Ematei

30 Saint Patrick Street
Toronto, ON M5T 3A3
(416) 340-0472

Items ordered:

Pork katsu curry rice

Oyako don

Blowfish Restaurant and Saki Bar

668 King Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 1M7
(416) 860-0606

Sassafraz Restaurant

100 Cumberland Street, Toronto, ON, M5R1A6

$25 Lunch (Winterlicious)

Corn Potage with Adobe Cream

Comments:
-this is your typical corn soup with a splotch of spice (similar to Chipotle in flavor), it was ok, nothing special

Mushroom and Brie Crepe with Herb Salad

Comments:
-what a let down, there was barely any mushroom within this crepe and a cheese like substance that could have been Cheese Whiz for all I know, enough said

Bouillabaisse with Mussels, Clams, Shrimp and Turbot in a Tomato Saffron Broth

Comments:
-There was a good amount of assorted seafood on the plate and they even de-bearded the mussels!
-Only downfall was that the broth was rather salty (worse than canned soup in terms of saltiness)

Boneless Canadian Beef Shortribs with Corn and Potato Hash, Sauce Bourguignon

Comments:
-The beef was tender but a tad bit drier than I would have liked

Chocolate and Caramel Tart with Gianduja Mousse and Blood Orange Coulis

Comments:
-there was a bitter flavor with the caramel, not sure if this was the intended taste or whether the caramel was burnt, I didn't enjoy it

Warm Toffee Pudding with Brandy Chantilly Cream and Vanilla Custard Sauce

Comments:
-the pudding was very moist and fluffy and rich in flavor
-oddly the Brandy Chantilly cream had a hint of banana flavor which went well
-overall, this dessert was a good way to finish the meal

Chung King Garden

Location: Market village plaza (Kennedy and Steeles)

Items ordered:

CASA Manila

Cuisine: Fine Philippine Cuisine

Location: http://casamanila.ca/

Items ordered:

Pancit Malabon (Palabok)
-thick rice noodles cooked in a flavorful seafood sauce, topped with shrimp, pork, fried pork skin and lemon

Comments:
-Oddly enough, despite the dish description I did not taste that much flavor from the noodles

Binagoongang Kanin (picture below, dish on the left)
-rice cooked in authentic shrimp paste

Comments:
-First time I had purplish/red rice and definitely not the last time!


Sisig (picture above, dish on the right)
-pig nose and ears, chopped finely, seasoned with onions and red hot chili and fried to perfection

Comments:
-Although the ingredients may not sound appetizing but I assure you that this dish was nothing short of fantastic!
-Wide assortment of flavors/spices/textures
-My favorite dish of the night!

Paella a la Valenciana
-traditional Spanish mixture of seafood, chicken, chorizo, saffron rice, vegetables and olive oil

Comments:
-This was an ok dish, resembles the typical paella, but I prefer the ones in Spain

Bicol Express
-tropical veggies and shrimp cooked in coconut sauce with shrimp paste

Comments:
-Veges were very tender and soaked in the flavors of the coconut milk and the shrimp paste, definitely a change from the typical salads = P

Kare Kare
-stew of tender beef and vegetables in peanut sauce

Comments:
-Subtle peanut flavor in the sauce mixed with coconut milk I assume
-Tender veges and meat....not sure what else to say, pretty good, apparently this is one of the most common dish within Philippine cuisine analogous to the fried rice of Chinese food perhaps?

Crispy Pata
-deep fried pork knuckle served with special sauce

Comments:
-This was similar to the roasted pork that's available at local Asian BBQ shops but with a twist
-The skin was nice and crunchy (definitely a 'make or break' factor) and the meat was moist and tender which was key to why I loved this dish!

Laing
-taro leaves simmered in a savory coconut sauce mixed with minced pork and smoked fish

Comments:
-My first thought was, this looks like Palak paneer (Indian dish of spinach with cheese)
-This was my first time eating taro leaves and I must admit, it tastes like spinach!
-The savory taste/texture from the smoked fish and pork definitely enhanced the dish as a whole

Halo-halo
-mixed sweet beans and fruits, leche flan and ice cream on shaved ice drizzled with condensed milk

Comments:
-Ice cream, fruits, condensed milk......what's there not to like? Just expect to eat it quickly or else the shaved ice will melt and it won't look pretty.

Sapin-sapin
-native tri-colored sticky coconut rice dessert

Comments:
-This dessert is definitely filling, unfortunately the flavor was too subtle for my liking

School Bakery & Cafe

Location:
70 Fraser Avenue
Liberty Village, Toronto
416 588 0005

http://www.sbcto.com/



Items ordered:

Super cheesy french toast ($13)
-thick cut challah and maple syrup
-with smoked bacon and greens


Comments:
-thick cut challah (a breaded bread which is usually eatten during Sabbath and holiday's) was freshly baked providing a fragrant aroma as well as a thick chewy texture that worked great with the bacon/cheese
-the maple syrup tasted a bit off from the conventional syrups purchased from the super market, perhaps they had their own modified syrup? Either way it was good!

Gooey four cheese omelet souffle ($11)
-with pepper biscuit, home-fries and greens


Comments:
-This was the first time I had a omelet souffle and I have to admit that I LOVED it~!
-Light in texture and providing an exotic flavor which I could not figure out~! arrghhh
-The pepper biscuit was ok, not as fluffy and fresh as I would have liked
-Home fries were like anywhere else, nothing special

Barootes

Location:
http://www.barootes.com/

Grilled Australian Kangaroo Loin
-Balsamic Glaze,Sweet Potato Cakes and Vegetable



Comments:
-

Pistachio Crusted Fresh Organic Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Aioli
-On a Bed of Chilled Organic Greens with new Potatoes


Comments:
-The salmon was nice and moist, the pistachio crusting provided great texture (although there wasn't much of a pistachio flavor)

Miso Glazed Alaskan Black Cod
-Served with Chilled Organic Greens and House Rice



Comments:
-

Ba Shu Ren Jia

Dec 31, 2009

Location:
Ba Shu Ren Jia
4771 Steeles Ave. E. (at Kennedy)
416-335-0788

Items ordered:

Rice Noodles with sour and hot sauce


Comments:
-Very 'smooth' noodles like you've never had before!
-A perfect sauce combining spice and sweet/sour/sesame flavors
-I would recommend that people give this a try

Sliced pork with hot and garlic sauce

Comments:
-This dish has same sauce base (as the noodles above) dwelling on the bottom of the bowl
-On the meat there's a sweet/garlic sauce that is grainy in texture which works well with counter acting the spice
-The thin slices of pork have a good blend of meat/fat ratio providing great texture while chewing

Lamb in pot


Comments:
-Humm.....I was actually disappointed with this dish, there was nothing special about it
-Slices of lean lamb meat ended up being tough, I'll stop here.

Fish with sweet and sour sauce

Comments:
-This dish was not bad, you can smell/taste the sweet & sour flavor quite well
-There was a right amount of batter covering the fish so that it wasn't too "doughy"
-One thing that we noticed was that this dish was a tad bit too oily

Soup filled steamed buns

Comments:
-Who doesn't love these! All I can say is that this is on par with all the other Asian restaurants, not bad but nothing special

Konichiwa

Dec 28, 2009

Location:
http://www.gokonnichiwa.com/


Items ordered:

Pork ramen noodles with shoyu broth
-Noodles resembled more of the instant noodle style as oppose to the yellowish type noodles


Comments:
-The broth was a mild shoyu flavor, not as rich in flavor as I'd have liked
-Pork wise it was rather tender, acceptable
-I miss the perfectly made egg in Japan that has the yolk semi cooked =(
Overall I still can't find any ramen in Toronto that compares to Japan, sigh!

Beef curry rice


Comments:
-One thing I loved was that the carrot was tender and VERY sweet, as if it was soaked in sugar water
-The curry was rich in flavor and was blended with sweetness and a mild spice, just the way I like it, this would be one of the better places that I've tried for curry rice.

Guu Izakaya

Dec 27, 2009

Location:
Guu Izakaya
398 Church Street
(416) 977-0999
www.guu-izakaya.com/

Items ordered:

Sweet shrimp sashimi


Comments:
-If you've never had this before, try it! Sweet shrimp also has this creamy taste/texture


Seared albacore tuna


Comments:
-I thought that the tuna was seared a tad too much, overcooking the middle more than I would have liked

Oden-mori

Comments:
-So so, noting special