Food – Page 39 – Tiana Feng

Brazilian Star Steaks and Nova Era Mocha

May 7, 2012April 2, 2013Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

Another concert trip led us to the unfamiliar territory of Dundas West. There were a bunch of bars and expensive looking restaurants around. I wanted to continue on with my personal goal this year of delving into something new. We opted for Brazilian Star Bar & Grill based on it’s price and quality rating on Yelp.

We ordered the Alcatra (I think that’s what the word was) for 2 for $27. Alcatra is a type of thin steak. It was full of flavour, but a bit difficult to cut because it was fibrous. However, if if you google the definition of Alcatra, that is actually part of the definition, so it wasn’t any fault on their part.

The order came with rice, fries, salad, beans and what I think are bread crumbs. It was like a home-style meal where you just scoop things on your plate and eat it. I wasn’t really sure what to do with the bread crumbs (tell me if you know), so I spread them on top of everything and it had a nice crunchy texture. For the price, it was a lot of food. I assume it’s the kind of things Brazilian people would eat at home with their families. We were probably the least Brazilian people in the restaurant, but it was a pleasant experience.

After dinner, we were still too early for our concert so we decided to try another random local coffee shop. This led us to Nova Era Bakery. I had a lovely little mocha. We were too full, but I definitely think I want to come back and try one of their pastries!

Honey Garlic Ribs

April 30, 2012Food, RecipesLeave a Comment

I found these beautiful racks of ribs one day for sale so I decided to figure out how to make Honey Garlic Ribs. By figure out, I basically just made it up with items I had in the house. We also had a bulk load of honey, so I thought I might as well use it.

Continue reading ➞ Honey Garlic Ribs

Rotis and Gelato Mochaccino

April 18, 2012April 2, 2013Food, Life, Restaurant Reviews3 Comments

As I previously mentioned, I want to eat at least 25 new things this year. I wasn’t sure about how to go about it, but then I realized Toronto is full of culturally unique restaurants that are worth the visit. So instead of opting for burgers and poutine all the time, I will venture into the unknown.

Yesterday, I tried out Bacchus Roti Shop located in the Parkdale area downtown Toronto. A roti is a type of south-asian wrap but it also consumed in areas such as the Southern Caribbean and Guyana. I ordered the jerk chicken roti which also contained spinach and squash. At $12.50, it was deliciously filling with a fiery kick to it. Nash ordered the shrimp roti with spinach and cheese. It had a nice creamy texture to it.

After dinner, we had a ton of time to kill before door times for a concert. Instead of searching for the nearest Second Cup we decided to try one of the local coffee shops. We ended up in The Boreal Gelato Company. I ordered a mochaccino and they made it with a scoop of chocolate gelato! It was had a lovely aroma and chocolate taste. We also got a hazelnut gelato that was to die for. It was like Ferrero Rocher (my favourite chocolate by the way) in ice cream form!

So far my food adventuring has taught me to try new things, because you never know what delicious things you are missing!

Is Nestle C[RAVE] An Ice Cream or A Shake?

April 11, 2012April 11, 2012Food1 Comment

When I went grocery shopping last weekend, I found in the sale section, the Nestle C[RAVE]. They were discounted to 50 cents each and came in the shape of the mini ice creams you can buy at the convenient stores. I bought a chocolate one and a strawberry one.

I tried the chocolate one first. It was a soft and mousse-like ice cream. At 325 calories for the entire container, it was a pretty decent tasting. It tasted pretty much like regular chocolate ice cream. Then my sister opened my strawberry and it was completely watery and melted. However, there isn’t very much information on the containers or any of the Nestle websites that tell you it’s supposed to be ice cream. In fact, at the store and online they are labeled as Nestle C[RAVE] shakes. So, was that supposed to be melted?

I am rather confused.

We went back the next day (because they are still on sale), to buy more of them. We figured maybe we picked up one defected one. This time, we squeezed the containers and didn’t pick any that seemed way too soft to be ice cream. Many of them were “melted”. Part of me still wonders if they are supposed to be that way to live up to the shake aspect of the name. We chose to pretend they’re ice cream and went for the more frozen ones.

Does anybody out there know what they really are? If it is a shake, it makes a lousy one. If it’s ice cream, it makes a yummy dietary conscious one.

Why I Dislike Grocery Shopping on the Weekends

April 9, 2012Food, Life, Shopping4 Comments

Until I am full-time employed, I live in the suburbs at my parent’s house. This month they happened to be on a trip so I am here to fend for myself in terms of being fed. Throughout the week I collected flyers of the nearby supermarkets and circled items on sale. My parents had always gone grocery shopping on the weekend, so I thought it would be plausible to do the same. However, I discovered it is one of the worst things ever.

People forget how to drive shopping carts. It’s like all the people who drive in rush hour on a weekday some how congregated into the same supermarket. There is no order whatsoever. You just go whenever the path is clear. If ever. The only exception seems to be the organic food aisle. Have you seen the prices? It’s no wonder nobody goes down there. The worst offenders of shopping cart mayhem seem to be senile old people who seem to yell at you from every direction. I like to pretend that they probably drive like this too.

There’s more of a chance of running into somebody you know. I ran into the parent’s of one of the kids I used to teach. It was a pleasant encounter except for the fact I was trying to stock up on 5 packs of bacon. It makes things awkward when their cart consists of vegetables and organic cereals. Way to make me feel guilty. Not of my own eating habits of course, just that I’m the mockery of theirs.

It’s survival of the fittest. Why do you need 10 jugs of orange juice? I only wanted one for my sister. If you want to get any sales item, you must get there first. Run. And if you came to an empty rack, glare at the person who has a mountain on their cart.

The lines are like the ones at Disney World. Forget express lanes. People on weekends don’t know how to count. Hey dude in front of me you clearly have more than 10 items. I’m only trying to buy these two tomatoes. Again, you also get the senile old people and the people who pretend they don’t know English (and therefore the sign) who cut in front of you. This makes going to multiple stores for sales a pain in the ass.

If you’re a weekly weekend shopper, I tip my imaginary hat to you. You must be a trooper. As for me, I think I will avoid this trip for a more subdued time of week.

Improv Fried Rice

April 4, 2012Food, RecipesLeave a Comment

I was never really taught how to make fried rice. Being Asian, I have eaten many different variations of fried rice. My favourite by far has been my mom’s. She usually just improvised with whatever meat was on hand and added the following ingredients:

Continue reading ➞ Improv Fried Rice

Mac and Cheese With Bacon

April 2, 2012Food, RecipesLeave a Comment

mac and cheese is really awkward to take a picture of

Having the house to myself again means more cooking adventures. Today I decided to make good ol’ Mac n Cheese from scratch. I read a bunch of recipes and basically did a spin of my own with whatever ingredients I had on hand. I used a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar as well as some thyme that was leftover from a random turkey I roasted last week (my parents liked the one I made at Christmas that much). I also added onion and bacon on top as garnish and it turned out delicious and worth making from scratch. I’m sure we all have KD in the cupboard right?

Here is my take on classic.

Continue reading ➞ Mac and Cheese With Bacon

Conquered the Bull

March 17, 2012April 2, 2013Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

Me and the boyfriend decided to celebrate the end of two busy weeks by eating the epic signature No Bull Burger. I had been to No Bull a couple of times in the past few weeks since it was close to my internship. They had some great organic burgers and I was intrigued by the monster of a burger that consisted of grilled cheese sandwiches as buns. I decided against getting one for lunch while I was at work because I would probably not be able to move after. On Friday night, Me and Nash ordered one of these monster things each. In addition to grilled cheese it came with double patties, regular and peameal bacon and fried egg. It was a heart suicide mission and the servers even jokingly asked if we would like him to call the hospital. In addition to the aforementioned, you could add any of their available fresh toppings. On mine I added, lettuce, tomato, carmelized onions and sautéed mushrooms. It became a creation that looked like this:

3/4 of the way in I started to slow down but I pulled through and this was all that was left:

Despite our small frame, both of us managed to finish. I think I he’s the one.

WTF is a Slim Burger?

February 19, 2012February 19, 2012Food2 Comments

Hero Burger is just one of those okay burger joints in Toronto. I think they just have too many choices. I prefer places were the burger toppings have been worked out to perfection and are presented at a price that isn’t an absurd. I always seem to make a fail burger at Hero Burger because I either forget to say an important topping or I just don’t say much or I’d be that annoying pretentious person in line. But anyway, this isn’t a rant about toppings at Hero Burger.

The other day I was at Hero because it had just happened to be a convenient place for lunch. I had an average “Hero Burger” but was enjoying the freshly hot fries. While I was eating, I was appalled from the little table sign that was sitting in front of me. It was an introduction to what would be called the Slim burger. To me, it just seemed like a burger with a lack of bun. Sure less bread does mean fewer calories, but it also means it would be an atrocious thing to eat. The sauce would break the thin bread and the contents would just fall out. It’s a disgrace to a burger.

Honestly, if you are trying to diet, what on earth are you doing in a burger joint? It’s not cheap either. I hate people who call themselves foodies and obsess over dieting. Go back to the celery you came from. This stupid sign was an idiotic reminder that I should probably be eating healthier, but I don’t want to be. I eat what I want. Whoever comes into Hero Burger probably doesn’t give a crap about their diet, they just want a burger. If you’re one of those people who do, is eating a slim burger going to make you feel better? slimmer?. The answer is no. The Slim Burger needs to go away and soon. It is just something that shouldn’t exist, like the veggie burger, except those people know what they’re getting into.

Bubblegum Adventure Time

February 16, 2012March 10, 2013Art, Candy, Food, Life, Relationships7 Comments

I had a pretty DIY Valentine’s Day this year. It started with the Pinterest inspired card but what we did on Valentine’s night was pretty crafty as well. We found these boxes of what looked at the time like some kind of edible play-doh in-a-box at the Asian grocery store:

I thought that they were going to be like the powder cupcake and donut set. However when we opened it, there was mini packets of bubblegum, sprinkles and a stick to use as a rolling-pin.