Dinner at The King & I

I rate dinner at The King & I 4 Shazams. Everything was very tasty and the "sharing" experience was fun. Seven of us each ordered an entree and each had a bowl of coconut rice (although there was plain and brown rice options) which seemed just the right amount of food, with only a bit left over. I recommend the salad rolls as well which were very fresh. I would stay away from them if you do not like cilantro. The first entree pictured was the Galanga Cashew Chicken, then Bernadette's stirfry, then my plate all loaded up with goodies. I was especially fond of the Chu Chi Seafood (tiger prawns and scallops are stif-fried with seasonal vegetables in our chili jam and basil coconut milk-infused sauce), Buddha's Delight (snowpeas, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, carrots & water chestnuts stir-fried with mushrooms sauce) and Pad Kai Long Song (tender chicken sautéed in spicy peanut sauce and served on a bed of spinach).

I have never seen the Dinner Club order so many desserts before. I only wish I had not eaten so much so I could have finished my Chocolate Pate with Raspberry Sauce. Yum! Ok, yes I was very organized about our order...haphazard can be a lot of fun too...so next time the Blackberry is only coming out for pictures. :)

Anyone for the Long Song?

All right stop, collaborate and listen, Ice is back with my brand new invention.....okay now before I break further into song, the "Long Song" I want to share with you, isn't my rendition of "Ice, Ice, Baby" but the Pad Kai Long Song at the King & I Thai Cuisine Restaurant! Can we say delicious?!?! With a hint of heat in the peanut sauce, the tender chicken was served on a bed of spinach and it was my favourite!

Our group opted to share a number of dishes in addition to the Pad Kai Long Song which included Galanga Cashew Chicken, Galanga Cashew Beef (okay, so we're fond of cashews), Nuea Nam Dang, Buddha's Delight and of course, the ever so flavourful coconut rice! Top that off with the Banana Spring Rolls, the Chocolate Silk Pie and the Chocolate Pate and you've got yourself a fantastic Thai meal! Oh, and don't forget the very tasty Malbec Red Wine that is so affordable that you can order a 1/2 liter for the price that most single glasses cost in a typical restaurant!

Not only is this restaurant easy to get to (right on 11th Avenue and 8th street) but parking was just out the door on the street and free after 6pm! The ambiance is modern and classy and the waiter was excellent. I will definitely be back again in the future!

I give this restaurant 4 out of 5 shazams!

We had the Philo Brie 4-way

Well, what can I say? I was pleasantly surprised by the Gypsy. The ambiance was fantastic and the service was exceptional! Dwayne (?) spoke in a seductive voice which made all menu items sound delectable....but enough about that. I am married after all and I was drinking!

I had one fourth of the philo brie which was terrific and then I had the risotto accompanied by 2 beautiful glasses of wine (oh, really Allison? You drank? That's weird!). The flavours of the risotto were explosive! My only complaint would be that the risotto was luke-warm when it arrived and I prefer my food hot. I finished the meal with a chocolate ganache-like dessert which was so rich! I'm glad Dawna and I shared it (not really, oink!).

Good pick, Dawna! This is my second favourite that we've gone to. But, in all fairness it is tough to beat out a restaurant where I had an "O".

The Gypsy Bistro

I loved the decor of The Gypsy Bistro, done in deep reds with gold accents. The Bistro is very cozy with intimate tables of two and four and gold brocade padded wooden chairs. There is a long banquet that can hold up to 14. Paintings placed on the walls are indicative of the style of the cuisine...Mediterranean. A triptych of white Arabian horses was one of my favourites. Our server was Dwayne (who we finally determined was of German descent) and he did a very good job keeping our wine glasses filled. I had a couple glasses of a lovely, bold Malbec Reserve from Argentina (?? estate).

Ladies I have to apologize I was too quick on my delete key and accidentally removed all my pictures of the meals so mostly below are pictures of the desserts. Desserts were $9.00 each and were very tasty....with the Mango Cheesecake getting rave reviews.

I had the Risotto with asiago cheese, mushrooms and roasted vegetables. It was light and refreshing although I would have liked it to be a bit warmer than it was...I think it had been sitting out for a bit too long. I rate my meal here 4 Shazams.

I had 'em wet!

The O Restaurant and Lounge gets 4 Shazams from this Girl!

I had the St. Louis Style Ribs.... WET!!! Y-u-m-m-y-O! Although I heard the fries were awesome, I opted for the mashed variety! Upon my request, I fully expected to hear "we can do that but for an additional charge!" But, to my surprise, they gave me my mashed potatoes without any hassle what-sO-ever and with nO extra charge! I washed it all down with an Australian Cab Shiraz and topped it off with the silky chocolate mousse!

They gave us crazy girls our own private room where we could laugh and have fun, complete with our own set of patio doors in case things got a little "hot"!! The service was great, the wine was fabulous and the food was delicious!

Maybe next time I'll have the BIG O that Allison raved about!!

O Restaurant and Lounge

O Restaurant and Lounge is in the Marda Loop area of Calgary which is currently being revitalized...an empty parking stall is a little hard to find right next to the building.  Actually the building looks more like a modern house.  It has three levels with the kitchen and a private room upstairs.  On the main level there is a lounge and bar area as well as another small private room and patio. This is a new restaurant by the same people who established Ric's Grill. The menu is casual, fusion/contemporary (whatever that means!)

We loved our meal here.  The service was very good and the chef even came to talk with us after the meal.  The highlight was when they came around with their mini dessert carousel where we had the choice of lemon meringue, carrot cake, chocolate mousse or creme brulee each for only $3.00.  Think a votive candle holder size.  Choices available vary daily.

We had positive comments for the St. Louis Style Ribs (both the dry and wet versions) $21, the salmon, and the massive signature O burger.  The fries were really good.  The only negative was the gravy which was bland and somewhat bitter.  The prices are very reasonable.

2018 33 Avenue SW

Calgary, AB

T2T 1Z4

(403) 249-0605