Travel Musings — Understated Ideas

I've been to Calgary once before with my family, as a teenager. My standout memory of that trip was our abrupt departure, driving past a policeman posted by a flooded road. So when I flew there for work recently, I was slightly apprehensive.

This trip was a big improvement from my last visit there.

On my first day, I checked out Native Tongues Taqueria. The restaurant’s space has a modern rustic influence. The sturdy furniture theme extended to their wooden table tops with firm metal legs as well as their chairs.

On to the food: the ceviche was fresh and had perfectly tangy citrus notes that paired well with the crisp warm chips that were served with the dish.

The tacos were topped with tender well marinated meat and we washed them down with Pacífico beers that reminded me of a past trip to Mexico while at uni.

I met up with Louise, a friend from UBC living in Calgary, along the vibrant 17th Avenue SW entertainment district. After a great catch up over a tasty and filling dinner, she sent me an amazing list of recommendations that I set about to visit during my stay.

A note on the weather: Instead of the mild 20°c September weather that is the norm for Calgary, we had near 0°c temperatures and light snow. Thankfully I had dressed and packed accordingly. One upside of the cold was that it encouraged my use of the +15 pedestrian pathways which I might have otherwise eschewed in favour of exploring the city outdoors.

One of many insulated, enclosed +15 bridges

Prince's Island Park was an easy but freezing 20 minute walk from my hotel. I opted not to walk through the insulated +15 pathways on the way there simply because walking in straight lines from the hotel to the park is much faster than zigzagging up, down, and through buildings. The park was mostly quiet, occasionally interrupted with the excited shouts of young children out on school trips. It was peaceful, taking in the calming view of autumn foliage.

There was also an adorable but headache inducing gaggle of toddlers paired up in what resembled a column, encouraged along the path by their daycare teachers. One of the children had started wailing, which was the cue for the rest to do so as well. So while I observed the rustling of dry leaves along the tree lined concrete pavement beside the Bow River, the kids provided an amusing vocal backdrop.

Downtown Calgary is peppered with buildings funded by or housing the offices of major oil and gas companies. One skyscraper in particular, The Bow, had a vast art piece installed. I admired the 12 metre tall painted stainless steel sculpture of a young girl’s head by Jaume Plensa.

During a lunch break, I checked out Hula, a poke eatery on the +15 level at Brookfield Place. The term “+15 level” simply means the floor is on the same level as the +15 walkways. I got the yuzu rice bowl with tuna, which turned out to be delectable. The bowl offered a great combination crunchy shallots, leafy greens in the form of kale, edamame, and cucumbers, as well as creamy avocado. Mixed with the tuna I selected, all the flavours worked together to create a great blend of savoury and sweet, crispy and with just the right amount of mush.

One evening, I dropped by the Wednesday Room on Stephen Avenue for a light dinner with a co-worker. Trendy comes to mind when attempting to describe its interior. We didn’t quite realise that ordering the charred cauliflower dish would entail being served a whole cauliflower. It felt a bit gimmicky. On the flip side, their oysters were ocean fresh and briny.

Stephan Avenue itself was interesting. A pedestrian only street, there were plenty of hip restaurants, bars, and shopping lining both sides. If you stay in downtown Calgary while visiting, there’s a fair amount to explore here.

It seemed odd to visit Calgary and not have a steak in a city well known for its beef. So I googled the closest top rated steakhouses and headed to Saltlik. The steakhouse served up a scrumptious steak: juicy and well seared. It was presented in an unfussy manner: the meat circled with a generous amount of béarnaise sauce and a heaped baked potato. I sat at the bar, attended to by sharply dressed bartenders who made a strong gin and tonic. The service was polite and matter-of-fact, which was fair; the restaurant was packed.

Village Ice-cream was a short trek from the hotel into a more isolated area of the eastside of downtown. Once there, I discovered a warm small space with interesting flavours like carnival corn and guava coconut milk. The staff were friendly and doled out generous portions. I ended up trying the Guide’s mint and strawberry flavours which did not disappoint. Each mouthful meant a dense creaminess along with refreshing mint chocolate and fresh strawberry chunks.

Mint and strawberry ice-cream, Village Ice-cream

On my last day there, I popped by 10 Foot Henry. I had the luck of sitting at the chef’s table as I was alone. That basically means I sat right in front of the open kitchen watching dish after dish expertly prepared, garnished, and presented impeccably for servers to deliver to diners.

There was a large selection of vegetarian options. The beet dish was roasted and marinated in a slightly vinegary base and served with a lightly spicy and whipped creamy avocado side. It was a bit jelak* to eat near the end despite having ordered a half portion of the beets as I was dining alone. I appreciated that my server suggested the half portion when I ordered. The seared pickeral was almost impossibly tender and its skin was crisp perfection. The almonds added a nice crunch to the dish.

My final activity before taking off for the airport was to trek to Phil and Sebastian Coffee. Their store on Stephan Ave had a polished but warm design filled with hanging plants and other greenery. It would be a cosy place to be in during the winter months. The barista made a good matcha latte- the right balance of subtle astringency with the buttery mouthfeel of matcha and steamed milk.

One last thing that struck me: Calgary is ridiculously clean. It’s so clean that I actually asked Louise if all of the downtown core we walked by was recently built because the pavements and buildings were exceedingly well maintained. The streets were free of gum and trash unlike in Vancouver, and any leaves were swept to the side.

The Calgary that I visited in September was a great improvement from my scant memories of the city. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the +15 pathways and appreciative of the welcoming nature of its residents. From my experience of the downtown core at least, the city has lots to offer. Calgary has become more diverse. Hopefully this continues and injects an added vibrancy into the city.

Jelak: Malay for “sick of eating” - especially due to extremely rich foods

Everything I had heard before visiting Toronto this year was something along the lines of "it's a tamer version of NYC." At first glance it does appear like a more boring, less crowded version of its southern counterpart. But once you explore Toronto, you realise that the city stands on its own merits.

Christine and I were in town for 3.5 days so we carefully planned to do and eat as much as we could. It was chillier for May than we both anticipated from weather forecasts, and the clothing we brought was more appropriate for summer. We made do nonetheless.

We landed at YYZ just before 6:00 AM, took the UP Express train into downtown Toronto and stored our luggage in a hotel nearby our AirBnB. Despite a complete lack of sleep on the red-eye flight, we were unable to check into our accommodations till the early afternoon. As it was far too early to visit any tourist attractions, we did what anyone would do- head to a Tim Horton's. Over the next 3 days I had more Tim Horton's than I've had in the past 3 years.

When it was finally 15 minutes before the CN Tower opened, we headed out for a slow walk there. The CN Tower is tall. Very tall. There are a bunch of interesting facts on the interior walls, some models of the tower, and a photo area on the way to the elevator up.

Once you get up to the LookOut level, there's a panoramic floor to ceiling view of downtown. If you squint, there's also a small glimpse of Niagara Falls in the distance, or at least that's what a staff member told us.

The level below had a glass floor section for you to look through to the city beneath your feet. Fair warning- it's not for those scared of heights. I inched my way forward slowly on that section myself. If you walk outside on the terrace, it's tremendously windy.

As we still had some time to kill, we headed for dim sum at Lee Chen Asian Bistro. The food was delicious and their prices accurately reflected their downtown location.

After resting for a while, we headed out to brave the TTC for Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral. This is where using transit got perplexing and exhausting. The signs underground to Union Station were unclear. We got redirected about 3 times by various staff members, past a myriad of active construction sites and pedestrian re-routes. Let's just say we arrived at St. Michael's 30 minutes later than expected.

We had a hankering for Singaporean food and found Soos, a Malaysian restaurant. Same same but different. Their beef rendang was flavourful, fairly authentic, but tough for what beef rendang should be. The spiciness of the char kway teow overwhelmed a significant amount of its other flavours.

Soos is the place you would go to if you wanted Singaporean/Malaysian food and were willing to pay a moderate amount for average quality in a polished setting. Don't go in expecting hawker centre quality food and you'll enjoy the modern take on local delicacies.

Thankfully, the dessert place we wanted to visit was right across the street. The line at Bang Bang Ice Cream was long and it was a cold evening. We waited for about an hour in total to get to the front of the line.

The store itself was tiny.

After what felt like a very long time, we placed our order and waited an additional 20 minutes for them to make our bubble waffle.

Totato and lychee rosewater raspberry ice cream on a bubble waffle

The totaro and lychee rosewater raspberry ice cream were delicious and the bubble waffle perfectly crisp and soft.

Sunday was spent largely on Niagara Falls. We started the day with breakfast at Tim Horton's yet again. By some funny coincidence, there happened to be a 10k race going past the designated meeting point at Dundas Square downtown. There we were munching on our sausage muffin sandwiches and hash browns while watching people run by us determinedly.

The Niagara Falls tour was engaging enough. We stopped by a lavender farm and a winery at Niagara-on-the-Lake before arriving at the famous Falls.

It looked a bit like Vegas when we pulled into the coach drop off area. We had about 4 hours to tour the Falls and surrounding area ourselves before the driver picked us up. We headed to the Hornblower first to check that off the list before doing anything else. Our logic was if we got wet by the mist and spray from the waterfall, we would have a few hours to dry off in the sun.

That said, you will get drenched on the Hornblower boat ride, even with the ponchos they provide. Depending on where you stand on the boat, you might be spared the worst of it. We had quite a bit of fun admiring the natural phenomenon, walking back and forth the sheltered safety of the main deck and a closer, damper look from the railings.

After drying off, we got some food from a stand or two and relaxed with an iced cappuccino at Timmies. There's plenty to see and explore around the Falls, but it is the main attraction. We strolled up and down the length of it a few times before calling it a day.

The next day, we met up with Steph who was a great guide on what to see and do in the city. Our first stop: iHalo Krunch ice cream at its pop up in Lululemon of all places.

iHalo's charcoal and ube swirl, Drake lyrics in the background

Then we trekked to Kensington Market for a late brunch at Pow Wow Cafe. Run by chef Shawn Adler, he wanted to bring an awareness of Indigenous food to the public. Instead of corn or flour tacos, the fillings are stacked on bannock. Expect big portions and delicious flavours.

Jimmy's Coffee was a great cafe to wind down at after walking and talking. It was packed with students with laptops as well as tourists and office workers on a break. Somehow we managed to find a seat while we sipped on our drinks.

We went back to rest for a split second before heading out for dinner at Jacobs & Co. I was impressed by their excellent service and quality of food. We had two kinds of meat- one aged and one regular steak. It was the first time either of us had tried dry aged steak.

Both had spectacular bursts of umami. The 30 day dry aged sirloin introduced a scrumptious depth of flavour from the very first bite. The fresh filet mignon was mouthwatering and tender.

The meal was a great way to top off our experience of Toronto gastronomy. A rare treat for our anniversary, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I particularly appreciated how their top notch service and recognition of the special occasion extended to all the staff that tended to us that evening. No detail was overlooked.

There were nice touches ranging from the complimentary champagne to coffee cakes and chocolates after our meal.

Stuffed from dinner, we strolled down Graffiti Alley where Rick Mercer conducted his famous TV rants.

We briefly checked out the 3D Toronto sign at Nathan Phillips Square before calling it a night.

The variety of culturally diverse food and things to do was impressive. It was an adventure to explore Toronto both as someone new to the city and through the eyes of a guide who grew up there. Till next time Toronto, you've been swell.