Famous Doesn't Mean Fabulous - The Peninsula Hotel Afternoon Tea

Old World Elegance

When you look at guidebooks for Hong Kong, or ask anyone about where to go for afternoon tea in Hong Kong, inevitably, you will find The Peninsula Hotel mentioned as the place to go, due to their long history of upholding this English tradition. However, long history and quality do not always go hand in hand. One of the oldest and most revered hotels in Hong Kong, The Peninsula Hotel has always been the place for those with money. The female human remembered coming here once on her last visit to Hong Kong as a teenager, and awing at the splendour and opulence of the hotel lobby. At the time she was there with her mother, meeting a family friend for coffee, jaw agape that she was spending time with a Hong Kong movie star, Josephine Siao Fong-Fong, when a famous Hong Kong director, whose movies she had seen stopped by briefly to say hello to their family friend. With a history of being the place for movie stars, as well as the rich and otherwise famous to be seen, one would hope that they would settle for nothing lest than the highest quality.

World of Wines at Winefest Edmonton

Winefest Tickets

I was lucky enough to initially to win tickets to Winefest through a contest run by @Argenplath on her blog, What Would Argenplath Pay? A few days before Winefest, @michpetersjones also managed to get me on the attendee list for the media preview. The great thing about being able to attend both events was that I was able to experience Winefest from both the media and the public’s perspective, as I was betting both events would be very different.

The Wines

So you know why I enjoyed the wines that I enjoyed, I’ll be honest and tell you that I am a fan of white wines and champagne first and foremost, particularly Riesling and vintage champagnes. I have been trying to get into red wines more recently, but find that I tend to lean towards those that have a fruitier taste and are mildly sweet. I am not a fan of red wines that taste bold and oaky, nor do I enjoy white wines that are so dry I feel parched just drinking them. You won’t see any wines from the USA on this list as I have tried many in the past, and inevitably, they give me a migraine. I couldn’t tell you why, but I have tried whites, reds and sparkling wines from California and Washington to be sure, and it always ends up the same, me feeling like my poor head is going to explode, so I try to avoid them whenever possible.

Fantastic Filipino at Filistix

Filistix at ECHA

Filistix started life as a Filipino food cart that was so popular with students that they eventually spawned into multiple permanent kiosks on the University of Alberta and Grant MacEwan campuses. They have several items on their menu that are always available such as The Classic – Chicken Adobo, listed by Filistix as the national dish of the Philippines consisting of roasted chicken that is finished with a tangy soy, garlic and chilli sauce, and is served with jasmine rice and Filistix’s signature slaw. The chicken in The Classic was lightly seasoned, juicy and moist, while the tangy soy, garlic and chilli sauce work well together without any single of these flavours dominating and working in perfectly harmony.  Their signature slaw is surprisingly refreshing and slightly sweet with shredded cabbage dressed with sesame soy balsamic vinaigrette and topped with slivered almonds and dried cranberries.

Spectacular Tastes at Stages Kitchen & Bar

The Valley Affair

Although I had never been in the old Mayfield Inn, I was curious to see what the renovations to turn the hotel from the Mayfield Inn, into a Double Tree by Hilton would look like. As well, this was the first time I’d been invited to the restaurant opening of a restaurant located inside a hotel, so I was curious to see what it would be like. Generally when I think of hotel restaurants, I think of restaurants that serve fairly generic food in order to cater to the widest range of visitors as possible. In the past when I’ve travelled, with the exception of an included breakfast, I try to avoid eating at the hotel restaurant, as it’s usually not very good. Although that seems to be improving recently, with Charcut Roast House at Hotel Le Germain being an exceptionally good restaurant located in a hotel.

Sailin On - Veganlicious

Sailin On Food Truck

Sorry for the tardiness of this post, having been away a good portion of the fall, I fell behind on my food truck posts!

Now if you’ve read my posts, you know that I’m a vegemootarian – in other words, I eat everything except feeb or feeb related meats. So I am nowhere near vegan, however we know quite a few vegans and were intrigued to see what vegan street food would taste like. Unlike the majority of food trucks in Edmonton, Sailin On doesn’t do a regular lunch service (although they have been spotted downtown at lunch occasionally), and instead caters mostly to the late night crowd on Whyte Ave. However, over the summer they could also be found at 124 Street Market on Thursday evenings and other events around Edmonton.