As I sit here in my hot room, waiting for the thunderstorm to pass and ultimately avoiding studying for the MCAT, I thought I'd at least put some wasted time to use and post!

This past Saturday after a long scheduled meeting from 9am - 330pm, Vince and I needed a quick fix before I headed to my next work responsibility at 6pm. With the outdoor temperature being so hot, pho was out of the question even though I was CRAVING it.. so I suggested heading over to Mongolie Grill on Calgary Trail, since I enjoyed having it for lunch with the girls and Vince had yet to try their cooking concept.

I had never tried this restaurant up until about a month ago, when Cassie suggested going there for lunch. I guess it was likely because of my parents, saying that the restaurant was extremely overpriced for eating just a simple stir fry - what can I say, they're Asian ;)

Upon arriving at 430, the restaurant was pretty empty, with maybe two or three tables occupied at most. We were greeted by the friendly hostess, and our server was very polite! The thing I like most about this stir fry restaurant is that you have the option to choose what you want to eat, and how much you want to eat. It is the perfect option for those trying to watch what they eat - you control portion size, flavouring, etc. For starters, both of us decided to try their Hot & Sour Soup.

Hot & Sour Soup

The soup itself looks interesting, very different from the traditional hot and sour soup that my parents have been feeding me my entire life. While the type I have at home is usually jam packed with asian ingredients like bamboo, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear fungus, this bare version at Mongolie grill mostly consisted of a broth with some egg, flaked bean curd and chewy pieces here & there (I say chewy pieces because I had no idea what I was eating!) Despite this vast difference, the soup itself wasn't bad. The flavouring to the soup made me want it more & more - it was a very unique mix between salty, sweet, sour and spicy. All in all I would recommend it, but I hope overtime they will reduce the amount of sodium in this one!

My vegetarian stir fry

For my stir fry, I opted for the vegetarian, choosing my favourite stir fry stars: baby corn, broccoli, onions/green onion, white and portabello muchrooms,and of course Shanghai noodles! I think the funnest part of the meal is choosing the sauces for the stir fry, and crossing your fingers hoping the resulting plate will taste decent! For me I chose house blend, spicy thai, pureed garlic, teriyaki, oyster sauce, and black bean sauce. The result? Delicious. Combined with the complimentary wraps & rice and you've got yourself a substantial meal!

Oh, and on a side note, I bought myself the Coach Alexandra bag this past weekend in Champagne.. isn't she a beauty? She's gorgeous and I can't wait to use her!

meet alexandra :)

Mongolie Grill
3345 Calgary Trail
Edmonton AB

As the company's fiscal year comes to a close, Coach Leatherware will be officially introducing a new collection on July 1st, the Alexandra Collection. I am aware that some of these bags are currently in the store, but the full display will be layed out on July 1st.



The Alexandra bag is very versatile & functional everyday bag. It is marketed as a bag that can be worn in three ways: a satchel, and crossbody bag, and a shoulder bag. This bag has a great silhouette, and since it's available in multiple colours and materials (sateen, fabric, leather, patent leather, metallic leather & embossed leather), it's perfect for fall. My favourite material in this collection would have to be the leather, as it is soft, pebbled and thick. Despite being soft, it is durable and able to keep it's shape, and I love that it is available in rich fall colours. In addition, the zipper runs very well considering it is on a slouch! It actually reminds me a bit of the Miu Miu bow satchel..

My picks? The leather Alexandra in Champagne, Berry, and Black Embossed Croc.

Champagne
Berry
Embossed Croc

After an extremely long and tiring day of work (trust me, it was tough being stuck inside while there was AMAZING weather outside, not to mention I have not been this tired after work in a long long time with sore feet and I cannot keep my eyes open as I type this!!) I got a text from one of my best friends Andrew, who just came back from his trip to Japan! Despite being tired, I was so excited to see him, so I went to pick him up and we went to try the new bubble tea & snacks place called Tasty Choice.

Once we arrived, we were quite lucky to run into some of our other close friends. We bumped into Ronald, Carson, Calvin, Matt, and Jian (you music lovers can find Calvin & Matt's blogs here & here) just to chill and catch up!

Of course, this wouldn't all happen without the help of some yummy snacks and bubble tea :) Since I had some fresh watermelon slush earlier in the afternoon, I opted out of having bubble tea and settled for some of their snacks instead. Andrew & I chose to try out their green onion cakes (an Asian staple for sure!), and something they had called "Crispy Twists"

Crispy Twists

Now, not to say these didn't taste good, I just had no idea what they were! I was thinking maybe they were made of potatoes at first, but since they were so thin and awkwardly curled, it would be impossible for potato shavings to keep their shape like that. The outside was crisp, with the inside being soft & a little chewy, so I'm just going to guess that they were deep fried dough or noodles of some sort! Served with ranch dip and a house special sauce (it resembled southwest sauce...), it wasn't bad, minus the extremely generous amount of seasoning salt on top!

Green Onion Cake

Now, onto the green onion cakes served with a sweet chili sauce. These were pretty standard green onion cakes, likely the kind we see everyday in the shape of a saucer. What I liked about these is that they were not very salty, and I didn't feel they were soaked with oil.

All in all, the experience at Tasty Choice wasn't bad, but considering they are a new bubble tea place in Edmonton, I would give them a bit of time to improve on their dishes. I visited them a week earlier and their satay beef noodles in soup were quite delicious - hopefully they can touch up on all their other dishes and make them equally as tasty. Also, I can't wait to try their mango dessert! Definitely the thing I look forward to most.

Tasty Choice
107 2920 Calgary Trail
Edmonton AB