Tag: toronto

Luckyrice’s First Toronto Cocktail Party

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On Wednesday, Nash and I hit up the inaugural Luckyrice cocktail event at Berkeley Church in Toronto. Luckyrice is an organization that loves to share Asian culture through food and drink. They have events in LA, San Francisco, New York and Miami and decided to test out Toronto. I find our city is a little unique and the exploration of Asian culture is so common here that I’m not sure we need another event for it.
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The event was sponsored by Bombay Sapphire, so all the drinks were gin based. We arrived around the VIP door opening at around 7pm and it was already rammed with people. There was at least a 10 minute line for most drinks. We also arrived with an empty stomach (which probably wasn’t the best decision). There were appetizers being served but the servers were swarmed by people as soon as they came out. We tried a few drinks before we left to go fill our empty stomachs:

DSCF1578The Rivoli’s “His Eminence”: Bombay Sapphire East gin, Marini & Rossi Rosso, Lemon spiced chinkiang & rice wine reduction, honey syrup.

DSCF1580The Rivoli’s “Delicate Warrior”: ST. Germain liquer, Bombay Sapphire East gin, Gekkeikan Plum wine.

DSCF1587Rebel & Demon’s “Mao’s Punch”: Bombay Sapphire East gin, strawberry thai basil white peppercorn syrup, lemon juice, rhubarb bitters.

DSCF1593Brassaii’s “6 shooter”: Bombay Sapphire East gin, aperol, watermelon and jalapeno shrub, dillon’s bitter lime, lime juice, fresh basil.

DSCF1584Out of all of them our favourite was the Mao’s Punch from R&D. It fit the summery weather and contained a perfect amount of sweetness that made it easy to go down.

Burgers @ The Rude Boy

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DSCF1451-2Nash and I hadn’t had a gourmet burger in a while so we took a walk to Roncesvalles to The Rude Boy. The place has a casual vibe, a bar and cool posters like this one:

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I ordered the Greek Spot (top photo of post) which had cucumber and tomato salad, oregano vinaigrette, feta cheese, pickled red onion and tzaziki. I added a piece of their home-cured double smoked bacon for fun. I thought it had a good combination of flavours and perfect amount of juiciness to the burger.

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Nash had the signature Rude Boy burger containing home cured pemeal bacon, their double smoked bacon, smoked cheddar, fried egg, pickled red onion, garlic aioli, blanche de chambly mustard.

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We shared some fries and of course we took the option to add feta! There was a hint of herb and the ketchup had a kick from jalapenos.

DSCF1446-2I also had a sour summery cocktail to accompany my meal (the name and ingredients currently elude me).

Despite the name of the restaurant, the service was friendly and we loved our burgers! We’ll definitely be back.

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Front Street Foods

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Earlier in the week I hit up Front Street Foods, a little marketplace that is temporarily set up near Union Station. I had a few little snacks.

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There were all sorts of places, corn, ice cream, seafood, burgers, even a flower shop! My first destination was Cava Sur. 

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I tried a trio of pintos which are small bites on bagette. I chose the avocado & avruga; jammon serano & fig and the sardine escabeche. All were very favourable little bites! I particularly liked the handmade serano that paired beautifully with the sweetness of the fig.

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I then hit up Mad Mexican for some nachos. They asked me if I wanted guacomole or salsa and I said a little bit of everything!

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I decided to wash it down with a Kamboucha, which is some kind of fermented tea drink. It was sort of fizzy, sour and fruity at the same time. It is meant to have healing powers of some sort. I’m not entirely sure if I liked it, but I didn’t hate it. 

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Anyways, if you’re looking for a quick snack and happen to be in the area the Front Street Market is a cool stop. I went around dinner time and it didn’t seem too packed!

Panamania 

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Out experiencing what Panamania has to offer! The games has brought to the cities a ton of free entertainment and activities. Will catch up with you guys soon <3  

Sweet Weekend

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DSCF1335It’s rare I have a weekend where I have nothing planned so I headed over to Market 707, where shipping containers were converted into restaurants and shops.

DSCF1338As my avid readers know, my friend Steph has a little café called Petit Nuage there that specializes in French macarons and cream puffs. For the summer, she even has a patio where you can enjoy tea and coffee (iced options available!).

DSCF1351 DSCF1352The inside of the shop has changed a bit since I last went.  There are now shelves with teas and other things for sale!

DSCF1349I enjoyed a piece of matcha tea cake on the patio. It was delicious and beautiful.

DSCF1354I also picked up half a dozen macarons which came in an adorable box with a print of kittens having a tea party. Naturally, I took photos of the macarons before eating them. Enjoy some photos below:

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Intergalactic Travel Authority

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DSCF1316There’s an adorable café in my area called the Intergalactic Travel Authority. Until recently, I thought it was legitimately a travel agency. Then I walked by one light and the portal and the back was glowing. I had wanted to visit ever since but it’s usually closed by the time I come home from work. This summer, I have half days on Friday so I went into the café yesterday to do some writing.

DSCF1320What I learnt was that this was no ordinary coffee shop. All the profits from the coffee sales go to a charity program called Story Planet. The program focuses on teaching children how to be creative and express themselves through literacy. They take place in the back of the café in a classroom behind the secret portal.

DSCF1321Some of the stories that were created during this program are for sale inside the shop. I love the idea of this program. All kids should be encouraged to write and what an awesome way to do so and make their imaginations come true! There are also random trinkets and art for sale.

DSCF1317There are even interplanetary spices for kitchens in need.

DSCF1319I ordered a mocha and they make a mighty fine one! I will definitely make galactic travels occasionally to splurge on a guilt-free mocha to support a wonderful cause. If you’re in the area, please consider buying a coffee here if you get the chance!
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I Went to Bestival

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A few weeks ago, I went to Bestival. While the music was heavy on DJ sets (which I’m not the biggest fan of), I still had a lot of fun. There were a lot of things that this festival did differently that made the overall experience an interesting one.

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Finally inside @bestivaltoronto

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There were plenty of things to do besides see music, including a tent where you could knit.

People got married in an inflatable church with a rapping pastor.

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Hammock #selfie at @bestivaltoronto #getcurious

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There were hammocks.

Sponsor Perrier brought in a private greenhouse party.

I randomly received a free signed Owen Pallett CD from Fido for tweeting about the festival!

You could drink fruit juice out of the fruit.

and of course the food was delicious! Will talk more on that later.

Pho Jade

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Nash and I live very close to Pho Jade, which serves Vietnamese cuisine. We’ve gone a couple of times but I totally forgot to write about it. Last week we went again and I ordered the grilled pork and sausage vermicelli. Everything was very flavourful including their version of the fish sauce and the portion was just right.

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We also had the mango and Coconut Shrimp Fresh Rolls. I’d never had any outside the traditional shrimp ones. This also contained avocado which was a fabulous contrast of texture with the mango and crunchy shrimp. They are a hefty little appetizer so I recommend sharing it if you’re ordering it in addition to a meal.

So far, Vietnamese restaurants in Toronto have been a hit and miss but I’m happy to say that this one nearby is a hit!

 

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I Love The City

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I don’t think I will ever stop being a city girl. I love living downtown Toronto. It’s literally impossible to be bored. There’s always something to do, things to eat, places to go.

There’s literally something for every niche. Music photographer get togethers, knitting clubs, video game tournaments and they could get much more specific. It’s a magical place where if you look hard enough you will find a place where you truly belong.

I always hear people complain about having nothing to do in Toronto but then they turn to New York like it’s the best place ever. I find that what you’re searching for in NY, you could find here.

Everybody chooses different places to live, but mine is Toronto. Why do you love your town?

I Got My Haircut

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After years of either cutting my hair myself or going to First Choice, I decided to find a real hair stylist. I wanted one that was in my neighbourhood and looked trendy. Since I had no loyalty to literally anywhere, I had no idea where to start if I were to call places for appointments.

Instead, I decided that I would take a walk on my half-day (Fridays) and find a place in my area that would take walk-ins and looked trendy at the same time. There are a lot that don’t fit neither description in the area. However, I landed in Salon AF and their staff was very welcoming. I was paired with a stylist named Suzy and she listened to all my requests. I found this important because I find that sometimes stylists do more of what they want instead of really listening to the customer which was my fear with cheaper walk-in places.

I wanted to freshen up my flat hair with some layers, but at the same time not look like a bush. I didn’t want it too short and to have real blunt bangs that looked like they have a purpose being there. I got exactly what I wanted and am super with my happy with my haircut. Plus a bonus is that the salon offers free bang trims between cuts so no more ruining my own hair.

Thanks Salon AF! I will definitely be back (with an appointment) for my next cut and/or colour.