珍珠雞 (Sticky Rice w Chicken) - What a surprise in presentation! Usually wrapped in lotus leaf, this was presented in an open style like mini sandwiches, with a crispy rice seared top.




天下第一包 (Baked BBQ pork bun with sweet top) - My favorite fusion dim sum - indeed this was very good, soft bun, perfect balance of sweet & savory.

Fish Casserole/Stew: shrimp, mussels, aioli, dillgremaoulata, parmesan, croutons

Classic Steak Tartare: tartar sauce, egg yolk, Beetroots, cornichons, onion, ud's own mustard

Urban Deli is part restaurant, part supermarket. Loved the trendy vibe and delicious seafood! The grilled prawns were the best I’ve ever had – large, juicy, fresh and full of flavor!! The beef tartare was interesting as well; each restaurant has their own take on this dish. We sat outside on the sidewalk terrace which was a bit chilly in late August, but very nice facing the quiet park.

This weekend, we had a mini getaway to Montreal with one main mission - eat! We enjoyed the sunny weather on Saturday as we ventured to Mont Royal and Old Montreal to seek out the city's specialties - from bagels to poutine.



1. St. Viateur Bagel & Cafe Mont Royal - Montreal's famous bagels made in-house. I had the Poulet Sesame Bagel - love the toasted bagel with hint of sweetness. Chicken was bland; the Moo-Moo (roast beef) and MTL smoked meat with mustard were better. The beef & barley soup of the day was great. A cute little cafe and love how you can see the production of the bagels.

2. Point G Macarons - Pretty, affordable macarons and many unique flavors to choose from. The texture is so delicate and soft without falling apart in your mouth, with just a slight crunch in the shell. My favorite was the Tire D'Erable (maple) - didn't think I'd like this one but it had a strong maple flavor without being overly sweet.

3. Les Delices D'Erables - All maple errything at Maple Delights - maple body cream, maple dressing, etc. Happy to have found tire d'erable sur neige - rolled my own maple taffy on snow along with some maple cappucinos.





4. Ferreira - Amazing Portugese seafood in a romantic setting. Mom's go-to place. The best seafood rice - rice was a bit hard for my liking but the sauce was amazing. Scallops and shrimp were perfectly cooked and meaty. We also enjoyed the Bouillabaisse and grilled seafood in a garlic-parsley sauce (fresh octopus, fish, lobster) Dessert was warm fig cake and sweet potato icecream - delicious. Not much sweet potato flavor but instead gingerbread-cinnamon notes.

5. Cacao 70 - Mom's favorite dark chocolate fondue with fruit, fluffy waffles, and rich dense brownies. Long wait!! but worth to try since Toronto doesn't have a good fondue.

Day 2:

6. Humble Lion - A nice cappucino and breakfast granola bar at an independent coffee shop.

7. La Banquise - A 24h poutine heaven. Suprisingly not too heavy, I enjoyed La B.O.M (bacon, onion, merguez sausage - love the sausage!) and B liked his hamburger steak. We then ordered a second poutine - La Miam (ground beef, Swiss cheese, onion, tomato, sausage). The only bad thing is they charge mandatory 15% tips. Also, there was a long line up outside but it was for take-out so better to ask!

All in all, a wonderful satisfying getaway to MTL! Everything was delicious and enjoyed with great company :)

Another awesome food joint on Queen West. Seafood x sandwiches with an Asian twist. Love the food, decor and hip hop playlist (HOVA.. Black & Yellow...)
Main attraction was the soft shell crab sandwich - a whole deep fried ss crab - so crispy! I got the FOB - Asian style poboy banh mi with cilantro and aioli. Loved the deep fried fish, crispy yet so light and fluffy! Actually like the fish more than the bun and the crab. The fries were the dark and oil soaked type - yum - and  a cool house made broccoli slaw to lighten things up. Total bill was $30~ expensive but worth a try.

Calamari / Clockwise: Cherrystone Clam, Kumamoto, Shigoku oysters (I think? ><) / Swordfish / Tuna tartare

Instead of dessert, we went for round 2 - Pacific Tiger (large, good) and Kusshi.

This dinner was a good way to try out different types of oysters - my fav of the night was Shigoku and it was an enjoyable night with friends. BUT it was extremely expensive (for me $70) so I will be sticking to oysters and seafood at home (or maybe the $1 oyster specials).

My must-eat in Hong Kong - 聖子. with garlic, vermicelli and soy sauce...







Crispy non-oily roast pork.

I just found out from 18boot's blog that 百家小廚 has closed down :( I actually drove by the other day and noticed the sign was gone. I've only been there twice for their inexpensive and large lobster (波子龍蝦) and soup and wanted to go again soon, only to find out they are no longer in business.


Out of 金沙，油泡, maggi, and rice wine, my favorite was the 金沙 - just the right amount of coating without being overly salty and taking away from the sweetness of the lobster. I also really liked the coconut chicken soup. Now where can I find large marble sized pieces of lobster & tasty homemade MSG-free soup?

Best Bubble Tea @ Yuen Long Not the biggest fan of bubble tea, but this original milk flavor was SO GOOD, really rich flavor.. My mom went back in December and apparently it's closed now. But there's a really good tofu place on the same street.

Abalone @ Lei Yu Mun - size of my palm and so delicious. It's not something I eat frequently, but must say this was so flavorful and tender.

Our whole family went clam digging one day. The clams were so sweet when cooked.

米酒雞 友愛大排檔, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong Blurry because I didn't want to be embarassing and taking a picture of this while others were eating, but this was so good. Glutinous rice soaked in rice wine flavor with tender pieces of chicken. Although it was a 大排檔 environment where we had to sit on plastic stools in a noisy restaurant, the food was authentic and delicious.

egg w almond flavor, egg white with milk, Australia Dairy Co. (澳洲牛奶公司) A long time favorite, must visit in hk each time I go back. This place is always busy at any time of the day, whether people eat breakfast, lunch or dinner. The turnover per table is probably 10-15 minutes. Another shot: Even something as simple as butter on toast or condensed milk toast - you can taste the difference at Australia Milk Co. (cold, hard butter on soft yet crispy toast)

Breakfast in Hong Kong from Fairwood and Cafe de Coral. Even for fast food, the coffee is much better than in Canada because it's freshly ground. Must admit the fried fish (bottom right, from the airport) was so good and crispy.