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

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