Nome Izakaya

Date: Thursday, November 27, 2014
Location: 4848 Yonge St (north of Sheppard), North York
Website: http://www.nomeizakaya.com/
Cuisine: Japanese tapas
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
Had din with my pops tonight and he suggested a place his coworkers have been telling him about. It wasn't until we were standing outside the restaurant that I realized it was Nome, which I myself had heard pretty good things about.

We sat at the bar and ordered a few things to share. After 45 minutes, the food still had not arrived and the manager explained there was a mix-up in the orders. She was very apologetic and continued to give us status updates throughout the evening, and in my opinion, she handled the situation very well. As a plus, to appease us, she gave us the following things on the house:

Edamame ($5.00) - steamed edamame with salt. Meh, nothing special. We noticed on the menu after the fact that this normally is served with a black sesame sauce, which we were not given.

Kara-age ($6.80) - chicken poppers with wasabi mayo. This was surprisingly really good and both our fave dish tonight. The breading was very crispy but the chicken retained all its juices, and the dipping sauce was a nice complement that gave a nice punch. A definite must-try.

And finally after about a total of an hour, what we ordered arrived.

Unagi risotto ($8.80) - risotto topped with BBQ eel. This was listed as a chef's recommended item, which we found puzzling, because the 'risotto' was a big mess of mushiness, with no discerning granules that would be what risotto is! The unagi was also uninspiring.

Marinated Chilean sea bass ($11.80) - Chilean sea bass marinated with citrus soy sauce served with steamed veggies. Another highlight. Fish was very flaky, fresh and flavourful.

Spicy short rib ($10.30) - beef short ribs marinated in their signature hot sauce. Another winner. The ribs were cut thick and the sauce was lip-smackin' good. Yum.

Overall, despite the delay in receiving our food (which was made up for by the manager's professionalism and of course the freebies), we were content enough to come back at a future date. Food seems to be hit or miss. I think it is overhyped, so keep your expectations in check.

Thai Basil

Date: Saturday, November 22, 2014
Location: 1070 Major Mackenzie Dr E #F103 (at Bayview), Richmond Hill
Website: http://thaibasil.ca/
Cuisine: Thai
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I was treating my parents for dinner and decided to play it safe by choosing someplace I'd been before. We made reservations for 6pm (highly recommended if you go on a weekend night). I knew I'd made the right choice when I saw my mom's look of approval as we entered the restaurant (ambiance is really important to her.) And sure enough, I can see why. The decor is very zen-like and is complete with large buddha statues and waterfalls. As for the food, I took the reins and decided on the following, which we shared:

Thai BBQ Pork ($8.95) - Tender pork grilled in Thai style served with pickled vegetables and homemade spicy Thai BBQ sauce. The photo in the menu piqued my interest, and I'm glad I gave it a try. This is not like the Chinese-style variety, but still delicious in its own right. Extremely tender and slightly crispy on the outside. I can't say I really cared for the sauce, but still highly recommended!

Thai Red Curry Duck ($14.95) - Thai red curry cooked with boneless grilled duck, Thai eggplants, grapes, tomatoes, basil leaves & coconut milk. I'd had this years ago when I used to frequent this place, and it was just as good as I'd remembered. My favourite part, asides from the heavenly coconut-heavy sauce that I wanted to drink as a soup, was the big juicy grapes and sweet pineapple. I can't express in words just how good this is. Just order it!

Thai Basil Eggplants & Tofu ($9.95) - Stir fried eggplant, basil leaves, onions, mushrooms, red pepper, chilli & tofu, served in hot pot. Nothing really remarkable about this dish in the sense that there wasn't any real "Thai" flavour to it, but on its own, not bad.

Mango Sticky Rice ($6.95) - Black & white sticky rice served with fresh mango, topped with coconut milk. Never had this here before, but decided I had to order this after my dad told me he'd never tried this. This turned out to be a really good pick, and everyone was thoroughly happy with this. If I really had to be very critical though, I thought the coconut milk, which was served on the side, was a bit salty. Nonetheless, still highly recommended!

An all-around very enjoyable meal we had this evening. Will be back with the whole fam!

China Cottage

Date: Friday, November 21, 2014
Location: 5985 Steeles Ave E, Scarborough (west of Markham Rd)
Website: http://www.chinacottage.ca/
Cuisine: Hakka and Thai
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I first noticed their flagship location on Ellesmere years ago when I used to take a class in the area. Why it stuck in my mind I am not sure, but I think it may have had something to do with the name being odd but intriguing. Even still, given the shabby-looking exterior in a rather sketchy strip plaza, I was never compelled enough to try it.

Fast forward a few years later. A friend of mine happened to be telling me about this restaurant and mentioned that he and his family "eat here all the time" and that it's "sooooo good" - that was enough for me to look past its dingy appearance.

So my dad and I had dinner together tonight. Our initial plan was to go for dumplings at Northern Chinese Dumplings, but a sign on the door indicated that they were closed for the rest of the month. I suggested this place as our Plan B. We went to their Steeles location because it was closer to where we were. This location's exterior is a lot nicer than the one on Ellesmere, and I certainly would not have had any reservations coming here. 

We arrived around 8:30pm and were shocked to see that even at that hour, over a dozen people were still lined up for a table in the medium-size restaurant. Luckily, the wait for two was only about 5 minutes. Based on what the wait staff here were scuttling to every table of hungry patrons, large (actually, more like humongous) plates of fried noodles or rice were popular items. 

We decided on the Golden Fried Shrimp ($10.95). The shrimp was coated with what looked like corn flakes, was very crispy and a good portion size (there were 11 pieces), but it lacked any unique or ethnic/exotic flavour. 

We also got the Szechuan Fried ($8.95), which was a very bright orangey-red, which was visually very interesting, but we found it to be try and lacking in ingredients to give it some oomph and differences in texture. 

We decided at the last minute to get a small bowl of the Cottage Special Soup ($3.95), which was vaguely reminiscent of hot and sour soup, leaving us not completely sure what made it so unique to this restaurant so as to be named as such.

I forgot to mention that the interior was very modern and had a loungey feel, which was nice. The service was hit or miss (it was really just the host who was unpleasant). Overall, this being my first experience with Hakka cuisine and based on the hustle and bustle of this restaurant and the crowd waiting outside, I was pretty underwhelmed. It seems to have a pretty loyal cult following already, but I won't be back.

Asian Legend

Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Location: 125 Ravel Road (at Finch and Leslie), North York
Website: http://www.asianlegend.ca/
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I wasn't feeling so good this evening but was hungry, so my dad decided on this place because it's quick and convenient.

We ordered a dish of sauteed snowpeas with garlic ($12.99), deep-fried dough fritters ($), braised bamboo shoots ($6.99), seasoned (salty) soy bean milk ($2.99) and boiled dumplings with pork & chive ($4.99 for 10).

My family and I have been frequenting this restaurant (at various locations across the city) since I was little, and it's because this place consistently offers quality authentic Northern Chinese cuisine. I don't recall ever being disappointed by anything, though the prices ain't cheap. To be fair, this isn't a dumpling restaurant (which tends to be on the cheap side), but still, you get what you pay for, and the quality is what keeps us coming back.

There are 7 locations conveniently located across the GTA. Check one out! Definitely try the boiled dumplings.

Guu Izakaya

Date: November 8, 2014
Location: 398 Church Street (north of Gerrard), downtown Toronto
Website: http://guu-izakaya.com/
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
Ah Guu. How I've missed you so! I've by no means deliberately avoiding you, because I really do love your animated, loud, thundering staff and delicious food (and everything about your establishment). I've just been waaay too busy.

Anyway, I finally paid a long overdue visit here with my sisters. My youngest sis hadn't been here before and had heard how amazing this place is from just about everyone in her circle of friends, so my other sister and I took the liberty to order our personal tried and true favourites:

So of course, this included the KINOKO BIBIMBAP ($8.80), a rice dish with mushrooms and cheese topped with a seaweed sauce served in a sizzling stone bowl. As good as I remembered it to be. Definitely one of my faves here!

Also the UNAGI DORIA ($9.30) - another rice dish topped with BBQ water eel, mixed mushrooms and cheese. This certainly gives the bibimbap a run for its money, but if if you wanted to order only one rice dish, I would recommend bibimbap because the crunchy rice base is a unique texture.

We also got the KAKIMAYO ($7.80), baked B.C. oysters with mushrooms, spinach & garlic mayo topped with cheese. This was suggested by my sister - who doesn't even like oysters! That's how good it is.

We also got a STEAK ($7.80) of some sort, the type of meat now which escapes me. But based on the photo, it looks like pork. I believe we ordered this off their specials menu.

Ah, another one of my faves. The OKONOMIYAKI ($7.50), a deep-fried Japanese-style pancake with squid, tonkatsu sauce and karashi mayo. I love all the sauces on this, and the texture of the nagaimo yam is really worth trying if you've never had this.

We also got the TAKOYAKI ($5.00), deep-fried octopus balls with tonkatsu sauce and karashi mayo. This tastes very similar to the okonomiyakis primarily because the pancake and the balls themselves don't have much flavour and are dominated by the flavour of the sauces. Still, the texture is slightly different - this is more doughy and fluffy while the other is more moist. I would recommend trying both to see which one you like better.

We ordered this towards the end of our meal. As you can see, all the portions are pretty small (true to traditional izakayas), and we weren't yet completely full. My sister suggested the ODEN (3 items, $4.00), which is a Japanese-style slow-cooked hot pot (i.e. items come in a soup). We chose the bamboo shoot, deep fried tofu, and fish cake. I wasn't a huge fan of the flavour, but my sisters enjoyed this.

To finish off the meal, we got the ALMOND TOFU ($3.50) and the KUROGAMA (BLACK SESAME) ($5.00), both of which are puddings. We LOVED these! The textures were light and silky smooth, and despite being desserts, they weren't too sweet. The black sesame was on their specials menu, so if it's still offered when you go, just order it!

Also, in true Guu fashion, complimentary frozen grapes were given (one per patron lol.) Still, a nice touch.

Guu, you never fail to impress me (and make my tummy very, very happy.) I promise you that I won't allow as much time to pass as last time for my next visit!

Ju Izakaya

Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Location: 3160 Steeles Avenue East, Markham
Website: http://izakayaju.ca/
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
I had the day off because to move today - into my first home, so it was very exciting for me :) I spent the day with my mom shopping for home decor items and moving stuff, and after a few hours, we were famished.

Since my mom loves Japanese food, I decided on this restaurant (after a tiny mishap at another restaurant near my place, but I'll stick to the program.) 

We got the grilled beef tongue ($5.95) and one lamb chop ($4.95). The beef was good, but a little tough for my mom. The lamb was rather plain and could use more seasoning. Very small portions for the price.

For our mains, my mom got a sashimi lunch set (don't remember the price) and was very pleased with the quality and freshness.

I opted for the Osaka cha han ($9.95), or Osaka-style fried rice with octopus. This was a very simple dish, with Japanese-style mayo and other sauces drizzled on top, but still very good. The combination of the sauces reminded me of the ones used on okonomiyakis and takoyakis. Sometimes, simple is good, and that was the case here.

This is a nice quick spot for lunch if you're in the area. Be warned that the waitresses speak very limited English.

The Keg Steakhouse Mansion

Date: September 13, 2014
Location: 515 Jarvis St,
Website: http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I finally visited The Keg Mansion today to celebrate a coworker's birthday. We arrived just after 7pm on a Saturday night without reservations, and we were told it would be about an hour wait, so we headed up to the bar. I had the SMOKEY PINEAPPLE ($10.50 for the Keg size/2 oz), which for me had no discernible pineapple flavour and tasted no different from a mojito. My companion got a BLACKBERRY MULE ($7 for 1 oz). We shared a GARLIC CHEESE TOAST ($6.99), which consisted of bread slices topped with a blend of three cheeses. This app app was pretty standard but delish nonetheless.

Our buzzer went off about 40 minutes later, and we headed downstairs to the dining area. Our tab at the bar was transferred. Our waiter, Andrew, with his mild mannerisms and perfect posture reminded me of a butler - in a good way because it added to the elegance of the place.

My companion and I both opted to get the PECAN SIRLOIN ($25), an 8-ounce sirloin basted in a Dijon mustard steak sauce, coated in chopped pecans and topped with crumbled goat cheese, and came with a choice of sides (we both got mixed veggies). The steak was very tender and juicy, but I felt the Dijon mustard could've been stronger without overpowering the taste of the meat.

I had an overall pleasant experience, but it lacked the "wow" factor for me. I think this sentiment stems mostly from my expectation that a mansion would be larger and possess more grandeur, but given the fact that this was built in the 1800s, this was perhaps large and grand for its day. Also, my steak was not bad, but I think I will go back to my tried and true favourite next time, the baseball steak.

Oliver & Bonacini Cafe & Grill

Date: Saturday, September 13, 2014
Location: 33 Yonge St (at Front), Toronto
Website: http://oliverbonacini.com/OurRestaurants/OBCafeGrill.aspx
Cuisine: Canadian
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
Came here with a coworker for a late lunch. At 3 in the afternoon, the place was at about 5% capacity, surprising for a Saturday. 

I had already eaten and opted for a glass of red. My companion had the Mac & Cheese with roasted chicken, sweet peas, aged cheddar & goat cheese ($16). I had a taste and thought it wasn't bad, though it was probably a bit too rich for me to have all to myself (gotta watch the waistline!). 

Service was spotty at best and not the friendliest. Ambiance was nice, but all things considered - meh. I can see this being a nice place for drinks at the bar where you don't need the waitresses for anything, but I won't be back in the dining area.

Thai Bright

Date: Friday, September 5, 2014
Location: The Village on the Grange
Website: N/A
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
It had been a few weeks since I was last here, a wise though inadvertent departure from my weekly visits here.

I had the same $5 larger combo, but this time I got green beans and lemon grass pork.

Both were very good, especially considering how much (i.e. little) I'd paid. Rice was the same as it's always been - akin to the instant variety and fried.

This is a great economical and filling option at The Grange, especially for students or the budget conscious.

New Northern Dumplings

Date: Friday, September 29, 2014
Location: 633 Silver Star Boulevard, Unit 120
Website: N/A
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here for an impromptu late night dinner with my dad because given the time (~9pm), we wanted something quick.

We ordered the following:

VEGETABLE SOUP ($4.95 for a large): My dad has had this before and knew it wasn't anything special, but just wanted some liquids to wash the food down. It served its purpose, but I won't be ordering this again. It was basically a very light egg drop soup with tomato and cucumber chunks.

STIR-FRIED TOFU ($6.99): I've never had tofu like this, and it was definitely interesting. The texture is not something I am used to. I don't think I'd order this again.

PAN-FRIED PORK & LEEK DUMPLINGS (6 for $3.99): Another hit. The stuffing was delicious, even more so than the pork and cabbage. When I voiced this, my dad said he swears by pork and leek over anything else because leek produces such a wonderful flavour. And I think he may be onto something. Still, having two dishes with the same filling would've been too much. I'm glad we ordered what we did.

PORK & CABBAGE DUMPLINGS (15 for $4.99): Yess. If you're thinking, "What a steal!" it definitely was! Soooo yummy, too.

What a great recommendation from my dad. I (we) will definitely be back.

The Ex

Date: Thursday, August 28, 2014
Location: Fran's & Coco's Deep Fried Chicken at The Ex Food Building
Website: http://theex.com/
Cuisine: Various
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
The Ex is one of the most highly anticipated (end of) summer events for me, and this year was no exception, with the some novel yet strange foods making an appearance in true The Ex fashion.

I came on the last day for discounted admission, which is $6 after 5pm, and the lineup for ticket purchases was absolutely insane! There was easily over a thousand people waiting to get in hardly discernible lines. I was in line for an hour and a half! I definitely learned my lesson to not go on the last cheap day for admission.

Anyway, once I got in, I made a beeline for the food building (my second favourite place at The Ex - the first being the animal building). While I waited for the others to join me, I canvassed my options and wound up in line at Fran's for the Thanksgiving Waffle ($10) based on the fact that the line was very long.

The Thanksgiving Waffle is exactly what one would expect: a Thanksgiving meal - complete with roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy - stuffed inside a waffle. I'll admit that I had pretty high expectations because I thought that this dish had a lot of promise with all that is involved in a turkey meal and a waffle. I have always loved savoury crepes and waffles because I love the contrast between sweet and savoury. But alas, this was a complete disappointment! The waffle tasted like PLAIN bread and the turkey like, well, nothing. In other words, it was a whole lotta blah.

Later, when the rest of the party arrived, we got the Cocoa-Infused Deep Fried Chicken (~$3 a piece + another $2-3 to add fries). I was already pretty stuffed, but my dad, whose curiosity was piqued based on the length of the line, insisted that we go through the trouble of lining up. It was a good 20-25 minute wait, but in the end, it was well worth the wait. I was very surprised. The batter was unbelievably crispy - probably one of the crispiest I've ever had - for both fries and chicken. Also, the cocoa was very subtle - so subtle that if I were to do a taste test, I don't think I would be able to identify what it was. Dee-lish!

As an aside, we did a bit of shopping but didn't have time to check out the animal building. Too bad. I look forward to coming back next year!

Drink Tea

Date: Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Location: 7130 Warden Avenue (north of Steeles), Markham
Website: 
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: snack

My thoughts:
This place opened a mere few weeks ago across from the Chatime spot in Markham, a bold and risky move if you ask me, given how insanely popular Chatime is. I'd been wanting to come here ever since I received a half off coupon when walking by. And I couldn't think of a better day than today, with the mercury hitting over the 30 C mark, and so I picked one up after work.

I was the only patron inside, and the staff were incredibly friendly and patient, taking the time to answer my endless questions and helping me choose a drink to suit my taste. After a few minutes and still unsure of what to get, a colourful tri-coloured topping drink caught my eye near the cash register. After verifying that it had no caffeine, I asked for one.

Traffic Light. That was its name. Winter melon tea with green bean, coconut jelly and tapioca. The pink stuff is the tapioca. The tapioca here is made from hibiscus, which according to the associate helping me is more natural than the ubiquitous black tapioca. In terms of taste, I was told it has a milder, fruitier taste.

I grabbed it to go. And unfortunately, the individual strata of toppings got mixed up, but my belly didn't know any better. It was soooo good! I generally like to try different things, but when it comes to bbt, which to me is pretty expensive, I usually play it safe and get regular tea with bubbles. This drink has definitely opened my eyes to being more adventurous in my choice of bbt drinks in the future!

Tip: Like this place on Facebook (look up "Drink Tea Canada" - they're the first location in Canada) and get an unlimited use coupon for 50% off any order. Valid til the end of the month. 

I was told that my drink, the regular milk tea with bubbles and the chocolate tea with panna cotta are their three most popular drinks. The chocolate drink sounds intriguing. I will definitely be back!

Dante's Pizza

Date: August 23, 2014
Location:
Website:
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
My friend RW ordered in and the pizza arrived about 10 minutes before I got there, so it had cooled down a bit. Even still, the relatively thick crust super deluxe surpassed my expectations and then some. This definitely tops my list of one of the best pizzas in the GTA.

We ordered a large, which was about 2 feet across and was cut into 8 slices. According to the menu, this feeds approximately 5. We each had 2 slices and were pleasantly full, so this pizza would probably only feed 5 if you've got some small eaters in your party.

Prices were a bit steep - our large was $35 - but you get what you pay for. Our pizza was loaded with toppings including Napoli pepperoni, purple onion, mushrooms, green peppers, salami and mozzarella.

Overall, definitely worth checking out, especially if you love yourself a thick crust pizza. Having said that, this won't become a place I frequent because of the prices and the availability of cheaper options out there, such as Abruzzo's, whose pizzas are literally half the price.

Stay Cafe

Date: Friday, August 8, 2014
Location: 388 Spadina Ave (south of College), Toronto
Website: N/A
Cuisine: Asian fusion
Meal: snack/dessert

My thoughts:
This was our second stop for dessert of the evening. I was here recently and had their shaved ice cream, which is literally ice cream that is shaved into ultra thin 'pieces' of ice cream, creating an airy texture. 

Like last time, I had the shaved matcha ice cream with red bean ($5.99). Today, we also got some sago for an additional $0.50. 

I found the ice cream today to be icier, less creamy and not shaved as finely as last time. The sago didn't add much to it.

DQ downright was not a fan. He found it too bitter for his liking. Mind you, he'd never had green tea ice cream, so he probably didn't know what was in store. As for me, if I were to judge solely on 

Pai Northern Thai Kitchen

Date: Friday, August 8, 2014
Location: 18 Duncan Street, Toronto (near University and Adelaide)
Website: http://www.paitoronto.com/
Cuisine: Thai
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
This is the owners of Khao San Road's newest venture, and ever since I'd heard about it, I've been very eager to check it out. The place had only been open for about a month and had already garnered a lot of fanfare among foodies alike.

Located on a sub-underground unit with inconspicuous signage, we almost overlooked this. But that obviously didn't stop the crowds of people that were already here from coming, as at around 6pm, it was already packed. 

The ambiance was strange. If you can imagine 2 parts grungy with 1 part tropical/beachy and 1 part minimalistic/Japanese, then you'll have Pai. What I was referring to with the Japanese thing is this one section with a single large communal table where people sit on the floor. Kind of odd. 

Anyway, onto the food. Our party of 5 ordered a few things to share. 

We heard that the Chef Nuit Pad Thai ($14) is really good. While my friends enjoyed this, I didn't think there was anything really special about it.

We also got the Gaeng Kiaw Wan ($16), which is a green curry with bamboo shoots, kaffir lime leaves, basil leaves, green peppers and coconut milk. A side of rice is included. The best part is it's served in a young coconut! Really worth trying. The coconut meat was delicious with the curry.

Everyone's favourite tonight was easily the Pad Gra Prow ($14), which consisted of stir-fried ground chicken, beef or pork (we got beef) with basil and oyster sauce served on steamed jasmine rice and topped with a Thai-style fried egg. Sounds like a simple dish that even anyone can make at home, right? That's what we thought too, until we had a taste. Yowza! Don't be fooled. Definitely some really amazing Thai flavours in there, and definitely worth ordering.

All in all, this was a good meal, and while there were some really standout dishes, I like as a whole Khao San Road better. Food is one reason, but I'm also not a fan of dark, grungy places in part because they don't lend well to food photo ops (as you can see from the quality of the photos). Still, I would come back.

Millie Creperie

Date: Friday, August 8, 2014
Location: 161 Baldwin St, Toronto
Website: http://milliecreperie.com/
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: dessert

My thoughts:
DQ and I had some time to kill before our dinner plans, and because this place closes at 8pm and there was no way we'd make it here before closing, I suggested we have dessert before dinner :)

I was here recently and had their Japanese crepe (with green tea gelato - amazing!), and as tempted as I was to order it again, I also wanted some new material for my blog. I let DQ choose, and today, he was in the mood for the Banana Nutella Crepe ($4.99), which comes with banana, nutella and whipped cream - note: no gelato, hence why it's cheaper than some of the other dessert crepes.

The delicious creation was whipped up in a matter of minutes. I'd been raving about this place to DQ, and as I fumbled through my purse for my phone, I could feel his eyes glued to the crepe and hungrily sizing it up, all the while telepathically telling me to hurry up. 

Finally I located it and quickly snapped a photo. And then we took turns gobbling it up. Oh, it was sooooo good. I actually wished we didn't have dinner plans because at that moment, these papery thin crepes with light foamy very lightly sweetened whipped cream was all my tummy wanted.

I will definitely be back to try more! Next up will be the mango tango crepe :)

FYI: I don't think I mentioned this in my last review of this place that this place only accepts cash and credit.

Stay Cafe

Date: Friday, August 8, 2014
Location: 388 Spadina Ave (near Spadina & College), Toronto
Website: http://staycafeteria.com/
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: dessert

My thoughts:
This was the second dessert I was having before dinner - apparently, I really was that hungry☺

I got the matcha green tea shaved ice with sago pearls ($5.99 + $0.50 for the sago), which I learned was a mistake. Because the pearls are glutinous, the coldness of the ice cream made them hard and not at all chewy, which is what makes pearls so appealing to begin with.

About the dessert itself, if you've never had shaved ice cream, it's really worth trying. As you know, ice cream is very dense. When it's shaved, the surface area is increased manifolds, making it more easily scoopable and seem more airy and allowing it to melt quickly in your mouth (thereby helping to prevent brain freeze - ok, maybe that wasn't the intended purpose☺)

The ice cream was refreshing on a hot summer day like today. I'll be back in the summer.

Millie Creperie

Date: Friday, August 8, 2014
Location: 161 Baldwin Street (Kensington Market), Toronto
Website: http://milliecreperie.com/
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: dessert

My thoughts:
I was sooooo hungry and despite having dinner plans, couldn't stop myself from having a crepe beforehand. I got the nutella banana crepe (about $6) and it was so good! I loved the crispy papery-thin crepe with the airy, lightly sweet whipped cream rolled into a cone so that you can easily wolf it down (though you won't want to because you'll want to savour each delicious bite).

Seriously, what's not to love about this place? Oh Millie. How I heart thee♥

The Sushi Bar

Date: Friday, August 1, 2014
Location: 3369 Yonge St (south of York Mills), Toronto
Website: http://www.thesushibar.ca/
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
This is the second straight day I'm having Japanese food. I don't generally like to have the same type of food on consecutive days, but I've been here multiple times and the food really is top notch. Besides, it's my friend AS's night as his birthday was yesterday.

I was really hungry and ordered:

Eel and avocado roll ($5.45) with brown rice (extra $0.75): Had two orders of this. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life. It's soooo good.

Salmon sashimi ($5.45 for 4 pieces): Very good quality sashimi, but the salmon pieces are pretty small.

Vegetable yaki udon ($8.95): I've wanted to order this for so long, and after trying it today, I regret I didn't do so sooner. My favourite part about this dish is the freshness and chewiness of the noodles.

Here's what AS ordered:

Salmon sashimi handroll: I didn't try this but AS said there was a good amount of fish and ratio of everything was spot on.

3 orders of salmon and tuna sashimi with 2 bowls of brown rice.

We were each offered a bowl of ice cream on the house, which was very nice of the staff. AS asked to share with me, and I opted for red bean. I doubt this was made in-house, but it was still thoroughly enjoyed.

Another excellent experience at Sushi Bar!

Yamamoto Sushi

Date: Thursday, July 31, 2014

Location: 7131 Kennedy Rd #E1, Box 61 (in the Market Village Shopping Centre at Kennedy & Steeles), Markham

Website: N/A

Cuisine: Japanese

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

Had dinner with the fam because my mom's going on vacation tomorrow. This is an AYCE restaurant with food that is what you'd expect from such a restaurant. Prices are also typical of an AYCE place: $23.99 a head for adults, so in other words, expensive, especially considering the quality.

Most of what we ordered was nothing special. Here's some of the dishes we had:

Lobster tails: Free if you make reservations. These were topped with mayo and baked. These were not bad but overcooked and by no fault of the restaurant, had a lot of the creamy green stuff (their organs?). So if you decide to come here and like lobsters, make sure to call.

Coconut pudding: This was too sweet for my liking. Taste-wise, it reminded me of tapioca/sago pudding.

Pretty much the only things that I liked:

Kalbi ribs: We ordered about 10 orders of this. Some were pretty charred, but generally speaking, they got juicier and more tender as the night progressed.

Mango yogurt: This was really good. Creamy plain yogurt with some mango puree. I had about 5 of these. Yum. 

Fried banana: The batter tasted more like bread crumbs than tempura batter. This was alright.

So in sum, as good as the mango yogurt cups were, they don't justify shelling out so much money when the majority of the food is sub-par. And it's pretty hard to mess up Kalbi ribs, especially when they're as fatty as the ones here are. This just reaffirmed my distaste with AYCE places in general. I won't be back.