pancakes - small order)

So, for the smaller order, you get two pancakes while the standard order is three. The two pancakes, covered with a cream cheese and custard mixture and topped with cherries, was plentiful. The cream cheese custard mixture was light, creamy, and did not have an over-powering cream cheese taste which was good. The cherries were obviously not fresh and was not pie filling either. The cherries were big and full of flavour. I like how they give you a lot of cherries. I guess this is my fruit portion :)

Overall, despite being a franchise and at the mall, it is a good breakfast/brunch place. The food is standard, some is good, and the service is always on par. The fruit servings are massive, and place is open and big so you don't feel guilty on those busy days where you just want to sit there and chat for a little while longer.

Cora Breakfast and Lunch
2525 36 St NE
403-457-2672

DINNER AT NOODLE KING - Northeast

Located just off of 32nd Avenue on 23rd Street in the N.E. (in the same strip mall as Thai Boat), this hidden gem of a Vietnamese restaurant is my friend's favorite in this area. I think it is because her family knows the owners, and the food is pretty good here. This is my and my friend's default restaurant when we want to get together for lunch or dinner. We have been coming here a few times a year since they first open at this location.

Upon coming in, you usually receive a friendly greeting. We usually go during non-busy hours, so there is only one server working. The servers here are pretty efficient - making drinks, taking orders, delivering food, adding chit-chat and recommendations. The decor is pretty up to date, and the place has a nice warm atmosphere. My friends and I were here earlier this month. I forgot how good their spring rolls were, and I was craving it all week. So on Friday, after a long week of working a lot overtime, I dropped by after work for take-away. I noticed on their menu that they raised the price on all the mains by $0.75 which is fair due to food prices right now. This is a very recent change since they didn't add this the last time I was here.

Deep Fried Spring Rolls (2 rolls) $3.50

I haven't had their spring rolls in a while and forgot how good and different they are from the other Vietnamese restaurants. They put taro in it, along with pork, onion, and carrots. The taro makes a big difference in taste. If you love taro like I do, you will love these spring rolls as you can really taste the taro. These rolls are also longer than other Vietnamese restaurants I've been to. These two rolls are like having three in other restaurants.

Pork Chops (2) with Fried Egg on Broken Rice $11.25

Usually with this dish, you get one pork chop and then a choice of charbroiled beef or chicken, but I always get just pork chops so they give me two. You can always get one pork chop and then add an egg for an extra price, but why would you do that when their pork chops are so good, tender, and big. You also get a lot of rice regardless if you are eating in or taking away. I usually can't finish all my rice. The rice you get here is truly broken, little pieces of it and not whole grains. The rice is good for soaking up all the fish sauce. The egg was a little over-fried this time, in that there was not a lot of runny yolk left, but that was okay.

Taro Bubble Tea with Coconut Jelly $4.50

Of course, thinking about the taro spring rolls got me thinking about taro bubble tea. Call me crazy, but sometimes you just want the fake powder stuff. Although, not my first choice of bubble tea flavours, powder taro bubble tea just has that nice vanilla ice cream flavour to it. They didn't have any pearls at this time, but that's okay. Those big dark tapioca pearls are not my favorite any where, too chewy. They also offered coconut jelly which I took.

Overall, this is a nice restaurant. They also offer some Chinese food as well like fried rice, beef and broccoli, salt and pepper squid, etc. I don't think they get too overly busy, and the service here is always quick and attentive. Everything I had here so far is pretty good. I would recommend this place for people to try. Since there are a lot of Vietnamese restaurants in N.E. (I can count 4 within 6 blocks from my house, including this restaurant, and I live in a semi-secluded neighbourhood), everyone has their favorites that they always go to and is hard to get them to try others.

Noodle King
2323 32 Ave NE
403-250-9808

LUNCH AT IKEMEN RAMEN BAR - Kensington

I usually don't go out to eat both days on the weekend unless I'm meeting up with friends or my sister. So, eating ramen two days straight is either a luxury or gluttony. I haven't decided yet. I came down to Kensington to continue on my quest for hot chocolates (yyc hot chocolate fest). I had a nice walkabout around Kensington and realized that I didn't have to wait long for Ikemen to open for lunch (12 noon). There were a few people waiting by the door before the restaurant open. I was really surprise how fast this restaurant fills up. Lots of people were waiting for a table not even an hour in since opening. Since I was all by my lonesome self, I got seated at the window bar in front which was great because I got to people watch. But at the same time, I didn't get to enjoy the decor, atmosphere, or see if there was any specials on the chalk board. It felt kinda weird to have your back to the restaurant way up front by the waiting area. However, the server didn't forget about me and checked to see how I was doing regularly.

Chicken Chips $4

I was surprise that you get a lot of chips and no dips. After eating a few, I realized that you don't really need any dip. These chips are deep fried chicken skin, and I got these since I was craving something crunchy to go along with my ramen. They were seasoned perfectly with salt and pepper. There were also deep fried garlic with the chips so you little bits of that to add flavor.

Miso Ramen $11.95

I have to say that this is my favorite ramen so far compared to all the other ramens I had. I don't know if it has something to do with the broth being chicken. The miso broth was perfectly flavoured and not too salty which is a big plus. I was surprise to see chicken char siu on their ramen menu. In Chinese, or at least in Cantonese, 'char siu' is translated as fork roast(burn) and is done with long strips of seasoned boneless pork. I think Ikemen did a very nice interpretation of chicken char siu. I got two pieces. It looked like they rolled the chicken up tightly and roasted it with the same seasoning they use for the pork. Overall, they give you three pieces of char siu, 2 lean chicken pieces and one long fatty pork piece. The noodles were perfectly cooked to my liking - soft. The ramen also include a very soft sous-vide boiled egg, large cabbage pieces, a piece of kale, and garlic chips. I didn't really understand the piece of kale with the ramen - maybe to replace the seaweed? This bowl of ramen filled me up nicely that I didn't get my second hot chocolate later on.

Ikemen is an open concept restaurant from what I can see peeking in. Surprisingly, they are open everyday and come early to avoid lunch rush. I definitely recommend this place for its food and service. I will be back with my ramen-craving friend for sure.

Ikemen Ramen Bar
217 10 St NW
403-452-2148

DINNER AT UMAMI NOODLE BAR - Central 16th Ave N

Umami is translated as a 'pleasant savory taste' and is one of the five basic taste. The name seems appropriate for this new ramen restaurant. This was an impromptu stop on my way home. I wanted to try this place even before it opened having driven past it a few times. Now, I finally get to try this place after two months since opening. I stopped by Umami after 6pm on Saturday, and the place was not busy at all - not like the place next door. They apparently have parking behind the building but I parked across the street by the school since it looks like there are no restrictions after 5pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Upon coming through the door, I was greeted in the typical Japanese fashion and shown quickly to my seat. I was very hungry, and everything on their one page menu looked tempting. The restaurant is clean, modern, and well-lighted. Few tables were occupied, and all the servers seemed very nice and attentive. Again, since I was starving, I over-ordered.

Chashu Bun (2 pcs) $6.50

These buns are delicious. This dish is a combination of pillowly soft buns, chashu, crunchy cucumbers, thinly-sliced red onions, green onions, Japanese mayo, and Japanese seven spice. I left to eat one at the end, and the bun wasn't soggy at all. It held its structure very well. I can eat these forever. It is a good texture dish.

Tonkotsu Miso with side of Curry Don $12 + $3.50 (for curry don)

I wanted to try their Chashu Don since it looked so good from the pictures on Zomato, but they have a new rice bowl that they haven't add to their menu yet, curry. I decided to get the curry don since I was eating way too much chashu. But after some thought, you can never eat too much chashu. The curry don was sweet with a little bit of heat. It is the typical Japanese curry which I love. It didn't look like they added any veggies in it, but they did have very tiny chunks of beef. Overall, the curry don was very good.
The miso ramen, on the other hand, was ok. The miso (paitan) broth was very salty, and the noodles was a bit chewy, like al dente. I tend to cook and like my noodles more soft. I didn't order an egg with my ramen since I felt like a glutton. I got pork belly, choice of lean or belly meat, and the soup came with two nice size pieces. The ramen also had seaweed, corn, thinly-sliced cabbage?, a slice of fish cake, and bamboo slices. They also have this nice sauce in it, and it didn't taste like soy sauce. As you can see, I was hungry and didn't really pay attention to the garnishes.

Overall, I will probably come back here, since I promise my friend I was going to take her. I will probably get a clear soup ramen, with an egg, as I hope it won't be as salty as the miso and maybe try their chashu don. The service here is top notch. While I was paying, they were actually trying to give me dessert after all that food! Currently, they take debit and cash, and like most Chinese places I find, they close on Tuesdays.

Umami Noodle Bar
305 16 Avenue N.W
403-454-8383

DINNER AT ROLYMIE BAKERY RESTAURANT - Whitehorn

In the past few years, I have been expose to different Filipino cuisines by my co-workers. I love everything I have tried so far. So, after work on Friday, my co-worker and I stopped by Rolymie Bakery Restaurant in Whitehorn to grab dinner to go since I had to help her with something afterwards. This place is surprisingly easy to get to. Located just off 52nd Street on Whitehorn Drive, this little place is a the middle of a busy strip mall. We were having trouble finding a spot to park. People kept coming in to pick up their pre-orders and dinner. They do have seating. I think you order what you want at the counter, and then go and pick your seat. It looks like this bakery restaurant specializes in baked goods, party trays, and lechon (roasted pig). If you want something special, they recommend you pre-ordering it so they will have it ready for you for pick up. I think this is true for most Filipino restaurants if you want a specialty, like crispy pata. I want to try crispy pata!

My co-worker usually order from this place when she have parties and was pretty excited to show me. I have been to her parties with Rolymie trays and everything tasted fresh and delicious. She warned me about pre-ordering but I told her I will get what they have ready. My co-worker ordered first since I was still deciding what to get because everything was new to me. She bought okoy (shrimp fritters)($1.75 each) because those were her favorite. Finally, when there was no one at the food counter, I asked the guy at the counter what he recommends. He said to get two sides and rice. Since I was up for anything not too spicy, he recommended pork sisig and beef kaldereta. There was no okoy left :( , but I had tried it before.

Special Combo $12 (rice and two sides - your choice)

To me, this seemed a little pricey since they have cheaper combos, but I did ask for recommendations and agreed to it. At first, this looks small but the sides were enough for two people. The rice, however, was only enough for one, and I had to cook another serving of rice when I got home. Beef kaldereta (red dish) is a sweet stew made with chunks of beef and veggies. There are even olives in it. The beef chunks was a mixture of tough, tender and fatty cubes which confused me. This dish did have oily layer on top but I skimmed most of it off. Pork sisig (brown dish) is a meat dish that looked spicy because they had little chili peppers in it, but was not spicy at all with the rice. The dish is very filling and good. But in writing this review, I now know what is typically in pork sisig, and I'm glad I ate it before researching the dish. I have no idea if Rolymie went traditional on this dish or their own spin, and I don't really want to know. I'm usually up for anything once if people don't tell me with it is.

Sapin-sapin $3.75

This is one of my favourite Filipino desserts so far. This was displayed in the case, and I couldn't resist. The pieces they sell are pretty big like a typical pizza slice. The dessert was very sticky, a little sweet, and crunchy from the toasted coconut. This is a tri-colour dessert but I have no idea why. All the layers taste the same.

This restaurant has a lot of baked goods and a few cooked dishes on display. I recommend and wish that they have labels or even a list of their dishes and baked goods that are present. Those who are not familiar with Filipino cuisines would greatly appreciate it. It was a good thing my co-worker was there to tell me what the dishes were when we were browsing the items. Don't expect good service as the only service you will get is at the counter. I will probably be back again to try other stuff.

Rolymie Bakery Restaurant
#5 - 5008 Whitehorn Dr NE
403-457-2888

LUNCH AT REDHEADS JAPA CAFE - Beltline

All I have to say is that I love this place. It is a cute little cafe, and the food is delicious. I can't wait to go back and try more items on their menu especially the ramen and bento boxes. Since I was in the downtown area searching for hot chocolates from the YYC Hot Chocolate fest, I decide to drop by here. It is a good thing that I looked up the address since I almost walked past it. Since it was Saturday, they open a little later, 11am, so I got here 10 minutes before. I decided to walk around the area a little and noticed a dessert shop and note it for future eats.

When I walked into the cafe, I was seated right away, and the server bought the menus over. He was kind enough to tell me that the brunch buffet was on or I can order from the regular menu. Although everything looked good, I decided to order from the regular menu. The place is really small, 10 2-top tables, and it filled up very fast. Some people came in for breakfast, some for the buffet, and some for regular menu as far as I can tell. They also do take out coffee/teas and have yummy looking baked goods from Corbeaux bakery - not part of the buffet. Since everything looked good, it was hard for me to decide so I kinda over-ordered.

Hamburg Curry with Side Salad $10.99

The curry was very good and taste very authentic. It made me wish I was in Japan again. The curry had only a little kick to it and even have chucks of veggies and beef in it which I love. The hamburg was a Salisbury steak. It was moist and not overpowering in flavor since the curry is the star of the dish. The hamburg is just a vehicle for all that curry sauce goodness. The side salad and homemade dressing was very nice and refreshing addition to the curry. The homemade dressing was light and had a ginger base.

JAPA Miso-Katsu Rice Burger $4.50

I thought this was a small 'burger' like slider size. Once the server brought it to the table, it was huge and I knew I had no room to eat it with my curry. I had to get this packed up for later. The size of this is a regular sandwich with the crust cut off. I like the concept of this. It is seasoned rice, lettuce, miso-katsu wrapped in seaweed. The overall taste was very good even after a few hours. The server didn't pack the pickled ginger with it so I didn't taste what the chef intended the burger to taste. The miso sauce on the katsu was very light, and I could barely taste it.

JAPA Doughnut - Matcha $1.00

I knew I was going to get one of these to go. I wanted to taste their interpretation of a doughnut since it wasn't deep-fried. The doughnut was baked,very moist, and tastes like matcha. It was not overly sweet like typical Asian desserts.

Overall, this is a place that I know I would come back again and again when I'm in the area - maybe even when I'm not in the area. The workers here are super nice and very attentive. This place gives you a good feeling/experience after eating here.

Redheads Japa Cafe
105, 638-11th Avenue SW
403-532-0600

February - Journey of the Hot Chocolates

So, February in Calgary is YYC Hot Chocolate Fest. It is a charity event held throughout the month to benefit Meals on Wheels. All participating vendors create a hot chocolate (spirited or not) and sell it the whole month of February. I think $1 of the drink goes to Meals on Wheels. There is a list of vendors and hot chocolate creation on the YYC Hot Chocolate Fest website. Anyone can participate and vote for their favourite hot chocolate. Last year winner was Black Pearl Hot Cocoa at The Bean Shop in Eau Claire Market. I know for a fact that they are selling that drink right now.

I started late (mid month), but I want to see how many of those hot chocolates that I can drink. I drove my butt downtown on Saturday and started on my quest. I had four in one day (and needed a break after all of that - couldn't drink any the next day). This is what I had...

Black Magic Hot Cocoa - The Bean Shop

My first drink of the day bright and early in the morning. It was a yummy drink with a hint of orange. I didn't really taste the cinnamon. They did add a lot of toppings to the drink and it looked pretty neat.

Red Velvet - Analog Cafe

This is my second drink that I had after lunch. I walked all the way to 17th Avenue to Analog Cafe. It was quite a busy place. I don't think this drink really classify as a hot chocolate drink since it is tea base. This drink is rooibos, caramel chocolate and milk. It didn't really taste like red velvet but the drink wasn't heavy like hot chocolate. I like this drink as a tea.

Salted Caramel Peanut Butter - Cococo

This drink is very sweet but good. I like the blend of peanut butter and chocolate together. By adding the salt, it really brings out the sweetness. Cococo is a Bernard Callebaut shop so you know there is good chocolate to be had. The chocolate they use is RFA (Rain Forest Alliance) certified too.

Red Velvet Love Story - Quickly

Last drink of the day was from Quickly in Chinatown. This hot chocolate had a very nice red velvet taste. Apparently, they use red velvet hot cocoa.

LUNCH AT SHIKI MENYA - Bridgeland

Came here on a Monday on a random day off from work. I was doing a little urban hiking around the neighbourhood and surrounding areas and lost track of time. By the time I made it to the restaurant, it was already 11:30am. The restaurant opens at 11:00am, and it was already packed with the first seating. The sign up list was about a third full. Good thing it was nice out so I had no problem waiting outside on the bench. I think I only waited 15 minutes, and I was only one person.

Located on First Avenue NE beside Black Pig Bistro, this little restaurant is modern and quaint. I was seated at the counter and got to spy on the people making the side dishes. Something new was that they changed the menu slightly. They don't seem they have the rice bowls anymore. They did add two more sides - Kimchi tacos with Char Siu and Musubi Char Siu. They still have the Char Sui Taco with pineapple salsa on their menu. The tacos and musubi are 2 for $7. I was hungry after the long walk so I ordered a side and Ramen.

Musubi Char Sui $7

I wanted to order the pineapple salsa tacos but I was afraid they have avocado in the sauce. The restaurant was very loud so I didn't get to ask. Instead, I ordered the musubi char siu. Musubi is similar to orinigi (a popular Japanese rice ball snack). I have heard of Spam musubi in Hawaii so I was curious about these char siu ones. Surprisingly, my Ramen came before these, and I was watching them prepare it. These were delicious, but really hard to eat. They really piled everything up - rice, char siu, cabbage, japanese mayo, seven spice powder, and garlic chips. I got the seaweed around the rice and filling, but the seaweed was rather flimsy so most of the filling fell out when I went to pick it up to eat it. I eventually used my fork to eat them both :(. However, these are very tasty. The char siu was tender and flavourful, and the garlic chips gave it a little crunch. I would definitely order these again.

Miso Classic $12

By trying a Classic bowl of ramen, it allows me to really try the broth. I don't think their New School bowls gives you a lot of broth. The ramen was very good but a bit salty due to the miso. The noodles were very tender. I got two pieces of fatty char siu which melted in your mouth and half a hard boiled egg. The greens gave the dish a fresh taste. Overall, this is a nice bowl of ramen.

This is a nice restaurant that serves limited bowls of yummy ramen. The bad thing about this place is that it only opens during the lunch hour and close on Sundays. The service is quick, and everyone seem friendly. I would definitely recommend this place to everyone I know and would come back again and again.

Shiki Menya
827 1 Ave NE
403-454-2722

AFTERNOON TEA AT THE DOVE'S NEST - Palliser

My sister wanted to experience Afternoon Tea. So, we decided to try this place. I had Afternoon Tea before in York, England at Betty's Cafe. I recommend it to anyone going there; however, the line-ups can be long but you get to experience proper English Afternoon Tea. One interesting fact is that High Tea and Afternoon Tea are totally different deals. People always think these are the same but they are not. Afternoon tea is like what my sister and I had below with sandwiches, scones, and dessert during mid afternoon. High tea is a bit more substantial. It was for the working class people after the workday where they serve meat and fish dishes, vegetables, baked goods. It was a basic family meal like dinner.

Anyways, I made reservations for Afternoon Tea for two because they recommended it. We arrived a little bit early but was seated right away. There wasn't many people there since it was in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday. We didn't get a food menu but the tea menu was present. The place has a nice cozy English cottage feel to it which made it inviting.

My sister and I each got to chose our own tea, and we each got cute unique tea cups as well. I chose a fruity one, Kyoto Cherry Rose, while my sister had the Bourbon Street Vanilla. My tea had a nice fragrant to it and a nice cherry flavour. I didn't get a chance to try the Bourbon Street Vanilla though.

Afternoon Tea $31.95

We got three tiers of yummy goodness (see pics below). Starting from the bottom, the sandwich tray, we got 7 different items, one each. We got a mini spinach quiche, cucumber sandwich, ham and cheese sandwich, egg salad and pickle pinwheel, salmon mousse cup, chicken salad in a cream puff shell, and a cheese cookie. Everything tasted fresh. My favourite was the cheese cookie, and my least favorite was the salmon mousse cup.

The second tier is my favourite thing about Afternoon tea. I don't know if they have it here, but if you only want the tea and scone, it is called Cream tea. This tier, we got two scones with whipped cream and strawberry jam. I asked for Devonshire Cream (extra $1.75) too. I made the mistake of thinking that Devonshire cream was the same as Clotted cream but it not the same here. I think the Devonshire cream here is their own recipe of heavy cream and cream cheese, but it was good none-the-less. The scones at Dove's Nest are amazing. I like to eat my scone with clotted cream on the bottom with jam on top of it, but since the cream was lighter I did the opposite. After this tier, my sister and I were very full. We actually got the dessert part to-go.

The top tier is the dessert tier. We got three different finger dessert - Pinkie Square, Victorian Elegance, and Chocolate brownie. I didn't actually eat the brownie. I gave it to my sister. I'm not a big fan of chocolate cake or chocolate brownies. I just need something else with it - I'm a big fan of Black Forest cake though. The Pinkie square is an original Dove's Nest creation. It is a shortbread based square filled with coconut and cherry filling and topped with pink icing. I didn't really taste the cherry but I did taste a little bit of the coconut. I thought the icing overpowered the taste. The Victorian Elegance was my favourite of the desserts. This is a small delicate tart filled with lemon butter topped with whipped cream.

I recommend this place if you want to experience Afternoon Tea. The food is plentiful, and the service was excellent. Even if you don't do Afternoon Tea here, just try the scones. Yum yum.

The Dove's Nest
1600 90 Ave SW
403-258-3300