Food – Page 22 – Tiana Feng

This Water Is From Iceland

July 10, 2015Drinks, Food1 Comment

My parents went on a trip and had a layover in Iceland for a few days. They brought me back a bottle of Icelandic Glacial water. At first, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to leave it sealed as a souvenir forever or drink it. I decided to choose the later. I’ve been trying to get out of the habit of collecting things without using them. Things are meant to be used, played with, eaten, whatever or they don’t have a place in my tiny apartment. Moving out on my own has showed me that for sure.

Bottled water is a strange concept for people that actually live in Iceland because of their ample supply of fresh water. I think the concept must mainly exist to sell to tourists and abroad.

Anyways, I decided to play water connoisseur (this is an actual job someone actually does by the way). The result was that it tasted like… nothing. Which doesn’t mean that the water isn’t different than our water. Our water indeed tastes like something, usually like the bottle, or fridge, or has a tiny bit of sweetness. This really tasted nothing. Does that mean it’s more pure? I don’t know. Nash drank some and thought it tasted like mineral water, which it indeed is.

Do different waters taste different to you? What is your favourite? I want to know! I should ask for a bottle of water as a souvenir from everywhere so I can drink the waters of the world.

Cooking As Therapy

July 6, 2015Food, Health, Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Lately, I’ve been so busy that all my meals were quickly thrown together with whatever the hell I had in the fridge. Sometimes they’d taste weird but I made do because I was busy and headed off somewhere else in an hour (or less). Cooking and eating became more of a stressful mandatory activity than an enjoyable one.

Finally today I had time to plan a meal and actually see it through. I pan seared pork chops, following half of the instructions of a Gordon Ramsay video and my boyfriend helped and made pan-fried eggplant with melted mozzarella in between them. It was a team effort, but it was fun and relaxing at the same time.

On days where I’m not so busy, I want to have more fun with cooking again, seek out new delicious recipes and learn different techniques. Cooking can be rather therapeutic if you let it be!

Sweet Weekend

July 5, 2015Food, SnacksLeave a Comment

It’s rare I have a weekend where I have nothing planned so I headed over to Market 707, where shipping containers were converted into restaurants and shops.

As my avid readers know, my friend Steph has a little café called Petit Nuage there that specializes in French macarons and cream puffs. For the summer, she even has a patio where you can enjoy tea and coffee (iced options available!).

The inside of the shop has changed a bit since I last went. There are now shelves with teas and other things for sale!

I enjoyed a piece of matcha tea cake on the patio. It was delicious and beautiful.

I also picked up half a dozen macarons which came in an adorable box with a print of kittens having a tea party. Naturally, I took photos of the macarons before eating them. Enjoy some photos below:

Intergalactic Travel Authority

July 4, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

There’s an adorable café in my area called the Intergalactic Travel Authority. Until recently, I thought it was legitimately a travel agency. Then I walked by one light and the portal and the back was glowing. I had wanted to visit ever since but it’s usually closed by the time I come home from work. This summer, I have half days on Friday so I went into the café yesterday to do some writing.

What I learnt was that this was no ordinary coffee shop. All the profits from the coffee sales go to a charity program called Story Planet. The program focuses on teaching children how to be creative and express themselves through literacy. They take place in the back of the café in a classroom behind the secret portal.

Some of the stories that were created during this program are for sale inside the shop. I love the idea of this program. All kids should be encouraged to write and what an awesome way to do so and make their imaginations come true! There are also random trinkets and art for sale.

There are even interplanetary spices for kitchens in need.

I ordered a mocha and they make a mighty fine one! I will definitely make galactic travels occasionally to splurge on a guilt-free mocha to support a wonderful cause. If you’re in the area, please consider buying a coffee here if you get the chance!

Pho Jade

June 22, 2015June 21, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Nash and I live very close to Pho Jade, which serves Vietnamese cuisine. We’ve gone a couple of times but I totally forgot to write about it. Last week we went again and I ordered the grilled pork and sausage vermicelli. Everything was very flavourful including their version of the fish sauce and the portion was just right.

We also had the mango and Coconut Shrimp Fresh Rolls. I’d never had any outside the traditional shrimp ones. This also contained avocado which was a fabulous contrast of texture with the mango and crunchy shrimp. They are a hefty little appetizer so I recommend sharing it if you’re ordering it in addition to a meal.

So far, Vietnamese restaurants in Toronto have been a hit and miss but I’m happy to say that this one nearby is a hit!

Beer From Gigantic Brewing

June 3, 2015Drinks, FoodLeave a Comment

I couldn’t resist buying this beer from Gigantic Brewing Company because it has a robot on it! The craft brewery is based in Portland Oregon and have other robot beers but this particular IPA is year round.

I also adored the B-Side Brewing label that described the collective as a record label but for beer. Hope to try some more cool beers from them soon.

This particular IPA was super bold and dark. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart and packs a punch like the robot on the label.

Desserts @ OCHO

May 28, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

My friend Melody and I recently stopped into Hotel Ocho for desserts and a drink. We are strangely similar people and we managed to order the exact same thing. A Raspberry Crême Brûlée with strawberries and shortbread. It was very delicious and had a sweet raspberry sauce to dip the cookie or spoon in!

It was also half price martini night, and I couldn’t resist ordering what was called I’m Sorry Your Face. Isn’t that a hilarious name for a cocktail? Anyways it was vodka, mango juice and sprite. It went down super easily.

While we didn’t have any of the meals yet, I can highly recommend the dessert and cocktail menu!

Why I Love Brunch

May 24, 2015Food, LifeLeave a Comment

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Victoria's Day brunch! #toeats #food #brunch

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on May 18, 2015 at 9:04am PDT

Having brunch on the weekends has been a regular occurrence lately and I think it may be my all-time favourite meal. Here’s why I love brunch:

It means the weekend has arrived and is a nice way to wind down
It has to be somewhat planned in advance so it’s a thing to look forward to all week
Brunch seems like a simple meal, but in Toronto the options can get complicated and creative. You can even find all sorts of cultural brunches around town.
Great way to catch up with friends/boyfriend because they are often available for brunch and most likely love brunch too
I love Eggs Benedicts
You can have alcohol early in the day (mimosas, ceasars etc)
Excuse to eat more bacon

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Bacon bennies #brunch #toeats

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on May 23, 2015 at 10:24am PDT

What do you think of brunch? Do you love it or hate it?

Steak Frites @ Burdock

May 13, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

I’m about to head out to Burdock for a show but last week I also had dinner there. It’s a trendy new bar with a small menu of snacks and mains. I opted for the Steak Frites (pictured above). It was buttery and delicious and I loved the sauces that it came with.

My friend and I also shared a mushroom and cheese crouton thing that was gone in two seconds.

They also had a great selection of local craft beers. I opted for an IPA called the Great Lakes Octopus Wants to Fight because who the hell could resist a name like that?