Friday, January 31, 2014

Pho Mi 99


It was a cold night after work, and we didn't want to drive home in rush hour traffic.  So might as well  eat somewhere cheap and quick near work.  Upon recommendation from a co-worker, apparently his favourite pho place, we went to Pho Mi 99.  Pricing of the dishes were pretty average for a Vietnamese place.  We ordered shrimp fresh rolls, large 'special' noodle soup and spring rolls.  The fresh rolls weren't that great, I think I make them better myself.  The shrimp were not 'crunchy' either.  The noodle soup was average.  Good portion of meats and toppings.  The spring rolls were average as well.  Nothing really stood out, until we were waiting for our bill.  The waiter was clearing the table next to us.  He spills some soup on the ground.  He takes the same cloth that he wipes the table with, to wipe the floor.  He then wheels everything into the back.  I suspect that cloth that wiped the floor will end up wiping other tables.  So because of that, I will never return again.

Fresh Shrimp Rolls & Spring Rolls
Large Special Noodle Soup














Pho Mi 99
3920 Grand Park Dr.
Mississauga, ON
L5B 0A5

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Lobster Trap

The majority of the time that I eat lobster is usually at a Chinese restaurant where they cook it by stirfrying it with ginger and green onion.  The only other times where I've had lobster cooked any other way was during my trip to the East coast of Canada, and during my trips to New York City, both of which boil the lobster.

During that trip to the East coast, I was told that the best sized lobsters to eat are between 1.5lbs to 2lbs.  Anything smaller than that, the meat would be too watery, and you're essentially paying for the weight of the shells.  Anything larger than that, the meat starts to get tough.  When eating lobster, the best way to tell if a lobster was fresh, is by the claw meat.  Fresh lobster has claw meat that is full and meaty.  Lobster that may have still been alive, but sitting in a tank for several days will have claw meat that is rubbery.  That is because in the tank, the lobsters don't get fed, and they end up eating themselves.  

The only reason we went to The Lobster Trap was because there was a coupon for it, $35 for $70 worth of lobster.  As it turns out, that didn't really allow for much food.  We ordered crab cakes, caesar salad, lobster bisque, and a 1.5lb steamed lobster.  When I ordered crab cakes, I thought about Joe's Stone Crab's crab cakes.  So full of meaty crab meat.  When these crab cakes arrived, my husband said, where's the rest of them.  They looked more like tiny crab meat balls.  There was crab meat, but quite a lot of filler as well.  
Crab Cakes











The lobster bisque was nothing to rave about.  Hardly any lobster, too thick and cream tasting.  Where's the lobster taste?
Lobster Bisque











The Caesar salad doesn't need to be mentioned.  It was just romaine lettuce with store bought dressing.  Along with the meal we were served garlic bread.  This was very oily, but very good. 

Garlic Bread











And the main course, the lobster.  The lobster meat was fresh, the claw was still nice and meaty.  Too bad we didn't get to choose a female lobster, because the roe always tastes good.  I'm not a fan of the tomalley, which works out great because my husband is.  There was a little dish of melted clarified butter as well, lit underneath with a tea candle to keep the butter warm and from solidifying.
Steamed Lobster











I'm not sure I would come back to eat here, I would rather save up my money and wait for another trip to NYC, or just go to a Chinese restaurant.

The Lobster Trap
8099 Weston Rd.
Vaughan, ON
L4L 0C1

905-787-3211

http://www.lobstertraprestaurant.ca

Messini

I fell in love with Greek food when I stopped off in Greece while I was backpacking.  The food so simple, so delicious.  One of the most interesting differences that I noticed here versus in Greece, was that the gyros in Greece were served stuffed with french fries.  It sounds so strange, but it's delicious, and convenient.  Everything that you need to eat in your meal in one small package.  While at the Taste of the Danforth a few years ago, I discovered Messini does that here in Toronto.  I was so pleased!

During the end of the fall term in school, I started to crave gyros.  So I planned with my friends that we would go on Boxing day, because thats when everyone was actually free to go.  We stopped off at Messini's at their new Yonge and Eglinton location.  Their food was still as good as I remember, and priced very well.  My husband and I typically get the 2 gyro combo, and it comes with a salad and fries.  I think the price is around $15 for all of that.  And we usually can't finish it all ourselves.


Chicken Gyro

Greek Salad and Feta Fries



















Messini
2311 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
M4P 2C6

416-483-5555

Hours:  Monday - Thursday 11:30am - 12:00am
             Friday - Saturday 11:30am - 4:00am
             Sunday 12:00pm - 12:00am

http://www.messini.ca/yonge/index.php#

Cucina Locale

One of my favourite places for pizza is way up in Richmond Hill.  Come to think of it, i've never blogged about Nonna's Oven.  Next time I go, i'll take some pictures.  Cucina Locale opened recently in the Markham area, a little bit closer to home.  If it's anywhere as good as Nonna's, then I would come here instead.

We ordered a meat pizza, 2 veal sandwiches and an arugula salad to share.  I can't remember the name of the pizza, but looking at pictures, there was sausage, ham, and peppers on the pizza.  The crust was done well, but didn't have that crisp edge while maintaining chewiness.  Veal sandwiches were just ok.  The veal was a little drier than I prefer, and the tomato sauce was a bit bland.  The arugula salad was the best in the bunch.  Very simple with arugula, cherry tomatoes, roasted pepper and a balsamic vinaigrette.

Meat Pizza
Veal with Rapini Sandwich


Arugula Salad



























Even though this is much closer, I think I will be continuing to feed my pizza cravings at Nonna's.

Cucina Locale
4471 Hwy 7 E.,
Markham, ON
L3R 1M1

905-479-2054

Hours:  Monday - Saturday 11am - 10pm

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cucina-Locale/533600090057705

Monday, January 27, 2014

Farmhouse Tavern

I have been so far behind on my posts that it's ridiculous.  This past Saturday, as I was blogging, I said to my husband, i'm only 5 behind!!!!  I always try to post in the order of which I visit the restaurants, which I think partly causes the delay.  I'm always eager to post when the restaurant is good, and then not so keen on posting when the restaurant is bad.

But i'm SUPER DUPER excited about today's post!  I couldn't wait to finish the 5 other posts first before I got to this one.  Farmhouse Tavern gets a bud in line and for good reason.  Do I really want to share the deliciousness of this restaurant and make it busier than it already is?  There's still many dishes on the brunch menu i'm looking forward to going back to try, and am trying to plan the return visit.  By the way, we got the best seat in the house!  And I apologize in advance for the bad pictures, I left my camera at home. :(
Farmhouse Tavern Kitchen











Ever since Goody's closed down, I have been on the hunt for the best burger place.  Burgers Priest was close, but no cigar. They were just too greasy for my stomach.  Farmhouse Tavern does an amazing burger.  The Barnyard Burger's patty was cooked to a medium rare to medium (seasoned well), and topped with a thick slice of smokey bacon, creamy goats cheese, iceberg lettuce and one giant fried duck egg.  It also came with a huge side of home made fries, with smokey ketchup.
Barnyard Burger











I ordered the Mother and Child Reunion.  Cute name, but kind of morbid.  The 'Mother' aspect refers to the slices of cured duck breast, and 'Child' refers to the deep fried duck eggs.  I had the option of adding foie gras for $12 and I took it.  When it arrived, I shouldn't have taken it.  The slice of foie was tiny.  it was VERY good though, melt in your mouth.  Presentation of this dish was almost like art.  The salad was beautiful.  What I thought was a piece of bacon in my salad was actually carrot.  This salad had heirloom carrots, purple and yellow.  There's a vegetable in it that I'm still not quite sure of.  Everything was so fresh and crunchy.  The duck breast was very delicious.  It was almost as if I was eating candied duck breast.  The duck eggs appeared to be soft boiled, then coated with panko and deep fried.  The yolks were still very runny.  I didn't realize but it appears that duck eggs have very large yolks!
Mother and Child Reunion











Who wants to come with me next?

Farmhouse Tavern
1627 Dupont St.
Toronto, ON
M6P 3S8

416-561-9114

Hours:  Thursday - Friday 6pm - not sure when the end time is
             Saturday & Sunday 11am - 3pm, 6pm - not sure when the end time is

http://farmhousetavern.tumblr.com

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Deer Garden

Such a strange name for a restaurant.  Strange names make for interesting restaurants to try.  Turns out they are known for their fish based broths for their noodle soups.  Named Best Fish Noodle Soup in Richmond BC.  I don't like fish because I find it fishy.  But I do know people that love fish and would love to try this place with me.  We went on a cold night after some late shopping after work.  We got to the restaurant around 9pm and the restaurant was full, so we had to wait a good 10 minutes before getting seated.

Deer Garden is like a customizable noodle shop.  All bowls of noodles come with some napa cabbage as veggies.  You get your choice of soup base, which is mostly fish based, with some non-fish based options which worked for me.  You get to choose, two toppings, and your type of noodles.  If you think that's not enough food, you can make it a combo and add another side dish.  All noodle orders come with a coffee/tea.

Deer Garden Menu











Two fish based broth noodles, with some fish, fish tofu, and so other stuff I can't remember.  The colour of the broth is milky just like how fish broth is supposed to look when it's been cooked for a long period of time.  I was told that the broth was good and sweet.  I gave it a try but I found it a bit fishy (for someone that doesn't really eat fish).
Fish Broth Vermicelli Noodles

Fish Broth Sweet Potato Noodles



















Laksa broth with instant noodles.  The laksa broth was very coconutty, and thick.  I personally think its too much to have in such a large sized bowl.
Laksa Instant Noodles











I had the Tom Yum broth with sweet potato noodles.  The broth was good, light and full of tomato flavour.  And it wasn't spicy at all.  The Laksa was spicier than the Tom Yum which I found strange.
Tom Yum Sweet Potato Noodles











And of course the boys wanted extra food which we didn't really need.  We ordered chicken cutlet, chicken wings, beef tongue, and red sausage.  The noodle portions are actually quite large and we probably could have ordered 3 bowls for the 4 of us.  At the table next to us, there was a cute little old couple who ordered 1 bowl of noodles to share between the 2 of them. Very cute.  Looked like date night, out for a late night snack.
Extras











I loved the customizability of the noodle soups.  Theres something for whatever you are craving.

Deer Garden 
550 Highway 7E, Unit 108
Richmond Hill, ON
L4B 3B1

905-762-8828

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 11am - 11pm

http://www.deergarden.ca

Traditional Challah Bread

This year, my unofficial resolution to myself is to prepare more homemade foods as possible.  No more buying off the shelf products if I could help it.  This is my effort to avoid putting so many preservatives and additives in my body.  So I have begun to bake my own bread when time allows.  The first loaf this year was Challah.  It ended up being a lot easier than I expected and quicker than I expected.  In total, I think it took about 3 hours from start to end.  Give this recipe a try, it's delicious!

Traditional Challah














Traditional Challah Recipe (from Canadian Living)
Ingredients
2 tsp (10 mL) granulated sugar 
1/2 cup (125 mL) warm water 
1 pkg active dry yeast (or 1 tbsp/15 mL) 
3-1/2 cups (875 mL) all-purpose flour (approx) 
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) liquid honey 
1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, melted (or vegetable oil) 
2 eggs, lightly beaten 
2 egg yolks 
3/4 cup (175 mL) golden raisins 
Topping: 
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten 
1 tbsp (15 mL) sesame seeds

Preparation
1.
 In large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes. Using wooden spoon, stir in 3 cups (750 mL) of the flour and salt. Add honey, butter, eggs and egg yolks; stir until dough forms.

2. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding enough of the remaining flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in greased bowl, turning to grease all over. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk and indentation remains when dough is poked with 2 fingers, about 1 hour. Punch down dough; knead in raisins. Let rest for 5 minutes.

3. To make crown: Roll out dough into 30-inch (76 cm) long rope. Holding 1 end in place, wind remaining rope around end to form fairly tight spiral that is slightly higher in centre. Transfer to greased rimmed baking sheet.

4. To make braid: Divide dough into quarters; roll each into 18-inch (45 cm) long ropes. Place side by side on greased rimmed baking sheet; pinch together at 1 end. Starting at pinched end, move second rope from left over rope on its right. Move far right rope over 2 ropes on left. Move far left rope over 2 ropes on right. Repeat until braid is complete; tuck ends under braid.

5. Cover crown loaf or braid loaf with plastic wrap; let rise in warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

6. Topping: Stir egg yolk with 1 tsp (5 mL) water; brush over loaf. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool on rack.



Friday, January 24, 2014

Papa Chang's

I have been holding out on writing about Papa Chang's, not because I didn't like the food, but because we ordered SO MUCH FOOD!  I figured I would need a decent amount of time to sit down and post. I went with 5 others, but one of them could eat for 2 or 3 easily.  No better way of trying a restaurant than with a person like that.  You get to order more dishes!

I read in reviews that you would need to wait on average 1 hour for a table.  Must be some good food.    We had to wait about an hour too, but thats because they also don't take reservations.  So we put down our names....walked around a bit....and then went back.  Just a warning, they are located in a small plaza with NOTHING nearby.  So a lot of people just put down their names, and sit in the car and wait because the restaurant is so small, there is no where to wait inside.

I've never had Taiwanese food before, so I didn't really know what to expect.  After looking at the menu, I didn't see much in terms of veggies.  Is this a Taiwanese thing?  They just eat meat, meat and more meat?  The only veggie dish that I remember seeing was a Chinese veggie topped with chopped pork.  We ordered popcorn chicken, braised beef noodle in soup, Taiwanese dumpling, takoyaki, pork belly, fried pork intestines, chicken skewers, pork & sausage on rice, beef sesame flatbread sandwich, beef egg roll.  Everything was done very well.  The popcorn chicken was seasoned very nicely and very crispy while the insides were still juicy.  
Popcorn Chicken











The braised beef was very flavourful and tender.  And I loved the pickled veggies served on the side.










I didn't like the Taiwanese dumpling at all.  The wrapper was made from glutinous rice, and was too thick and chewy.  It was nice to try it though.  
Taiwanese Dumpling











I can't remember if the takoyaki or chicken skewers were good or bad.  Probably passible.
Takoyaki


Chicken Skewers


















Pork belly was very good.  I was expecting it to be similar to Chinese roast pork, from the bbq places, but it actually was more like the Filipino pork.  It was very crisp on the outside and still very moist on the inside.  
Fried Pork Belly











The fried pork intestines I already knew I wouldn't like it, but I tried a small piece anyways.  And it reaffirmed that I do not like pork intestines.  My friends said that it was done quite well.  So I'm planning on bringing my mom one day, she loves pig intestines.  
Fried Pork Intestines











The pork & sausage on rice was exactly what it is and what you would imagine it to taste like.  
Pork and Sausage on Rice











The beef sesame flatbread sandwich reminded me of an asian big mac.  The beef was good, but too bad the flatbread kept breaking and falling apart.  It was very flaky.  
Beef Sesame Flatbread Sandwich











Lastly the beef egg roll, this is not what I expected.  And please don't expect to see those thick skinned deep fried monstrosities that you get at a westernized Chinese restaurant.  This was so delicately done.  There was a Chinese version of a crepe wrapped around a thin layer of egg.  The filling was marinated beef shank, and lettuce.  So good!

Beef Egg Roll











My favourite items were the popcorn chicken, braised beef noodle in soup, pork belly, beef sesame flatbread sandwich and the beef egg roll.  

Papa Chang's
5970 16th Ave. Unit 110,
Markham, ON
L3P 7R1

905-554-7211

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11am - 10pm 

https://www.facebook.com/PapaChangs

Aromaz Bakery

Everytime I think of where this bakery is located, I wonder how they survive.  Aromaz is inside Chartwell mall in scarborough.  There's really nothing in this mall aside from a tiny food court, a really small supermarket, a bank, a restaurant which used to be upscale back in the old days and thats mostly it.  To top it off, you can't even really see this mall if you're driving down the road.  But anyhow, the fact that this bakery is still alive, means they must sell a decent product.

A few months back, I began looking for these pineapple buns with a crushed pineapple custard filling.    I still haven't found it yet, hence me continuing going bakery hopping.  The buns here are average size, with an average price of $1.10 each, which is on the higher end of Chinese bun pricing.  But I would say it's worth the money.  The bun itself is made pretty well, the bread part nice and fluffy but not too fluffy so it becomes 'airy'.  And filling wise, there is quite a bit of filling in there.  A lot of the cheaper buns available at other bakeries tend to have a lot of empty space where the filling should be.  One of the items I picked up, because I haven't seen it at other bakeries is a ginger milk tart with thousand layer crust.  The filling had just enough ginger flavour and was cooked perfectly.  The flaky crust I thought was a little too thick and dense.  Cutting the shell in half and making it a 500 layer crust would have been much better.

Ginger Milk Tart with a Thousand Layer Crust











Aromaz Bakery
2301 Brimley Ave.
Toronto, ON
M1S 5B8

416-321-3232

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Sansotei Ramen

Yet another ramen post.  What can I say, I love my soupy noodles.  I avoided this place for quite a while because of the lacklustre reviews i've seen when they first opened, so I really didn't feel like I would be missing out on much.  Hence left for last almost.

They do 'customized' noodle thickness, noodle cooked-ness, and soup flavour intensity.  So it really is a customized bowl of comfort.  Or so I thought.  The reviews were true to their word for my bowl.  Not so much for my husband's bowl.  The comments that made me stay away for so long was that the broth wasn't hot, it was room temperature.  I have to have my hot foods hot.  My husband's bowl though was steaming hot.  So much for consistency.  Their noodles were good, cooked perfect, we both ordered their 'original' noodles.  The broth was sweet, almost too sweet, almost to the point where it made me wonder if they added MSG.  The pork belly I didn't like, because I don't like huge chunks of pork fat, I like the thinly layered fats in between the meats.  So I spent the time separating meat from fat.  And my egg was missing a chunk of egg white.  Because the ramens were so forgettable, I've forgotten what we ordered. Since on first visits, I normally go for tonkotsu, i'm going to assume thats what I had.  By the looks of the colour of the broth of my husband's, it looks like it could be shoyu.

Tonkotsu Ramen

Ramen, Shoyu?



















Sansotei Ramen
179 Dundas St. W
Toronto, ON
M5G 1Z8

Hours:  Monday - Saturday 11am - 10pm

http://www.sansotei.com/index.html

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Dark Horse Espresso Bar


I miss the lazy days we had when we were on vacation in Vancouver.  We would wake up and sit in a coffee shop and have a latte.  I don't get to do that much here.  Where I live, only coffee shop chains exist.  All the little independent shops are downtown.  So on this afternoon, during a 6 hour break in school, I stopped off at Dark Horse Espresso Bar in Chinatown to prep for my seminar at night.  I ordered my latte, found a table and sat down.  I open my notebook and realized I forgot to charge it last night.  I think, no problem, all coffee shops must have outlets available to their customers.  I was very wrong.  Dark Horse must not have supplied enough coffee to the PM for the construction of this coffee shop.....

Back to the coffee.  I miss the beautiful latte art that comes with EVERY latte in Vancouver.  Here, they make it seem like it's too much extra work to make the drink look pretty, it just looks so blah.  The latte was very weak.  I was so disappointed and considered stopping by Starbucks.

Latte











Dark Horse Espresso Bar
215 Spadina Ave. Suite 102
Toronto, ON
M5C  2C7
416-979-1200

Hours: Monday - Friday 7am - 7pm
            Saturday Sunday 8am -7pm

http://darkhorseespresso.com


La Tortilleria


I love Mexican food, and I don't mean Tex-Mex.  This means I don't like flour tortillas.  In Kensington Market there's a restaurant that sells corn tortillas by weight.  I thought about buying a bunch home, but my freezer was full at the time, so I was left to just trying their tacos.  I regret that I didn't write this blog post as soon as I tried the tacos, because right now I can't remember which fillings we got!  All I remember is that the corn tortillas were delicious, soft, but had a slightly chewy texture to them.  The fillings, even though there was sauce, I found the meats too dry.  Definitely will go back to pick up some corn tortilla shells, but I think I will make the fillings at home.



La Tortilleria
198 Augusta Ave.,
Toronto, ON
M5T 2L6

Hours:  Monday - Friday, Sunday 10:30am - 7:00pm
             Saturday 10:30am - 8:00pm

http://www.latortilleria.ca

The Grilled Cheese

Grilled cheese, such a simple food, but so delicious.  The very first version of grilled cheese that I could remember was made with 2 slices of white Wonder bread, and a slice of Kraft singles cheese.  Kraft singles cheese is the easiest to make grilled cheese with because it takes little to no heat to actually melt it.

This little sandwich shop in Kensington Market does things a little bit fancier, no Kraft singles on the menu anywhere.  I was actually overwhelmed by the choices available, so I asked the the guy that worked there what he would recommend.  He suggested the Grilled Motzy.  The Grilled Motzy had boccacini, sun dried tomato, basil pesto, mixed greens and vinaigrette sandwiched between 2 slices of toasted/grilled bread.  I should have stuck to ordering a classic version of whatever I want to try.  I'm sure this sandwich tastes great to some people, but it was horrible for me.  Boccacini did not add any flavour to the sandwich at all because it doesn't really have any flavour to begin with.  The vinaigrette with the combination of the sun dried tomato was overpowering, making it too sweet and sour.  There will not be a next time for this particular sandwich.  The grilled cheese came with a pickle that was pretty tasty, and pre fab chips from a bag that I didn't bother trying.

Grilled Motzy











The Grilled Cheese
66 Nassau St.
Toronto, ON
M5T 1M5

Hours:  Monday - Wednesday 11am - 9pm
             Thursday - Saturday 11am - 10pm
             Sunday 11am - 8pm

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grilled-Cheese/189651112424

Friday, January 17, 2014

Kung Fu Tea Shop

I saw a picture on my friend's Facebook page and immediately wanted to find out where this new bubble tea shop was located.  Finally something aside from Ten Ren's, Tea Shop 168, and the new tea shop fad which I'm personally not a huge fan of, Cha Time.

I ordered a milk tea with grass jelly so I could compare with my drink with Cha Time.  I found Kung Fu Tea Shop to have a stronger milk tea taste and more grass jelly in the drink, making it a superior drink in my opinion.  Here, you also have the option of choosing the amount of sugar and ice added to the drink.  And from what I remember, the price here is slightly cheaper than Cha Time as well.

Milk Tea with Grass Jelly














Kung Fu Tea Shop
207 Dundas St. W.,
Toronto, ON
M5G 1C8

https://www.facebook.com/KungfuteashopToronto

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Momofuku Milk Bar

There's one thing I tried from Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC, and thats the ever so famous Crack Pie.  And is it ever delicious!  Tastes kinda like a butter tart but different.  NYC is one of my favourite travel spots.  I've been there several times and would love to go back again.  I just need time off from school, time off from work, money, and a dog sitter.  But in the meanwhile I'll get to reminisce every time I get a snack from Momofuku's Milk Bar in Toronto.

Momofuku's Milk Bar is located on the second floor above the Noodle Bar.  While the Noodle Bar is NOT worth visiting, the Milk Bar is a different story.  The Milk Bar is essentially a refrigerated glass room filled with cookies, pies, truffles.  It's an awesome experience to be totally surrounded by desserts!  While the initial intention was to buy a slice of Crack Pie, I ended up with some Bday Truffles, Compost Cookie, Blueberry & Cream Cookie, Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie.  The Bday Truffles were not your typical chocolate truffle.  It tasted like a truffle made of raw cookie dough.  The cookies were awesome, my favourite being the Compost cookie.  I just hope that I never find out how much butter was used in a single cookie.....
Momofuku Milk Bar Goodies











Momofuku Milk Bar
190 University Ave. 2nd flr,
Toronto, ON
1-855-333-MILK

Hours:  Monday - Sunday 11:30am - 11pm
http://milkbarstore.com/main/toronto/

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Bahn Mi Boys

I was soooooo super looking forward to coming to try Bahn Mi Boys.  Yes I know, it's been open forever, but it's not in the most convenient locations for me to get to.  So the night before we went to watch Les Miserables, my absolute favourite musical, we stopped off at Bahn Mi Boys for dinner.

I read a bunch of reviews and everyone suggested to order the kimchi fries.  Aside from that I ordered the grilled chicken bahn mi, and the pork belly bao.  In all honesty, I didn't understand the hype.  The bahn mi was and the bao really was nothing that special.  The flavours just didn't wow me.  The kimchi fries were definitely tasty!  Its the Korean take on poutine.  But way too heavy.  I don't think anyone could eat more than a few bites.

Kimchi Fries

Grilled Chicken Bahn Mi

Pork Belly Bao












Overall, I'm not sure if I would go out of my way to try other items on their menu.  Actually I'm not sure if I would go back at all, because the next morning I woke up feeling sick.  There may have been a possibility I got food poisoning....

Bahn Mi Boys
392 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON
M5V 2A9
416-363-0588

Hours:  Monday - Friday 11am - 10pm
             Saturday 11am - 9pm
             Sunday 12pm - 7pm

http://www.banhmiboys.com

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Macey's

I remember growing up and hating eating at Chinese restaurants.  My mom cooked Chinese food at home every day, why do we need to eat at Chinese restaurants when we eat out?  I'm not sure if it's because I realize the complexity in cooking Chinese food, even the simplest of dishes, or if it's because I no longer eat Chinese food every night for dinner.  Occasionally I get cravings for fried noodles, fried rice etc.

My coworker introduced me to Macey's.  The restaurant itself is nothing special, in fact, it looks as if it needs a makeover.  But I was told, that usually it's regulars that come to eat here.  Thats a sign of a good restaurant.  We ordered beef and wonton soup rice noodle, baked Portuguese chicken on rice and boiled choy sum.

Beef and wonton soup rice noodle was pretty good.  The beef was very tender, and not fatty.  The wontons were a good size, and made only with shrimp, no pork as filler.  It was very 'crunchy'.
Beef& Wonton Rice Noodle











Boiled choy sum, you can't really screw that up.  In case anyone is wondering why it looks so 'dull', I asked for no oil.

Boiled Choy Sum











Baked Portuguese chicken on rice.  This was my favourite. I find that most restaurants that do this dish put too much coconut milk into it, and it ends up tasting like coconut curry sauce.  Also, the rice was fried rice underneath with plenty of 'wok hay'.  I thought we would have food left over for lunch the next day.....but it was so good that I kept picking at it, and we finished it all.

Baked Portuguese Chicken Rice











Macey's
780 Burnhamthorpe Rd. W,
Mississauga, ON
L5C 3X3
905-306-0080


Friday, January 10, 2014

Dr. Laffa

I was watching an episode of You Gotta Eat Here! and, seen the pictures on my friend's FB page showing pictures of falafels in laffa bread.  I needed to try it out.  Worked out quite well that a friend visiting from Hong Kong, who previously lived in Toronto, missed hummus and baba ganoush.  My excuse to try Dr. Laffa.  They have two locations,  one near Dufferin and Steeles, in an industrial area.  The other is along Bathurst, south of the 401.  We went to the Bathurst location first, but it was so busy with no place to sit and chat, we drove to the Dufferin and Steeles location.

Laffa bread is more similar to naan bread than pita bread, and a little bit crispier.  It's very light and fluffy, and HUGE.  We didn't realize how big the portions were until it was too late.  For 3 people, we ordered 2 schwarmas and an appetizer plate.  The appetizer plate had hummus, baba ganoush, eggplant salad, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  For the laffa sandwiches  you need to order at the sandwich counter because you need to tell them what fillings to put in.  There were so many more fillings than I have ever been offered when ordering schwarma in a pita.  They had the traditional hummus, tahini, pickles etc.  But they also had corn, and roasted carrots.  So delicious.  The size of the laffa sandwich was so massive!, bigger than a large burrito from Burrito Boys!  We should have ordered 1 laffa sandwich and 1 appetizer plate and that would have been perfect.

Will definitely go back if the mood for schwarma hits!

Schwarma in Laffa

Appetizer Plate

Laffa Bread












Dr. Laffa
401 Magnetic Dr. Unit 39
Toronto, ON
M3J 3H9

Hours:  Sunday - Thursday 11am - 10pm
             Friday 11am - 3pm
             Saturday CLOSED

http://www.drlaffa.com

Kenzo Ramen

I remember the original Kenzo Ramen located at Yonge and Steeles.  I'm not sure if it was that I didn't have other options to compare it to, or if it really did taste that good.  But I definitely remember it being a very good soup noodle place to go to.  Nowadays, theres so many ramen restaurants to choose from, but I wanted to try Kenzo again to compare to the new ones that have popped up.  I paid a visit to the newly opened Kenzo near my work place.  I was severely disappointed.  The soup base was full of MSG.  The noodles looked like the frozen ones I could buy at the supermarket.  The chasiu was dry.  I have pictures of what we ordered, but I can't remember what the names of the noodles were.  In any case, not that it matters, because I won't be going back to Kenzo.












Kenzo Ramen
720 Burnhamthorpe Rd.
Mississauga, ON
L5C 3X3
905-766-4136

http://www.kenzoramen.ca/index.php
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