#40 out of sight, out of mind
it took me awhile to finally get this going once again. i just went to calgary for a winter conference not long ago so everything was hectic after i came back, especially since school has started and i’m currently taking 6 courses this semester and working 6.5 hours per week. gone are my carefree days, whereby i can have food and movie marathons all in one day. gone are the days that i’m so involved in church and such. xmas came and left and it taught me something important – that my heart is not really in the worship team but is and has always been in the compassion ministry though i still enjoy doing ushering and media.
anyways, i went to calgary with low expectations because franklin used to stay there and he told me that there are not much good restaurants at the area we are living close to. of course, there are decent restaurants but there is a price to pay for that. we stayed at hyatt hotel for 4 nights and it is located near chinatown.
p/s: please take note that this entry is unlike my other entries on food because the conference was so intensive that i was too lethargic to take much notice of the service, ambiance and taste of each dish.
that’s the asian mall for you ! it has a variety of restaurants such as kingfisher sushi bar and sushi tokoyo but i have only tried the food at y2k saigon and regency palace.
y2k saigon
310 Centre Street South,
Calgary, AB T2G 2B8
(403) 265-3035
View Larger Map
since we were part of the winter conference for campus for christ, we had a 10% discount for consuming food at y2k saigon so i decided to give it the benefit of doubt even though i heard many critics about the restaurant being dirty and such from the other students.
there were about 13 of us that wanted to dine at y2k saigon and we were served immediately. the server is very friendly and even though he was very busy during that period of time, he managed to snap some group shots for us. he also served us the wrong order once but apologized immediately when we notify him and managed to serve us the right one. it took awhile for us to make payment as there were some confusion between the receipts and orders and the fact that we forgot to show them our name tags for taking off 10%. overall, it was all good !
lily and i shared a cup of vietnamese ice coffee and a bowl of pho with the meat combination. the pho is decent but i must admit that the pho served in y2k saigon, calgary is a far fetched from many pho restaurants at vancouver. it was my first time trying the vietnamese ice coffee though so it is really refreshing to have it on a freezing cold day. alison and cherisse love their fried rice with spring rolls though.
the total bill for lily and i came up to CAN$12+ inclusive of tips and tax.
METHODS OF PAYMENT AVAILABLE: CASH/CREDIT CARD/DEBIT CARD
ambiance: 4.5/10
service: 7/10
food (taste & appearance): 5.5/10
value: 7.5/10
total: 6.13/10★
in conclusion, y2k saigon is a restaurant for casual dine outs but don’t get your expectations too high !
regency palace
328 Centre Street South
Calgary, AB
(403) 777-2288
View Larger Map
nicki hosted a formal dinner event for students from ubc and sfu on the last day of our calgary trip and about 40+ of us showed up at regency palace because that was practically the only restaurant that can cater to a vast number of people. there was a misunderstanding that we wanted buffet when what we wanted was just ala carte so we were kinda asked to pay more. it was all good at the end though. the restaurant has nice interiors with mini bridges and such that is so welcoming to customers. i did not get a chance to communicate with the servers as the other people on our table ate at the restaurant before and thus, they knew what to order so i cannot give a rating for their service.
our table had 12 of us but we only ordered about 7 dishes. we could not finish the 7 dishes as each dish is such a huge serving size. the food is pretty decent – just like any other chinese restaurants in vancouver that serves chinese food with M.S.G (think HONS, #9, etc). i did not check out the total cost for our table but each of us paid CAN$10 inclusive of tips and tax so the food must be value for money.
METHODS OF PAYMENT AVAILABLE: CASH/CREDIT CARD/DEBIT CARD
ambiance: 8/10
service: nil
food (taste & appearance): 6.5/10
value: 8.5/10
total: 7.67/10★
in conclusion, regency palace is a decent restaurant for catering to large groups and average chinese food.
baraka cafe
EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts,
205 8 Avenue Southeast,
Calgary, AB
(403) 237-7832
View Larger Map
i forgot to mention that after lunch at y2k saigon, i went to the olympia plaza with the girls to check out sam, yoshi and bernice ice-skating. the walk there was really cold and staying at the ice rink was even more unbearable. coming from sunny singapore, i could not tolerate any further so i decided to head to EPCOR cafe nearby for the washroom. i was surprised that we needed a code to access the washroom so i asked the barista if it is possible to let me know the code and i will definitely be coming back later to make an order for their drinks. without any questions or doubts, the barista gave me the code immediately. such services makes me want to come back to the cafe even more. i came back after for a cup of hot chocolate before heading back to the freezing ice rink. the hot chocolate was like any ordinary hot chocolate but it remains hot even after 30 minutes at the ice rink and it kept me really warm inside out.
METHODS OF PAYMENT AVAILABLE: CASH/CREDIT CARD/DEBIT CARD
ambiance: 7.5/10
service: 10/10
food (taste & appearance): 6/10
value: 6.5/10
total: 7.5/10★
in conclusion, everyone should give baraka cafe a try !!
+ + + +
east side mario’s
Aberdeen Mall
1320 W Trans Canada Hwy, Kamloops, BC V1S 1J2
(250) 374-7174
View Larger Map
on the way back from calgary to vancouver, we dropped by at aberdeen mall, kamloops. as we had a half an hour break, i decided to order my lunch to go at east side mario’s while the rest went to the food court. not like the food court is bad or anything but i needed to find a restaurant that cannot be found in vancouver. as you can see from the pictures, the restaurant is really huge as there is an area for the bar and another area for family dining. i asked the server if the food could be ready in 15 minutes because we had to leave by then and he managed to give me everything in 7 minutes. samantha and i shared the orecchiette genovese alfredo, which cost a total of CAN$20 inclusive of tips and tax. the portion of the pasta is really huge and the pasta has the right amount of pesto alfredo sauce in it. the freshly seasoned chicken breast is complimented with button mushrooms, roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes. i give a huge thumbs up for their fast paced service and delicious food.
METHODS OF PAYMENT AVAILABLE: CASH/CREDIT CARD/DEBIT CARD
ambiance: 9/10
service: 9.5/10
food (taste & appearance): 8.5/10
value: 6/10
total: 8.25/10★
in conclusion, this restaurant is definitely recommended for all to keep !
swisscheese*
Tags: baraka cafe, east side mario's, hot chocolate, orecchiette genovese alfredo, regency palace, saigon y2k, vietnamese ice coffee
Highlights
Network
swiss@tiaraa.net Swiss Tiara Sumarli
Create Your Badge
Food & Travels
- adventures (31)
- beach (4)
- turtle beach (1)
- boat ride (1)
- bridge (2)
- daytrip (4)
- greenery (11)
- high elements (1)
- parasailing (1)
- hiking (6)
- night hike (2)
- horseback riding (2)
- hot air balloon (1)
- island hopping (3)
- lake (5)
- mountain (3)
- sunrise (3)
- sunset (1)
- village hopping (2)
- volcano (3)
- water sports (3)
- rafting (1)
- snorkeling (2)
- waterfall (3)
- beach (4)
- attractions (8)
- church (1)
- floating village (1)
- mausoleum (2)
- mosque (1)
- opera house (1)
- post office (1)
- temple (4)
- beverages (120)
- alcohol (5)
- avocado juice (9)
- barley (2)
- blended ice chocolate (1)
- bubble tea (9)
- coffee (30)
- ginger coffee (1)
- latte (4)
- 3D latte art (1)
- matcha latte (1)
- sweet potato latte (1)
- white coffee (1)
- fruit infused water (4)
- grass jelly (1)
- green tea (9)
- hot chocolate (8)
- iced milo dinosaur (2)
- juices (1)
- lemonade (1)
- lime juice (2)
- limeade (1)
- mango juice (4)
- mango lassi (1)
- margaritas (3)
- pearl barley tea (1)
- red wine (5)
- smoothies (20)
- aloe vera smoothie (1)
- berry smoothie (4)
- cherry chocolate smoothie (1)
- green smoothie (5)
- sorbert grape (1)
- sugar cane (1)
- tea (16)
- milk tea (4)
- teh (1)
- wine (1)
- yuan yang (1)
- buffet (7)
- cities (513)
- agra (2)
- alhambra (1)
- arcadia (1)
- bagan (1)
- bali (6)
- bangkok (11)
- banyuwangi (4)
- batam (2)
- batu pahat (1)
- bellevue (1)
- burnaby (28)
- busan (3)
- calgary (2)
- squid (1)
- cebu (3)
- chiangrai (3)
- coquitlam (7)
- dalat city (5)
- dalian (1)
- dongdaemun (1)
- east vancouver (2)
- genting (1)
- georgetown (2)
- hong kong (14)
- hope (1)
- huangshi (2)
- ipoh (3)
- jaipur (3)
- jakarta (15)
- jiufen (1)
- johor bahru (5)
- kamloops (1)
- kaohsiung (2)
- kelowna (2)
- kuala lumpur (5)
- lake country (1)
- las vegas (2)
- los angeles (9)
- macau (8)
- malacca (3)
- manila (2)
- melbourne (1)
- montreal (1)
- nanjing (1)
- nantou (2)
- new westminster (1)
- north vancouver (4)
- osoyoos (2)
- pasuruan (1)
- penang (5)
- perth (1)
- phuket (4)
- portland (1)
- pulau pinang (1)
- redmond (1)
- richmond (18)
- rowland heights (1)
- saigon (7)
- san francisco (2)
- san gabriel (1)
- santa monica (2)
- seattle (5)
- seoul (62)
- siem reap (3)
- singapore (130)
- sukamade (1)
- surabaya (1)
- sydney (11)
- taichung (1)
- tainan (2)
- taipei (6)
- thoeng (1)
- vancouver (103)
- victoria (4)
- yangon (2)
- yong peng (3)
- class (5)
- raw pantry class (3)
- asian raw pantry (2)
- raw pantry class (3)
- cuisines (327)
- american cuisines (6)
- balinese cuisine (1)
- belgium cuisine (1)
- burmese cuisine (1)
- canadian cuisine (1)
- carribean cuisine (1)
- chinese cuisine (29)
- yunnan cuisine (1)
- cuban cuisine (1)
- dutch cuisine (2)
- eastern european cuisine (1)
- european cuisine (3)
- filipino cuisine (7)
- french cuisine (10)
- fusion (8)
- german cuisine (1)
- greek cuisine (6)
- guangdong cuisine (3)
- hakka cuisine (1)
- hong kong cuisine (10)
- indian cuisine (5)
- indonesian cuisine (15)
- italian cuisine (18)
- japanese cuisine (46)
- korean cuisine (49)
- latin american (1)
- lebanese cuisine (1)
- macanese cuisine (1)
- malaysian cuisine (11)
- mediterranean cuisine (2)
- mexican cuisine (3)
- nyonya cuisine (2)
- pacific northwest cuisines (2)
- portuguese cuisine (3)
- pub food (3)
- singaporean cuisine (22)
- taiwanese cuisine (12)
- thai cuisine (14)
- vegetarian (1)
- vietnamese cuisine (13)
- west coast cuisine (1)
- western cuisine (52)
- desserts (203)
- beaver tails (1)
- brownies (2)
- cakes (79)
- 3D cakes (2)
- black forest cake (1)
- carrot cake (1)
- charlotte (1)
- cheesecakes (15)
- chocolate banana cakes (1)
- chocolate mousse (7)
- crepe cakes (1)
- devil's food cake (1)
- diplomat (1)
- durian cake (1)
- gelato cakes (2)
- matcha cakes (2)
- mini cakes (6)
- mini pastries (5)
- mini tarts (4)
- multiple tiered cakes (1)
- passion fruit (2)
- pavlova (4)
- rainbow cake (5)
- pulut hitam (1)
- red velvet cake (2)
- roll cake (1)
- strawberry shortcake (1)
- swiss roll (1)
- tiramisu (13)
- nyonya tiramisu (1)
- two-tiered cakes (1)
- wedding cakes (1)
- white chocolate cake (1)
- chinese desserts (7)
- rojak (4)
- chocolate fondant (1)
- chocolate fondue (1)
- cookie (3)
- cornflake cookie (1)
- creme brule (5)
- crepes (10)
- cupcakes (8)
- odeh odeh (2)
- red velvet (3)
- dairy (61)
- cheese (2)
- burrata (1)
- chocolates (9)
- gelato (10)
- ice-cream (37)
- bacon ice-cream (1)
- banana split (2)
- deep-fried icecream (1)
- japanese ice-cream (2)
- matcha ice cream (1)
- mix-ins (1)
- soft-serve ice-cream (1)
- yogurt (8)
- cheese (2)
- deep fried banana with ice cream (4)
- egg tarts (2)
- flan (1)
- lava cake (1)
- lemon tart (4)
- macaroons (11)
- apple and spice (1)
- blueberry (1)
- cranberries (1)
- lemon (2)
- lime (1)
- passion fruit (2)
- pistachio raspberry (1)
- pumpkin (1)
- tea infused macarons (1)
- vanilla (1)
- mango sticky rice (2)
- muddy mud pie (6)
- parfait (3)
- pie (2)
- banana pie (1)
- fish pie (1)
- pudding (6)
- rice pudding (1)
- raw desserts (1)
- shaved ice (6)
- halo halo (1)
- smores (2)
- soya products (4)
- soy milk (1)
- soya beancurd (3)
- strudel (1)
- durian strudel (1)
- taiyaki (2)
- tarts (2)
- cheese tarts (1)
- cherry crumble tart (1)
- toasts (11)
- cheese toasts (1)
- honey toast (2)
- matcha toast (1)
- tofu puddings (3)
- waffles (31)
- charcoal waffles (1)
- chicken waffles (1)
- egg waffles (1)
- red velvet waffles (1)
- smores waffles (1)
- escargots (2)
- events (27)
- celebrity chef (1)
- dine in the dark (1)
- dineout vancouver (4)
- greek festival (1)
- halloween (1)
- opening ceremony (1)
- RSC (1)
- theme cafe (12)
- dog cafe (3)
- husky cafe (2)
- hello kitty cafe (2)
- line friends cafe (1)
- princess cafe (1)
- rilakkuma cafe (1)
- wedding cafe (1)
- dog cafe (3)
- vancouver christmas market (1)
- vancouver food festival (2)
- wedding (2)
- experiments (1)
- features (109)
- animals (1)
- bar (3)
- rooftop bar (1)
- beach dining (1)
- boat restaurant (1)
- brunch (4)
- cafe (45)
- clubs (1)
- forts (1)
- infinity pool (1)
- kid-friendly (1)
- live band (1)
- market (10)
- flea market (1)
- night market (1)
- traditional market (5)
- old school (5)
- outdoor dining (6)
- dai pai dong (2)
- palace (3)
- street food (5)
- travel (37)
- accomodation (10)
- culture (11)
- folk costume (1)
- traditional clothes (2)
- flight (1)
- shopping (1)
- tour (6)
- train (1)
- UNESCO World Heritage Site (2)
- volunteer (1)
- foodbuzz (6)
- fried duck (1)
- fruits (10)
- coconut (6)
- coconut ice cream (3)
- coconut water (3)
- durians (3)
- coconut (6)
- high-end (21)
- fine dining (4)
- high tea (18)
- homemade (10)
- sushi (4)
- hotels (8)
- boutique hotel (1)
- staycation (1)
- island (1)
- luzon (1)
- kuih (1)
- ongol-ongol (1)
- lifestyle (32)
- clean eating (28)
- detox (2)
- juice cleanse (2)
- overnight oats (9)
- detox (2)
- organic (12)
- vegan (21)
- clean eating (28)
- meals (73)
- bibimbap (5)
- breakfast (65)
- eggs benedicts (5)
- french toasts (10)
- healthy breakfast (24)
- kaya toast (5)
- pancakes (17)
- ddong ppang (1)
- martabak (2)
- mee chiang kueh (1)
- pannekoek (1)
- haejungguk (1)
- omakase (1)
- quinoa (1)
- meats (60)
- alligator (1)
- ayam penyet (1)
- barbecued meats (2)
- beef (9)
- beef balls (2)
- beef rendang (1)
- beef shortribs (2)
- bulgogi (1)
- chicken (17)
- chicken galbi (1)
- chicken katsu (1)
- chicken nuggets (2)
- ginseng chicken (1)
- jjimdak (2)
- yangnyeom chicken (1)
- chicken chop (2)
- curry goat (2)
- duck (4)
- duck confit (5)
- fish head (1)
- jerk chicken (1)
- lamb (4)
- ox tail (1)
- pork (13)
- pork adobo (1)
- pork hocks (1)
- pulled pork (3)
- roast pork (4)
- pork ribs (4)
- quail (1)
- roast lamb (2)
- veal (1)
- movies (3)
- new products (1)
- pastries (9)
- baguette (1)
- croissant (4)
- cruffins (2)
- donuts (2)
- kouign amann (1)
- pau (3)
- pie (1)
- recipes (18)
- coconut rice (1)
- kaya spread (1)
- lao ban beancurd (1)
- nasi lemak (2)
- omelette (1)
- singkong (1)
- sushi (8)
- salads (9)
- mango salad (1)
- papaya salad (2)
- savory (251)
- bbq (3)
- korean bbq (3)
- beansprouts (1)
- bun (2)
- pork chop bun (2)
- burgers (12)
- carpaccio (2)
- carrot cake (3)
- bot chien (1)
- curry (3)
- ddeokbokki (2)
- dim sum (15)
- chicken claws (1)
- dumplings (5)
- kimchi dumplings (1)
- pau (2)
- eggplant (4)
- fish and chips (2)
- fries (6)
- gado gado (1)
- green curry (2)
- hainanese chicken rice (6)
- hotpot (9)
- chinese hotpot (1)
- japanese hotpot (1)
- korean hotpot (2)
- kang kung (6)
- kimchi (3)
- kway chap (1)
- macaroni (2)
- nachos (1)
- nasi campur (3)
- nasi goreng (6)
- nasi lemak (1)
- nasi padang (1)
- noodles (91)
- bak chor mee (1)
- bánh canh (2)
- bún bò huế (1)
- char kway teow (3)
- chow fun (1)
- crossing the bridge noodles (1)
- hainanese beef noodles (1)
- hakka beef noodles (1)
- hokkien mee (2)
- jaeng ban jja jang (1)
- jajangmyeon (2)
- jjolmyeon (1)
- kalguksu (1)
- koay teow (1)
- laksa (6)
- assam laksa (2)
- siamese laksa (1)
- mee goreng (2)
- mee siam (1)
- mee sua (1)
- naengmyeon (1)
- pad thai (8)
- pan mee (1)
- pancit palabok (1)
- pho (5)
- prawn mee (3)
- rabokki (2)
- ramen (14)
- seolleongtang (3)
- sticky shan noodles (1)
- taiwanese beef noodles (3)
- udon (5)
- wanton noodles (4)
- oysters (3)
- pandan chicken (2)
- pasta (42)
- dark chocolate linguine (1)
- spaghetti (1)
- squid ink pasta (2)
- pineapple rice (3)
- pizzas (12)
- pepperoni pizza (1)
- thin crust pizza (1)
- porridge (5)
- abalone porridge (1)
- crab porridge (1)
- frog porridge (1)
- sliced fish porridge (1)
- potatoes (2)
- fried potatoes (1)
- mash potatoes (1)
- poutine (2)
- quiche (1)
- rice (4)
- broken rice (2)
- garlic rice (1)
- multigrain rice (1)
- rice chowder (1)
- rice noodle roll (1)
- banh cuon (1)
- risotto (2)
- sandwiches (6)
- sashimi (14)
- satay (2)
- seafood (45)
- soup (13)
- chawan mushi (1)
- kimchi stew (4)
- pumpkin soup (2)
- tofu stew (3)
- sushi (7)
- tacos (1)
- tahu telur (2)
- tom yum (1)
- topokki (3)
- wings (1)
- bbq (3)
- shabu shabu (2)
- snack (1)
- pretzels (1)
- special needs (2)
- halal (2)
- taste of yaletown (2)
- video (7)
- adventures (31)
RSS
Statistics
2 Comments
lol..east side mario…satisfied your cravings btw i saw it @ lonsdale
didnt expect to see such detailed review! lovin’s your camera. well done cheese
eeks i noticed typos…dont approve this lol