Birthday dinner

For my birthday, I decided to go to the south side location of Tropika with my family for a simple dinner. The food was excellent as always, definitely one of my favorite restaurants! Tropika had always been my go-to restaurant for family outings, you need to check this place out if you haven't!

Satays 

Char Hor Fun

Hainanese Chicken

Sambal Clams

Sambal Bunchies

Pad Thai

Passion Punch

Tropika Sour

Wildflower Grill

Located at the Matrix Hotel, this little restaurant is tucked away in downtown Edmonton, it's quiet and dainty, perfect for a date night, family night, girls night, ANY NIGHT! Not to mention, this place also offers a free "sample" appetizer and a free dessert!

This was our free sample appetizer, a spoonful of salmon!

This dish could be eaten within two bits, I wouldn't recommend getting this if you are hungry! Especially for the price you would pay.

Are you guys noticing how I always order ravioli when it's on the menu?! Yup, it's true, I'm on the hunt for the BEST ravioli! Luckily, no place has beaten my love for Cibo's ravioli, but Wildflower Grill gets second place in my heart! I would definitely come back for this!

Strawberry shortcake anyone? Not too sweet and the whipped cream was whipped to perfection!

Our free dessert(s)! My finger is there for size reference (lol!) They were (almost) too cute to eat but of course I had to devour them...

Favorite restaurant!

I don't have ONE particular favorite food, but I do have a favorite restaurant and that would be, Cibo Bistro, sandwiched between several other stores and restaurants on 104th Ave. An ntre from this little gem could easily cost as much as an entire meal from another Italian restaurant, but it is definitely worth it. The portion size isn't grand but the flavor is everything! If I lived closer to downtown Edmonton, I'm positive that I'd have dinner there everyday!

Polenta Fritta, not sure how to describe these but they were similar to giant fries except instead of being potatoes, they were filled with cheese? They were quite filling but very good!

Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of this dish but it was apart of their dinner menu and I can promise you that it tasted better than how it looks (ok lets be real now, it looks delicious!)

This may look like a simple ravioli dish, but it was the best ravioli I've ever had in my life! (price ranges around $35)

Fish Tacos!

My favorite tacos (one of my favorite foods) fish tacos from Tres Carnales! I probably go there once a week...

Canada day eats!

This year was the first year (since a very looooooooooong time) that I actually celebrated Canada Day. Now, when I think of food for Canada Day or any other "outdoor-related-holiday/event" I think of street food, which I guess I could have gotten... but instead, my sister and company decided to head down to La Ronde, the revolving rooftop restaurant, found in the heart of downtown Edmonton. I've always heard about this restaurant but never had any occasion that I felt was "special" enough to pay this restaurant a visit so it was a very exciting foodie experience! The server we had was quite friendly, he offered us complimentary ice-cream (and complimentary drinks? I don't remember, we ordered too many...). Unfortunately, there was a building blocking our view so when the fireworks came on, we only got to see a quarter of it but the food made up for missing the fireworks!

Most restaurants offer complimentary bread but how many cut their bread into heart shapes?! (they gave us both white and whole wheat)

 I ordered the Charbroiled Alberta "Sterling Silver" Striploin ($38). Which was your average striploin, basically everyone at my table ordered this...

My sister is a vegetarian and unfortunately, there wasn't a variety of vegetarian options but she ordered the Roasted Portobello Mushroom with Mediterranean Vegetables.($28) 

After dinner, I needed a place to sober up and Denny's was the only place opened so we headed down to Denny's and ordered the half order of Eggs Benedict. ($8.17)

Three Course Dinner

About a month ago, I went to Century Grill & Bar located on the Calgary Trail, for a birthday dinner. It was arranged so that everyone ordered from the "three course dinner menu" where we got an option of an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. That was estimated to be about $50 per person!

For the appetizer, I ordered the grilled cheese and tomato soup. I was quite disappointed by this dish because I was expecting an actual grilled cheese sandwich but it was a slice of bread. Also, the tomato soup was too sour for my likings! 

As for entree, I ordered the salmon which was a lot better than my appetizer! It was served with assorted veggies and goat cheese risotto. 

Finally, dessert! I actually had both the crème brulee and the house made cheesecake. BOTH were excellent!

How do you like your eggs?

With exams and everything in my life happening all at once, I didn't get the chance to blog but I'm back! Another fellow foodie and I decided to grab brunch today, with the beautiful weather lately, of course it's patio season. We settled for Artisan Resto-Cafe on Whyte Avenue.
P.S: Don't mind the quality of the photos, they were taken on my iPhone.

I was craving eggs benedict so I ordered the Bretôn which cost $11.29

Still on the hunt for THEE BEST eggs benedict in the city...

My friend ordered something off of the Classic Eggs menu (forgot what it was called) with scrambled eggs but she said the bacon had too much fat on it.

Of course, no foodie brunch would be complete without dessert... so we ordered the mixed berry Belgian Waffles ($10.49) to share. The waffles were fluffy and the sourness of the berries were a great balance! I would say among all the places in Edmonton, Artisan Resto-Cafe is my favorite go-to place for Belgian waffles!

DONUTS!!!

I love friendly people and yummy tasting food as much as the next person... but I also try to eat healthy (ok just kidding no I don't lol). But I CANNOT pass on sweets! The first time I encountered Frickin Delights Donuts, was when I went to the Old Strathcona Farmers Market, back in March. I had always seen pictures of these donuts on instagram and I knew it was my destiny to get my hands on some, so I woke up one Saturday morning to grab some and fell in love INSTANTLY! Let me tell you, I HAVE NOT been to Tim Hortons or any other place to get donuts ever since then. These donuts are vegan and taste 10000% times better than regular donuts! The creator of these lovely donuts, is made by the wonderful Mandy, she is definitely as sweet as her donuts! The first time I met her, I teared up and had a major fan girl moment! She kindly took a picture with me and ever since then I knew I had to stay loyal and ONLY eat her donuts.

Finally, two months pass, I finally got time to head back to the market but she was completely sold out, but at least she remembered me!!! But yes, I cried all the way home... LUCKILY, she does delivery! My boyfriend surprised me with a box of her donuts and told me she delivers them personally! She also wrote me a birthday card! I honestly cannot express how much I adore her or how delicious her donuts are! Everyone NEEDS to check out her donut stand at the Old Strathcona Farmers Market or check out her website here: http://www.frickindelights.com/ 

and let her know Cari-Amber says hi!!!

The Melting Pot!

This would've been my second time at The Melting Pot, there really isn't much to say, except that I have a lovely experience every time. It's an ideal restaurant to go to for dates because the tables are isolated and the restaurant itself is very quiet because of this reason. Overall, I felt that the menu was a tad bit pricey for the portion but the servers were really friendly!

Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar

I decided to start my weekend off by grabbing lunch with a friend on Friday, at Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar.

Conveniently, my friend works at one of the chain restaurants of Century Hospitality, so she knew most of the workers there so we got to chat with a few of them and they're all quite friendly! I even got to meet Tony Le! But besides that, we had a nice quiet afternoon and I finally got to satisfy my pasta craving!

My friend ordered the chicken which came with a creamy rice type of side (which I thought tasted really interesting...)

We decided to split a Panna Cotta for dessert!

And from a previous visit, I ordered the Knucklehead pizza which I HIGHLY recommend if you're craving pizza and potatoes!

Tasty Choice (pt1)

Lately, my boyfriend and I have been on a quest to try every bubble tea joint in the city, so on Saturday night, we decided to head down to Tasty Choice, right behind The Melting Pot. It opened till 1:00AM that day and it was definitely worth the long drive because we discovered our new favourite bubble tea place! Originally, I wanted to try their Japanese crepes, but got side tracked by their huge menu of "Hong-Kong street food."

I absolutely adore the interior! there are couches and bar chairs scattered around the cafe and lots of games to choose from!

The appetizers ranged between$4-$6 

My favourite was the mozzarella sticks! The bowl at the bottom was a rice dish with grilled pork, tomato sauce (?), and cheese-- oddly enough, cheese and rice go well together...

Just another Wednesday...

I'm probably weird for saying this, but I'm not a fan of Wednesdays. It's in the middle of the week so I can't be excited about the weekend nor can I reminisce about my "crazy weekend" since two days have passed... Really, what's the point of Wednesdays? Wish I could sleep through every Wednesday and wake up on Thursday to be excited about Friday!

Anyway, that was totally off topic but this Wednesday was SLIGHTLY better than others. After a full day of school, I went to Tres Carnales to satisfy my taco craving!

After a wonderful dinner, we headed to Dauphine's to grab some lemoney-treats, and enjoyed them by the River Valley!

Bubbletea

After having dinner at Wing Chicx, we decided to get dessert from Tea Cup 2 Go, located right across the parking lot from our restaurant. The owners were super friendly and didn't seem to mind serving us even though we showed up around closing time. Ok, not going to lie, I was super full from dinner but I saw their japadogs menu and could not resist!

I ordered the Tea Cup Dog ($4.25) this picture doesn't even begin to do it justice! But I don't recommend eating this on a full stomach (what I did lol HUGE mistake).

[From left to right] Lychee bubbletea with tapioca and mango jelly/WARM taro bubble milk with tapioca-- Ok I understand how weird that might sound but if you're a taro fan, or a fan of creamy, sweet, milk, drinks, THIS is the drink for you! Definitely my new favourite drink (YES!! I love it more than I love my london fogs!) 

KFC!!!

Despite how windy it was today, the boyfriend and I decided to take an extremely loooong drive down to Ellerslie/Summerside to eat dinner at Wing Chicx! The restaurant itself is quite small so the tables are packed close together but it was so worth the drive/wait to eat there. We were mainly excited about the KFC (Korean Fried Chicken), it tastes a lot better than regular deep fried chicken, in a sense that it isn't greasy and the sauce that it comes with is also really good!

I truly believe that no korean dinner is complete without ddeobokki...

KFC! (Korean Fried Chicken)

I felt this was a bit overpriced for only two pieces but it tasted great!

A sneak peak inside the restaurant!

Gem of downtown Edmonton

After seeing food from Tres Carnales all over instagram, I finally got the chance to try the tacos from there! The line up was crazy! The restaurant itself is quite little but that doesn't seem to stop people from waiting in the cramp section of the restaurant to get their hands on some Mexican food! The food was very inexpensive and came out really quick!

Tinga Mixta Tacos ($10)

Chorizo Tacos ($10)

Guacamole y Totopos (BEST GUACAMOLE I'VE EVER EATEN)

Double date!

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I went on a double date to Joeys on Jasper Ave with our friends. We had to wait 30 minutes to get seated that evening but they offered us free appetizers while we waited so the service was really good! Overall the food was delicious and I would definitely come back again for their crispy mashed potatoes (which my boyfriend is crazy about!)

I was craving pasta that night so I ordered the ravioli (approximately $24) It tasted really good but it didn't fill me up (probably because I was super hungry) but I do recommend this!

The steak was excellent, I think I'd order a steak the next time I go.

Our friends ordered a steak and burger (which looked/smelt amazing!)