toronto – Page 11 – Tiana Feng

Kinka Izakaya Tasting (Bloor Street West)

November 26, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

After a franchise contract ended, all Guu Izakayas were renamed Kinka Izakaya, explained the owner after we sampled a delicious meal on Monday. A bunch of bloggers were invited to a tasting with a guest and I was lucky enough to be one of them!

We started our meal with drinks. I had the Cassis Peach Oolong: cassis liquer, peach liquer, oolong tea.

Nash had the Sake Highball: sake, whisky, cointeau, soda and orange.

Our first dish was the Gomaae: blanched spinach with sesame sauce. It was seasoned generously.

Maguro Tataki: seared BC tuna sashimi with ponzu and garlic chips. This was super fresh and one of my favourite dishes as the sides were perfectly seared to leave a soft pink middle.

The Seaweed & Tofu salad was a refreshing palate cleansing part of the meal.

Their Karaage was nicely fried, moist in the centre and served with a garlic mayo. I liked it more without the mayo personally as the batter had a soy sauce touch.

Kaki Mayo: Baked BC oyster with spinach & garlic mayo topped with cheese.

Karubi: grilled miso marinated short ribs.

Gindara: grilled miso marinated black cod with yuzu miso sauce. This was my favourite dish. The fish was melt in your mouth and the skin was to die for!

Lastly (before dessert), in case I wasn’t already full (which I was) there was a Kinoko Bibimbap with rice, mushrooms, cheese and seaweed sauce.

Dessert was a piece of Sake Tirimisu. The alcohol was subtle but would sneak up on me! It worked will in a tirimisu.

Our delicious meal concluded with a gift bag, and they lived up to their logo of “serving people happiness”. Our night was full of fresh, delightful food and superior service.

This meal was complimentary but views are my own.

That Time I Saw The Weeknd

November 15, 2015Entertainment, Life, MusicLeave a Comment

I haven’t been in the audience of an arena show in a long time. It was quite spectacular to see The Weeknd, Banks and Travis Scott when they were in Toronto on November 5th. Being part of the crowd as a spectator (rather than a photographer) enables me to appreciate so much more of a show: the production, the music, the energy. It’s something I sometimes lose when I’m behind a lens so going to shows without thinking about producing content is something I need to do more frequently.

Prix Fixe at Barque Butcher Bar

November 14, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

I went to Butcher Bar (by the same people who own Barque) for a friend’s birthday. We did the family style prix fixe menu of 6 courses. While I waited for everyone to arrive I sipped on the Chupacubra: tromba blanco, 1/2 oz campari, lime and grapefruit. I could definitely feel the alcohol but it was fruity and easy to flip.

Our first course was an arugula and tomato salad with feta. The vinaigrette was nice and light but paired very well.

This was followed by some smoked chicken wings that were super delicious. There was an element to the dry rub that reminded me of chocolate but I’m not sure if that’s what it was. They also came with a ketchup and mustard based dipping sauces, but I liked my wings without it.

Other sides included green beans

and crunchy potato wedges.

More meat came in the form of a platter with ribs, brisket and fried chicken wings. It was messy, but worth getting my fingers dirty.

My second drink of the night was a Sake Sour: sake, dillon’s gin, grapefruit, egg white and nutmeg. This one was less fruity than the first and was almost like drinking a latte.

We finished the night with a lovely caramel cheese cake.

Happy birthday Jess!

Presenting Ride the Tempo’s First Show

November 12, 2015Entertainment, Life1 Comment

For the first time ever I’m presenting a show as Ride the Tempo. I have always wanted to host a show but have been a bit reluctant because I was scared that it wouldn’t go perfectly, or that people wouldn’t show up.

I finally decided to take the dive when I was offered a slot at The Handlebar. A lot of work goes into organizing a show. Thinking up a theme, finding and securing artists, posters, press releases and I’ve been doing it all while holding my full-time job (which itself has some insane events during non-work hours, but that’s another story).

I’m super proud and happy to announce L CON, Parallels and NYSSA at the Handlebar on November 29th. Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/460187380844670/.

So far, I’ve received an overwhelming response and support from the music community I’ve surrounded myself with. I’m happy to have said YES to this opportunity. We all have to jump into the unknown occasionally to grow as people.

Sweet Jesus Pt. 2

November 8, 2015Food, SnacksLeave a Comment

View this post on Instagram

Took my cousin to @sweetjesus4life 🍦🍦🍦

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Nov 3, 2015 at 5:43pm PST

I returned to Sweet Jesus with my cousin before it got too cold because I wanted to try some more of their insane cones.

I had the cookies and cream cone chocked full of Oreo goodness!

My cousin tried the Krusty the Cone, the most Instagram worthy thing in the store. It’s a little on the sweet side since it is all sugary stuff after all!

Khao San Road

November 7, 2015November 7, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

I finally visited Khao San Road with my cousin. The restaurant does not take reservations but we only had to wait around 15 minutes for a table two during dinner service. We ordered two dishes the Kua Gling and Kha Soi.

The Khua Soi, which I ordered with shrimp, was a golden curry with coconut milk and crispy noodles. At Khao San Road, you can choose between a bunch of different spice levels. I did a level 3 out of a possible 11. 3 was already a decent level of spicy but the coconut milk in this dish helped cool down the tongue. The curry was super flavourful and I loved the crunchy noodles.

The Kua Gling was a shredded meat dish and we chose chicken as the protein. We also chose spice level 3 on this dish but it felt a lot spicier than the other one.

To go with my dinner I had some Singha, a Thai beer. I found it relatively light and refreshing between bites of curry.

You might have to wait for a table at Khao San Road, but their flavourful curries are definitely worth it!

Bare Burger

November 2, 2015November 7, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

Every year for Nash’s birthday, we seek out a new delicious burger joint to try. Since we’ve tried so many, I looked to Zomato for suggestions and they sent me two lists. Bareburger was on both lists and it was one we hadn’t heard of yet!

The place specializes in organic, free range meats, though that wasn’t the reason we were there. We just like burgers. I ordered the Southern Caviar burger (pictured above) which had bison, pimento cheese, back bacon, stout onions, horseradish remoulade on a brioche bun. Everything went really well together and their house bacon is so delicious! The meat was juicy and cooked very well.

Nash had the El Matador which had bison, cheese curds, pickled jalapenos, guacomole, green leaf, spicy pico de gallo on a brioche bun. This was super messy but so worth getting hands dirty for. So much gooey goodness going on here.

We also ordered the Macho Fries which were crunchy fries topped with jalapeno, guacomole, pico de gallo, pepperjack cheese and a sauce with a kick. These were so good we finished the entire giant bowl AND our burgers.

To wash things down I sipped a Figs & Bacon. I didn’t know I was supposed to put the bacon in the drink so I just ate it. Hahahahaha it was worth it (because their bacon is delicious).

Nash had The Mexican which was a happy hour drink with tequila and ginger beer.

We were super impressed with the burgers. They were both fantastic combinations of ingredients and didn’t leave us feeling like we were dying. Definitely a highly recommended burger place.

Hanmoto

October 27, 2015October 27, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Hanmoto is a super cozy izakaya just off Dundas West on Lakeview Avenue in Toronto. You could walk past it’s slight red glow if you weren’t specifically looking for it. The place is small and seats about 30. I was lucky enough to walk in and get a table for a friend and I. As I waited for my friend, I sipped a North Town Nashi, a fruity drink with mizo shochu, lemon, asian pear and shingo pear bitters.

This is a sharing restaurant so we ordered a bunch of dishes.

Hot Hot Tofu: Cold silken tofu, chili oil, pickled cucumber, onions, nori. I enjoyed the melt in mouth texture of the tofu very much. They added just the right amount of chili oil and it wasn’t too spicy or salty.

Hamachi Tartare: Sweet chili ponzu, shiso, cilantro, avocado. The yellowtail was very fresh and paired well with the avocado and the texture of the other toppings.

Uni-Bomb: sea urchin roe, chicken skin chips, sushi rice. I rarely ever have sea urchin (because finding it fresh is hard in the city) but I really enjoyed this bomb! The chicken skins were super crispy and looked so enticing that my Jewish friend (who doesn’t eat chicken) took a bite out of one. Oops.

Enoki with Miso Butter arrived on a hot plate looking like a steak. The mushrooms were cooked together as one piece and flaked like meat. You can never go wrong with cooking anything in butter.

My second drink of the night was an Arisaka Sour with green tea, cucumber infused gin, uzu, soda, lime bitter. I was surprised to actually taste the cucumber.

For some reason even though I usually hate okra (when my mom cooks it), I decided to see if I would like it when it was done properly. This was cooked with parmesan and topped with bonito flakes. The flakes kind of felt like eating paper so I wasn’t relaly a fan. I also think I just hate okra in general and can’t get over the slithery texture (to no fault of Hanmoto).

Lastly, we ordered the Salmon Aburi with torched salmon and sushi rice. It resembled a deconstructed version of the blowtorched sushi we loved at JaBistro.

Who leaves without trying the Miso icecream? I haven’t eaten much savoury ice cream but this one was super refreshing and topped with nori powder and toasted rice balls. Picture miso soup except frozen and in block form. The miso soup of the future.

A visit to Hanmoto is definitely a must! But good luck getting a seat if you are more than two people.

Thank You Blue Jays

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015Uncategorized1 Comment

Last night, the Blue Jays lost Game 6 of the ALCS series against the Royals. I was upset, but I realized no other team had made me care about a sport so much in my lifetime. A lot of people were in the same boat. It wasn’t just about bandwagoning or a trend, many people followed the post-season series committing time and their emotions.

As a city we united. People would share scores on buses and trains with strangers. There was even one time where some guy read out loud a play by play when in places where reception was spotty. Restaurants, pubs and other local businesses brought people together who, for the first in a while, were genuinely proud and excited of their city team.

We were lucky to have a group of players that never gave up even when their last games seemed bleak. They worked together and appeared to be the best of friends. They played some of the most exciting baseball ever, which is weird to say because it is often not very exciting. We hung to the edge of our seats with our hearts on the line. In the end our hearts were broken, but that only happened because we had a team to love in the first place.

Thank you Jays for playing the best baseball I’ve ever seen.

Valdez

October 23, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

To celebrate my sister’s graduation we recently went to Valdez, a Latino street food restaurant we discovered from the Toronto episode of Day of Gluttony.

The inside of the restaurant was very modern and fit with the landscape of it’s King Street West location.

Since we were celebrating something, cocktails were totally mandatory! We happened to make happy hour so I ordered a Colombian Sour which had Aguardiente, blood orange, lemon, sugar, egg white and bitters. Nash had the Tormenta Oscura with Kraken, lime and Thomas Lavers ginger beer. We also ordered a litre of Mo-Tio: Bacardi 8, raspberries, mint, ginger syrup, soda. Their cocktails alone warrant returning.

To start things off we ordered a set of ceviche tasters. We had two sets for the table of four because a set is good enough for two people. There were 5 ceviches made from albacore tuna, scallop, ahi tuna, mahi mahi and confit tuna. My favourite was the scallop which had a sweet taste. They were all super fresh and we drank the juice (which we learned we were supposed to do from watching too much TV).

The Pastels were a crunchy wonton with cream cheese and guava inside. It was delicious.

Maduro was a delicious dish of baked ripe plantain, muzzarela, honey butter. We weren’t sure what it was at first. I thought it was eggplant so I ate the plantain skin which seemed to be edible but I’m not quite sure if we were supposed to eat it. Hahahaha, well, I’m still alive.

Their tostadas had smoked chicken, guacamole, cilantro on a corn tortilla.

Chuzos a la Plancha was 2 beef skewers paired with a delicious chimichurri and arepita (a kind of fried bread).

One of our more adventurous choices was a Fried Branzino served with greens in a lemon chia dressing, pepitas (a nut) and rice.The fish was one of our favourite parts of the dinner. It was pleasantly salty and crunchy, fried to a point where most of the bones were edible.