 |
| Curry octopus, dumplings and spicy shrimp at Chinatown |
I have visited several national parks in the US and while the natural beauty is stunning and a real treat to the eyes, they have all failed to satisfy my taste buds. My recent trip to Canada was an exception! I visited the Banff national park across the border from Montana near Calgary. We spent a whole week in this mountainous region and to our pleasant surprise, the food didn't disappoint- whether in terms of quality and variety. We spent two days in Calgary, at the beginning and end of our trip, where we sampled the local Chinese and Caribbean food, respectively. The Chinese dishes included curry octopus, shrimp dumplings and spicy shrimp in a cozy restaurant at the city's Chinatown, while the Caribbean included jerk chicken with beans and rice as a take out in the comfort of our hotel. While the Chinese fare was a bit of a disappointment with respect to the spice levels, the jerk chicken was a winner.
 |
| Lava cake with cranberry and white chocolate ice-cream |
We spent three days in Banff, which had a a surprising variety of ethnic dining options. We tried Indian-Chinese fusion, Chinese-Thai, Greek, and the traditional Anglo breakfasts. While the English-Canadian breakfasts were pretty standard and comprised of eggs, avocado toasts, and potatoes, they were flavorful and filling. The dinner meals seemed to be made to order, and were quite authentic. On our first day at the Banff, we got Indo-Chinese food that included chicken triple schezwan, dry chicken Manchurian, and a fish curry with naan from a restaurant called
Saffron in the heart of the town. Portions were fairly large and while we couldn't finish them, they were delicious and reminded me of the dishes back home that I haven't had in a while. On another day, we ordered Chinese and Thai curry and while many might claim that it is hard to get Thai food wrong, the mere fact that we had the option of ordering these meals was very heartening.
 |
| Greek bowl at Balkan |
We tried an outdoor seating at a
Balkan restaurant, a Greek specialty in the heart of town. We had a grilled chicken greek bowl, cauliflower soup and a pork gyro for lunch. The ingredients were fresh, and while the food was a bit pricy, the scenic view of the mountains was a treat. Finally, as a reward for our strenuous hike to the summit of the Sulphur mountain, we had lunch at the
Sky Bistro restaurant that had a buffet with an absolutely stunning view. I would not characterize the buffet as out of the world, but there were a couple of proteins (beef and grilled chicken) along with veggies, and flatbreads as well as quite a few desserts and coffees.
 |
| Seared Ahi Tuna |
We left Banff and spent a couple of days in Lake Louiss, a resort town further up in the mountains. Here, we dined at the Mount Fairview Restaurant. The dishes we tried included seared ahi tuna, bison burger, duck confit, flatbreads for the main course as well as their house made ice cream with a delicious lava cake with orange cream sauce and sorbet for desserts. While it was traditional French/English cuisine, everything was well executed.
