thekua

What’s better than a heritage house converted into a warm café just outside the centre of Kensington? With large shop front windows filtering the warmth of the Calgary sun, the Heartland Café welcomes a constant stream of locals into its abode.

I found the coffee a bit average – I’ve definitely had better elsewhere although they make up for it with a broader selection of pastries, cakes and muffins. At least on this Sunday past, they had a small selection of other meals like a quiche and panini. Other cafes offer a much more extensive menu. I decided to indulge in a hearty Ham and Egg Breakfast panini, made up of thick whole grain bread and even as tasty as it was, deceptively is not really a true panini.

Offering magazines and papers for sale, the Heartland offers a nice spot to catch up with a small number of friends – their tables not quite comfortable for groups above five. On great weather days it’s even worthwhile sitting on their benches outside indulging in what sun you can catch.

Calgary has a surprisingly large number of Vietnamese restaurants to support its growing population of around one million people. I’ve been to some really great ones, and this was unfortunately my first disappointing one. Pho Viet was open in a place downtown when everything else around it was shut. I should have taken the hint and gone somewhere else.

Only one or two other patrons sat inside when I entered, and the quiet was almost unnerving. Feeling particularly hungry, I ordered an appetiser of grilled pork skewers and a bun (rice noodle) dish that came with a couple of spring rolls and other grilled meat. My main dish fortunately arrived before I had time to finish my appetiser. I say fortunate in this case because the bun had a disproportionately large amount of noodle and only fractional portions of pickled carrots, cucumber and the meat. The two tiny spring rolls that came with it, though winning on the crispiness factor, totally lost out on the flavour part.

Disappointingly, even the bowl of flavoured sauce you traditionally pour all over the dish couldn’t lift the blandness that permeated all parts of the dish and I only ate what I could with what leftover skewer meat I had from the appetiser.

Admittedly service was prompt and friendly though and even though I’ll admit prices are low, this time the dish was certainly less than the price I paid for it.

Is a Hong Kong movie star like Jackie Chan anyone to judge how good a Thai restaurant is? I don’t know and I can’t really say I care considering how good the food is at Thai Sa-On. If it helps, apparently the Thai government approves this restaurant’s food.

Located on 10th Street, right next to the club Tantra, Thai Sa-On is a popular place, as indicated by the large queues that form on Friday and Saturday evenings. Its interior is decorated with many Thai-looking artifacts although I can’t really say how authentic they are. Regardless there is enough of an atmosphere to feel like you’re not just smack bang in the middle of Calgary.

Their wine list is impressive as the owner is an avid wine collector and all of them reasonably priced. Like most Thai restaurants, this one offers the wide range from salads, soups, curries, noodle and rice dishes in addition to a handful of appetisers admittedly nothing super special. Regardless, the main dishes all over reasonable value and great taste bursting in fresh flavours in complex layers.

Don’t be mislead by their dated website with several of the prices way out of date – one appetiser I ordered being almost $4 over its, now out of date, advertised price.

Nellie’s appears to be one of those Calgarian institutes for that time between breakfast and lunch. We ate at one of the two found on 17th and felt instantly transported into a very bohemian feeling atmosphere – old rickety floorboards under our feet, a painting of a cow standing in a field split across three separate canvasses and a framed picture of Kramer (from Seinfeld) staring down at us from above our table.

Paying $9 gives you a large plate filled with a 3 egg omelet choc-a-block with a couple of ingredients and accompanied by a generous serving of hash browns and a couple of pieces of toast. Their hash browns are those made out of chunks of potato, heavily spiced and seemingly baked although more likely and perhaps less surprisingly fried. Delicious nevertheless.

I’ve read that Nellie’s gets very busy from seeing the lines firsthand, it’s definitely a popular joint. With other brunch items like pancakes, heuvos rancheros, and a huge breakfast platter with all options, this café offers the diner a pretty unique dining experience.

Don’t expect modern stylish food – this café doesn’t mess about, instead offering down to earth, no fuss homestyle cuisine.

What can really go wrong at a place that serves over 200 different types of single malt whiskey, and shows the hockey games. We’re extremely lucky to have Buchanan’s almost on our front door step as an extremely functional bar and restaurant.

I’d read about this place quite a few times before eating and drinking here. With a group of us at the bar, instead of at the back in the restaurant, somehow ordering their well known burger didn’t feel as bad in a place well known for its steaks.

Although this bar isn’t perfect for watching a game on its only TV, the six of us at the bar still managed to have a great time. The bartender cracked open a couple of bottles of wine, all of them smelling wonderful. It always helps to have someone in the party who appreciates their reds.

Towards the end of the night, I didn’t get a chance to see the complete whiskey list, instead simply asking the bartender for one of my favourites, Abelour. He responded almost immediately, after getting through a different in pronunciations, that he had three versions (in a 12, 16 and 20). After the strong and wonderful richness of the burger, this Islay infused whiskey rounded off the evening completely with the only disappointment being an ordinary high ball glass holding its contents instead the usual whiskey dram.

Strangely located above the foreign exchange place on Stephen Ave, the Rose Garden came to me as a blessing on a public holiday when almost every other nearby restaurant remained shut. The Rose Garden is another addition to the main Thai restaurants found in Calgary. The stairs, already themed appropriately, welcome you into the large and fairly spacious room, and on my visit, the lack of anyone else dining underscoring the fact.

Considering the lack of anyone else out on the street, and all other conditions, I did not take this visit’s lack of people as the usual ominous sign of a bad restaurant. Later, as I died, another obvious travelling and frequent patron came to eat.

From what I remember of their menu, it had plenty to offer its diners. In addition to steamed rice, I selected the calamari and a chicken green curry for dinner. Combined with an ice tea and tip, the total still came to a reasonable $30.

The calamari were golden, tender, melt-in-your-mouth rings perfectly crisp without being excessively so, and accompanied by the classically addictive sweet chili dipping sauce. I can’t remember exactly how many rings they served although I distinctly remember being impressed by the sheer size, almost to the point I’m sure I could have made a meal out of it.

The chicken curry arrived shortly after, and I was not disappointed either. Although the sauce appeared much more watery compared to other places, it still had plenty of flavour and, drenched over the rice, made for a fitting dinner.

It’s definitely on my return to list, where I hope it’s a little bit busier, and remain just as tasty.

When I first arrived in Calgary, exhausted after a restless nine and half hours on the plane, Saltlik was my first place to dine out at. Not hesitating to seat me a 9pm sitting, the waitress happily gave me the space to peruse the menu over a glass of red Zinfandel. Impressed as I was by all there was on offer, I wanted something light and, under a recommendation, ordered the smallest tenderloin – my first taste of the local, Albertan AAA beef. They first served a basket of bread, some a flavoured sourdough accentuated by the springs of oregano and a creamy butter that easily melted into its warm fibres.

Looking around the restaurant, Saltlik has a warming atmosphere, punctuated by the typical white-table clothed dining apparently found all over the city. Dark wooden veneers on almost every wall and, what looked like, a roaring fireplace on the other side a welcome treat from the cold winds outside.
When my entrée arrived, I remember being absolutely delighted by it and had everything all great steaks should have – strong flavour, just enough moisture, and a great texture without really needing a razor sharp knife to cut through with it.

My only two regrets leaving this restaurant is that I just didn’t have any room for dessert, and that I hadn’t learned the local tipping custom and probably went below what I really wanted to give.

It’d been probably three weeks since my last visit to a Dim Sum house when Jane suggested the idea of going on the weekend. I was certainly not going to turn this offer down, not only getting a chance to try the local interpretation, but also an opportunity to check out Calgary’s Chinatown at one of its busiest days.

Like most places in Calgary, arriving early has its benefits and when we sat down at Regency Palace by 11am, we certainly weren’t the first, yet it filled up almost shortly after.

I was overjoyed at seeing the plenty of carts zooming around, and much like a number of these I’d been to in New York, they complemented the carts with a number of standing stations just in case you couldn’t wait for right cart or wanted some noodles or vegetables.

Overall portion size, at least, compared to London’s dim sum is impressive with classic har gau or siu mai almost appearing twice as large. Unfortunately I’d have to say they didn’t have as much flavour or quality. The prawn dishes just didn’t seem to have really fresh flavours, the BBQ pork in the Cha Xiu Bao’s seemingly stringy without the sticky sweetness I’m used to.

Certainly Regency Palace offered much more variety and with a group of ten of us, I still really enjoyed my time there. I’d be keen to see what all the other places are like compared to this one, and though I’ve had better, I’m also certainly had much worse before.

It’s a little bit hard to go wrong for BBQ if you own a smoker big enough that it apparently weighs a tonne and cost about $25 000. Although I don’t claim to be a BBQ expert, I can tell when meat is dry and flavourless that, fortunately, The Palomino does not serve. The atmosphere in this place is best described as a pub more than a restaurant, complete with a number of TVs showing different types of sports. It seems to attract quite a local crowd simply for the being a fairly decent pub although the friendliness of the waitresses probably has something to do with it as well.

Their menu had plenty of things I’d want to try of different things but since I’d come to try any of the items subjected to their smoker, I ended up with the two meat platter including the Alberta beef brisket and the St Louis style ribs. Served with two choices of sides, this huge plate of food should appease all audiences. I succumbed to the temptation of the garlic fries and I’m pleased to report that their extraordinarily wicked flavour and crispiness did not disappoint. I tried to make the meal just that tinier bit healthier with the grilled seasonal vegetables.

II can’t say that I was disappointed with the beef brisket and the ribs either – both extremely tender and succulent. The brisket came in strips and though it didn’t have any saucy component didn’t really need it with the flavour that it carried. The ribs, on the other hand, came already covered in a decent amount of sauce and with the meat easily removed from the bone went down very quickly.

I ate at The Palomino too early to see any of the live music that apparently goes on, though I’d definitely return to check out the downstairs area that hosts the bands. Best described as a pub that serves a great selection of down to earth food, The Palomino meets its own description of itself perfectly.

The King & I offers Thai cuisine in what is best described as the most modern dining atmosphere in Calgary, at least compared to the other Thai restaurants in town. It’s a large restaurant split into several dining areas adding to an intimate atmosphere adorned with a number of bamboo hangings.

Their prices also reflect this modern take, easily considered on the higher end of restaurants with main dishes (unaccompanied by rice) easily averaging over $20 each. This price definitely contributes to overall presentation with many of the dishes beautifully presented (looking around at other diners) otherwise wasted on the curries dished out in a very plain looking white bowl.

I didn’t know what to make of their menu as it lacked the chilli symbols indicating how spicy to expect each dish, instead a simple description. A little bit skeptical, I ordered their duck in green curry, labeled as very spicy and disappointed I was not. It’s the hottest dish I’ve had since getting to Calgary, making me quickly break out into a small sweat and thankful for the prompt refills of water from the waitress. I definitely found it extremely flavourful although I still question whether or not it was worth the one a half times the price you could get something similar at Thai Sa-On.

I still enjoyed my meal and though it’s not a place I’ll be returning to every week, I would reserve it for some special occasion.