Food – Page 26 – Tiana Feng

Pray to the Burger’s Priest

January 27, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews4 Comments

A while back, we visited The Burger’s Priest for the first time. I don’t know why it was that we hadn’t gone there considering our burger love and the hype but I guess the Queen East location was too far so we went to the one on Queen West.

In case you didn’t know, Burger’s Priest has a regular menu displayed at their restaurant but they also have various secret options that are available for those who dare to venture.

Nash ordered The Tower of Babel (pictured above). Yes, all the burgers have rather biblical names. Between two grilled cheese sandwiches were two beef burgers, lettuce, tomato and the veggie burger deemed “the option”. Why on earth would you want a veggie burger AND meat patties you might ask? Well, their version of a “veggie burger” is a custom blend of cheesygoodness sandwiched between two portabello mushrooms AND deep fried. Yes that’s why. After eating this, you’d probably end up needing to pray for your survival.

I ordered the less scary Holy Smokes. It was a double cheeseburger with deep fried jalapenos. The kick and crunch were a very nice addition.

It was very unnecessary to do this, but I ordered the chilli cheese fries. Because why not? They were oozing with cheese.

If you ever need a serious splurge of calories. Burger’s Priest is definitely the place to be.

Beautifully Presented Food @ The Beverley Hotel

January 20, 2015January 20, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

Before the Christmas holidays, Zomato invited bloggers for a meet up at The Beverley Hotel. The place is small and has a really cozy feel. Chef Binh An and Sous Chef, Johnny D were very friendly and accommodating with people’s dietary restrictions.

Before and during dinner we were treated to a Christmas Mojito which had a festive pine garnish.

The first course was called Lovell Springs Trout. Trout was served with puff rice that added a lovely texture, cucumber, fennel, smoked grapes and pickled mustard seed. It was very fresh, light and flavourful. It was a little bit of a tease because I could’ve eaten a giant plate of this.

Next came the Confit Pheasant Leg with strawberry gastrique, green icicle radish and a pickled mushroom that I wish existed in jars I could take home. The salt of the pheasant balanced really nicely with the sweetness of the gastrique. Two courses in I was ready to keep licking the plates.

I love a good steak and man was the Wagyu Blade Steak a memorable one. It was served with charred veggies (which side note: I’m currently obsessed with making). Also on the plate was a delicate beet & truffle tortellini. Steak was enough to make me feel like I was in heaven, but everything else elevated it to a whole other world. The mashed potatos were buttery and had just the appropriate amount of horseradish. By the time I was finished, I was surprised I even had room for dessert.

But if dinner was so damn good, dessert must be just as delectable right? And it was! We were treated to a Spiced Apple Cake with dark beer caramel, granola and classic vanilla icecream. The plate was appropriately licked.

I also decided to order this post-dinner drink that wasn’t on the plan for the night. I totally can’t remember what was in it besides rye and cinnamon. I just remember the warmth trickling down my throat and it felt perfect for the holidays.

Dining at the Beverley was definitely a treat for both the eyes and the taste buds!

This meal was complimentary thanks to Zomato & The Beverley Hotel.

Vlog Round-up: Cooking Calamari, Octopus and a Surprise Dinner

January 14, 2015Food, Recipes, Vlogs1 Comment

Last week, it was super cold so I stocked up on a whole bunch of groceries. The only problem was I didn’t buy anything “normal” people buy.

First I cooked calamari

Then Octopus

And lastly, Nash made me a surprise dinner!

I Bought This Beer Because It Has Robots

January 12, 2015January 12, 2015Drinks, FoodLeave a Comment

I had a party to attend this weekend so I trekked to the LCBO (it was -15 degrees Celcius so yes trek is the right word). I’m blessed that Toronto and has a great variety of specialty and craft beers and I decided it would be nice to try them all. I don’t drink that often, so I discover something new pretty much all the time.

This time, I settled for Hop City’s Hopbot IPA. How could I not? The packaging is so adorable. What I didn’t realize upon buying it was that it has a 7.1% IBA also that it has a bitterness rating of 70 IBU (which is more than I would have liked). I was also drinking the previously mentioned Chocolate Beer, so the bitterness was enhanced a bit when I drank one after the other. It does have interesting citrus notes. I wouldn’t recommend drinking it at a party that’s for sure. It’s more of a sit down and enjoy in the comfort of your own home while watching Netflix type thing. Going to do that now.

Mexican Food @ El Trompo

January 9, 2015January 11, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Back in August, I did some strolling in Kensington market with Nash and my friend Karol looking for a place to eat. We landed at El Trompo, a place that served authentic Mexican cuisine. We decided to order some things to share. Pictured above are the Spicy Tinga Chicken tacos.

We also had the Al Pastor tacos which are their specialty. They contained a lovely touch of onion, coriander and pineapple. We thought both tacos were very flavourful and the portions were generous. They were around $10 for 4 decently sized tacos, whereas most places you usually get 3 for the same price.

I couldn’t help trying the Chicharon de Queso, which essentially is a piece of crispy fried cheese. It was hands down my favourite part of the meal

The Pico de Gallo was simple but refreshing (for a summer’s day) and fresh.

We also split this cheesy Quezadilla. There was quite cheesy! It was around $4, but it’s smaller than most people would assume of a quezadilla, so I wouldn’t make this my only order.

Between the 3 of us, we actually thought we ordered way too much food. You do get the value for your money here. Everything was fresh, flavourful and authentic.

Sandwiches That Are Fresh Off The Boat

January 7, 2015January 11, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Fresh Off The Boat on Queen West has a menu full of seafood sandwiches that are made fresh to order. I had the Lobster Roll that was served with fries and a broccoli slaw. The roll had a generous portion of juicy lobster and chives. The slaw was nice and refreshing and it totally didn’t taste like I was eating broccoli.

My friend ordered the Soft Shell Crab Sandwich, which is literally a fried whole crab in a sandwich. It looked glorious. I think she was supposed to get a slaw too along with the fries but they forgot to put it in.

The place is tiny so I suggest doing take-out when it’s a little warmer out! The food was good but we found that after the whole meal (around $15/per person) we weren’t completely full yet. Maybe it’s more of a lunch food than a dinner!

Chocolate Beer Made by Flying Monkeys

January 5, 2015Drinks, Food1 Comment

Perhaps this post title is misleading because monkeys don’t actually fly so no actual monkeys were involved in making this beer (at least for all I now). The Flying Monkeys is a craft brewery located in Guelph, Ontario. When I stumbled on this beer, in such eye-catching packaging I could not resist. Hell, they probably could have just put CHOCOLATE BEER on the label and I would’ve bought it. This was more obvious. This beer was more than the normal “chocolate” stout. It sounded epic. It was a Manifesto. It had an alcohol rating of 10%.

We saved the one bottle we snagged for New Years Eve. When we opened it the aromas were splendid. It truly did live up to it’s name. It did not smell like beer, but like a comforting chocolate milk. The strange part is, that’s what it tasted like to! The fact it was a beer, only hit you after every sip. It was delightful. Also, I could totally feel it right away after a mug full (I don’t have anything besides mugs at the moment).

I went back to the LCBO the next day to realize that it is no longer stocked in shelves. I guess I will have to wait until next Christmas to buy the entire aisle.

Thai @ Pai Toronto

December 31, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

By the owners of Khao San Road, Pai specializes in Northern Thai food. I ordered the Shrimp Gian Kiaw Wan which was green curry served in a literal coconut. The presentation was wonderful and it was one of the most flavourful green curries I have ever had. You really got the sense that everything from the paste was made fresh and in house.

I was with some friends and one of them ordered the Braised Beef Khao Soi which was a golden curry with crispy noodles.

While we were waiting to be seated, we also tried the Grabong (squash fritters) and Mao Ping (pork skewers).

I also had a Lychee drink.

We actually ordered way too much food but everything was totally worth trying. The atmosphere had an islandy feel. Expect to wait a bit because it’s very busy and the time we went seemed understaffed. However, the flavours and aromas were worth every penny and our patience.

Pizza Socks

December 30, 2014Fashion, Food, Shopping1 Comment

I’d say I pretty much won Yankee Swap this year because I ended up with these fabulous Pizza socks from Living Royal.

Don’t they look delicious enough to eat?

Crazy Poutines @ Poutineville

December 29, 2014December 30, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

We were super excited to see Poutineville in Toronto. We’ve already visited a bunch of times, so I decided to hold on posting this until we tried a variety of things off their menu. The first one I tried was the Pizza Poutine (pictured above). Melted cheese and pepperoni were baked on top of fries, gravy, curds, green onions and bacon. It was a pizza and poutine lover’s heaven. The portion was obviously large enough to feed two. The owner even joked around and said he wouldn’t charge us if I could finish it.

Nash’s first poutine was The Dragon which had spicy chicken wings and peppers.

The most indulgent poutine was the Lamb & Feta poutine with brie. It was heavenly.

Nash also had this Nacho Cheese poutine. Not the most appetizing presentation but we can assure you that if you are a nacho lover you’d enjoy this!

These fried pickles aren’t poutine but paired well with the tangy sauce it was served with.

What we found interesting is that the gravy tasted slightly different in each poutine. We also didn’t find it as heavy as other places like Smokes or Poutinis and did not get sick of eating after a few bites (which tends to happen a lot for poutines).

Figgy Pudding

Citrus Perplexity

Poutina Margarita

Long Island Iced Tea

The Toronto menu is a lot different than what is posted on their website (which is based on their Montreal location. We’re also lucky to have mixologist Nishantha Nepulangoda create a crazy cocktail menu. Their twist on a margarita has: Vazadores Tequila, Cointreau, Amaretto, Orgeat syrup, lime juice, Angostura and fig juice. I can’t remember what was in some of the other ones, they are just so complex!

We’ll definitely be back soon to eat the rest of the poutines and make our way through more cocktails!