Food – Page 16 – Tiana Feng

Brunch @ Barque Smokehouse

December 12, 2015December 12, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Weekends call for brunch! We recently visited Barque Smokehouse (mother of Butcher’s Bar) for a smokey brunch. We arrived around noon and were seated at the bar. The place is super popular but I didn’t find that there was too bad of a line for a Saturday. I ordered the Barque Benedict, a poached egg on corn bread with BBQ hollandaise a hash and kale salad. The hollandaise was creamy and had a lovely buttery sweetness. I wanted to lick the plate.

Nash had the Scrambled Eggs which came with smoked short ribs, mushroom jus and a kale salad. I looked over and it was gone within seconds so I assume it was delicious too!

Brunch cocktails are a thing right? Well, I decided to make it a thing so I ordered a Bourbon Smoked Sour, which is like a smokey lemonade for adults.

Nash had the Barque Bloody Caesar which was decorated around the rim with candied bacon.

If you’re looking for a BBQ-filled way to start your weekend, head over to Barque for a delicious brunch!

My First Slow Cooker

December 9, 2015FoodLeave a Comment

According to the Toronto Star, I’m an adult now. I bought a slow cooker and am really excited about it. I opted for a larger 6.5 quart programmable slow cooker because it’s the easiest for following online recipes. Plus, I can fit an entire chicken in it, which I totally did the day I got it.

Now I can come home to a cooked meal and waste less of my life preparing meals. It’s comforting to come home to the smell of food.

Kinka Izakaya (North York) Tasting

December 7, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

I attended another Kinka Izakaya tasting, but this time at their North York location. Located at Yonge and Shepherd, it is tucked away behind a tall fancy condo. We were a bit confused and walked around the entire condo before we found it. It’s slightly smaller than the Bathurst location but expands to a patio when there is warmer weather. We started our night with some drinks. I had a Cherry Blossom consisting of red wine, cassis liqueur and sprite. My friend had a virgin ramune mojito.

The night’s menu had a few repeats of the previous location’s dishes, but they did spice it up for those who attended both. Our first dish was Takowasabi, marinated octopus with wasabi stem eaten with seaweed. The taste of this came as a surprise as you are hit with wasabi right away! At the same time, we couldn’t stop eating it but prepare for a bit of a mouth burn.

Next I was reunited again with the Kaisu and Tofu Salad.

The Gyu Carpaccio was one of my favourites of the night and beautifully presented. It was a seared beef sashimi with ponzu, wasabi mayo and garlic chips. It was so delicate, fresh and flavourful.

Karaage is always welcome and my friend who didn’t come with me last time highly enjoyed it.

I had no problem eating the Gindara again. It’s melt in your mouth texture is to die for.

The night continued with Kakimayo baked oyster.

Tontoro grilled pork cheek filled our stomach. It had a side of yuzu pepper that could be used a dipping.

Our last savory dish was another favourite, the Salmon Ozisushi, a blowtorched sushi. This was a bit different than JaBistro’s version as it had plenty of ginger for flavour.

Dessert was a green tea creme brûlée very similar to the one at Yakitori Kintori (a sister restaurant).

We left the tasting with full and happy stomachs. Best of luck to all Kinka Izakaya locations!

This meal was complimentary, but views are my own.

Bryan’s BBQ

December 6, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

After a party, my friends and I were in the mood for some late night Korean BBQ so we headed to Christie area and stopped by the unassuming Bryan’s BBQ. Since we technically already ate some food beforehand, we didn’t do the All You Can Eat and ordered a la carte instead.

We tried the pork belly, pork ribs and bulgogi. There were sides of sweet potato, kimchi and radish. There was also jalapeños, onions, lettuce and garlic that could be thrown onto the grill or just eaten I guess.

We also ordered a side vegetable gyozas which were delicious and a kimchi pancake thing. The meat was nicely marinated so once cooked filled our stomachs with our craving for Korean BBQ. I can’t speak on behalf of the All-You-Can-Eat menu seeing as we didn’t do it but what we had was decent.

Oreo Cheesecake Balls

December 3, 2015Food, Recipes1 Comment

Are you a fan of Oreos and Cheesecake? Well you’d enjoy these easy to make Oreo cheesecake balls!

These are the only two ingredients you need. You can dip the balls in chocolate or candy but not mandatory.

First you take an entire box of oreos.

And grind it all up.

Then you put in an entire block of cream cheese and mix it.

Until it’s a consistent paste. Then you just form them into balls.

And stick them in the freezer to set. They make a rich, delicious snack!

Vegan Brunch at D-Beatstro

November 28, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Today we hit up relatively new cafe + venue in our hood D-Beastro for brunch. They serve up vegan eats so what you’re about to see is 100% meat free. Yes, you’re still on the right blog. Nash and I don’t mind vegan food when it is done well.

I ordered one of the daily specials, a Mac and Cheese. Considering there wasn’t actual cheese (from a cow), it was thick and gooey as a regular mac and cheese would be. There was also an interesting pepper spice to it.

It was served with a small side salad that was liberally seasoned with a light vinaigrette.

Nash ordered the Breakfast Burrito with fries (which he supremed). Inside the burrito was a scrambled egg type thing made out of tofu and beans. The “bread” was nice and crunchy. His fries had corn, beans and sour cream. The potato themselves had a spice that reminded me of BBQ chips.

We also had some freshly squeeze juice!

D-Beatstro is a cool venue in the area and I hope to experience some shows and events soon along with more food!

Kinka Izakaya Tasting (Bloor Street West)

November 26, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

After a franchise contract ended, all Guu Izakayas were renamed Kinka Izakaya, explained the owner after we sampled a delicious meal on Monday. A bunch of bloggers were invited to a tasting with a guest and I was lucky enough to be one of them!

We started our meal with drinks. I had the Cassis Peach Oolong: cassis liquer, peach liquer, oolong tea.

Nash had the Sake Highball: sake, whisky, cointeau, soda and orange.

Our first dish was the Gomaae: blanched spinach with sesame sauce. It was seasoned generously.

Maguro Tataki: seared BC tuna sashimi with ponzu and garlic chips. This was super fresh and one of my favourite dishes as the sides were perfectly seared to leave a soft pink middle.

The Seaweed & Tofu salad was a refreshing palate cleansing part of the meal.

Their Karaage was nicely fried, moist in the centre and served with a garlic mayo. I liked it more without the mayo personally as the batter had a soy sauce touch.

Kaki Mayo: Baked BC oyster with spinach & garlic mayo topped with cheese.

Karubi: grilled miso marinated short ribs.

Gindara: grilled miso marinated black cod with yuzu miso sauce. This was my favourite dish. The fish was melt in your mouth and the skin was to die for!

Lastly (before dessert), in case I wasn’t already full (which I was) there was a Kinoko Bibimbap with rice, mushrooms, cheese and seaweed sauce.

Dessert was a piece of Sake Tirimisu. The alcohol was subtle but would sneak up on me! It worked will in a tirimisu.

Our delicious meal concluded with a gift bag, and they lived up to their logo of “serving people happiness”. Our night was full of fresh, delightful food and superior service.

This meal was complimentary but views are my own.

Prix Fixe at Barque Butcher Bar

November 14, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

I went to Butcher Bar (by the same people who own Barque) for a friend’s birthday. We did the family style prix fixe menu of 6 courses. While I waited for everyone to arrive I sipped on the Chupacubra: tromba blanco, 1/2 oz campari, lime and grapefruit. I could definitely feel the alcohol but it was fruity and easy to flip.

Our first course was an arugula and tomato salad with feta. The vinaigrette was nice and light but paired very well.

This was followed by some smoked chicken wings that were super delicious. There was an element to the dry rub that reminded me of chocolate but I’m not sure if that’s what it was. They also came with a ketchup and mustard based dipping sauces, but I liked my wings without it.

Other sides included green beans

and crunchy potato wedges.

More meat came in the form of a platter with ribs, brisket and fried chicken wings. It was messy, but worth getting my fingers dirty.

My second drink of the night was a Sake Sour: sake, dillon’s gin, grapefruit, egg white and nutmeg. This one was less fruity than the first and was almost like drinking a latte.

We finished the night with a lovely caramel cheese cake.

Happy birthday Jess!

What’s My Favourite Food?

November 11, 2015FoodLeave a Comment

People like to ask me what my favourite food is and weirdly I think the answer isn’t pizza or burgers… it’s RIBS. I can never resist a nice juicy rack of ribs, whether they are homemade or from a restaurant!

What’s your favourite food?

Sweet Jesus Pt. 2

November 8, 2015Food, SnacksLeave a Comment

View this post on Instagram

Took my cousin to @sweetjesus4life 🍦🍦🍦

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Nov 3, 2015 at 5:43pm PST

I returned to Sweet Jesus with my cousin before it got too cold because I wanted to try some more of their insane cones.

I had the cookies and cream cone chocked full of Oreo goodness!

My cousin tried the Krusty the Cone, the most Instagram worthy thing in the store. It’s a little on the sweet side since it is all sugary stuff after all!