Mega bulldog @ The 3 Amigos Mexican Restaurant, Edmonton, AB

Mega Bulldog (Margarita with an upside down Corona beer) $17.99

Panda and I first night out since we moved to Edmonton! I decided to not get a cake for his birthday, and instead treated him do a nice Mexican dinner. There are a couple of Mexican restaurants in Edmonton; so I decided to choose one that is convenient for us, not over-the-top-expensive restaurant nor too shabby. The 3 Amigos seemed to fit my criteria just fine:). Immediately ordered their 'bulldog'. I first had it at Banff and thought it was pretty awesome. However, I did not expect the bulldog to be THAT HUGE! Should probably expected that when the waitress mentioned its definitely enough.  for both of us. 

Mexican restaurants are probably the next most colourful thing I've seen apart from Asian clothing and accessories! Something nice for a change because people here seemed to prefer dull colours (even high school teens!) in everything; black, white, black, white etc..

Complimentary nachos and salsa which is always one of the nicest thing in a Mexican restaurant. 

Panda had their Chicken Enchiladas ($16.59)-three corn tortillas stuffed with chicken and topped with a choice of red, green or mole salsa and feta cheese and some miserably-looking onion. Green salsa is super awesome if you like spicy (We love, love anything spicy!). I ordered Quesadillas De Camaron ($15.99)-stuffed shrimp with mushroom, onion, tomato, pepper and melted cheese in a big tortilla. Sounds tempting? Yeap, however, the filling is quite disappointing. First, there's hardly any shrimp inside! Second, there's hardly any filling inside except the mozzarella cheese! Not worth the money although it tasted quite good. Both came with a side of bean and rice. 

Quesadilla De Camaron ($15.99)-miserable shrimp, mushroom filling

Chicken enchiladas ($16.59)-Love the green salsa!

Happy panda with his (our) drink!

Unlike some of the reviews I read prior to visiting this place, I had a nice waitress who was willing to give us opinion, recommendation and most importantly, a smile although she was practically the only server around. Will probably be exploring some other Mexican restaurants in Edmonton first before visiting this place again (not that is not worth visiting; its just there are so many other Mexican place to try out in Edmonton!)

Address: 4035 - 106 Street, Edmonton, AB T6J2S3

The Ultimate Feast @ Red Lobster, Saskatoon, SK

This is the one restaurant that should not be judged by looking at just the reviews. Go try it for yourself! For the past 2 years in Saskatoon, I've never really intended to try this place out, partially because of all the not-so-good reviews I've seen. A friend of mine gave me a treat the other day and he suggested Red Lobster, a seafood-chain restaurant in North America. Since I love seafood (but you don't get or hardly get good ones at reasonable prices in Saskatoon), I agreed to give this place a try. First thing that came through my mind when I stepped in was the reviews that I read..because the place was really quite full on a Thurs night despite all the negative reviews (maybe, only the negative ones are reviewing @__@).

What we had before the main entree; white wine and garlic-roasted mussels, cheese biscuits and caesar salad

Romantic? Or a little bit too dark?

We had white wine and garlic-roasted mussels (served with toasted garlic bread) to share as starters which was a good thing as the main took forever to arrived. We loved this starter alot…not just the mussels itself but the sauce that came with it. We even ended up using the shells as spoon to scoop the sauce;p (#stoneagewayofeating). The complimentary basket of cheese biscuits came thereafter. Totally overload of carbo if we were to finish everything. Since we wanted to leave space for the main thing, we did not finish the toasted bread. The cheese biscuit was tasty but a little bit too salty. I felt it tasted pretty similar to the English cheese scones that I usually buy from Sobeys. 

Red Lobster's Ultimate Feast $30.99

The mains finally arrived after quite a while. We both ordered the Ultimate Feast. This huge main (which is probably the best dish they have) comprised of a tender Maritime lobster tail, steamed Canadian snow crab legs, savoury garlic shrimp and Walt's Favourite Shrimp that was served with a side of rice and another choice of side (we wanted to be 'healthier' so we had steamed broccoli). How did two petite Asians ended up ordering an Ultimate Feast each, I'm not too sure. We finished everything except the rice. The best was the snow crab legs; fresh; meaty and tasty! The garlic shrimp although tasty was again, too salty. See the buttery dip at the middle bottom of the picture above? That went totally well with the lobster tail and snow crab legs. Good thing we had the steamed broccoli because almost everything (except the lobster and snow crab legs) were a bit too salty for me (personal preference). Overall, we had a totally satisfying meal (apart from the long wait between the starter and main). But rest assured, give the Ultimate Feast a go…at least for me, I found a decent seafood dining place:)

Address: 2501 8th Street East, Saskatoon, SK S7H0V4

Website: Red Lobster

Awesome lunch deals @ Miramar Chinese Restaurant, Saskatoon

I called it awesome because to get a proper, freshly cooked Chinese meal with a complimentary soup / drink for $7.50 in Toon-town is definitely a catch! Even better than those Chinese kiosk in malls or the usual take-outs. Only recently (I believe early this year) that the restaurant had a change of ownership and do not serve dim sum anymore. What they have is the $7.50 lunch deal which comes with a main of your choice (about 30-ish choices) and a complimentary wan ton soup / coffee / milk tea. To spice up their menu, they also offer BBQ / braised duck with rice (roasted duck is not the usual cheap thing around), probably one of customers' favourite. 

Clockwise from top L: General Tao chicken with rice, milk tea, wan ton soup, shrimp and egg with rice

L: House special fried rice, R: Spicy minced meat and cucumber with noodles (jajangmyeon)

Loved the simple surrounding and easy parking at Market Mall. I dined here twice for lunch. So far, whatever we tried were pretty good. Not too greasy, tasty (not particularly salty), with generous portion of the ingredients. Big eaters can consider their noodles / fried rice mains as the portion is huge. I like how they included the complimentary soup (mediocre) or the coffee / milk tea with the meal. The milk tea (something quite common among Asians) tasted rich though it was just a small cup. Patrons are probably regular customers or those staying nearby looking for a cheap-good-eat for lunch. Menu comes with pictures to help you decide :) If you don't find anything you like (shouldn't be happening considering the options available ;p), they also have the usual Chinese menu. Whether meals are loaded with MSG, I'm not sure, although I'm pretty sure it's part of every Chinese dish (at least I don't feel the undeserved amount of thirst after my meal)

Lunch menu

Address: 2325 Preston Ave S Saskatoon, SK S7J2G1

freakZspeaks had a party @ Assinoboine Hall, Saskatoon, SK

 

Entering another decade..yeehaa ! Gathered with a couple of close friends and had some good finger-licking food. Sister in London, UK delivered a surprised birthday cake from Crave, Saskatoon. Awesome choice! Delivered with ice packs at the sides…totally a surprise! 'Good-looking, tall' (white horse prince kinda look) 6' cake; red velvet with cream cheese. People here lurveee super sweet stuff; too sweet for me but the combination tasted superb. Cream cheese was really good and fresh. Its more like a combination of icing and cream cheese which I felt was not too heavy. Easily can be ordered online. Probably they are more famous for their cupcakes but can easily turn your favourite cupcake into a cake, like the one I had!

Address : Crave Cupcakes, 802A Broadway Avenue, Saskatoon, SK
Website : Crave Cupcakes

I also ordered some cakepops from Sweet T's Cakepops and Cupcakes. Just couldn't resist the cute-looking little thingy. Cakepops are homemade by Tanya; a nice lady who definitely had a passion for baking and probably one of the best cakepop-ers in town! Sold by the dozens, there's plenty of flavors to choose from, starting from $ 20/dozen. Everything can be personalized! Had the white and purple color cakepops; coconut cake dip in white chocolate for the whites and red velvet for the purple. While the red velvet is….red velvet, the coconut flavored cake with white chocolate was totally amazing! Never really had coconut cake before; hence was trying to be adventurous when I ordered it and was glad I made the right choice! Easy communication with Tanya via her facebook page. Check her out!

Website : Sweet T's Cakepops and Cupcakes

Since I wanted to hang out with some friends without the need to do much washing after the party, I ordered some finger food from Izumi.I had the sushi party tray (80 pieces) $ 60, which I thought would be just nice for that amount of people. Not the prettiest-looking tray but with a variety of rolls. Came with little containers of pickled sweet ginger and wasabi. The sushi was just okay, the consistency of the rice was not really good in my opinion and the rolls were a bit crude, and not well-compacted. Probably because they were trying to stuff more ingredients in each of the rolls. Also explains why instead of 'a' party tray, it became a big party tray and a smaller tray (because everything couldn't fit into one). Definitely can be improved! 

Party tray (regular rolls-80 pieces) $ 60

The second portion of the party tray…ummm...

I was dying to try out their Korean fried chicken or 'chi-mek' (chicken and beer) in Korea. Since probably they are the only restaurant in Toon-town that has them, it was totally worth trying. It didn't come cheap though; the original fried chicken was $21.95 while the sweet and spicy version was $ 22.95. Amount would be enough probably for 2-3 people. I ordered one each since we had like 8 people. Not sure about other fried chicken joints, but Korean fried chicken are fried twice; hence the crunchiness of it. It's usually eaten with pickled radish as sides. The sweet and spicy fried chicken was to-die-for. Eventhough it was not as crispy as the original ones (since it was sitting in a box for about an hour before that), the sauce coating the chicken was superbly tasty. None of us had these before but we totally agreed on this (another item to add to my must-eat-list in Korea). I'm pretty sure it would have tasted even better if you had it dine-in. I would definitely be back for more of their fried chicken!

Korean sweet and spicy fried chicken $ 22.95

Korean fried chicken $ 21.95

Address : Izumi Japanese and Korean Restaurant (only pick-up and dine-in)

Website : Izumi Japanese and Korean Restaurant 

Hors d'Oeuvre Quartet $ 12.99 (regular price)

Had some fancy little pastries from M&M Meat shops. Frozen pastries, easily baked and good for parties. Four different varieties in a box of 40 pieces; Roasted Red Pepper with Asiago Cheese Puffs, Mushroom and Leek Triangles, Caramelized Onion and Three Cheese Crescents, and Spinach with Feta Cheese Puff.

Overall, it was a nice little gathering; nothing fancy but we had a good time :) Cheers to myself for a great year ahead!

Temple Gardens Mineral Spa @ Moose Jaw, SK

This post is long overdue ( as I was not planning to write a post on it initially but since I'm soo not in the mood of writing my thesis..*haha). So, Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, about 3 hours drive from Saskatoon. This little town is famous for its historical tunnels and also houses Western Canada's most luxurious spa resort, Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort. Of course, its not exactly comparable to jjimjilbang (bathhouses in Korea) that has way more facilities but without the 'mineral' component in the water or even Taiwan's famous mineral springs and spas; but there are not really many options here in Western Canada. In my opinion, this place is best visited at late winter (where temperature ranges between -10 to 10 degrees celcius) although of course its open year round. The water is really quite hot so, imagine soaking in it in summer (grill lobster look lols). Some pictures to share with you; not the best of quality as we had to wade the pool with our phones in plastic bags and taking the risk of the phone falling into the pool. 

Spotted : Malaysian flag

Brilliant idea of soaking in warm water and enjoying the cold weather. 

The steam (hot and cold condensation) just made it more fun!

Camwhoring by the pool with eating buddy, Bambi

For those who can't swim, dont fret. Its pretty shallow and you can stand on your feet. There's an outdoor and indoor pool. It was more fun being at the outdoor pool but I also think the water felt warmer. The outdoor pool is also way smaller but a perfect location to be with buddies, partners etc and to spend great time chatting while soaking in the pool (although I just realised I didn't take any pictures on the indoor pool ;p)

Fun place to be on a long weekend. Easy drive, easy parking and affordable entrance fee. Do check out their website for more !

Website : Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort

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Veroba's Family Restaurant, Moose Jaw, SK

It's not just about the food…..@ Taste of Saskatchewan

My blog title basically sums it all. One of the highlights during summer in Saskatoon! So basically, its an event held at Kiwanis Park where participating restaurants feature some of their best dishes. A week long event together with premier bands and performances as well. Some might say its expensive and not worth eating etc but the crowd there says otherwise. Its the only summer event I've not missed for the past 3 years I'm in Saskatoon. Just loved the atmosphere!

Eating buddies…..you need them…so that you can taste more of the dishes! lols…(Photo courtesy of Bambi)

So, all you have to do is purchase the tokens ($2.50/token), amount depending on how much you would plan to spend with most items priced at $5.00 (2 tokens). Of course, being normal human, you would realise the longest lines would probably be the restaurants with the best, most-worthy and safest bet on your money (lols). For the past two years, the longest lines were seen at Riviera Restaurant & Lounge (for their poutine) and Joeys' Seafood Restaurant (fish and chips). So, being me, I just had to try why these were good. 

L:Asian Bowl Restaurant's Combo (just ok, can pass this) R:Riviera's Gourmet Poutine (love the fries, big portion, gravy tasted a lil bit weird but people seems to like it including me ;p)

L:Tomas The Cook Restaurant's boneless dry ribs (big portion, one of the famous items) R:Sardinia's greek riblets (really worth it and tasted quite good; well-marinated with herbs)

Joeys Seafood Restaurant : Popcorn shrimp and fish & chips. Long, long lines so we bought two items to make our wait worth it. Huge portion (which probably explains the long line). 

L: Tomas the Cook's Fried banana with ice cream and chocolate sauce (another famous item) R: Tony Tomas Turtle cheesecake  with chocolate sauce (apart from the cute turtle on the top, I really think this is the weirdest cheesecake I've ever eaten; I think Superstore's cheesecake tasted better)

Good times. Relaxing by the river after our heavy 'snacking'. Lols (Photo courtesy of Bambi)

Overall, I would say this is one of the best summer events in Saskatoon! Honestly, the food is not the greatest (but hey, just go to the restaurants if you are looking for the best meals!) but its not just about the food. The atmosphere, the people, the weather and the food (of course!) makes a great combination. With so many varieties, I'm sure you will find something you like. At least this is one family-friendly event without alcohol ruling it ;p

Mexican. Shakespeare @ La Bamba and Shakespeare on the Sask, Saskatoon, SK

A lovely Sunday of chill-axing, Vampire Diaries marathon, followed by Mexican food with a friend at La Bamba Cafe and Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet…La Bamba is really quite at the edge of the town on Boychuk Drive and I would not have heard of it if its not because of Urbanspoon. The reviews were like super good and since it is actually pretty close to where I'm staying, I decided to give it a try. A small little restaurant, we were welcomed by some cheery servers and Mexican music, and with an almost full-house when we got there at 5pm (opens at 4pm!). All tables were served a basket of complimentary warm, crispy home made corn chips with fresh salsa, which was just amazing. 

Complimentary chips and salsa. We tried their Mexican pop Jarritos (which I felt was nicer than the usual pop, maybe because of the varieties they had)

I'm not really a fan of Mexican food so I wasn't really familiar with what is good and what not. I had the Enchiladas Chipotle (which was the very few items that was labelled as HOT!!). Two corn tortillas wrapped with shredded chicken (an option to choose between chicken, beef and vege) and simmered with Chipotle sauce, topped with cream and cheese, and with rice and beans as sides. Friend had basically the same thing but with green sauce instead of chipotle (Enchiladas Verdes). Eventhough I felt I can probably make my own enchiladas, the ones I had was really good. The chipotle sauce was really not at all spicy (if you compare with everything else eg sriracha chilli sauce, curry, laksa, Frank's hot sauce etc). The combination of shredded chicken, tortillas and chipotle sauce seems to be a very good idea (how come I didn't think of making that ?!?) It may lack the aesthetic-look upon presentation (unlike some other fancier Mexican restaurant like Las Palapas), but I'm pretty sure this is the more authentic Mexican food! The beans were…just beans but I kinda like the taste of it even though I'm not too sure what type of beans I'm eating!)

Enchiladas Chipotle $15.99

Enchiladas Verdes $15.99

Full house even though it was only 5pm! Does everyone eat that early ??? I thought it was only me..lols

Overall, I think this is a great place and I will definitely be back! Servers were friendly and attentive, parking was breeze, food was great and moderately priced and atmosphere was nice even though it was a such a small place. They are also 100% MSG-free, gluten-free and trans-fat free. Be sure to get there early or make a reservation because I think this place is packed most of the time !

Address : 3-1025 Boychuk Drive Saskatoon, SK S7H4W9

Website : La Bamba Restaurant

Opening hours : 11.30 am to 8.30 pm daily

Phone no : 306-242 2622

After dinner, we headed for Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan 'Romeo and Juliet' by Saskatchewan River (hence the title @__@). I have been to As You Like It previously in 2012 and thought it was pretty good. The best part is, being a 'poor student', we get to enjoy student pricing as well (yeehaa!). Last year, I was at the Vancouver's festival Bard on the Beach with my mum for another comedy by Shakespeare; while that may be a bigger festival compared to this, the price was also higher as well (check out my blog post on it :)) This season's titles were Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew. Since I prefer watching plays of the Elizabethan era (I don't like remakes, modern versions etc), so I chose the tragedy play instead of comedy (set in the modern era). 

Couldn't resist taking a photo with this friendly lady in a nice costume!

A battle that was held for those who came for the Medieval feast but since we were early, we managed to get a glimpse of it as well ;p

Again, no pictures allowed once play starts. So there, these are the pre-show photos.

Weather was brilliant ( brilliant=not raining, not too cold, not too hot ;p), not many bloody-sucking mosquitoes surprisingly (since it was a 7.30pm show), sold-out performance and a totally tragic story. Enjoyed the show but so totally disagree with Juliet's costume (what were they thinking!). I don't think they actually wear that during the Elizabethan era! A tragic story also meant that there were lots of shouting (to make it sound more dramatic and tragic I supposed), and not much laughter. Although it was good, I think I will stick to comedy plays in the future. That said, this is the one event I will not miss during summer! 

Website : Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan

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Vancouver Highlights (Part 3) @ Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival