A few weekends ago, we ended up at Laylow, kind of by accident. We were trying to get into somewhere else that ended up packed, so we strolled a few doors down to the former location of Me & Mine.
I had the Porchetta Eggs Benedict which was herb-roasted pulled porchetta on potato latkes, with two poached eggs, topped with gremolata and hollandaise. Served with salad. I liked the crunchy latkes as a replacement for toast.
Nash had the Breakfast Poutine: House-cured bacon, hand cut fries, two poached eggs, house-made marinated cheese curds, topped with gravy & hollandaise. The gravy had a strange acidity to it, but otherwise the rest of the dish was cooked perfectly.
Laylow is also a mini brewery that also serves other cool brews! Blanche de Chambly Witbier and Black River Orange Juice.
I welcome all the craft breweries and I hope to be back to try some of their own brews and dinner foods.
Yesterday was a super rainy day and our regular brunch place was packed so we headed to Love Chix instead. It’s location used to be the location of Farmer’s Daughter before it had to close down.
I had a glass of “OJP Ya Know Me!” to start (orance juice & Prosecco).
We all ordered poached eggs. I had one with fried brussel sprouts on a buttery bun with a side salad. The Hollandaise was nice and creamy. One of my friends had one.
Right now, this place is still not too busy for lunch but I’m sure that will change very soon.
My friends and I made the trip uptown to Little Pig Hot Pot. Hot Pot if you’ve never done it outside of your house before comes with a price tag. There’s a per person charge (around $25) as well as additional charges per soup. For our party of four people we had one bowl with two broths: pork and mushroom. They had a lot of spicy soups but we kept it safe.
The cool thing about this place is you can order with an iPad, just like at AYCE Sushi. That way, every time you want more of something, you don’t have to feel guilty flagging the waiter down each time. It was super easy with the click of a button.
The sauces were also part of the iPad ordering system, so we got a little carried away (pictured). There was a huge selection of meats, noodles, vegetables, seafood and also some fried things (not for hot potting). Everything was good quality and came in relatively small portions so we couldn’t order too much by accident the first round.
There were really big chopsticks for cooking the food in. I guess so there was less chance of burning yourself.
I quenched my thirst with some delicious Winter Melon iced tea.
Dessert was a sweet jelly thing that cleansed the palate.
They also had these hilarious fun props you could use to take photos for Instagram. Genius idea!
And of course some pig themed things.
We enjoyed our meal here and this encouraged us to make more trips uptown to have authentic hot pot.
It was Valentine’s Day weekend and my friends and I made the mistake of trying to go out to eat and drink without previously making a reservation. We walked along Queen for a little bit and ended up in Skyline.
I think it re-opened in the classic spot last year or so by Maggie Ruhl (Dakota Tavern, The Ace) and Jud Ruhl (Wallflower, Three Speed). It’s a place that doesn’t look as trendy as the crazy places near it (Parts & Labour, Shameful Tiki), but I found the menu (which changes often) and cocktail selection impressive.
I had one of the specials of the night which was duck breast, rapini, squash and sausage. The vegetables melted in my mouth and the duck was cooked to perfection.
I also had my share of delicious cocktails from their take on an Old Fashion to an Apple Bl’awesome. I can’t remember them off the top of my head because I was a bit tipsy to take notes. The are definitely worth the cost in alcohol!
Seriously though, Skyline might be one of my favourite new discoveries that we went in by chance!
I recently went for a Persian brunch at Tavoos, owned by the same people as The Pomegranate. Persian Chai was served to us in a beautiful pot.
To start, we had Zeitoon Parvardeh: green olives marinated in a sauce of walnuts, pomegranate molasses, garlic and mint. This was served with a light Persian flat bread. This is a must for olive fans and was super addictive.
My friend Karol had the Serious Lunch (pictured). It was a Dizi Sangi: a stew with lamb shank, lamb rib, chickpeas, white beans, potato, onion and tomato cooked for four hours. The soup part is served separately and there is a stick to pound the meat and beans into a purée.
For some reason, I forgot to take a picture of my food but I had the weekend special called Bandari which was spicy halal sausages sautéed in a tomato garlic purée, mixed with potatoes. Atop sat two sunnyside up eggs with creamy feta cheese and marinated olives on the side. It was definitely classic brunch with a twist!
We loved every part of our meal as it was flavourful and the portions were generous. I think Persian food is becoming some of my favourite cuisines!
I’ve always walked past Latin World and seen it packed full of people who’ve probably been going there for years. It’s like a secret local spot that hasn’t been taken over by hipsters. Inside it is like a grocery store that also serves food.
For $10, I got 4 fish tacos. They also have like a $1 taco special every day but I was in the mood for fish. But man, if I was feeling particularly hungry and poor one day $1 is a steal! There was a lot of flavour in every bite and enough to feel full.
They also gave us complimentary nachos with a variety of hot sauces that were quite addictive.
To drink, they had sodas from Mexico, which means they are sweetened with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. It tastes better than regular Fanta because it doesn’t leave you with a sharp aftertaste.
Latin World is so close to my place that I can’t believe I waited this long to go there. I’ll definitely take advantage of those $1 deals frequently!
Ramen is such a comforting winter dish, and with so many places in Toronto, I’m eager to find the best broth. I think my favourite so far is Hakkaido Ramen Santouka.
I went there for the first time yesterday because the line always looked too long, but we were lucky to be seated within five minutes. The line is mostly caused by the fact the restaurant is pretty small. It’s easier to go as two people (or less).
They specialize in Tonkotsu (pork) broths that are handmade in house. I had the Spicy Miso ramen which had chilli oil added to the broth for a spicy kick. I also added a perfectly soft boiled egg and a side of Tokusen Toroniku, their signature pork cheek that was super delicate and melted in my mouth.
Nash ordered the more traditional Shio Ramen, which was like a warm hug you could drink. I don’t think there was a drop left when he was done with it. He also had a side of gyozas which were nicely panfried.
To drink, I tried Ikezo’s sparkling yuzu sake drink with jelly in it. I was a tiny bit skeptical of shaking it (in fear of an explosion), but it was fine. The drink is almost like a dessert.
I love pork broths and Santouka really reminded me what an awesome one is like, when I don’t have my parents to make me soups anymore!
Today before class I stopped by Calii Love, a poké restaurant and café on King West.
Everything had cute adjective names. I ordered the Humble Bowl which had a generous amount of tuna, seaweed, onion, rice, sauce. I added nori, wasabi peas and this herb that they said helped with digestion.
The fish was super fresh, which is he most important part of a pokébowl. There was lots of it, more than you would if you tried to order tuna sashimi at a sushi restaurant.
I found the raw onion a tiny bit overwhelming so I picked out most of those. Without them, all the other ingredients absorbed the wasabi aoli and shoyu on top beautifully.
Nash and I always go for brunch on New Years and we never make reservations. We actually walked into a few of our favourite spots but we woke up late and they were all full. I’ve never been to Fat Pasha but they had seats so that is where we ended up!
Their specialty is Middle Eastern food, which is probably why it wasn’t most people’s first pick for a post-hangover brunch, but I found something that was close enough: The verscht and eggs (which I ordered poach) came with a crunchy hash and charred toast. I loved the marmalade or whatever that came with it and smothered it over everything. The verscht, grilled pieces of kosher salami, were delicious.
Nash had a reuben sammie with browned crispy bread that provided all the right textures to this flavourful sandwich.
We also had an order of falafel as an appetizer. They were really good but we totally didn’t need that much food!
Nash and I always book an indulgent dinner when we’re celebrating something, so we decided on Momofuku Shoto for our Christmas date.
There’s no à la carte menu, only a tasting menu for $120, full of surprises if you’ve never been. We were seated with others around an open kitchen where we curiously watched as the chefs in front of us shuffled about. We also spoiled ourselves with the $85 drink pairing, meticulously curated drinks for many of the courses. I didn’t take a photos of most of the bottles because I was too busy listening to why each drink went so well with the dish! The world of drinks is still a mystery to me.
Our first snack was a Chawanmushi, an egg custard that was delicate and smooth.
Then we had a smoked mackerel fritter.
And an anchovy puff. All three of these snacks went with a white ale from Japan called Hitachino’s Nest.
There was an impressive emulsion of the lobster shell that made me want to learn food science. There was a delicate heat to this dish that paired so well with the chardonnay.
The roasted kabocha (a winter squash) was one of my favourite parts of this dish. The duck was also delectable.
Welsh Rarebit – 5 year old cheddar, comté, truffle
Real truffles are always a treat and this fried cheese was to die for.
I started eating this before I took a photo so… this is not what it looked likeRaisin– chocolate, orange
I have a secret: I hate raisins, but the fact that they transformed an ingredient I hated into a delicious ice cream with lovely flavour profile proves their mastery of tastes.
Cashew & Maple Leche flan
The desserts were all paired with: Barolo Chinato Cocchi from Italy.
We were very impressed with every part of our meal at Momofuku Shoto. It was fun and exquisite. We haven’t been to the other restaurants in the family yet, but we’re excited to try them too!
Nash and I always go for brunch on New Years and we never make reservations. We actually walked into a few of our favourite spots but we woke up late and they were all full. I’ve never been to 
Muscovy duck – cabbage, kabocha, sorghum
Cashew & Maple
Tiana Feng 