I love cider and our liquor stores seem to have slightly different ones at other locations. This Tempt 9 cider is made in Denmark and has strawberry preserves and key lime juice. It is so sweet and refreshing that it drinks much like Kool-aid (so keep it away from the children).
With Toronto’s flux of tapa restaurants, it’s always much more fun to go with a bunch of people so you can order a bunch of things. My friends and I recently hit up Patois, where Caribbean meets Asian food. For example, what you see above is a Jerk Chicken Chow Mein, a twist on a Chinese classic which definitely had a spicy kick.
This grilled corn with cilantro & lime was gobbled up fast. It was a bit pricey considering it only had one cob.
We had some vegetarians at our table so the Crunchy Chinese salad with napa cabbage, romaine, wonton crisps, spicy plum dressing provided some freshness in their stomachs.
These Kimchi Potstickers “Pierogi” Style Pot Stickers were stuffed with kimchi, bacon, sour cream and scallions.
I ordered my own little scallop and shrimp ball thing which was much like the traditional one with different breading and a tangy sauce of C-Plus and vinegar!
One of our favourites was definitely the O.G. Fried Chicken & Watermelon Pickle served with a sweet Sriracha sauce and ginger.
Jerk PorkBelly with Chicharron came with traditional Asian BBQ sauce.
Our vegetarian friends had their own “fried chicken” sort of with O.G. Fried Cauliflower & Watermelon Pickle.
Called the 4/20 Broccoli Buds these had roasted, hemp oil, hemp hearts, edamame hummus, Pecorino, savoury crumbles. I love roasted broccoli in anything.
To drink, I had a couple of peach-infused cocktails (that I totally forgot the name of). Whatever it was was good enough to have multiple and maybe that’s why I forgot what it was.
The plus of having multiple people is.. you can order ALL the desserts! The first was this cheesecake infused french toast. Yes, you heard that right my friend.
The second was this seemingly innocent ice cream that had a hint of jalepeno. It was definitely not for the faint of heart and we had mixed feelings throughout.
Lastly was this brownie ice cream sandwich which was rich and just want one would want in a dessert.
Our experience at Patois was definitely a delicious adventure, but I do highly recommend bringing friends to make the journey worth it.
Here are some photos of my Thanksgiving weekend! On Saturday I went to a wedding dinner.
This is my lovely sister.
Chocolate as wedding favours is always a win!
Matching gold cake!
Our first course for dinner was this roast pig with flashing disco eyes. I somehow was too busy eating (and talking to people) the rest of dinner that I forgot to take photos until dessert.
Here is dessert. Some cream puffs and other things I don’t know how to describe!
On Sunday, we celebrated Thanksgiving and I again cooked the family turkey! Here are some random photos of our dinner (and Teddy).
Isn’t it creepy when you are seated next to a tank of fish at a Chinese restaurant? A few weeks ago, we were having dinner with family when I realized the tank of fish we were sitting next to were staring at us as we ate their kin at the table.
I wonder if they knew what was going on. I hope we are never seated next to a fish tank again.
I was lucky enough to be selected by Influenster for their Keurig Vox Box. This included a Keurig K200 system and some Van Houtte Specialty coffee.
I unboxed the thing on Youtube.
What’s different about this system compared to my older machine was that it included a water filter as well as a cleaning ball. These are cool new additions to those that don’t have Brita filters and were previously clueless on how to clean the machine.
I like that this system was compact because the (removeable) water tank was at the back. This is a Keurig 2.0 system, so there was an electronic display. I found the electronic part a bit unnecessary as it mostly just bossed you around with directions like “LIFT LID” “ADD WATER”.
Since I own a machine, I do have cups, but many aren’t suitable for the 2.0 system. You can tell what is suitable because they have a white rim for DRM. I decided to try the Van Houtte Specialty coffees on the new machine.
There’s two steps to making a vanilla latte or a cappuccino. The first is a package of white powder that is added to the cup before you put it in the machine. The second is the K-Cup. I assume the first is what makes it nice and frothy! It definitely delivered on it’s frothy goodness, almost like one you could get in a local café, but made conveniently at home!
My first impressions of this machine was that it is compact for small counters and comes with more accessories than older ones. Whether or not it is worth limiting my selection of K-Cups (if I replaced my older machine) remains to be decided. That’s the biggest hurdle with this machine for me. I love the Keurig system otherwise.
I have a terrible habit of drinking too many coffees in one day. I average 2-3, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and occasionally one in the evening if I know I am heading out for a long night.
The one in the morning I make at home but the others are often store bought at Timmies or some other coffee place. This can be up to $2-5 depending on where I get it from and what I get. Often I’m in it for the sugar, other times I need the placebo of drinking it to feel more awake.
I decided to consciously cut of coffee from my day. I can’t cut it entirely, though I did once for an entire month. Even a cup will make a difference in my budget as well as lower my sugar intake.
The only times I will take that second cup is when it involves some social obligations. I never believe in inconveniencing other people just because of something I am doing. So yes, I will still meet people over coffee (because tea is even more of a waste of money).
Think of how much difference even 3 days a week can make on your budget. That’s minimum $6 pocketed, $24 by the end of the month. That’s an extra vinyl, concert ticket or money that can be donated to charity. I can do a lot with a few extra dollars.
There are so many ramen places in the city that I could not possibly try them all! Recently, I stopped by Ramen Raijin, a casual dining place. Inside there were separate tables as well as a big square bar thing with a buddha in the middle.
The ramen comes in 3 different sizes: Small, Regular and Large. I opted for a regular bowl of the Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen. Shoyu is a soy-sauce flavoured ramen. It came with pork shoulder, an egg, bean sprouts and seaweed. The broth was very flavourful and there was a decent amount of noodles, though I found them quite chewy compared to some other places.
For dessert I refreshed myself with a classic green tea ice cream.
I thought the ramen was decent but there are better places in the city.
Market 707 located at Dundas & Bathurst is full of pop-up shops in what used to be shipping containers. It’s a great place for local entrepreneurs to have a store front for an affordable price in the city. There are clothing shops, a barbershop, nail salon, jewellery and of course food. Besides my friend’s stand at Petit Nuage I hadn’t had any of the food until recently.
This indulgent dish is from Filipino stand Kanto, which specializes in a street take on tradition foods. I ordered the Sisig fries which was Offal meat that has been boiled, then grilled and chopped into fine pieces. It was marinated in lemon, vinegar and spices. The dish was topped with Lechon Kawali (pork belly) and garlic lemon aioli on a bed of crispy fries. I loved the crispy pork pieces and the fries were super crunchy.
My friend showed me her regular order at Cookie Martinez called the Patacon Pisao, a classic Latin American dish from the Colombian coast. Patacon starts by warming unripened green plantain to flatten, then fried until crispy. Hers had beef, avocado and a delicious sauce.
I also wanted to try the shrimp ceviche from Cookie Martinez. It was served with plantain chips was a bit of a weird (mostly inefficient) receptacle for ceviche. The ceviche itself was very fresh and flavourful.
To wash it down I had an iced matcha from Petit Nuage, the best in the city (Disclaimer: I know her personally but it really is the best in the city)!
For my friend’s birthday, we went to La Carnita‘s College Street location. It is tapas style so everything comes out together in shareable plates. For example, if you and a friend ordered tacos they would often come together in the same serving plate. This was slightly confusing since we were in a group of more than 15 people. I opted for 3 tacos. The first one (pictured above was the) was the Tostada de Ceviche: Albacore Tuna, guacamole, coconut milk, habanero, tomato, cucumber. It was very fresh and light tasting.
I had a bite of the In Code We Trust, a fish taco, with Cod, Voltron sauce, lime crema, pickled red cabbage, green apple & cilantro. What I totally forgot to take a photo of was my Crispy Cotija taco with crispy cotija cheese, cauliflower & pinto bean, pickled carrots, chipotle sauce, green onion & cilantro. I can’t resist fried cheese.
My third taco was the Pork Belly Al Pastor Taco, a daily special with roasted pork belly, guajillo BBQ sauce, pineapple salsa, coriander crema and mache lettuce.
All three tacos were flavourful and fresh and would’ve filled me up on their own but I felt like splurging a little so I got a few extras.
Funny story about the corn. I looked at the menu and was like “who the hell would pay $9 for corn?” and then I saw a little kid eating it at the table behind us and it looked amazing, so I ordered it. I have no regrets. It was the best grilled corn I have ever had with Mexican crema, queso anejo, arbol & ancho chili powder. Who thought corn could pack so much punch?
The table also shared nachos with guacomole and corn salsa. Both were fresh and delicious. The chips themselves were lightly salted and could totally be eaten on their own.
To was things down I ordered a few of their sangrias that were infused with peach, mango and raspberry. I could’ve drank a pitcher of these (which was available).
It was my friend’s birthday so the waiter bought over some birthday churros with a candle. The churros were crunchy and served in a cajeta, a silky nutty sauce. These are the same churros that can be ordered over at Sweet Jesus.
I was super stuffed from ordering too much but I highly enjoyed my meal at La Carnita. Everything is fresh, flavourful and relatively inexpensive (if you don’t go overboard).
In the past week, I’ve been so busy that I rarely have had time to sit down for more than half an hour at home let alone make a solid meal. I’m currently putting together some quick bacon and eggs as dinner. While those things are delicious, I do miss and crave a more thoughtfully cooked meal.
I want fresh vegetables, tenderly cooked meat, homemade soups. I can’t wait for the free day to cook a real meal.
Tiana Feng 