Driving western Canada

□ Day 13 (24 Feb) Manning → Edmonton

Light snow was falling, but the powder on the road was blown away by the wind and the draught of passing cars. We drove on south, driving safely. The great plain continued, but at the town of Peace River we crossed a big valley along the river on a bridge.

We passed through Peace River and just after 2 p.m. went into Sammy's restaurant in a small town called Valleyview. It seemed to be the same chain as the one in Grimshaw on day 7. We ate burgers and salads, and again they were original dishes we had never had before, and we were satisfied. The photo is a hamburger with mushroom gratin sauce.

Valleyview is where highways meet. From here we took Highway 43. What's different about this highway from those we had driven so far is that almost the whole way has a median. Not a row of blocks like in Japan, but a wide ditch tens of metres across. Something only possible in a country as big as Canada. By the way, on the sections with this wide median the limit is 110 km/h.

As Edmonton approached, we gradually passed one big town after another. It was getting quite dark, and the lights of the city at night began to stand out. At last we entered the city of Edmonton. The roads run north–south in a grid. Light snow kept falling; the main roads were perfectly cleared, but narrow side streets were white. The city is probably too big to clear every little street. When stopping at lights and so on, the ABS sometimes kicked in where the snow hadn't been cleared.

We found the Days Inn we had looked up online and checked in. Unlike the motels so far with big car parks, it had rooftop parking. But even in a city, it was only 110 dollars a room (about 8,500 yen at the time)! The rooms were big and the beds were plush. Two of us share a double bed, but in Canada travelling as four is the way to go.

Tonight again we wandered the city looking for a place to eat. Our target was genuine Alberta beef. We asked the person in the hotel lobby about steak restaurants, but couldn't find one. As we kept wandering in the light snow, we were drawn to one place: "Japanese Village". The sign said teppanyaki dining. When we went in, some kind of party was going on in a dark room. There didn't seem to be any ordinary customers. We thought we had come to the wrong place, but a staff member came out from the back to greet us and handed us menus. Sure enough, the menu had steak! When we asked, they said they used Alberta beef. We ordered straight away.

We ordered two New York steaks (10 oz, about 280 g) and two tenderloin steaks. Both were top-grade AAA Alberta beef. In front of our table was a big iron griddle. Here a chef with tattoos on his arms appeared at the griddle. First he asked how we wanted our meat cooked. When he realised we were Japanese, he brought over a Japanese staff member, who explained for us. After the explanation, soup, salad and rice came first. The chef began with an advanced performance, holding knives in both hands, clanging them on the griddle and spinning them deftly like juggling. Then, keeping up the performance, he elegantly started grilling onion, zucchini, mushrooms and prawns. Even cutting with the knife was part of the show. When they were nicely done, he divided them onto our four plates. The prawns were plump and incredibly tasty. Next he put the big sirloin (New York steak) and tenderloin on the griddle and started grilling. Meanwhile the chef also began stir-frying bean sprouts in butter on the griddle, skilfully using a knife in each hand. He even made a heart shape out of the bean sprouts. The meat had developed a nice brown crust. Here he put a green butter on the meat and cut it into cubes. The steak, cooked medium, arrived on our plates. Put the sirloin in your mouth and the rich fat floods out and it seems to melt. The tenderloin (fillet) is so tender the fibres come apart in an instant. Both were simply the best. And the sauce was great too: a house-made sesame sauce whose deep richness went perfectly with the meat. Just pouring the sauce over rice made the rice disappear. The course finished with ice cream for dessert. Not just the meat, but the vegetables and soup were all delicious too. The price was about $120 plus tip for four, but for a steak course this generous with the chef's performance, I think it's a real bargain. After the meal, we also enjoyed chatting with the Japanese woman on staff about our trip so far. She said she had come to Canada on a working holiday. This restaurant we found by chance is without doubt the No. 1 of this trip.