Italian in Calgary: Bonterra Trattoria

Bonterra Trattoria - 1016 8 Street SW, Calgary AB

Regardless of where you are, there will always be delicious food to be had. Calgary is no exception; I came here a few weeks ago with two other friends, and I have to say my expectations of one of the best Italian restaurants in Calgary weren't disappointed!

We came at around 1230 - 1 and it was fairly crowded as it was the lunch hour.The inside was nicely laid out (sorry forgot to take a picture). There was a giant shelf full of wine, and the restaurant itself had a old building feel with bricks visible along the walls. The outside patio looked to be a pleasant place to have a meal when the weather is nice and hot outside.

Tagliatelle con Vongole - Clams, White Wine, Chilies, Lemon & Prosciutto Bread Crumbs ($24) 
I had absolutely no idea of what to order (the lunch menu itself had about 12~ items and then there were 4 lunch specials as well) so I asked the waitress for recommendations and this was one of the most popular dishes so I decided to try it. Overall it was quite yummy as there were a lot of clams (I think about 20?) and the wine added enough flavour without being too overpowering over the chilli and lemon.

Proscuitto avvolto Fichi - Prosciutto Wrapped Figs with Gorgonzola, Orange Blossom Honey ($16)
This was one of the lunch specials that were available, and I have to say this didn't taste too well (in my opinion). The prosciutto tasted yummy, but it just didn't seem to mix too well with the gorgonzola and honey. The tastes seemed to clash with each other and the after-taste wasn't tasty at all.

Panino Bisonte - Open-faced Bison Flank Steak, Tomato, Mustard Aioli, Grana Padano, Green Bean Red Onion Arugula Salad with White Balsamic ($16) 
I was only able to try a bit of the bison, but the little piece I had was nicely cooked in a medium rare and... well can't really say much else when I only had one bite! It looked good at least!

Overall I enjoyed coming here! A few of my Calgary friends recommended this place, and Urbanspoon had a pretty ridiculously high rating for so many votes (I believe there were at least 600+ people who rated it). The restaurant was nice and was a good place to have lunch/supper, and although some dishes won't meet some people's expectations, there are enough items on the menu that may give you a hard time deciding. The service was quite good, although the lady that helped us out didn't seem too happy to be helping us despite being quite knowledgeable about the restaurant and the menu.

Value 8/10
Food 8.5/10
Service 8/10

In the end I would definitely come back again to have more delicious Italian food!Chance of Coming back? 10/10 

Long But Worthy Drive to the Café

Café Haven - 9 Sioux Rd, Sherwood Park AB

In my mind, cafés are the best places to sit back, relax, and have a nice cup of coffee. Most people go to the generic places like Starbucks or Second Cup, but there are some hidden gems in the city! Even with it's location being quite far from the majority of Edmontonians, Café Haven was recommended as being worth the drive by many so I decided to check it out with my friend.

The café was quite easy to find, and once inside, it had a nice homely feel to it. Everything was arranged nicely and the people working at the café were really nice, helpful, and knowledgeable about the menu when I had questions. 

I was really tired when I got here so I got an Espresso ($2.75). On a side note, all the coffee they use for their beverages are Transcend branded. The espresso was probably the best one I've had in a while; it had a rich taste, and it was probably one of the stronger espresso's I've had in my short coffee drinking life.

My friend had the Chilled London Fog  - Earl Grey, Vanilla, Cold Milk & Ice ($5.25). I have to say, it was a interesting drink, but was perfect for the weather that day (I swear it was like 25 but I'm told otherwise...)

 Breakfast Wrap - Ham, Eggs, Cheddar, Red Onion & Peppers in a Wrap ($6.50)

 Sweet Potato & Portobello Mushroom Wrap - Roasted Red Pepper, Mozzarella & Red Onion in a Wrap ($8)

Overall the food was delicious. I thought the Breakfast Wrap I got was a bit too small, but after taking a few bites, realized it was quite filling. It was perfect for breakfast and was really yummy. The wrap my friend got probably tasted even better. The taste of the red peppers and red onion blended well, and the Sweet Potato added a bit of sweetness to the wrap.


Value 8/10
Food 9/10
Service 10/10

Chance of Coming back? 9/10 

Café Haven was probably one of the best cafés I have been to. Although it is quite far for a lot of people, I would definitely recommend to check it out!

Korean Nom Noms - Wing Chicx

Wing Chicx - 2912 Ellwood Dr SW, Edmonton AB

About two weeks ago, I had a decent meal at Don Day, but I still had a craving for Korean food. That's when I decided to give Wing Chicx a try. Wing Chicx is probably one of the(if not #1) most popular Korean restaurants in the city. Most reviews I've heard/seen have been extremely positive and I've even had friends recommending me to check it out!

Seafood Pan Fried Pizza ($13)

 Bulgogi Poutine ($16)

 Potato Pork Bone Soup ($13)

I don't have too much time to write on this, but the pizza wasn't too bad, had a lot of seafood. The Bulgogi poutine was probably my favorite; it was loaded with cheese and there was plenty of Bulgogi. The Pork Bone Soup I didn't like as much. Soups/stews at Korean restaurants always seem to be overpriced for the amount of food they give you.

The restaurant itself was quite nice and was a pleasant place to sit down and have a good meal, and the staff were really nice.

(**Going to try a rating system here, see how this goes...)
Value 7/10
Food 7/10
Service 10/10

Chance of Coming back? 7/10 

Overall Wing Chicx wasn't too bad, and I wouldn't mind coming again in the future.

Having a Don Day!

Don Day - 3212 Parsons Rd NW, Edmonton AB

Korean food is probably one of the most interesting foods I have ever had (well so far in my short lifespan). Some dishes tend to be overly spicy to the point where my tongue might explode, and other times it's insanely sweet and soury/salty at the same time. Maybe I just haven't had the best experiences when it comes to Korean cuisine (All of my experiences have ranged from good to bad). Since I felt adventurous, I suggested to two of my friends to visiting Don Day for a nice meal!

Finding the restaurant did take some time as it was in the corner of a little strip mall in a mixed industrial/commercial area. The only reason I was probably able to find the place was the giant 'Don Day' sign. The restaurant itself was quite small. By my eye, you could probably have at most 30 people in the restaurant happily eating Bulgogi. Everything was nicely arranged with cutlery and a gas burner was placed at every table for stew if you ordered it.

Usually when you're looking at a Korean restaurant's menu, it's full of Korean and the English description of the dish isn't quite as enlightening as you would like it to be. But thankfully the menu was nicely arranged, and they had so many items to choose from it took a while to choose. To me it seemed like the dishes of note were the stews that could be shared between 2+ people.

For an appetizer we started with the Topokki ($7.50) - Sir fried rice cakes, fish cakes and vegetables in a sweet and spicy sauce. The sweet and spicy tastes balanced out quite nicely, and the fish/rice cakes absorbed the sauce quite nicely.

My friend and I shared the Bulgogi ($30) - Bulgogi (marinated beef) stew w/ vegetables and clear noodles. The stew was quite tasty and had a nice flavour to it, and the Bulgogi and the vegetables tasted delicious. The downside to this dish was that there was just too much onion and not enough Bulgogi! 

My friend decided to get the Stone Pot Pork Bone Soup ($13.50) - Spicy pork bone soup with potatoes, vegetables and roasted wild sesame seeds. The soup was really rich in taste and it was a tad spicy. 

Overall I wouldn't mind coming here again. The service was quite good and the restaurant itself was a pleasant place to sit down and have a meal. Everything on the menu was quite affordable and there was much to choose from.
On a side note, some of the pictures are pretty bad... mainly because I haven't touched my DSLR for 4 months so I had moments where I forgot how to use it, so I apologize if the pictures aren't too clear!

Eating at the 'Canteen'

Canteen - 10522 124st, Edmonton AB

It was around 130 in the afternoon, and I decided to grab some lunch with a friend. I've thought of going down to 124 Street for a while to try out all the restaurants I heard about, and although it wasn't my original decision, I left Canteen happily with a full stomach. 

When I stepped into the restaurant, it gave a nice local restaurant vibe; it wasn't too big, and overall there was a nice pleasant atmosphere despite the gloomy weather outside.

The menu itself didn't have too much to choose from, but there were enough choices that it took me a bit of time to decide what to order. For an appetizer we ordered the Corn Fritters with Maple Syrup ($8). The Corn Fritters had a mildly salty taste, and when dipped into the maple syrup, gave a nice balance of sweetness and saltiness.

For the mains, they all come with a soup or fries. As for what we had, my friend had the Buttermilk Chicken with Veggie Slaw and Fries ($17). The boneless chicken was nice and tender, although after a few bites (well the few that I had) the taste became quite plain. The fries were quite tasty; they weren't too soft nor too crispy and the ketchup that was given was custom-made and wasn't the typical Heinz ketchup you would get elsewhere (it tasted a lot like chili actually). I didn't get a chance to try the Veggie Slaw but by eye it didn't look too bad.

As for myself, I had the Hot Pastrami with Kimchee Kraut, Emmental, Cornichons and Fontina on Country Rye and the Soup ($18). The soup is different everyday, and the one I was given was a Connut Curry (with chicken, mushrooms, green onions, and noodles). The sandwich I got was probably my favorite out of them all. It had a nice balance of taste, with the salty pastrami and the soury (no idea if that's a word) veggies, nothing was overpowering. The soup was a bit plain, and wasn't very spicy.

In the end, I would recommend trying out Canteen if you're into trying out new dishes that mix different things together (having kimchee and pastrami was an interesting mix to be honest). However, nothing really stood out or blew my mind and got me hooked to the restaurant.

Side Note: I think my grammar is really bad...

Welcome to my blog!

Hellos :) 

I'm Raymond (aka Ray, RayRay, or Raayzor) and I decided to create this blog so that I could share my foodie and travel adventures that I go on. I've always wanted to write reviews on the food that I've had (and try to be as unbiased as possible of course), and I have also always wanted to blog about the trips I take outside of Edmonton. So I decided to combine the two ideas and create this blog! 

Thank you for reading and I hope no one falls asleep while reading this blog (and excuse my terrible grammar).