Sunday, December 17, 2017

Platform Espresso Bar

As I've mentioned before, York region is in desperate need of a good coffee shop.  So imagine my surprise when I saw Platform Espresso Bar while driving along Highway 7.  Since that day, I have been meaning to stop by.  So last night, after doing some research on where to meet our friends for breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised that they not only serve coffee, but they also serve brunch!  So our meet up location was determined.

They open at 900a, and we were the first ones to arrive.  And good thing at that, while there is seating, it is quite minimal.  There are 4 small booths that seats 2 comfortably (4 adults would be very squished), and a larger booth that would seat 6 adults comfortably.  On the coffee front, there is quite a bit of selection.  For espresso based drinks, you get a choice of two beans.  If you want a pour over, there's a selection of 4 to 5 different kind of beans.  If you just want a regular coffee, look elsewhere, there isn't that option.  I ordered a latte made with an Ethiopian bean, the hubby ordered a pour over (which they suggest you drink black), also with an Ethiopian bean.  Coffees were good, but as much as I love drinking coffee, I'm not good with distinguishing the flavours in coffee, so I didn't detect the hints of fruitiness in my latte.  Overall I thought my latte could have been a bit stronger.  Latte art was cute, something that is rare up in Markham.  The pour over I initially though was weak, but a few seconds later, the flavour was quite nice.
Pour Over & Latte


Foodwise, we ordered the Sunrise waffle sandwich, one with scrambled eggs instead of sunny side up, a Platform waffle sandwich, and a brioche.  The Sunrise waffle sandwich has eggs, mushrooms, spinach, bacon, and cheese on top of a savoury waffle with choice of crispy potato curls or salad.  The Platform waffle sandwich has chicken, tomato, lettuce, and guacamole also on top of a savoury waffle.  The waffle was pretty good, not really sure what herbs were in it, but I did see herbs.  Crispy potato curls were crispy, but almost couldn't really tell that they were potatoes.  They almost seemed like they were crispy thin onion rings.  I, myself ordered the brioche (forgot to take a picture), because I saw on another blog that it was essentially a mini loaf of bread that came with butter and jam.  I guess I didn't read the description properly, because I got a savoury dinner roll topped with sesame seeds and rosemary.  I was quite disappointed.
Sunrise Waffle Sandwich
 
Sunrise Waffle Sandwich (Scrambled Eggs)
Platform Waffle Sandwich

With the lack of coffee options up here, I would definitely come back for more.  Service was also great here.  Barista was very friendly and very helpful in explaining anything that we were not sure of.  And prior to us ordering, she let us know that recently there has been a warning about potential issues with romaine lettuce, not yet a recall, but to be on the safe side, they were replacing all romaine with iceberg lettuce.

Platform Espresso Bar
4450 Highway 7 E
Markham, ON 
L3R 1M2

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 900a -600p

Phone: (905) 604-9110 

https://www.facebook.com/platform.espresso.bar/

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Faley Restaurant

A small restaurant located in a small strip plaza, that if you weren't specifically looking for it, you would never know they existed.  The reason why we chose this place for lunch was because it was near my friend's home, and because I'm always on the hunt for good Hakka food.  When I go to Hakka places, I always order chilli chicken.  I made the mistake or ordering chilli chicken wet (with gravy) once before at another restaurant, dislike.  So I made sure to order it dry this time.  So good!  Had good garlic, onion, and of course green chilli flavour.  Perfect when eaten with plain white rice.
Chilli Chicken










Friend ordered Manchurian chicken.  She didn't like it so much.  She ordered it wet (with gravy).  We were trying to figure out what the difference between chilli chicken and Manchurian chicken was, because both dishes tasted so similar.  In the end we couldn't' figure it out.
Manchurian Chicken










Since we went for lunch on a weekday, these were lunch specials.  I can't remember for sure, but I think it was around $7 each.  For the amount of food, thats a great price.  Too bad I live so far away.

Faley Restaurant
62 Overlea Blvd.,
Toronto, ON
M4H 1C4

Phone:  (416) 423-3222, (416) 423-4420

Hours:  Monday - Thursday 1130a - 1100p
             Friday 1130a - 1130p
             Saturday 1200p - 1130p
             Sunday 100p - 1100p

Double D's

Get your mind out of the gutter people!  This is about pizza, Chicago deep dish style pizza!  We attempted to do dine in for this pizza, but holy moly it was way too busy.  So that day we ditched the idea altogether, and ate something else.  But this time we planned ahead and decided to order takeout.  I know that it's not the same as dining in when it's fresh.  But there's no way I'm waiting 2 hours for a table and then another 30+ minutes for a pizza.  We called ahead and ordered a small Chicago Classic which has pepperoni, sausage and tons of cheese.  The small size could easily feed 3 hungry adults I think, it's so heavy.  We had this for dinner, and reheated it in the oven.  The crust is nothing like the ones from Chicago.  This is more bready/cracker like, whereas I remember the ones from Chicago being a bit more buttery/cookie/tart like.  Filling wise, there was tons of it.  Lots of meats and cheese.  In my opinion, too much.  Surprisingly it wasn't overly salty as something so meat heavy usually is salty to me.
Small Chicago Classic

Slice of Chicago Classic



















Overall, I'm not sure I would go back.  I think it was more of a one time novelty thing.  I personally much prefer lighter, simpler margherita pizzas.

Double D's Pizza
1020 Gerrard St. E.,
Toronto, ON
M4M 1Z5

Phone:  (416) 727-5411

Hours:  Monday - Tuesday CLOSED
             Wednesday - Thursday 1100a - 1200a
             Friday - Saturday 1100a - 200a

http://doubledspizzas.com

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Vacation Post: Alberta 2017

Every year, we take an annual vacation (farther and longer) usually end of April or beginning of May.  Reason for this timing is we try to get some nice weather, but also have it early enough so that we are still paying low season pricing.  The last few years, we've been venturing around Europe.  And then during the summer, we'll do a shorter getaway either within Canada, or to the nearby United States.  This year, we decided to do it differently.  This May, we decided to take a short vacation in Alberta.

We flew into Calgary, and drove towards Banff.  To avoid the high costs of accommodation, we stayed in the hamlet of Harvie Heights.  Compared to Toronto, food seems to cost a bit more in Alberta.  But because taxes are less there, it seems to even out a bit in the end that way.  We did a bit of 'home cooking' just because it was more convenient for some breakfasts, and dinners.  Here's a list of where we ate.

Canmore:
Rave Coffee
Le Fournil Bakery

Banff:

Lake Louise:

Calgary:
Pigeonhole

Still need to do the write up for Piegonhole.  Need to find the photos as well....but definitely a must go to when in Calgary.

Sidewalk Citizen Bakery

One of my favourite places to eat at in Calgary.  Everything was delicious.  We went for brunch on the weekend, and it was packed in there.  There's a few tables for people that want to eat in, and a few tables on the patio if it's warm enough to eat out.  The lineup to order and pay was out the door!  Lineups are usually good signs.

That particular morning I just wanted something simple, I ordered bread, butter and a fried egg.  The bread was fresh sourdough bread that they bake.  Crispy crust and chewy sour inside, topped with butter, delicious! Hubby ordered a breakfast sandwich.  That came with fried egg, bacon, avocado and arugula all on a brioche type bun.  Great combination ingredients, but super messy to eat with the sunny side up egg.
Brunch 










After enjoying breakfast, we grabbed a scone (chocolate pear), and fruit topped danish (theres a better name for it, I just don't remember) to go.  So glad I was feeling like a glutton that morning.  The scone and danish were delicious.  The scone had just enough chocolate to make it a sweet treat without it being overly sweet and dense.  I liked the combination as well, not a common one, or at least not that I've noticed, elsewhere.  The danish, pastry part of it, buttery, flakey deliciousness.  One of the best danishes I've ever had.
Chocolate Pear Scone, Fruit Danish










The plan was to go back the morning that we were to fly back to Toronto.  That plan failed when we ran late.  I was so disappointed.....  If I'm ever back in Calgary, I'm going there for breakfast every single morning.

Sidewalk Citizen Bakery
618 Confluence Way SE
Calgary Alberta
T2G 0G1

Phone:  (403) 457-2245

Hours:  Monday - Thursday 800a - 300p
             Friday - Sunday 800a -400p

http://sidewalkcitizenbakery.com

Philosafy Coffee

Interesting name for a coffee shop.  And even more interesting how it's spelled.  I hate to label this place, but it's definitely hipster.  I can't put my finger on it as to why....but it just totally screamed hipster when I walked into it.  I ordered a latte, and holy geez it was expensive.  I forgot to take a picture of the latte itself, but I did snap a picture of the menu because I was in shock as to how expensive my drink was.  Deep down I was telling myself, it's this expensive because it must be a good latte.  And while it wasn't bad, it wasn't good either.  In my opinion, definitely not worth the hefty price tag considering theres other coffee shops nearby that serve delicious coffee.
Menu at Philosafy











Philosophy Coffee
632 17 Ave SW,
Calgary, AB
T2S 0B4

Hours:  Monday - Friday 700a -1100p
             Saturday - Sunday 800a - 1100p

https://www.philosafy.com

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Mercato - Mission

I wanted to find a restaurant where would could sit and chat since we were meeting with my husband's cousins for dinner.  After doing some Googling for a place nearby the apartment, I found Mercato (Mission location).  My friend also mentioned Mercato, saying they make the best pasta.  So I knew I wanted to try this place.  But of course, due to me not doing enough homework before the trip, I never made a reservation.  In the end it worked out due to Calgary being 2 hours later than Toronto, means for an early dinner, we lucked out and got a table during the first seating.

It was so busy there, even though we walked in at 530pm, which is when they open.  We snagged a table because there just so happened to be a last minute cancellation, otherwise we would have had to sit at the bar.  I hate sitting at bars, because it's hard to have actual conversation, and plus i'm short, so getting up and down on the stools is quite a pain.  We quickly ordered because I was hungry.  We ordered a mushroom pasta, octopus pasta, the bistecca with a side of mixed mushrooms.  The pastas were great!  Even though pastas tend to me heavy, both these pastas were light and flavourful.  I guess its because it was a oil based sauce instead of a heavy cream or tomato sauce.   From both these pastas, the octopus was my favourite.  Very tender!
Mushroom Pasta

Octopus Pasta



















The main was the steak.  It took FOREVER to come.  I know people like to sit and chat and enjoy their meals slowly.  But I was hungry, borderline getting to be HANGRY.  I just wanted my steak damn it.  We kept asking them how much longer, and they kept saying soon, it's just resting etc.  It finally arrived, and unfortunately I don't think it was worth waiting for.  I find the steaks I have in Toronto are much better.  There just wasn't much flavour.  Alberta is known for their beef, but yet, the beef I've had in Alberta, is well just meh.  Do they ship out all their beef to other parts of Canada instead?
Bistecca










The pasta was good, so good I would come back just for the pasta if i'm in Calgary again.  And I will make sure to make reservations next time, because I definitely don't want to sit at bar.

Mercato - Mission
2224 4th Street SW
Calgary, AB
T2S 4W9

Phone:  (403) 263-5535

Hours:  Monday - Sunday Lunch 1130a, Dinner 530p

http://www.mercatogourmet.com/main.html

Calgary - Markets

I'm a sucker for markets.  At home, I buy my produce from local farmers markets whenever possible. Yes, this doesn't mean that I am necessarily getting the best price possible, but I believe that it's important to support local.  Supporting local would mean keeping smaller farms alive, and also your produce would be more likely to ripen on the vine/plant (more flavour!), versus on a truck somewhere.  But when you shop at local farmers markets, you still have to be careful what you're buying.  I have been to some markets, where I noticed produce had stickers on them saying product of the USA.  So sneaky!

When I'm about to go on vacation, I spend all my planning energy, in this particular order, restaurants, accommodations, markets, and tourist attractions.  I always try and book my accommodations through AirBnB so I have a kitchen to cook some meals with the fresh produce I pick up while browsing the markets.  I was surprised to find Calgary to have so many markets as I was told Calgary is quite small.  I'm sure there's even more weekly/seasonal/summer pop up markets, but I only went to the year round ones.

Crossroads Market
This market was I think the biggest market out of the three that we visited.  The layout of the market was very strange, but I think its because the market is pretty much a couple of separate buildings connected together to form the market.  There is a flea market section where you can buy random used items.  And there is a fresh produce area where you can buy fresh meats, fruits, veggies, breads, cheeses, and cooked foods area (food court-ish, but it was pretty spread out due to the strange layout of the market).  I didn't end up buying any fresh produce from this market, we just bought a snack because we were hungry, and we couldn't find any food that we wanted for lunch.  We picked up some pastries from Alaturka.  Both items had had spinach and cheese.  One of them is similar to spanakoptia, and the other is like a pide that is filled with spinach and cheese.  Both were delicious!
Alaturka - Snacks













Crossroads Market
1235 26 Avenue SE
Calgary, AB 
T2G 1R7

Phone:  (403) 291-5208

Hours:  Monday - Thursday CLOSED
             Friday - Sunday 900a - 500p

http://crossroadsmarket.ca

Market on Macleod
This market was the smallest of the three markets.  There were booths/stalls that sold new random items, limited produce, and were actually mostly prepared/hot food items.  This is where we picked up some delicious home made Mexican food.  The vendor that we purchased our lunch from was Fresh-adilla Fresh Tortilla.  They make their tortillas when you order!  They're not the super thin tortillas that I'm used to eating, they were thicker, they were delicious!  I've never eaten food from a Mexican home, but this is what I would imagine it would taste like.   We ordered a gordita, and a quesadilla.  I've never had a gordita before, but to describe it, it's similar to an arepa, but deep fried.  The quesadilla wasn't what I imagined, normally its pan fried or grilled or something, but this one was deep fried.  Both items were deep fried, deep fried anything is delicious as long as it's not greasy.  Fillings were both pretty much the same, we chose pork for both I believe, and was topped with lettuce, tomatoes and queso fresco.
Fresh-adilla Tortilla - Lunch










Market on Macleod
7711 Macleod Trail SE
Calgary, AB
T2H 0M1

Phone:  (587) 354-1120

Hours:  Monday - Wednesday CLOSED
             Thursday - Sunday 900a - 500p

http://marketonmacleod.com/index.html

Calgary Farmers Market
This was my favourite market to visit.  So much so that we actually went twice!  There were different vendors that sold a variety of things ranging from up cycled bags, to olive oil, to nut butters, plenty of hot prepared foods, and of course, plenty of fresh produce.  Why I liked Calgary Farmers Market so much was that it's open, clean, and easy to navigate around.  Plus it doesn't hurt to have a well known coffee shop, Analog Coffee, right by the door so I can grab a coffee and stroll around.  We loved their coffee so much, the second time around, we bought some beans to bring back to Toronto!  Back to the first visit, I ended up picking up lots of fresh tomatoes, basil, pasta, olive oil, and some pork chops to make dinner at the apartment that night.  For dessert, we also grabbed a saskatoon berry pie from Simple Simons Pies.  I'm still not sure what a saskatoon berry is supposed to taste like, but to me it tastes like a blueberry crossed with a currant.
Analog Coffee - Latte


Saskatoon Berry Pie











Calgary Farmers Market
510 77th Avenue SE
Calgary, AB 
T2H 1C3

Phone: (403) 240-9113

Hours:  Monday - Wednesday CLOSED
             Thursday - Sunday 900a - 500p

http://www.calgaryfarmersmarket.ca


Naina's Kitchen

I was looking for something close to the apartment we rented for a somewhat quick meal, but have it hearty enough because it was going to be a late lunch after driving from Canmore.  I found Naina's Kitchen after doing some Googling, and Yelping.  And no I didn't decide to come here because it was on an episode of You Gotta Eat Here.  To be honest, I have gone to some of the restaurants that have been on the show, but I found that it wasn't really worth it.  Makes me wonder if some of the restaurants just pay the show so they can be featured.

We arrived at Naina's kitchen on a Friday, while it wasn't filled, it was quite busy.  We ordered a mac and cheese grilled cheese and a ramen stuffed burger.  If you know my hubby, if there's fried chicken or any sort of ramen, he will order that.  I realized after we placed our order this was not going to be a quick meal.  Here, they specialize in stuffed burgers.  Stuffed anything takes longer to cook through.  Which made me wonder, do people in Calgary have really lax lunch breaks?  I saw many people dressed in business attire who stayed a very long time for lunch.

As expected, it took a while for the burger to cook. We were getting so hungry!  Finally the food arrive and we dug in.  My mac and cheese grilled cheese was exactly how you would imagine it.  A thick slab of mac and cheese put in between 2 slices of bread and put on the flat top.  Carb overload!  It was cheesy enough, but a bit bland (even for me!), so I dipped it in ketchup.  I chose a caesar salad as my side instead of fries because didn't want carbs, carbs, and more carbs!  Although I have to admit I ate some of the hubby's fries.  The salad was fresh romaine lettuce, with homemade croutons and real bacon pieces.  Dressing I think was bought and not made in house.
Mac and Cheese & Caesar Salad










Hubby's ramen burger was exactly what you would expect.  A burger patty stuff with ramen in it.  It had ramen flavour, I'm sure ramen powder packet was added into either the burger meat or the ramen noodles was tossed with it.  What was disappointing was that the burger meat was dry.  Most likely had to do with how long the burger had to be cooked for in order to make sure everything was cooked through.  Maybe they could freeze some ramen stock and stuff it inside with the noodles to keep some sort of moisture?  I have to say though, the fries were pretty good, good portion and were fresh cut.
Ramen Burger & Fries

Ramen Burger Insides



















I'm not sure I would come back here again, tried it once, understand the novelty of these kinds of burgers, but it's just novelty.  I think I would prefer a regular good old fashioned burger any day.

Naina's Kitchen
121 17 Ave. SE,
Calgary, AB
T2G 1H3

Phone:  (403) 263-6355

Hours:  Monday - Saturday 1100a - 1100p
             Sunday 1100a - 800p

http://nainaskitchen.com


Fairmont Lake Louise - Afternoon Tea

Whats there to do at Lake Louise when the trails are too slushy, and icy for hiking?  Sit back and admire the beautiful view of the lake while sipping afternoon tea inside the Fairmont!  I guess I could have tried to hike the trails, but I'm not sure I want to sit in the car in wet socks and shoes for the drive back to the apartment.  Plus, since my hiking shoes quit on me in Banff, I was left to wearing my winter runners......so we decided to take the option of enjoying the view.

We arrived at the Fairmont about 15 minutes before afternoon tea service was to begin so we had to wait a bit before we could be seated.  Lucky for us, because we didn't have a reservation, they still had a table by the window available.  And because our table was the first window table people walk by, I'm pretty sure we were in a lot of people's pictures.  I guess that's what it feels like to be a celeb hahaha.

While the view was beautiful, I found the service to be not as great as other places I've had afternoon/high tea before.  It wasn't that the service was bad, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  Usually I get offered teas to choose from by both looking at the menu, and also by smell.  Here at the Fairmont Lake Louise, I had to ask to smell the teas.  They didn't have a small 'sample' box of teas for me to smell, they just brought the big jar of teas over.  The hubby chose a strawberry green tea, and I chose a maple syrup black tea.  Hubby's tea smelled and tasted quite fruity.  Very light.  My maple syrup black tea I found a bit weak.  I let it steep in there for quite a long time, and it was finally to  my liking, although by then it got a bit cold.

Food wise, we started off with berries and fresh cream, tasted exactly how it sounds.
Berries with Fresh Cream










Then our sweet and savoury tower appeared.  The hubby was impressed with how it looked, he's never been to tea before.
Afternoon Tea Tower













Our savouries included shrimp on croissant, cucumber sandwich, curried egg salad sandwich, and some smoked salmon.  I tried them all, and really they were nothing special.  They weren't horrible, and they weren't great either.
Finger Sandwiches










The next thing I tried was the scone.  By look already, they weren't the fluffy airy scones that I love to eat.  Also, they weren't warm.  So it felt like they have been sitting around.  The scones came with some Devonshire cream (aka clotted cream), berry preserve, and lemon curd. I love love love clotted cream.  I could eat that on everything.  But so glad that I don't have that often because it's super fattening!  If you don't know what clotted cream is, it's like butter, but way lighter, almost like the consistency of mascarpone I'd say.  The preserves I doubt were made in house, tasted like any jam out of a jar.  I liked the lemon curd, but that probably because I like lemon.
Scones










And finally, the sweets.  There were 2 macarons, one raspberry, and one pistachio (from what I could guess).  They're nothing like Laudree, no where even close.  I would eat them if I was craving a macaron really badly....  The cakes, and what I think was panna cotta (or something similar to that), and fruit tart was passable.  It was similar to desserts that you would find at a buffet.
Sweets










Overall, the afternoon tea at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise was not as good as the other high teas/afternoon teas that I've had before.  But I have to say that it is one of the nicest views I've ever had while having tea.  So probably the first time ever, I'll say it's definitely worth it to come here despite the mediocre food.  Oh also, if you have afternoon tea here, your parking can get validated and you can park for free!

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
111 Lake Louise Drive,
Lake Louise, AB
T0L 1E0

Phone:  (403) 522-3511

http://www.fairmont.com/lake-louise/

Wild Flour Bakery

Banff, there's so much talk about it.  I thought it would be some beautiful glamorous place.  But maybe because I didn't get a chance to hike that much, I didn't feel it. If anything the town of Banff actually felt more like a tourist trap than anything.  Yes, the scenery there was beautiful, because theres the mountains wherever you look, but I don't know if it's because I went to Iceland first, it can't compare to the beauty of Iceland.  It also didn't feel like any locals live there, I felt like I walked the streets with tourists surrounding me.  The people that work in the retail shops, most of them had Australian accents!  It just felt weird.

Embarrassing story time.  Because I knew we would be hiking on this trip, I wore my running shoes, and brought along my hiking boots.  Now I've had my hiking boots for many many years, probably since undergrad.  And i'll pull them out to wear to shovel the snow, or go snowboarding.  About 5 minutes of walking around Banff, I felt something funny, I thought I stepped on some gum.  I look down, and the right sole of my hiking boot has become loose!  It's flapping around like a flip flop.  I made the hubby chew on some gum to see if that will hold, and no it doesn't!  Bought some contact cement at the Home Hardware to see if it will stick.  That stuff apparently takes 24 hours to set.  Ughhhhh.  So we would have to drive back to the apt for me to change into my runners. But of course, before that, we needed to eat.

Food wise, there's a lot of chains, like Earls, the Keg, McDonalds, etc.  I avoid those like the plague.  For lunch we popped into a bakery named Wild Flour Bakery.  Even though we were there for a late lunch, it was busy.  All the tables were taken and there was a small line up.  The bakery sells bread of course, sandwiches, soup, croissants, cookies etc.  All made in house with local organic ingredients.  Even though we were there for lunch, I ordered a breakfast sandwich & latte, and the hubby ordered a combo with a veggie sandwich, soup, cookie & flat white.  My breakfast sandwich was just ok.  The bread was great (they make a great sourdough).  The 'breakfast' filling was a egg frittata and cheese.  I have a feeling they prep the sandwich ahead of time and just warm it on the panini press, because the insides was still a bit cold.  If something is supposed to be hot, I like it piping hot.
Breakfast Sandwich










The hubby's veggie sandwich, there was some miscommunication when he ordered thats why he got a veggie sandwich instead of a meat one, was actually pretty good.  There were roasted peppers, tomato, spinach, and some pesto type spread.  The soup was so good!  Curry lentil soup.  Cookie that he got was a spicy chocolate cookie.  Reminds me of Soma's mayan hot chocolate.  The cookie texture was a bit crumbly, didn't hold that well, but still good.
Veggie Sandwich, Curry Lentil Soup, Spicy Chocolate Cookie










Coffees were good, a little bit weaker than what I would like but still good.  If i wasn't so full I wanted to buy a croissant and focaccia to try because they looked so good, but we said we would come back the next morning for breakfast on route to Lake Louise.  That never happened.  So if you ever come to Banff, skip the chains and check out this bakery, while it's not necessarily cheap, it's most likely more affordable than the other places around.
Latte and Flat White










Wild Flour Bakery
101-211 Bear Street,
Banff, Alberta,
T1L 1B4

Phone:  (403) 760-5074

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 700a - 400p

http://www.wildflourbakery.ca

Le Fournil Bakery

Popped into this little bakery to grab some dessert.  By the time I got there, there was maybe an hour left to close, and selection was starting to run a bit thin.  Breads were practically non existent, there were a few croissants, and a few individual cake slices available.  I picked up a butter croissant, and a slice of carrot cake.  No picture of the croissant because I inhaled it in the car because I was hungry.  It was nice and flakey on the outside (I was covered in croissant crumbs), inside was a bit bready for my liking, and also it missing that rich buttery fatty taste.  I think missing the buttery taste is probably because the milk/butter in Alberta isn't the greatest from what I've discovered.

The carrot cake was done well, could have had more cinnamon in my opinion.  But that's probably because I love cinnamon.  But it was nice and moist, with lots of carrot shreds it in, and had a nice cream cheese frosting on top.
Carrot Cake













Pricing wise, I found to be higher than in Toronto.  But as I've mentioned before in another post, food in Alberta seems to be higher than in Toronto in general.

Le Fournil Bakery
1205 Bow Valley Trail,
Canmore, AB
T1W 1P5

Phone:  (403) 675-5005

Hours:  Monday CLOSED
             Tuesday - Sunday 800a - 600p

http://fournil.ca


Rave Coffee

After a long-ish flight, and a drive from Calgary to Canmore, plus a time difference.  I needed some coffee.  And as always, I try and avoid Starbucks unless I have no other choice.  So I'm super glad I found Rave Coffee.  Finding Rave was a bit difficult.  It's tucked in a corner of a small plaza.  If you weren't looking for them, you really wouldn't know they exist.

Rave not only makes coffee, they also roast their own beans.  Kinda surprised to find that in a small town like Canmore.  But glad that they do do it!  I ordered a latte and a flat white.  It was nice and smooth, but I found my latte a bit weak, drowned out by the milk.  The hubby's flat white was better, probably because there was less milk.  And because I was tired and in a rush, I forgot to take a picture.

Side note, milk in Alberta doesn't taste very good.  Not rich and creamy at all.  Of course, I bought only regular milk, didn't try the organic milk.  Not sure if that makes a difference, but I find organic milk usually tastes a bit better.

Rave Coffee
113-703 Bow Valley Trail
Canmore, AB
T1W 2H4

Phone: (403) 675-7777

Hours: Monday - Sunday 800a - 600p

https://ravecoffee.ca

The Green Wood

I'm not that familiar to the south east end of toronto, or more specifically the Leslieville/Beaches area.  I honestly don't remember how I stumbled across the Green Wood.  But I was so glad I did.  We went for a very late brunch, technically it could have been considered a late lunch if anything.  Surprisingly, even though it was so late, the restaurant was full, no lineup but full.  We got the last table that was available.  But there was still bar seating.

We ordered, a fried chicken sandwich with fries, and the classic shakshuka.  The fried chicken sandwich of course was the hubby's order.  The chicken had a crispy outside and juicy inside, topped with a lightly dressed creamy coleslaw, all sitting on a brioche type bun.  I found the bun to be a bit too light to hold up to such a dense filling, but taste wise it worked.  Fries were great, thicker cut than normal, but not thick to the point of it being wedges.  House made ketchup had a slightly smokey flavour, not too sweet like store bought ketchup can be.  The shakshuka, my new favourite brunch dish.  It was so good (although I don't really have other comparisons), that I attempted to make it at home for dinner the same week.  Of course, mine didn't match up quite as well.  I loved the tanginess of the tomatoes, the softly cooked eggs, and the homemade bread (honey oat I think) that was served alongside.
Fried Chicken Sandwich

Classic Shakshuka



















Too bad the Green Wood is so far from home, otherwise, I would be eating here way more often.  I love how their restaurant uses all local ingredients and chooses sustainable food items.  If you would like to see what they get their ingredients from, check them out on their webpage.

The Green Wood
1402 Queen St E.,
Toronto, ON
M4L 1C9

Phone:  (416) 778-4343

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 900a - 400p

http://eatgreenwood.com

Friday, October 27, 2017

Afternoon on the Danforth: Souv Like & La Diperie

We decided to go grab a bite to eat on the Danforth one weekend, happened to be on of the hottest days EVER.  And yes, I'm catching up on my blogging, so this is a late post.  Life happens right?

Souv Like
I read that Souvlike has great authentic Greek gyros, at a good price, means I must go since theres one, no good Greek places uptown, and two good price!!!  When I got there, I was kinda surprised, it was a tiny place right across from Pape station.  My friend who used to frequent that location, said she's never even noticed it before but its been there a while.  We ordered a pork gyro and a chicken gyro.  Finally a place that puts french fries in the gyros, just like in Greece!  The gyro meats were seasoned well, and huge portions stuffed into that fresh fluffy pita bread.  I could eat this stuff for days!  This is the kind of place I like, a hole in the wall that makes AMAZING food.  No need for fancy restaurants for me...... well most of the time at least.
Pork and Chicken Gyros










Souv Like
708 Pape Avenue,
Toronto, ON 
M4K 3S7

Phone: (647) 349-9420

Hours:  Monday - Thursday 1100a - 100a
             Friday - Saturday 1100a - 500a
             Sunday 1100a - 100a

https://www.facebook.com/Souv-Like-745197328869469/

La Diperie
It's the freaking hottest day of the year, or at least it seems so to me.  So what do we need?  Cold cold ice cream.  Noticed this Montreal chain (from some place on the internet, most likely BlogTO or Yelp or something), and figured no better day to try it.  La Diperie does dipped soft serve cones.  They have a large variety of flavours for you to choose from, from regular milk chocolate to lavender dip.  I played it safe and went with a milk chocolate dip.  I was feeling boring that day.  I'm not sure if it was because it was hot, but my cone just didn't look so good.  The chocolate seemed not to solidify/stick to the cone.  Worth the money?  Definitely not.  The cone was small, so not worth it portion wise, think $1 Ikea cone size.
Cone at La Diperie













La Diperie
372 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON 
M4K 1P1

Phone:  416-901-7130

Hours:  Not sure of the hours, no hours on their website, and Yelp and Google show different times

https://www.ladiperie.com


Thursday, August 17, 2017

Dum Phukt

A very intriguing name.  I'm sure it's not pronounced the way I'm thinking it's supposed to be pronounced, or else it would be a very inappropriate name. So I'm sure I'm wrong.  Usually when I want to eat Indian food, I like going for lunch because most Indian restaurants serve lunch buffet style.  Although I love Indian food, I feel like I never know what to order, so being surrounded by many options always works out better for me.  But this time, because my friend and I had no idea what we wanted for dinner, and time was running out, we decided to grab some takeout from Dum Phukt.  We ordered my favorite saag paneer, butter chicken, chicken biriyani, and some naan (regular and garlic).  The saag paneer was super bland.  Definitely would not reorder again.  Butter chicken was really good I thought.  It had some spices in it that I'm not used to tasting in butter chicken.  I have some friends that have tried the butter chicken from here before, but they're not a fan.  To each their own I guess.  The chicken biriyani was good, had nice spices, but it was literally just rice.  I think there were 5 really small cubes of chicken, that was it.  The naan was nothing special.  I think though if I had it fresh, and not steaming in tin foil for the drive home, it would have been better.
Naan, Saag Paneer, Butter Chicken, Chicken Biriyani










I wonder if they have buffet lunch, I would definitely be interested in giving their other dishes a try.

Dum Phukt
323 Denison Street,
Markham, ON 
L3R 1B7
Phone:  (905) 604-6401
Hours:  Monday - Thursday 1130a - 300p, 530p - 1000p
             Friday - Saturday 1130a - 300p, 530p - 1100p
             Sunday 1130a - 300p, 530p - 1000p
https://www.facebook.com/Dum-Pukht-1693345057556453/

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Moji Japanese Eatery

Popped into Moji for a super late lunch on a Sunday.  We were getting kind of sick of normal Chinese food for a quick bite.  I can't remember how we ended up in this area because I HATE this plaza.  Hate the drivers and hate the parking here, especially the strip of parking that faces Kennedy Road because there's never any spots!

Because we arrived so late, they had their happy hour pricing available between 230p - 500p.  For $5.99, you get to choose an appetizer, main, and drink.  With my bad memory, I wish I took a picture of that menu.  In any case, based on my pictures, I ordered chilled tofu, gyu rice, and a strawberry green tea.  The hubby wanted ramen, so he ordered the toroniku ramen off the regular menu. 

When our food items arrived, we thought the portions were a bit small.  I don't know if my portions were small due to my food being for its happy hour pricing.  The tofu was good, smooth, with some soy sauce, and nori on top.  The gyu rice, I felt that there wasn't enough beef for the amount of rice given.  Flavours were ok.  Strawberry green tea was weak, not much green tea flavour at all.
Gyu Rice, Tofu & Strawberry Green Tea










The toroniku ramen came in a very small bowl.  The broth was ok, but it didn't have that rich pork taste to it.  Noodles were cooked al dente which was good.  Topping were presented on the side on a separate dish.  There were slices of pork, very thinly sliced, with some wood ear, and bamboo.  The egg, again in it's own separate dish.  For the price, $12.50, I was expecting there to be more.
Toroniku Ramen










Cute restaurant.  If it wasn't for the location, I think I would come back when I want something other than Hong Kong style cafe.

Moji Japanese Eatery
A6-8362 Kennedy Road
Markham, ON 
L3R 9W5

Phone:  (905) 479-6654

Hours:  Monday - Thursday 1130a - 900p
             Friday 1130a - 1000p
             Saturday - Sunday 1100a - 1000p

http://www.mojijapanese.com

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Paoletti's Pizzeria

The way that I found out about Paoletti's Pizzeria was unfortunately due to their rivalry with the former Dantes (now closed) that appeared in the Toronto Star.  But lets not focus too much on that, and focus instead on the pizza!

Paoletti's is located in a non descript plaza.  It looks almost industrial.  If I wasn't looking for them, there's no way I would have known they were there.  We went on a Saturday afternoon, so there wasn't much in terms of a crowd.  We ordered our pizza and about 15 minutes later, it was ready for us to consume.  There were 3 tables there, so we figured we might as well stay there and eat while the pizza was nice and fresh.  We ordered a super deluxe pizza, but I can't remember if we ordered a mini or a small.  Looking at the picture doesn't really help me remember.  The pizza came topped with a very generous amount of pepperoni, mushroom, onion, salami, red peppers, and tomato.  I wish there was a bit more colour to the pizza, it was just all so red.  Everything was very fresh!  The downside, it was a bit salty for me (may be due to all the meat), and also, I wasn't a huge fan of the crust.  I like a chewier crust, this was a bit more bready.  I love to eat pizza, but i'm not too familiar with the different kinds of crust and what regions they are from.
Super Deluxe Pizza










Definitely worth trying their pizzas.  Not the best pizza that I've had, but definitely better than the chains.  Also, eating pizzas with so many fresh vegetables, tricks my mind into thinking that I'm eating healthy, kinda.

Paoletti's Pizzeria
8700 Dufferin St. Unit #18,
Vaughan, Ontario
L4K 4S6

Phone:  (905) 761-1115

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 1100a - 1000p

http://paolettispizzeria.com

Friday, July 14, 2017

Sababa

Sababa has a restaurant side, and a grocery side.  My post is purely based on getting takeout from the back of the grocery side.  I have never eaten in the restaurant itself.  I'm would assume though, that since the restaurant is right next door to the grocery store that the food most likely is prepped and cooked in the same kitchen.

My go to order item from Sababa is their falafels.  I ALWAYS get the falafel in pita.  In my opinion, they are the best that I have ever had anywhere in Toronto.  When you order, they are made fresh for you, so the inside is piping hot and the outside is crispy crunchy.  In my pita theres usually 3 falafels, along with lettuce, tomato, some pickles, hummus, tahini, and hot sauce.  
Falafel in Pita













The hubby ordered some sort of mystery meat in a pita.  I took a bite, of the mystery meat, and there's definitely some lamb, just not sure if theres any other kind of meat mixed in.  It looks like the meat was a a spit, and it was shaved off using those electric knives.  Also in the pita with the meat was lettuce, tomato, pickles, hummus, tahini, and hot sauce.
Mystery Meat in Pita













Go to Sababa and pick up falafels, some of their dips (hummus, baba ganoush, and there's a tomato eggplant dip that I don't know the name of), and their fresh pitas.  

Sababa
390 Steeles Avenue West,
Thornhill, ON
L4J 1A1

Phone:  (905) 764-6440

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 1000a - 1000p

http://www.sababafoods.com

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Satay Sate

I'm not familiar with Indonesian food at all.  I think the closest encounter to Indonesian food was on a cruise ship many many years ago.  I ordered some noodle or fried rice dish (its been that long, that I can't even remember) for my main for dinner.  I just remember it tasting good.  I'm sure though that it probably wasn't very authentic, and probably no where near what the dish would taste like in Indonesia, but nevertheless I enjoyed it.  So when a friend recommended Satay Sate, I dragged the hubby to try them out.

We went for a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon.  The place is small, but there is seating, all bar height seating.  I actually hate that kind of seating, but that's just because I'm short.  Service wise, its almost cafeteria style.  You order and pay at the cash, and they bring out your food when it's ready.  The visit started off not that great.  There was a group of people in front of us that couldn't figure out what to order.  And I was hungry.  I've become one of those people that get HANGRY.....so I was not happy.  I have to admit, this was not the fault of the restaurant.  So at this point, I was quite annoyed already, and finally it was our turn to order.  We ordered the nasi goreng, and the beef satay.  Unfortunately this took a long time too because the cashier was new.  She didn't know how to put in the order.....ughh......

Back to the more important topic, the actual food.  Our food arrived relatively quickly.   And it smelled so good!  My nasi goreng was like a garlic fried rice, topped with a fried egg, pieces of chicken and a cucumber salad.  It was delicious.  The rice was fried well, with lots of garlic flavour.  I just wish the chicken was mixed into the fried rice.  My other complaint would be the the rice got increasingly spicy as I ate it.  It would have been nice if there was a warning about the level of spiciness, or if there was the possibility of customizing how spicy the dish would be.
Nasi Goreng










The beef satay, there were 2 skewers drizzled with a peanut sauce, served with a side salad and some coconut rice.  We've never had coconut rice before, but the hubby loved it.  He asked if we could try and make coconut rice at home.  Now I just need to find a recipe.  The beef satay was just ok.  The beef was tender, but almost like it was tenderized with something.  The downside of the beef was that it was pretty stuck onto the bamboo skewer.  We tried taking it off with a fork but it was so stuck we couldn't, so we had to pull off pieces with our teeth.  It was almost dangerous to eat!
Beef Satay










As for how authentic it is, I have no clue.  I would definitely go back and try some of their other dishes.  If you hate bar height seating as much as I do, get takeout.

Satay Sate
5025 Yonge St.,
North York, ON
M2N 5P2

Phone:  (647) 351-7283

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 1100a - 900p

http://www.sataysate.com
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