Shanghai Classic Restaurant Ltd – Calgary, AB

While I was making some dumplings at home, I really wanted to eat some Chinese food for lunch. We did some searching and found Shanghai Classic Restaurant which we were confused as it’s name says it’s both Shanghai and Peking style Chinese food. It didn’t matter though, we still went in for food!

We went at an off lunch (late) time, and we were surprised with the amount of customers they had inside! It was very exciting that they were pretty much packed!

We sat down and ordered all the things I love. We started with Pan fried dumplings which was really nicely done. The flavours weren’t the best, but we have had worse! So, we were still really happy. The skin was a bit thick but the filling was really good.

Then, we had an order of Shanghai Noodles which has been one of my favourites for a long time, and I still liked it here. It was too greasy for my liking, but it was well flavoured and tasted good regardless. At the end, we just picked out the noodles, pork and mushrooms, and left the grease with everything else.

Finally, I like anything with condensed sweetened milk, and I ordered some Steamed Mantou with the condensed milk. My favourite is when we fry it, but it was a greasy enough meal. The bun was supposed to be a “silver thread bun”, but as you can see, it didn’t have too much “thread”, so I’m calling it a mantou. They were quite stingy on the condensed milk too, which was disappointing as that’s usually my highlight!

Overall, it was a decent meal. We enjoyed it, we were happy and full. However, it isn’t worth my trip there as it is at the other side of the city.

Shanghai Classic Restaurant Ltd on Urbanspoon

Shanghai Classic Restaurant Ltd

8282 Centre St N
Calgary, AB
(403) 295-1323

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Whitecourt Southeast – Whitecourt Alberta

I did a blind booking when I had the opportunity to stay up North in Whitecourt, Alberta and we just randomly bid a hotel as we had no idea what’s what. We were lucky enough to have won Holiday Inn Express & Suites for this stay, and I’m sure glad we did! The hotel and the room was very nice and the staff was extremely friendly! The location was really good as it’s not far from amenities, yet far enough from the highway and train that it was quiet.

Once we got to our room, we were blown away with the amount of space we had! It was huge inside with all the amenities you’d want – from mini fridge to a microwave! We’re never picky with what we get and this room, we had 2 queen sized beds and it was nice! Everything was clean and no funky smell – which is always a good thing.

The bathroom decent in size with enough counter space! It was pretty standard, and it was also clean with fresh towels and stuff. It’s not spacious, but yet, how much room do you need in a bathroom…

They used Bath & Body Works bathroom amenities in this hotel, which is very nice. It smell really good and you know it’s a good brand. I appreciate it! The last Holiday Inn Express I stayed at used the same line, but a different scent – so it’s a fun way to experience it!

Overall, the stay was extremely enjoyable and comfortable. They had free wifi internet, free parking and complimentary breakfast! To see the room walk-through, check out the clip below!

Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Whitecourt Southeast

4721 49 St
Whitecourt, AB T7S 1N5
Phone:(780) 778-2512

Bangkoknoi Thai

I love Thai food, and one of my favourite restaurants to go to for Thai was always Bangkoknoi Thai Restaurant, so when my anniversary came, it was a perfect time to re-visit this place! The location of this restaurant is on the east side of Centre street, and parking is definitely limited in the back. I find street parking much more accessible, and easier actually!

Since it was our anniversary, it was just the 2 of us, and we ordered a lot of food! We started off with Tom Kah Gai which was a delicious soup, and something different for the typical Tom Yum Soup I normally order. It’s not that different from the Tom Yum soup actually, with notes of lemon grass, lime juice, cilantro plus the added taste of coconut milk. The coconut milk adds a whole new dimension to the soup and tones down the spiciness actually – making it quite enjoyable! The soup has slices of chicken, fresh mushrooms, and tomato chunks!

We then ordered some appetizers, and we choose Crunchy Calamari, which of course was battered calamari deep fried sweet chilli sauce

One thing I’ve always loved from Bankoknoi would be their deep fried fish! We always order their Spicy Fried Fish, and I think I had my hopes too high this time. It wasn’t as delicious as it was in the past, but it wasn’t bad at all. The fish was a tad over cooked, and the texture of the fish wasn’t flaky anymore. However, it was still super good!! It was by no means bad, just not as good as it use to be!

We ended with my all time favourite dish, Pad Sie Ew which I know as Pad Sew from other Thai places. Sadly, I can’t say this dish was done to my expectations. I had a small handful of the wide noodles, and just wasn’t seasoned much. I think I would skip this dish next time I go to Bangkoknoi.

At the end of the day, we left very satisfied and quite full! We had a fun night, with great food! It’s still a great restaurant for Thai, so I would definitely return! I’ve been returning for many years, so why stop now?

Bangkoknoi Thai on Urbanspoon

Bangkoknoi Thai

1324 Centre St N
Calgary, AB T2E
(403) 277-8424