This County Cider is sold in what looks like a pop bottle. It’s a dry cider, a lot like the pear one that I tried a few posts back. It’s crisp but not as apple-tasting as I would have expected. At 6.5% though, I think I will continue drinking it until Stephen Harper is not Prime Minister anymore.
We wanted to watch that epic Game 5 at Tallboys but it was unfortunately packed by the time I got out of work. I decided to head over to their other restaurant Wenona a few blocks west. It has the same great craft beer, but a different type of menu. I ordered the sliders and choose to mix up pulled pork and brisket. There was also the option vegetarian but I don’t need that! The sliders were served on a steamed bao instead of a regular bun which was a nice twist. I chose to eat mine with crunchy fries.
I also had an order of plantain chips which were like bruschetta on fried plantains instead of bread.
Nash had Catch of the Day, fish and chips battered with Trailhead beer.
My drink of the night was Brickworks 501 semi-sweet cider.
I couldn’t resist getting their smores for dessert! It’s warm baked marshmallows and chocolate served with some graham crackers of course.
This place is still relatively new but it has a lovely homey vibe and is definitely a great place to watch the game that not many people around the block know about yet!
With Toronto’s flux of tapa restaurants, it’s always much more fun to go with a bunch of people so you can order a bunch of things. My friends and I recently hit up Patois, where Caribbean meets Asian food. For example, what you see above is a Jerk Chicken Chow Mein, a twist on a Chinese classic which definitely had a spicy kick.
This grilled corn with cilantro & lime was gobbled up fast. It was a bit pricey considering it only had one cob.
We had some vegetarians at our table so the Crunchy Chinese salad with napa cabbage, romaine, wonton crisps, spicy plum dressing provided some freshness in their stomachs.
These Kimchi Potstickers “Pierogi” Style Pot Stickers were stuffed with kimchi, bacon, sour cream and scallions.
I ordered my own little scallop and shrimp ball thing which was much like the traditional one with different breading and a tangy sauce of C-Plus and vinegar!
One of our favourites was definitely the O.G. Fried Chicken & Watermelon Pickle served with a sweet Sriracha sauce and ginger.
Jerk PorkBelly with Chicharron came with traditional Asian BBQ sauce.
Our vegetarian friends had their own “fried chicken” sort of with O.G. Fried Cauliflower & Watermelon Pickle.
Called the 4/20 Broccoli Buds these had roasted, hemp oil, hemp hearts, edamame hummus, Pecorino, savoury crumbles. I love roasted broccoli in anything.
To drink, I had a couple of peach-infused cocktails (that I totally forgot the name of). Whatever it was was good enough to have multiple and maybe that’s why I forgot what it was.
The plus of having multiple people is.. you can order ALL the desserts! The first was this cheesecake infused french toast. Yes, you heard that right my friend.
The second was this seemingly innocent ice cream that had a hint of jalepeno. It was definitely not for the faint of heart and we had mixed feelings throughout.
Lastly was this brownie ice cream sandwich which was rich and just want one would want in a dessert.
Our experience at Patois was definitely a delicious adventure, but I do highly recommend bringing friends to make the journey worth it.
I think I totally took these by accident instead of a video on my GoPro but I love them so thought I’d share them here! No, I didn’t go on vacation. This was from the time I went to Scarborough Bluffs.
Remember last weekend when everybody was super excited about a Super Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse that wouldn’t happen again until 2033? Well, I made my way down to Humber Bay, Park in Toronto only to find out that it was way too cloudy for any glimpse of moon. I stayed there for a good hour and a half.
While I didn’t get to shoot the moon, I found a secret quiet secluded spot where you could see downtown Toronto beautifully from afar and it was super relaxing to just listen to the waves crash the shore. In 2015, it’s nice to have moments where we are disconnected and to just enjoy nature.
There are so many ramen places in the city that I could not possibly try them all! Recently, I stopped by Ramen Raijin, a casual dining place. Inside there were separate tables as well as a big square bar thing with a buddha in the middle.
The ramen comes in 3 different sizes: Small, Regular and Large. I opted for a regular bowl of the Tonkotsu Shoyu ramen. Shoyu is a soy-sauce flavoured ramen. It came with pork shoulder, an egg, bean sprouts and seaweed. The broth was very flavourful and there was a decent amount of noodles, though I found them quite chewy compared to some other places.
For dessert I refreshed myself with a classic green tea ice cream.
I thought the ramen was decent but there are better places in the city.
I found this adorably funny Instagram account on what it’s like to live in Toronto in illustrations! Check out some of my favourite below:
Anybody who’s lived in Toronto will relate to these.
This year Woofstock got moved to September, maybe because the weather is much more comfortable for dogs than the 30 degree weather we experienced in the past.
There were a lot of vendors but we found that there were fewer than in the past years. I think a few might have been skeptical about the fall move.
It was still an awesome time for dogs with activities and things to buy everywhere.
We took our annual photo from President’s Choice.
We also found this funny photo-op with a truck.
Teddy went for a ride too!
I was hungry so I totally stopped for a crawfish poutine.
We found this adorable doggy water fountain at the park.
Teddy also made a bunch of doggy friends!
It was a fun day! Teddy did too and is warming up to the idea of a billion dogs in one place. He welcomed them all by sniffing their butts!
Market 707 located at Dundas & Bathurst is full of pop-up shops in what used to be shipping containers. It’s a great place for local entrepreneurs to have a store front for an affordable price in the city. There are clothing shops, a barbershop, nail salon, jewellery and of course food. Besides my friend’s stand at Petit Nuage I hadn’t had any of the food until recently.
This indulgent dish is from Filipino stand Kanto, which specializes in a street take on tradition foods. I ordered the Sisig fries which was Offal meat that has been boiled, then grilled and chopped into fine pieces. It was marinated in lemon, vinegar and spices. The dish was topped with Lechon Kawali (pork belly) and garlic lemon aioli on a bed of crispy fries. I loved the crispy pork pieces and the fries were super crunchy.
My friend showed me her regular order at Cookie Martinez called the Patacon Pisao, a classic Latin American dish from the Colombian coast. Patacon starts by warming unripened green plantain to flatten, then fried until crispy. Hers had beef, avocado and a delicious sauce.
I also wanted to try the shrimp ceviche from Cookie Martinez. It was served with plantain chips was a bit of a weird (mostly inefficient) receptacle for ceviche. The ceviche itself was very fresh and flavourful.
To wash it down I had an iced matcha from Petit Nuage, the best in the city (Disclaimer: I know her personally but it really is the best in the city)!
For my friend’s birthday, we went to La Carnita‘s College Street location. It is tapas style so everything comes out together in shareable plates. For example, if you and a friend ordered tacos they would often come together in the same serving plate. This was slightly confusing since we were in a group of more than 15 people. I opted for 3 tacos. The first one (pictured above was the) was the Tostada de Ceviche: Albacore Tuna, guacamole, coconut milk, habanero, tomato, cucumber. It was very fresh and light tasting.
I had a bite of the In Code We Trust, a fish taco, with Cod, Voltron sauce, lime crema, pickled red cabbage, green apple & cilantro. What I totally forgot to take a photo of was my Crispy Cotija taco with crispy cotija cheese, cauliflower & pinto bean, pickled carrots, chipotle sauce, green onion & cilantro. I can’t resist fried cheese.
My third taco was the Pork Belly Al Pastor Taco, a daily special with roasted pork belly, guajillo BBQ sauce, pineapple salsa, coriander crema and mache lettuce.
All three tacos were flavourful and fresh and would’ve filled me up on their own but I felt like splurging a little so I got a few extras.
Funny story about the corn. I looked at the menu and was like “who the hell would pay $9 for corn?” and then I saw a little kid eating it at the table behind us and it looked amazing, so I ordered it. I have no regrets. It was the best grilled corn I have ever had with Mexican crema, queso anejo, arbol & ancho chili powder. Who thought corn could pack so much punch?
The table also shared nachos with guacomole and corn salsa. Both were fresh and delicious. The chips themselves were lightly salted and could totally be eaten on their own.
To was things down I ordered a few of their sangrias that were infused with peach, mango and raspberry. I could’ve drank a pitcher of these (which was available).
It was my friend’s birthday so the waiter bought over some birthday churros with a candle. The churros were crunchy and served in a cajeta, a silky nutty sauce. These are the same churros that can be ordered over at Sweet Jesus.
I was super stuffed from ordering too much but I highly enjoyed my meal at La Carnita. Everything is fresh, flavourful and relatively inexpensive (if you don’t go overboard).
Tiana Feng 