I can't believe it's been a year since I last posted. I mean to post more, and I have posts that are saved as drafts, but I just never got around to actually posting them. Last year I didn't get to check out many places locally, but I did get to visit some pretty awesome places in Australia. Since it was a while ago, I'm not sure what the best way of posting would actually be.
Anyways, locally, yesterday I took a friend out to lunch for a super belated birthday. Due to her strict one hour lunch break, we had to stay super close to work. The restaurant that we had both wanted to go to and was craving turned out to be closed Tuesday and Wednesdays. So we went next door to Arirang. Arirang is a well known Korean BBQ restaurant in Mississauga (from what I hear at least). Since it was lunch time, we didn't go for the Korean BBQ option and ordered just a bulgogi bibimbap, and a soontofu with pork. The first thing that arrived was a small, almost teacup sized cup of congee. Tasted ok. The banchans came next. There were only 5 items, there was fried fish paste, kimchi, seaweed, bean sprouts, and potato. Mostly ok, nothing special. I would have preferred the kimchi to have been fermented a bit longer as it was still a bit too 'raw' for my liking. Friend devoured her bibimbap, which came steaming hot in the stone bowl. My soontofu came second. The tofu that came in my stew seemed way firmer than what i'm used to seeing in the stew. Then as i stirred i noticed there was seafood in my stew, which was one of the options of soontofu you can choose from. I waved the waitress over and told her I didn't order seafood soontofu, and that I ordered pork. She looked at me funny and said "You can't eat seafood?". No lady, the problem isn't that I can't eat seafood, I don't want to eat seafood. I did't order seafood because I don't want it. She took it back without any apologies and later on brought what I had ordered. No real complaints taste wise, just really not that special either.
We were too rushed to eat for me to remember to take any pictures, sorry!
Arirang
1177 Central Parkway W,
Unit 72
Mississauga, ON
L5C4P3
Phone: (905) 804-1880
Hours: Monday - Sunday 1100a - 1100p
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Konjiki Ramen & Saryo Cafe
This has to be THE place to go to now. Everyone's been talking about it for the last month or two. Whats the big deal you ask? Konjiki Ramen has been on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for the last few years. What does that mean? Usually when you hear of Michelin, its number of stars. In Toronto, there's no restaurants with any stars. Why? I'm not sure why Toronto doesn't use the Michelin system. There's only a few cities in the world that have the Michelin star rating. Back to the Bib Gourmand (after doing some Googling), means a list of restaurants that are deemed as having good food with moderate prices.
I finally got the chance to check out Konjiki Ramen. I thought I planned it well too, going for a weekday early dinner. Well life happens, and my early diner (planned to arrive for 5pm as people say there is usually no lineup then), ended up with us arriving at 6pm, with a line pretty much out the door. So for the first half of the lineup, we waited in line just inside the door. It was freezing cold each and every time the door opened while more ramen hungry people squeezed in. After about half an hour lining up, I decided to stay warmer and sit and wait. So we had dessert at Saryo Cafe (they share a space with Konjiki Ramen in the front), before dinner. I don't know why people don't think of doing that as well. So if theres a line, get dessert first!
We ordered the Saryo signature parfait with matcha soft serve. The parfait started off with a layer of green tea and water jelly at the bottom, then topped with hojicha cream, red bean, granola, matcha soft serve, mochi, and matcha brownie. Lots of ingredients! The granola I personally wasn't a fan of. I felt that it didn't add much to the parfait. The match soft serve, I will say is the best matcha soft serve I've had in Toronto. Great amount of matcha flavour, and not grainy. All the other places in Toronto that serve matcha soft serve has great flavour, but you're left with a grainy powdery aftertaste in your mouth. The hojicha cream, I don't know how to describe, was a tad more bitter that matcha, more of a roasted but mild tea flavour? Matcha brownie was a bit too dense for me, but again good matcha flavour. If you're at Konjiki, you must grab at least some dessert.
Total wait time to get a table for us, was just under 1 hour. According to Google wait time was only supposed to be less than 15 minutes. So NEVER trust Google for wait time estimates. But to speed things up, they hand you the menu while you are in line so you can order right away when you are seated. From ordering to getting the food, it was SUPER fast. The hubby took off his jacket, and went to the washroom, and our ramen arrived at the table before he even came back! We ordered their signature clam broth shio ramen, original shoyu tonkotsu ramen, and a side of braised pork belly. Starting off with the broths. Both the clam broth, and the tonkotsu broths are VERY different from any of the other ramen houses in Toronto. The clam broth, very light and clear, strong truffle and clam flavours. Nothing like I've ever tasted in a ramen broth before. Delicious. The tonkotsu broth, exact opposite of the clam broth, beautiful creamy pork broth that coats your mouth and doesn't seem to go away. While being creamy, it didn't feel heavy. I know it's a sign of respect and that you enjoyed your meal by finishing your broth. Usually I don't. But this time, I drank it all down!
Noodles, also different than the ramen houses in Toronto. The only other time I've had ramen noodles like this was in North America was in New York City at Mr. Taka Ramen (sister restaurant to Bigiya in Tokyo which is also on Michelin's Bib Gourmand list). The noodles are thinner, more al dente, and I would say more similar to a pasta than the ramen noodles that i'm used to eating.
All of their meats are done sous vide. While the meat was tender, it felt a bit dry. I assume because the chashu was made with a leaner cut of pork. There was a thin strip of fat, but other than that, the chashu was very lean. The pork belly, had some strips of fat running through it, and it was definitely a bit more juicy than the chashu, but there was a bit of gristle so some bites were a bit chewier. I guess I'm just not a fan of the sous vide method. The braised pork belly also came with an egg. Presentation of the egg was flat out horrible looking. I can't figure out how they cut it to look the way it did. And it was also missing chunks of white too. Usually when you can't peel the shell away from a boiled egg properly, either they did it too hot, or the egg wasn't fresh.
Interior wise, half the restaurant has normal table/booth seating that is friendly for everyone. In the middle of the restaurant, there is counter height seating with bar stools, not so family friendly.
Was this ramen good? Yes, it was delicious. Would I wait an hour for this again? Definitely not. Having said that, when we were paying, there owner or manager there, told us that they are planning on starting a regular line, and a priority line. Anyone with a child under the age of 2, or a senior over the age of 70 will be placed in the priority line. It doesn't mean that you will be placed in front of everyone thats waiting, but they will try and seat the priority line quicker than needing to wait the regular wait.
Konjiki Ramen & Saryo Cafe
5051 Yonge St.,
North York, ON
M2N 5P2
Konjiki Ramen Phone: (647) 350-7766
Saryo Cafe Phone: (647) 350-6611
Hours: Monday 1130a - 1000p
Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday - Sunday 1130a - 1000p
http://konjikiramen.com
http://www.saryocafe.com
I finally got the chance to check out Konjiki Ramen. I thought I planned it well too, going for a weekday early dinner. Well life happens, and my early diner (planned to arrive for 5pm as people say there is usually no lineup then), ended up with us arriving at 6pm, with a line pretty much out the door. So for the first half of the lineup, we waited in line just inside the door. It was freezing cold each and every time the door opened while more ramen hungry people squeezed in. After about half an hour lining up, I decided to stay warmer and sit and wait. So we had dessert at Saryo Cafe (they share a space with Konjiki Ramen in the front), before dinner. I don't know why people don't think of doing that as well. So if theres a line, get dessert first!
We ordered the Saryo signature parfait with matcha soft serve. The parfait started off with a layer of green tea and water jelly at the bottom, then topped with hojicha cream, red bean, granola, matcha soft serve, mochi, and matcha brownie. Lots of ingredients! The granola I personally wasn't a fan of. I felt that it didn't add much to the parfait. The match soft serve, I will say is the best matcha soft serve I've had in Toronto. Great amount of matcha flavour, and not grainy. All the other places in Toronto that serve matcha soft serve has great flavour, but you're left with a grainy powdery aftertaste in your mouth. The hojicha cream, I don't know how to describe, was a tad more bitter that matcha, more of a roasted but mild tea flavour? Matcha brownie was a bit too dense for me, but again good matcha flavour. If you're at Konjiki, you must grab at least some dessert.
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| Saryo Signature Parfai - Matcha |
Total wait time to get a table for us, was just under 1 hour. According to Google wait time was only supposed to be less than 15 minutes. So NEVER trust Google for wait time estimates. But to speed things up, they hand you the menu while you are in line so you can order right away when you are seated. From ordering to getting the food, it was SUPER fast. The hubby took off his jacket, and went to the washroom, and our ramen arrived at the table before he even came back! We ordered their signature clam broth shio ramen, original shoyu tonkotsu ramen, and a side of braised pork belly. Starting off with the broths. Both the clam broth, and the tonkotsu broths are VERY different from any of the other ramen houses in Toronto. The clam broth, very light and clear, strong truffle and clam flavours. Nothing like I've ever tasted in a ramen broth before. Delicious. The tonkotsu broth, exact opposite of the clam broth, beautiful creamy pork broth that coats your mouth and doesn't seem to go away. While being creamy, it didn't feel heavy. I know it's a sign of respect and that you enjoyed your meal by finishing your broth. Usually I don't. But this time, I drank it all down!
Noodles, also different than the ramen houses in Toronto. The only other time I've had ramen noodles like this was in North America was in New York City at Mr. Taka Ramen (sister restaurant to Bigiya in Tokyo which is also on Michelin's Bib Gourmand list). The noodles are thinner, more al dente, and I would say more similar to a pasta than the ramen noodles that i'm used to eating.
All of their meats are done sous vide. While the meat was tender, it felt a bit dry. I assume because the chashu was made with a leaner cut of pork. There was a thin strip of fat, but other than that, the chashu was very lean. The pork belly, had some strips of fat running through it, and it was definitely a bit more juicy than the chashu, but there was a bit of gristle so some bites were a bit chewier. I guess I'm just not a fan of the sous vide method. The braised pork belly also came with an egg. Presentation of the egg was flat out horrible looking. I can't figure out how they cut it to look the way it did. And it was also missing chunks of white too. Usually when you can't peel the shell away from a boiled egg properly, either they did it too hot, or the egg wasn't fresh.
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| How to Enjoy Your Clam Broth Ramen |
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| Original Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen |
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| Signature Clam Broth Shio Ramen |
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| Braised Pork Belly |
Interior wise, half the restaurant has normal table/booth seating that is friendly for everyone. In the middle of the restaurant, there is counter height seating with bar stools, not so family friendly.
Was this ramen good? Yes, it was delicious. Would I wait an hour for this again? Definitely not. Having said that, when we were paying, there owner or manager there, told us that they are planning on starting a regular line, and a priority line. Anyone with a child under the age of 2, or a senior over the age of 70 will be placed in the priority line. It doesn't mean that you will be placed in front of everyone thats waiting, but they will try and seat the priority line quicker than needing to wait the regular wait.
Konjiki Ramen & Saryo Cafe
5051 Yonge St.,
North York, ON
M2N 5P2
Konjiki Ramen Phone: (647) 350-7766
Saryo Cafe Phone: (647) 350-6611
Hours: Monday 1130a - 1000p
Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday - Sunday 1130a - 1000p
http://konjikiramen.com
http://www.saryocafe.com
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.
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.
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/
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.
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| 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.
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| Sunrise Waffle Sandwich |
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| Sunrise Waffle Sandwich (Scrambled Eggs) |
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| Platform Waffle Sandwich |
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.
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.
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
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| 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.
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
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| Small Chicago Classic |
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| 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
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
Philosophy Coffee
632 17 Ave SW,
Calgary, AB
T2S 0B4
Hours: Monday - Friday 700a -1100p
Saturday - Sunday 800a - 1100p
https://www.philosafy.com
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| 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!
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?
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
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!
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| Mushroom Pasta |
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| 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?
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| 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!
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.
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.
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
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!
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Analog Coffee - Latte |
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| 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.
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.
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
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.
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| 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.
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| Ramen Burger & Fries |
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| 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.
Then our sweet and savoury tower appeared. The hubby was impressed with how it looked, he's never been to tea before.
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.
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.
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.
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/
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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.
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.
Wild Flour Bakery
101-211 Bear Street,
Banff, Alberta,
T1L 1B4
Phone: (403) 760-5074
Hours: Monday - Sunday 700a - 400p
http://www.wildflourbakery.ca
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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
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.
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| 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
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.
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
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.
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| Fried Chicken Sandwich |
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| 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.
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.
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
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.
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/
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| 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.
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.
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
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| 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
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