730. Alo Restaurant | Dinner at the Top Restaurant in Canada

Last month for my boyfriend's birthday, I took him to dinner at Alo. Alo is a contemporary French restaurant, currently rated as Canada's #1 Restaurant. Naturally, getting a reservation here took a bit of effort. I had to book months in advance (at the exact hour/minute when reservations for November opened up) and was lucky to secure a spot on our desired night..as when I refreshed the reservations page a few minutes after, it was already fully booked again. A non-refundable deposit secured our spot.

The tasting menu consisted of 10 courses, not including the amuse-bouche, intermezzo, etc. Each course was so beautifully plated I kept looking forward to the next one to see how it was presented. Everything was delicious (as expected) with exciting flavours and textures.
The service of all the wait staff was impeccable. They were very professional and knew the perfect moments to come and change our dishes and cutlery without being intrusive. The dining experience was unlike any I've had before, and definitely one of the best meals I've had the pleasure of eating. The ambiance was perfect. I highly recommend it for a special occasion.


Bigeye Tuna


Hokkaido Sea Scallop


Kanpachi


Sea Urchin


East Coast Lobster


Milk Fed Veal Tenderloin


Snake River Farms Beef Rib Cap

*Then there was bread and butter with foie gras which I seem to have forgotten to take a photo of.


Intermezzo


Concord Grape - the dessert. I LOVED this!

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729. Edinburgh in November | Dean Village

Dean Village is a charming residential area, a short ~15min walk away from the centre of the city. The Water of Leith runs through it. The whole area is very peaceful and picturesque. It was pretty quiet when we went. Most of the people we saw were tourists, snapping photos at the bridge. The village is quite small so it didn't take us too long to explore. Afterwards we just walked around the city a bit and relaxed.

This is going to be my last Edinburgh post! Next up will be La Coruna.








Our breakfast that morning. We just went into a random cafe that didn't look too promising from the entrance..but the breakfast was so good!! We also got a delicious porridge to share in addition to these, which ended up being a ritual the rest of our breakfasts during the trip (the shared porridge).









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728. Edinburgh in November | Edinburgh Castle and The Witchery

At Edinburgh Castle! It was so cold and rainy when we were in Edinburgh that I thought visiting the castle would be a few hours of touring indoors but that wasn't the case. Edinburgh Castle is actually a series of separate buildings that make up the entire fortress. Each building is its own museum. To be completely honest I don't think the visit was worth the price of the ticket but at least we got a nice photo from up there!









The Hidden Life of Trees - I discovered this book before coming on the trip. I've heard really good things about it and as a nature lover, it seemed really interesting to me. There were only hardcover options available in Canada (I usually prefer paperback books) so I was really excited to find the paperback version at Waterstones here.

I'm making this post at the perfect time because I just finished reading it earlier today! I really enjoyed it - so much that I ordered the two other books by Peter Wohlleben (The Inner Life of Animals and The Secret Wisdom of Nature). But this Trees one is his most popular/most highly-rated. It is really interesting and I liked it so much I didn't want it to end.





On our last evening, we went for a nice dinner at The Witchery by the Castle. It is considered one of the best restaurants in Edinburgh, especially for the atmosphere. It was almost entirely candle-lit and very cozy.



Venison and duck



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