A small space with seven or so tables, packed on Sunday night. There is free parking available at 500 Doris Ave! Found this out too late :(

Shared the Sesame Crepe - 2 scoops black sesame icecream (made in-house), whipped cream, cereal, sponge cake. Ice cream is great - love the strong sesame flavor and dense/hard texture, unlike some watered down versions. Crepe is good too. However I just strongly dislike the vanilla sponge cake!!  Was not aware it would be vanilla flavored.... too strong and artificial tasting.

The Strawberry Banana Sundae was cute - but just one small scoop of strawberry icecream while the rest is just whipped cream.

A warm, cozy, dim lit space. Kind of has an "underground" feel. Came here for F's birthday last week.

I ordered the Smoked Beetroot Risotto with Scallops. Two large scallops, a little charred taste, medium rare inside. The risotto is a bright red from the beet, but doesn't taste like beets. Creamy but not heavy, with bits of tomato, hazelnut and dark chocolate (couldn't taste/see?). I liked it but wish it was warmer.

 

Came here for B's birthday - somehow ended up at another tapas place. A very minimalist, no-frills decor - bare walls, wood floors, light wood tables, black chairs. Food was light with Philipino influences. The broccoli salad and tuna ceviche were the most unique. Plating choices were interesting as well.



Started with anchovies toast - 2 tiny toasts for $6! But it was good, very flavorful anchovies & red pepper spread on a too-crispy toast.

Albacore Tuna - a ceviche in coconut mik, served with cassava chips. Surprised that the tuna chunks were quite big enough for a good bite, and worked well with the coconut milk - a different take than the usual lime juice.

Broccoli Salad - blanched and fried broccoli (couldn't see or taste the fried part?), with serrano ham (my fav) and crispy fried shallots in a mustard seed dressing. Very refreshing take on broccoli.
Brussels Sprouts - a warm dish, I like how it was cooked so that you couldn't taste the usual bitterness from brussels sprouts.

Adobo Chicken - my least favorite; the fried chicken, while juicy, wasn't crispy as i expected and it was served as 3 mini burgers in a lunch box. Brioche bun was a bit dry.

Dessert - poached pear. Great ginger icecream with a dry cake. Thank you Hudson Kitchen for this complementary dessert for my boyfriend's birthday!

Dinner with Sis at Portland Variety. I really enjoyed this place! Expensive but good tapas.

House-made ricotta with crostini, honey and pear - great combination, probably my favorite

Beef Carpaccio - good, thin slices with shaved cheese, arugula and some green sauce

Shrimp Pil Pil - marinated and cooked in chili oil, large and meaty pieces of shrimp, just a bit spicy for me. Served with bread.

Patatas Bravas - what a large plate of potatoes! Fresh and hot, may have burned my tongue but couldn't resist. Near the end it got too salty though. Could use more sauce.

Beignets - warm, soft vanilla custard filling.. (I thought these were donuts and was expecting timbits texture, but these are not dense!), dipped in dark chocolate sauce

Good attentive service and nice, dim-light interior for a modern yet cozy feel.

Overall was ~$35+ pp!

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 :)

Straight-Up Meatball - baseball-sized meatball, nicely seasoned and densely packed, topped with cheese and foccacia at the bottom

Burrata - very strong smell and taste from the cheese itself and truffle cream. Couldn't taste the honey. Crostini very hard & crunchy.

Charity bread - soaked in garlic, yum

Butternut squash ravioli - fully stuffed with squash and cheese, al dente pasta, but wayyy too heavy for my liking with the rich cream sauce.

10.20.14 // Came here for a friend's birthday and what a great choice! Classy and quiet enough for a large group to converse as it's not a big restaurant. Overall the group felt the dishes were all quite heavy and hearty but it was an enjoyable dining experience in this 1920s themed cocktail bar on 36 Wellington St East.



Razor Clams - Disappointied at the portion size. Was expecting long piece of clam, but it was chopped up with other ingredients that I had only 2 bits. Flavor was fresh and interesting combination of fennel, mint, citrus, but needs more meat!



Bone Marrow - Huge portion, could share this between 4-6 people. (we had 1 per 2 and it's veryyy rich and heavy after about 2 toasts). The marrow was very solid and fatty.. could use more seasoning (like caramelized onions?) Still can't beat Hawksmoor.



Lamb Burger - Quite pleased with my selection! Smelly from the goat milk gouda, but a yummy juicy burger.



Oysters - $1 each that night

Fries - Best of the night! Wish I ordered this for myself. Its the salty, duck-fat frites style.. with some chicken skin and garlic aioli but just as good on its own. I love fries!

Berkshire Pork Belly - Tastes a bit like Chinese roast pork/cha siu. I love the fried egg on top.

Short Rib - Tried a piece and it's very soft and tender but others said it's too salty and was only lukewarm.

Dishes were served sporadically, so we were there for 2.5 hours. Not complaining though, it was a nice ambiance, good for group birthdays or a date.

10.06.14 // Don't have to go all the way to Asia for cute latte art! Happy to discover this hidden gem tucked inside a medical building. Not only was the latte art nice, the coffee was great too! Very strong, aromatic espresso, unlike the 50% foam, hot milky lattes at commercial coffee chains. In fact, it wasn't overly milky and had no foam so it was more like a flat white. Bf got the hazelnut cappucino which was again very strong flavored and sweet.

Also got the pasta lunch - penne bolognese, prepared to order. Can definitely taste that it's made in-house. The pesto cream was tasty as well.

Total was about $12-$15 per person.. kind of pricey for a lunch but worth to try the cute & quality coffee.

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.

For my birthday this year, my family & I went to Origin North. A trendy space (like a more upscale version of Joey) that serves Asian Fusion dishes good for sharing.


Bangkok Beef Salad - peanut, mint, mango, glass noodles, nam jim dressing
- A light dish to start with. I like the beef in the dressing.


Japanese Tuna Salad - asian pear, avocado, spicy ponzu
- Description from the website but not sure I had Asian pear in mine. Another light dish with some seaweed, cucumber and crispy rice. I prefer the beef salad.


Thai Curried Shrimp + naan bread
- Mmm I love the soft and warm naan!
- Curry was flavorful with hints of coconut, sweetness and spice
- Shrimp was big and nicely cooked; chickpeas and zucchini also in the curry


Origin Burger - smoked mayonnaise, avocado, arugula
- Very big, thick burger, not oily
- Love the fries! It has that burnt/oil flavor vs the fluffy, starchy type fries.




Rigatoni - ricotta, squash, sage, hazelnuts
- Yet another light, mild dish despite being pasta. The sauce is just a very light oil based sauce, with tiny bits of squash.
- I liked the touch of hazelnuts and ricotto cheese to give it more flavor.
- The pasta itself is al dente and very big, making it a bit difficult to chew!

 
They generously gave me complimentary dessert for my birthday! The candle came in a bowl of coffee beans to give that nice aroma.


Chocolate Crunch Bar + huckleberry sorbet
- My complimentary dessert which ended up being the best of the night! I was skeptical reading the "chocolate bar" on the menu, but it was a decadent, full flavor chocolate, almost like a mousse but more dense. Huckleberry sorbet gave it a nice berry freshness.

Overall, I had a good dining experience at Origin. The ambiance was intimate and good for special occassions and group gatherings. The food wasn't anything out of this world, but still good.

Inakaya is a small, traditional sake bar/robata grill in Willowdale. I wanted to induldge in fresh sashimi (which they have), but it's not their main focus - they offer a variety of beef grill, udon, izakaya type dishes, grilled whole fish, as well as sushi. Food was okay but I was bothered by the loud house/techno music... totally didn't fit the theme.



Amiyaki Beef
- Ordered the least expensive beef (more expensive wagyu upwards of $50?), average taste



Beef Tataki
- Fresh, but no taste. Even with the soy sauce and onions it was very mild.



Sashimi - Fluke, Tuna, Hamachi
- Ordered sashimi individually (3-4 pcs per order)
- I liked the fluke the best (something unique)





Sushi Set
- Liked the eel, hamachi with green onion, and roe the most.
- Also liked the salmon handroll (not pictured) - very generous portion of bite sized pieces of salmon.



Grilled Whole Fish (special of the day - forgot the name!!)
- Soft inside, with a salty skin. One of the best of the night. Reminds me of the Amberjack head at JaBistro.



Rice Ball in Soup
- Something warm and comforting to end the meal - another favorite
- A slightly sweet broth with hint of sesame. I think it's green tea broth but couldn't taste it.



Green Tea Cheesecake
- I like the creamy/mousse layer on top, but the rest is very frozen - like eating ice.

Overall: Some good dishes - fish, soup, handroll

One of the food stops this summer was Seven Lives, a taco place specializing in So-Cal/Baja Style seafood in Kensington Market. The shop is really small with only one table with seating and some standing area. Tacos are $5 each (tax included!) and each are wrapped in two soft corn shells (gritty texture).  They also have 3 levels of house made hot sauce and some housemade drinks.



Baja Fish - battered & deep fried mahi mahi with house sauce
- Crispy and light batter, but inside could be softer
- Very flavorful wtih the creamy house sauce , onions and tomatoes

Blackened Mahi Mahi - grilled with a dry rub of spices
- too dry for my liking,  but I liked the guac and tomatoes



Gobernador - smoked tuna, shrimp, cheese
- shrimp was a bit bland and I didn't like the texture of the tuna (like canned tuna)

Pulpo Enojado - spicy grilled octopus
- my favorite out of the 4. I loved the texture of the bite size octopus pieces - just so perfectly soft and quite spicy for me!

Overall great cheap eats, can probably be full off 1-2 tacos. I would recommend the Baja Fish and Octopus taco!!