Tiana Feng

Clara’s Gourmet Burgers

August 19, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

We stumbled upon Clara’s Gourmet Burgers while on a walk in the area, and naturally we had to try it. They had a creative burger menu with very affordable prices.

I had the Bruschetta Burger with diced tomato, feta, oregano. The flavours worked quite nicely together with the beef. I ordered them with a side of sweet potato fries which were also very good. Not to mention GIANT:

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Wtf giant sweet potato fry

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Jul 9, 2014 at 3:58pm PDT

Imagine the sweet potato that made that!

Nash had the Nacho Burger with jalapenos, onions, tomatos, lettuce, and nacho chips!

The tables at the restaurant are all chalkboard so we amused ourselves while we waited for our food.

They aren’t the most complex burgers in the world, but they didn’t need to be and it was definitely worth the price! They do run out of ingredients for some of their burgers throughout the day so if you want to try something like the seafood or mahi mahi, go earlier! They were unavailable in the evening when we visited.

The Porch – A Rooftop Patio

August 10, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

On top of Adelaide Hall and Rock n’ Horse Saloon is a relatively new rooftop patio called The Porch. The place has a lovely unobstructed view of the CN Tower. I was there for a friend’s birthday and ordered a margarita which came in a bucket the size of my head. Considering it was around $10, it was a great value.

The menu features finger foods as well as pub food like burgers and ribs. I ordered the guacamole with corn chips to start ($14).

I also had the Korean Short Ribs ($15) which were served with market greens in a balsamic vinaigrette.

While I think it is a great place for drinks, I think the food is overpriced for what you get as they weren’t anything special. Also worth noting is that if you make a reservation, it doesn’t guarantee a table or your party’s spot in line. The few times I’ve been there, there was no cover, but I could also see this changing if it hasn’t already.

Sony MDR10RBT Hi-Resolution Wireless Headphones Review

August 5, 2014August 5, 2014Entertainment, Music, TechnologyLeave a Comment

Over on Ride the Tempo, I’m giving away a pair of Sony MDR10RBT Hi-Res wireless headphones and I also had the pleasure of being sent my very own pair to review.

The biggest surprise was that they fit comfortably on my giant head, a serious problem I’ve had with other headphones like Skullcandy. They Sony headphones are light and the ear pads are soft and comfy. The band is loose enough that it doesn’t add too much pressure to my head.

These were the first wireless headphones I’ve ever owned and I found them very easy to set up with my iPhone. The rechargeable battery lasts for up to 17 hours of continuous play, so it would probably last a normal person a week without charging. While Bluetooth is activated, there are also volume, track control and answer call buttons that can be used. Included in the box is a cord if wired play is desired. There’s also a microphone on the headphones for answering calls. They do take a while to charge though with a laptop. However, the USB end plugs into my iPhone/iPad blocks without problem.

Now to get to the sound! While wired or wireless, I found that the mid to high-end sounds were crisp and amazing. I also swear to god that the headphones sound a bit different now than when I first tested them on my laptop and iPhone. I think they have a burn-in period where it auto-adjusts how it sounds. The bass is just how I like it, but I could see EDM listeners thinking it’s not “booming” enough. However, these headphones react well to EQ adjustments, so for those who want a little more of certain levels than that is an option.

Design-wise these are sleek and like I previously mentioned, super light. They ear cups swivel so that they can easily fold into the included portable carrying case. I’ll definitely be putting these in my purse.

To learn more about the Sony MDR10RBT headphones head over here. Learn more about the Sony Hi-Res line at: http://store.sony.ca/hi-res-audio/cat-31-catid-All-Hi-Res-Audio. To win your own pair, head over to RTT now!

Nature Exploring on Civic Holiday

August 4, 2014Art, Photography4 Comments

It’s been a while since I had a photo post but I finally had time this long weekend to go nature exploring. Here are some random photos of flowers, scenery and Teddy. All photos were taken with my Canon 60D and my Sigma 35mm 1.4 lens.

Interesting Food Combinations @ Lisa Marie

August 3, 2014Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Named after Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie the Toronto restaurant is owned by the same people behind the Fidel Gastro food truck. The decor includes an Elvis print. We were delighted by the experimental sounding menu. There’s always some sort of weird sounding twist almost as if you were playing the game “which one of these doesn’t belong?”. For example we started with the Pork Belly Chow Mein Pizza ($10 pictured above). The combination of crispy pork belly, king oyster mushrooms, chow mein, sweet and sour sauce on top of a deep fried pizza dough was playful but it actually worked surprisingly well together.

Nash I chose to share the Mac and Cheese, one of the day’s specials ($22). This was no regular Mac and Cheese. Inside the cheese itself was pulled pork and it was also topped with fresh Pico de Gallo (cilantro, tomato, avocado, green onions etc).There were probably a bunch of other ingredients I missed but the waitress did a great job of naming everything and making our jaw drop every time she explained a menu/special item. Despite the seemingly ridiculous sounding combination, this Mac & Cheese was delightful. Every spoonful was like a new adventure. It was also a generous portion that there was enough left over for the next day’s lunch.

The Lazy Sunday

Testa Dura

Another thing that can’t be ignored is their fabulously witty drink menu. Nash had The Lazy Sunday comprised of Hendricks gin, sunflower sprout lemonade and Jack Rudy Small Batch tonic. It had enough alcohol that if you had too many, you’d probably need to take an actual lazy Sunday. I had the Testa Dura (means “stubborn” in Italian). In it was Tromba tequila, Asperol, fresh lime and limonata. It was tart and refreshing at the same time. All the drinks will definitely give you your moneys worth in alcohol.

This photo looks a little funny, but it’s their play of Elvis in a Jar ($6). The jar consisted of maple/rum fried french toast, bacon, peanut butter marscapone, flambéed bananas topped with a big piece of crispy bacon. In a nutshell it was heaven and even though we were so stuffed from the rest of the meal this jar was definitely licked clean.

We were happy with the entire experience from the creative food to the friendly waitress who was very knowledgeable on all the dishes. At the end our bill came in a random cassette!

Barkbox – July 2014 Edition

July 29, 2014Pets, Shopping, TeddyLeave a Comment

It’s Barkbox time again! This might be our last for a little while (mostly because Teddy still needs to eat all his snacks from Woofstock).
This month’s theme was “Surf’s Up”.

Fitting perfectly with the them was this shark toy from Harry Barker. The toy had two squeakers but were no match for our little dog.

These Bixbi Daily Essentials Chicken Jerky Treats make the dog go crazy. All of Barkbox’s treat selections have been some of Teddy’s favourite. They tend to be organic and have no filler ingredients such as corn and soy.

There was even a pina colada smoothie! Unfortunately Teddy is allergic to banana so we’ll be giving it to a doggy friend.

A beef pizzle from Superior Farms Pet Provisions will entertain him for hours.

Lastly, these Petsafe dog chews clean teeth and are good for doggy bodies at the same time.

If you’re interested in signing up for Barkbox use our link below for 10% off!
http://ruv.barkbox.com/x/xvmYXQ.

Bird’s Nests and Things @ Farmhouse Tavern

July 27, 2014July 27, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

It’s rare that we have time to have brunch, so when we do we go all out. After a lovely meal at Farmer’s Daughter, we thought visiting the parent restaurant Farmhouse Tavern was a must.

Like their name would imply, the restaurant serves up farm fresh food. I ordered their take on a Bird’s Nest, which was a poached egg over squash than the traditional bread. It was served with fresh vegetables such as asparagus and greens. I can’t remember entirely but I can remember that it was the best brunch I had ever eaten.

Nash had the Eggs Benedict with Gravlax and kale. Gravlax sounds like it could be a gross laxative, but it’s actually a Nordic cured salmon. The hollandaise sauce was seriously to die for. It was the perfect texture and flavour.

To wash it all down we had their Farmhouse Smoked Caesar which was topped with an oyster and asparagus. It had a unique flavour from caper berries. Their glasses informed us of different Canadian cities and I almost considered taking the Fredericton mug for my best friend.

If you’re ever in the mood to go on an indulgent brunch, Farmhouse Tavern is seriously the place to be!

Allow Yourself To Do Nothing

July 22, 2014Health, LifeLeave a Comment

I’ve always been the type of person to keep busy. Even when I was watching a TV, I needed to be reading articles on the internet, drawing, learning how to code, blogging or whatever. I couldn’t justify simply doing the recreational thing without being busy with something I deemed “productive”. In my head I felt like I was wasting my life if I took that extra hour of sleep, nap, caught up on Youtube or even hang out with friends.

Ever since I got a full-time job these priorities changed. I still struggled with the need to “keep productive”, this time with more of a focus on reading a book or writing the blog posts that keep all my sites updated. I now have less time than ever to do any of those things and being able to prioritize has been a challenge.

However, I let myself turn-off the brain when I’m exhausted. An extra hour of sleep, hanging out with friends or letting myself relax and play video games does wonders for the amount of things I can get done the next day (including write this blog post). We live in an age where “being busy” is addictive and seems trendy but it’s important to know when to just kick back once in a while.

The Few Delicious Things at TIME Fest

July 20, 2014July 20, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews, StreetLeave a Comment

TIME Festival took place yesterday and compared to the last few music festivals at Fort York, there was a severe lack of food choices. This led to long lines during meal times but I did manage to eat a few things.

The only literal food truck was Rancho Relaxo’s serving up tacos and Mexican food. I had the fish tacos. The fried fish was nice and crunchy and it wasn’t too heavy.

Small Town Food Co. ran a food stand with skewers for $6. The first of which I had was a watermelon and pork belly. I loved the sweetness of both the sauce and the watermelon together. Unfortunately, I only got one skewer at the time of my order but my friends ended up receiving two with theirs.

I returned to try the yakitori chicken and corn dog skewers later. The chicken was nicely seasoned and the corn dog had a lovely banana-like breading.

Next up was a corn dog with everything on it at Kungfu Dawg. It was messy but totally worth it.

Also from Kungfu Dawg were these home made ketchup chips. They were sweet, crunchy and very addictive.

Ice Lyte served up electrolyte freezies. They had a apple-pineapple flavour. The vendors explained that it was a special type of Ethiopian fruit.

TIME Festival banned water bottles (opened or not) and there was a lack of water-refilling station. Thankfully instead of buying the $4 water, people could also get free iced-tea from Nestea. They were testing out new flavours which included honey ginseng, mango and a half and half lemon tea.

There was only one other stand there that sold food but none of the options seemed intriguing enough. To future food festivals: make sure there are enough food choices for everyone’s needs!