I may have grown up to be pretty Canadianized but the one thing I can’t leave behind is Asian snacks. All North American junk food cannot compare to the chocolate koala bears, flavoured Pocky sticks, ramune soft drinks, jelly cups and bizarre flavoured chips. The East was always ahead of the game in terms of adventurous snacks.
I found a Korean grocery store across from work and now my desk is stashed full of treats. What are your favourite treats as a kid (or even now)?
Singaporean influenced restaurant, Hawker Bar is located in a cozy place at Dundas and Ossington. The restaurant does their own style of Singaporean street food. To start we had the Singaporean Sweet Chili Soy wings (pictured above) which were fried with a bit of a kick. It was served with a mixture that tasted like soy sauce on hoisin sauce.
We also had Brussel Sprouts with red pepper chili which was one of the daily specials.
My main was the Braised Duck Leg with Thai Red Curry. The duck was tender and fell off the bone and the curry was very flavourful.
As I ate, I sipped a First Flight which was Gordons gin, Chartreuse, St Germain and fresh grapefruit juice.
Even though I was completely stuffed, I couldn’t help ordering fried banana for dessert!
The meal at Hawker Bar was enjoyable. We were pretty lucky to get a seat though in the small place without a reservation.
Junked Food Co finally opened it’s doors for real last night. I tried to go to their soft opening last weekend but their power unfortunately ran out. However, we received free cake that night:
I happened to be at a show at The Garrison and Junked Food Co’s opening and last night hours (8pm-4am) was perfectly time. I headed over with a couple of friends who were intrigued when I told them about the restaurant’s crazy concepts. The menu is a treasure trove of crazy things from pizza made on literal pies, grilled cheese sandwiches with donuts, smash bags, cakes in cups and other weird combinations. My friend deemed it the food of “stone dreams”.
Anyways I ordered the 416 Deep Dish with added Pepperoni. It was literally a personal pizza done on top of flakey pie crust. A thick layer of tomato paste hid the pepperoni and cheese that was embedded inside. It was delicious but quite messy!
My friend ordered the Original Junkie waffle which had avocado, chicken, bacon, and veggies. I stole a bite and enjoyed the crunch the bacon added to the mix. He found the chicken a tad bit dry but still enjoyed it.
I didn’t order this but here’s a photo of the Poutine tater tots.
This is a perfect place for a late night after show/bar snack. If you’re going for a meal, I’d suggest you order more than one thing because one item may not be filling enough. Don’t worry though, there are plenty of things you’ll definitely want to try.
Hey guys! It’s time for another Vlog round-up. Here’s what I’ve been up to..
I made some ribs:
I bought a new couch:
I made Reese Pieces Bars:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Tiana Feng 