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| Tandoori Chicken Flatbread |
Aunt's birthday dinner @ Sushi on 7
Clockwise from top left: Tobiko salad, steamed egg (smooth egg with roe on top, nothing inside but still good), softshell crab/spicy salmon/eel avocado roll (a bit sloppy and not much filling?), kalbi, eel pizza (didn't like the deep fried eel; Riz was def. better), enoki beef roll, mussels
Haven't been to ayce in a long time because I definitely prefer a la carte with better quality but we decided to go to ayce for more variety for the kids. I've been to Sushi on 7 once before and I remember it being one of the better ayce restaurants, but it is very small inside and we were placed in a cramped corner table.
Variety: Good - wide selection of cooked foods, rolls, rice, noodles. BUT they don't have one of my favourite ayce dishes - garlic sirloin cubes!
Taste: Good - cooked foods that I enjoyed were: grilled shrimp skewer, mussels (though no sake taste), enoki beef roll, grilled salmon belly, steamed egg, eggplant. Rolls were a bit sloppy with too much rice. Salmon sashimi was reasonably fresh. Ice cream was good.
Price: $18.99/adult on Mon-Thurs. Remember to print off 10% off coupon
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 14 minutes
This wet dough makes scones with an airy texture and crisp tops. Enjoy warm straight from the oven with a hint of butter, jam or fresh cream. Recipe modified from Canadian Living.com
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| Before: Wet dough |
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| Finished Product! Golden, crisp tops |
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| Success! |
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| Soft and airy inside |
Makes 15 scones
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
Preparation
In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender, 2 knives or fingertips, cut in butter until in coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces. Mix in raisins.
In glass measure, beat egg with fork; add enough of the milk to make 1 cup (250 mL), stirring to blend. Remove 2 tbsp (25 mL) and set aside.
Pour remaining mixture, all at once, into centre of flour mixture. Stir with fork just until dough comes together to form wet dough. Using hands, shape into ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface; pat out into scant 3/4-inch (2 cm) thickness.
Using floured 2-inch (5 cm) round cutter, cut out biscuits. Repeat with scraps once. Place on parchment paper–lined baking sheet; brush with reserved milk mixture. Bake in 425°F (220°C) oven until risen, golden and firm to the touch, about 14 minutes.
Notes
Making scones was much easier than I thought. Under half an hour, does not make a mess and only requires a few simple ingredients. At first, I was worried that the dough was too wet and sticky, but they came out perfectly crisp on top and soft on the inside with a hint of buttery flavor. I don't have a pastry blender so I used my hands to mix the butter into the flour and I don't have a round cookie cutter so I just used my hands to form chunks/balls (don't roll them smooth if you prefer the natural crumble top)
The best bellini! It was fruity and fresh with just the right amount of sweetness and peach flavour and a perfect mix of slush and liquid. It wasn't strong, but the alcohol effects were felt later. Nice presentation and icy peach to top it off.
Appetizer: Ahi Tuna Tacos. These were delicious. The tuna was soft and paired perfectly with the fragrant sesame seeds and sauce. The coleslaw was fresh and gave it a crunchy texture along with the taco shell. I couldn't taste the wasabi aioli though; it was fine without it.
Because we were too busy chatting, our main dishes got a bit cold. However, the yam frites were great - crispier than Moxie's. The bread was buttery and crispy and probably would've tasted better hot. The cheese was good but I couldn't taste the lobster. I think the sandwich tasted better without the cocktail sauce.
Had a taste of the steak and the peppercorn rub was good and potatoes were very soft. The mashed potatoes were good but I didn't like the fried wrapping.
Overall, I'm glad I finally got to try Joey. It was smart that they split the bill for us (main, drink + half appetizer) and my total came to $33. For a grilled cheese sandwich, it is overpriced but worth it to try the food and environment.
First time making this strawberry cream cake for my friend's birthday. I had to use a lot of cream to make the cake look bigger and to cover up flaws.
Two layers of sponge cake with cream and strawberries in between.
Recipe from openrice.com
Plain Sponge (1 lb):
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 egg whites
3 egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons melted butter (1 oz)
Filling & Topping:
1 cup mixed fruit (I used strawberries instead of fruit)
1 slice tinned peach ，1 slice tinned pineapple
1 bottle fresh cream (8 ozs) (I used 16oz of cream and 4 tbsp sugar)
2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence (I omitted vanilla in the cake and cream)
Sponge Cake:
Blend egg whites until stiff. Add sugar in and blend well until stiff.
Blend eggyolks slightly. Add in egg white mixture immediately and blend well.
Sift flour and salt. Add in egg mixture in 3 portions. Blend mixture well after each addition of egg mixture.
Add vanilla essence. Finally, add melted butter and blend quickly.
Grease 7" round baking pan. Dust flour on pan. Pour mixture in pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit, bake for 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool. Then slice cake into 2 layers.
Cream:
Pour fresh cream into a basin and place basin on top of bed of ice.
Add sugar in. Blend slowly until cream thickens. Add vanilla essence imediately.
Spread mixed fruit and cream on each layer of sponge cake. Put layers back together and spread cream on entire cake. Decorate the top with peach and pineapple.
It was the first time I used a recipe that required folding egg yolks into egg whites. The cake was a good sponge cake but some bites were lumpy due to not mixing thoroughly (I did not want to overmix the egg whites)
Most of the French restaurants in Yorkville are closed Sunday, so my family decided to give Ciao Wine Bar a try. The restaurant is huge with two large main floors; main level was further split into ground level with a few banquettes and small tables, with more seating on the upper level. The atmosphere was open and urban with wood tables and ample natural lighting during lunch hour.
Bread to start was soft and warm, served with oil, vinegar and olives. Best part of the meal imo!
Beef carpaccio - my favorite, served with fresh arugula
Mom’s order - Seafood risotto - generous portions of shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari, but the risotto itself lacked flavor and texture was not as chewy as I thought risotto is supposed to be
My order - Spaghetti Carbonara. I wanted to try this for a long time. The sauce was creamy and rich, balanced with the saltiness of the pancetta, but overall I felt this dish was on the plain side. The spaghetti had no taste/didn’t absorb the sauce that much.
Linguine with grilled chicken in pesto sauce - Dad said this was bland.
Linguine in White Wine Sauce with Clams - My sister said this was bland as well.
Overall, entree portions were large but bland, making this restaurant experience “average”. Not a big pasta fan so I can’t really compare or think of an exceptional Italian restaurant but I was expecting the food to be a bit tastier for a restaurant in Yorkville. 1 Appetizer + 4 entrees came to a total of $88 before tip.
With all-white decor and chandeliers, the interior feels like an upscale French restaurant. We were seated at the back of the restaurants where there was a fireplace, adding to the homey ambiance.
Lemongrass Vegetable Soup
This was my favorite appetizer. The soup was light with a sour Thai taste.
Satay Chicken Skewers
Tender chicken covered with delicious peanut sauce.
Unagi Sushi Pizza
This was another one of my favorites. (unfortunately photo is out focused) The base was a thin layer of sushi rice covered in panko(?) and deep fried - very crispy while maintaining the warmness and softness of the rice - topped with mayo and eel.
I didn't find this to be spicy. The fish was very fresh and tempura bits (?) were crispier than other restaurants. 3 pieces of maki per order.
Avocado and Cucumber Black Maki
Creamy avocado and thin sticks of cucumber wrapped in chewy black glutinous rice (or purple rice?) - it was an interesting texture combination.
Mangomono Black Maki
Crisp mango, crab meat and tempura bits wrapped in black glutinous rice.
Lemongrass Halibut
Tender halibut covered in sweet sauce. The fish was nicely cooked but I'm not a fan of wet battered fish.
Pho Beef
Everyone enjoyed this dish, but I found the broth to be too salty for my taste. I prefer more authentic broth with prominent cilantro flavor.
Thai Green Veggie Curry
Slightly spicy curry with zucchini, mushroom, tofu, napa cabbage matched perfectly with the rice.
This was my first time at Riz North for all you can eat lunch ($18) which offered a variety of pan Asian dishes (Thai, Vietnamese, Dim Sum, Sushi). We also ordered Thai dumplings, har gao, siu mai, spring rolls, Pad Thai, seaweed salad, mango salad and mango juice. The appetizers were presented in a perfect small portion (main wok and noodle dishes were larger, good for ~4 servings) and each dish was delicately executed. It recently opened in the summer so at $18, it is a good deal for the quality, variety and ambiance.