thekua.com@rest

Sushi Man
I went to this place on a Saturday where a party had booked the private dining room. I had no idea how big it was as traditional Japanese blue curtains blocked any views although I did see quite a few people enter to the point where they almost ran out of seating. It’s quite nice they have this area in addition to the six or seven other tables I noticed around. Other than the large dinner group, I didn’t notice that many other people around.

I have to give this place bonus points being staffed with a number of real Japanese people, instead of the many other Chinese staffed ‘Japanese’ places I’ve seen. After overhearing a bit of their conversation I can at least attest to the waitress and the sushi chef being Japanese. At least it feels being one more step closer to being considered authentic.

I ordered one of my most favourite dishes, the unagi don (eel on rice). They presented it beautifully in a small enclosed lacquered container and even for the $18 price, they definitely didn’t skimp on any eel. Its flesh, perfectly devoid of any small bones, had been warmed through brushed with a luscious dark sauce, went down a treat.

Found at: 1004 1 Street SW, Calgary, AB T2R 1M2
Contactable on: (403) 205-3232

King & I
The King & I offers Thai cuisine in what is best described as the most modern dining atmosphere in Calgary, at least compared to the other Thai restaurants in town. It’s a large restaurant split into several dining areas adding to an intimate atmosphere adorned with a number of bamboo hangings.

Their prices also reflect this modern take, easily considered on the higher end of restaurants with main dishes (unaccompanied by rice) easily averaging over $20 each. This price definitely contributes to overall presentation with many of the dishes beautifully presented (looking around at other diners) otherwise wasted on the curries dished out in a very plain looking white bowl.

I didn’t know what to make of their menu as it lacked the chilli symbols indicating how spicy to expect each dish, instead a simple description. A little bit skeptical, I ordered their duck in green curry, labeled as very spicy and disappointed I was not. It’s the hottest dish I’ve had since getting to Calgary, making me quickly break out into a small sweat and thankful for the prompt refills of water from the waitress. I definitely found it extremely flavourful although I still question whether or not it was worth the one a half times the price you could get something similar at Thai Sa-On.

I still enjoyed my meal and though it’s not a place I’ll be returning to every week, I would reserve it for some special occasion.

Found on: 822 11th Ave. SW, Calgary, AB T2R 0E5
Contactable on: (403) 264-7241

The Palomino Smokehouse
It’s a little bit hard to go wrong for BBQ if you own a smoker big enough that it apparently weighs a tonne and cost about $25 000. Although I don’t claim to be a BBQ expert, I can tell when meat is dry and flavourless that, fortunately, The Palomino does not serve. The atmosphere in this place is best described as a pub more than a restaurant, complete with a number of TVs showing different types of sports. It seems to attract quite a local crowd simply for the being a fairly decent pub although the friendliness of the waitresses probably has something to do with it as well.

Their menu had plenty of things I’d want to try of different things but since I’d come to try any of the items subjected to their smoker, I ended up with the two meat platter including the Alberta beef brisket and the St Louis style ribs. Served with two choices of sides, this huge plate of food should appease all audiences. I succumbed to the temptation of the garlic fries and I’m pleased to report that their extraordinarily wicked flavour and crispiness did not disappoint. I tried to make the meal just that tinier bit healthier with the grilled seasonal vegetables.

II can’t say that I was disappointed with the beef brisket and the ribs either – both extremely tender and succulent. The brisket came in strips and though it didn’t have any saucy component didn’t really need it with the flavour that it carried. The ribs, on the other hand, came already covered in a decent amount of sauce and with the meat easily removed from the bone went down very quickly.

I ate at The Palomino too early to see any of the live music that apparently goes on, though I’d definitely return to check out the downstairs area that hosts the bands. Best described as a pub that serves a great selection of down to earth food, The Palomino meets its own description of itself perfectly.

Found at: 109 7 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2P 0W5, Canada
Contactable on: (403) 532-1911

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We were heading out to lunch yesterday and witnessed a huge accident involving two large cars. One, a blue convertible, and the other, a white pickup truck. We couldn’t work out who’s fault it was as we hadn’t noticed the traffic lights and what was working at the time. We only heard the noise of the white pickup truck crashing into the tail of the convertible and only saw the aftermath of the two pretty young guys.

Apparently insurance for people under 25 is really expensive so I can only imagine what cover both of these guys had. I still couldn’t workout how one of the guys could afford the convertible either though.

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I fit in another day’s skiing before heading back to the UK, returning to Sunshine Village and this time accompanied by a work colleague, Tory. I hadn’t realised this and apparently unlike it’s name, Sunshine isn’t usually known for its clear bright skies, often covered instead in a bank of clouds. We were therefore fortunate that it had plenty of sun and wasn’t as cold as it had been last week.

They hadn’t had much snow since the previous weekend though it was still perfectly enjoyable. Troy had his board with him and we did the sneaky thing of simply getting to the top of the gondola and hire the ski equipment at the top instead of waiting in line at the bottom. It’s almost the same sort of equipment although only offering intermediate and advanced ski equipment - something I didn’t mind paying a few extra dollars for.

I’m extremely thankful that I’ve been fortunate to fit in three visits to the slopes in the three weeks that I’ve been here. I’m a little skeptical about the apparent snow that lasts until the end of may and I’m tempted to bring all my stuff back with me when I briefly return to the UK for a quick conference visit. Either way, it’s been a great time.

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Is surprisingly better than I expected. The standard Canadian drink of choice tends to be the filtered variety supplied by the mega chain named after ex-ice hockey star, Tim Horton. It’s still not the type of stuff I really want to drink though I have been challenged to the large double double at some stage.

My three top places for coffee so far include (in preferred order):

• Caffè Artigiano
• Cafe Beano
• Bumpy’s

Other places worth visiting include The Roasterie, and Higher Ground. Artigiano’s wins out since it’s open early during the week, it’s within a reasonable walking distance of home and makes some great coffee that’s

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I know that this post will bore some of those who aren’t in Calgary. I just feel a certain duty to blog about places I’ve eaten to benefit those who might stumble across this post some day. Feel free to skip this if you want. Follow on to read all about it. (more…)

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I managed to get in another day’s skiing last Saturday, this time using the Sunshine Coach to speed me all the way from downtown Calgary to the Sunshine Village ski resort. Spread across three different mountains and served by numerous ski lifts, Sunshine is also one of the more unique ski resorts to host its very own hotel mid way up on the mountain. I found the trip on the Sunshine Coach extremely smooth and worth the effort of needing to leave downtown at 7am on a Saturday morning. We arrived just after 9am and I was up on the slopes well before 10am even after lining up to get my rental gear. Unlike the previous weekend’s skiing, the gear probably wasn’t as nice or as comfortable (to the extent ski boots ever are) since I didn’t have a buddy working on these slopes. By the end of the day, my weary shins groaned loudly with the effort of the day’s skiing. Fortunately Sunshine gets plenty of snow and Saturday was no different with the light powder making it more comfortable to ski on.

Compared to Lake Louise, Sunshine seemed a bit more beginner friendly. They seemed to have more green and blue runs and just in general they were wide and curvy instead of the narrow and sharp ones I remember at Lake Louise. Of course, they had their fair share of moguls as well. Despite having loads of cars in the car park, I can’t say that the lift lines ever became very long and even the slopes didn’t seem to have that many people.

All in all, it was another great day of skiing and nice to see yet a different mountain. I’d highly recommend the Sunshine Coach for those without a car, offering a great package deal involving both the bus and lift ticket combined.

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