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As I've mentioned before, York region is in desperate need of a good coffee shop.  So imagine my surprise when I saw Platform Espresso Bar while driving along Highway 7.  Since that day, I have been meaning to stop by.  So last night, after doing some research on where to meet our friends for breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised that they not only serve coffee, but they also serve brunch!  So our meet up location was determined. They open at 900a, and we were the first ones to arrive.  And good thing at that, while there is seating, it is quite minimal.  There are 4 small booths that seats 2 comfortably (4 adults would be very squished), and a larger booth that would seat 6 adults comfortably.  On the coffee front, there is quite a bit of selection.  For espresso based drinks, you get a choice of two beans.  If you want a pour over, there's a selection of 4 to 5 different kind of beans.  If you just want a regular coffee, look elsewhere...

A small restaurant located in a small strip plaza, that if you weren't specifically looking for it, you would never know they existed.  The reason why we chose this place for lunch was because it was near my friend's home, and because I'm always on the hunt for good Hakka food.  When I go to Hakka places, I always order chilli chicken.  I made the mistake or ordering chilli chicken wet (with gravy) once before at another restaurant, dislike.  So I made sure to order it dry this time.  So good!  Had good garlic, onion, and of course green chilli flavour.  Perfect when eaten with plain white rice. Chilli Chicken Friend ordered Manchurian chicken.  She didn't like it so much.  She ordered it wet (with gravy).  We were trying to figure out what the difference between chilli chicken and Manchurian chicken was, because both dishes tasted so similar.  In the end we couldn't' figure it out. Manchurian Chicken Since we went for lunch on a we...

Get your mind out of the gutter people!  This is about pizza, Chicago deep dish style pizza!  We attempted to do dine in for this pizza, but holy moly it was way too busy.  So that day we ditched the idea altogether, and ate something else.  But this time we planned ahead and decided to order takeout.  I know that it's not the same as dining in when it's fresh.  But there's no way I'm waiting 2 hours for a table and then another 30+ minutes for a pizza.  We called ahead and ordered a small Chicago Classic which has pepperoni, sausage and tons of cheese.  The small size could easily feed 3 hungry adults I think, it's so heavy.  We had this for dinner, and reheated it in the oven.  The crust is nothing like the ones from Chicago.  This is more bready/cracker like, whereas I remember the ones from Chicago being a bit more buttery/cookie/tart like.  Filling wise, there was tons of it.  Lots of meats and cheese.  In m...

Every year, we take an annual vacation (farther and longer) usually end of April or beginning of May.  Reason for this timing is we try to get some nice weather, but also have it early enough so that we are still paying low season pricing.  The last few years, we've been venturing around Europe.  And then during the summer, we'll do a shorter getaway either within Canada, or to the nearby United States.  This year, we decided to do it differently.  This May, we decided to take a short vacation in Alberta. We flew into Calgary, and drove towards Banff.  To avoid the high costs of accommodation, we stayed in the hamlet of Harvie Heights.  Compared to Toronto, food seems to cost a bit more in Alberta.  But because taxes are less there, it seems to even out a bit in the end that way.  We did a bit of 'home cooking' just because it was more convenient for some breakfasts, and dinners.  Here's a list of where we ate. Canmore: Rave Coffee Le Fo...

One of my favourite places to eat at in Calgary.  Everything was delicious.  We went for brunch on the weekend, and it was packed in there.  There's a few tables for people that want to eat in, and a few tables on the patio if it's warm enough to eat out.  The lineup to order and pay was out the door!  Lineups are usually good signs. That particular morning I just wanted something simple, I ordered bread, butter and a fried egg.  The bread was fresh sourdough bread that they bake.  Crispy crust and chewy sour inside, topped with butter, delicious! Hubby ordered a breakfast sandwich.  That came with fried egg, bacon, avocado and arugula all on a brioche type bun.  Great combination ingredients, but super messy to eat with the sunny side up egg. Brunch  After enjoying breakfast, we grabbed a scone (chocolate pear), and fruit topped danish (theres a better name for it, I just don't remember) to go.  So glad I was feeling like a glutton...

Interesting name for a coffee shop.  And even more interesting how it's spelled.  I hate to label this place, but it's definitely hipster.  I can't put my finger on it as to why....but it just totally screamed hipster when I walked into it.  I ordered a latte, and holy geez it was expensive.  I forgot to take a picture of the latte itself, but I did snap a picture of the menu because I was in shock as to how expensive my drink was.  Deep down I was telling myself, it's this expensive because it must be a good latte.  And while it wasn't bad, it wasn't good either.  In my opinion, definitely not worth the hefty price tag considering theres other coffee shops nearby that serve delicious coffee. Menu at Philosafy Philosophy Coffee 632 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S 0B4 Hours:  Monday - Friday 700a -1100p              Saturday - Sunday 800a - 1100p https://www.philosafy.com

I wanted to find a restaurant where would could sit and chat since we were meeting with my husband's cousins for dinner.  After doing some Googling for a place nearby the apartment, I found Mercato (Mission location).  My friend also mentioned Mercato, saying they make the best pasta.  So I knew I wanted to try this place.  But of course, due to me not doing enough homework before the trip, I never made a reservation.  In the end it worked out due to Calgary being 2 hours later than Toronto, means for an early dinner, we lucked out and got a table during the first seating. It was so busy there, even though we walked in at 530pm, which is when they open.  We snagged a table because there just so happened to be a last minute cancellation, otherwise we would have had to sit at the bar.  I hate sitting at bars, because it's hard to have actual conversation, and plus i'm short, so getting up and down on the stools is quite a pain.  We quickly ordered b...