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.

Buddha Pie

Date: Friday, July 18, 2014
Location: 514 B Annette St (near Runnymede & Bloor W), Toronto
Website: http://www.buddhapie.ca/
Cuisine: Italian (pizzeria)
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I have made two previous attempts to try this restaurant (this one being my third) and wouldn't have been a very happy camper if this were closed again. Thankfully, luck was on our side, and the place was open.

I came with my Triple D friends and we ordered three pizzas. The crust was delicious - super thin, crispy and charred. The pizzas were a decent size: 12 inches across. The toppings were extremely greasy though, with large pools of grease everywhere. This is what we had:

Presto Pesto ($13.99): Nut-free pesto sauce, red onions, red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and choice of goat cheese or fleur di latte. I ordered this one, and we all agreed this was our least favourite of the evening. To me, it tasted like there was vinegar or lemon in the pesto, and I generally don't like sour things. Also, the pizza had very little cheese on it and essentially tasted like a white (i.e. cheeseless) pizza. If you've read my previous posts, you'd know I'm a HUGE cheese-lover. Strangely enough, even without much cheese, this was very greasy. A fail.

Bada Bing ($13.99): Spicy Italian sausage, marina sauce, red onions, red peppers, fresh garlic (optional) and mozzarella cheese. This was much an improvement from the first pizza largely because it was much cheesier. Still a fail though because of how greasy it was.

Buddha Bomb ($14.99): Spicy sauce (made with seven fresh vegetables), red onions, spicy hand-made sausage, hot calabrese sausage and pepperoni. This was the only pizza I would consider to be a 'pass.' It was cheesy enough for my liking and had some heat to it, which gave it a nice kick. This tasted very much like the Bada Bing but with some much-needed pepperoni, which gave it a boost in flavour. 

In a nutshell, this was a huge disappointment. The staff were very friendly and hospitable and the crusts were one of the best I've had. But the toppings were a humongous letdown. It's also a bit of a walk from the nearest subway station (Runnymede). Won't be back.

Clafouti

Date: Friday, July 18, 2014
Location: 915 Queen St W (east of Ossington), Toronto
Website: http://clafouti.ca/
Cuisine: French
Meal: snack

My thoughts:
This was actually my second trip here. The first time I was here, they were sold out of their crookies, which is what they're famous for. What are crookies you ask? They're a cross between a croissant and Oreo cookie, and apparently incredibly popular.

Because one of my Triple D friends is having a house-warming tonight, I figured that a foodie would appreciate something tasty and edible over a conventional house-warming gift however functional it may be, and so I called ahead and reserved half a dozen of these. (I learned my lesson last time!)

I got here just after 4 in the afternoon, and it was pretty empty. While I was here, several people came in and got things to go, which is not surprising, seeing as how the Trinity-Bellwoods park is just across the street. Anyway, since I'm not usually in this neck of the woods, I decided to try some of their other offerings and also to quiet my rumbling tummy.

I first ordered a blueberry tart ($3.15) because it looked so fresh. And fresh it was, but the tart was surprisingly and overly eggy for a fruit-based dessert. I did like that it was very lightly sweetened and that fresh blueberries were used.

I was still pretty hungry after the tart, and so I ordered a spinach goat cheese quiche ($4.50) - I know, I'm working backwards with my meal. Anyway, though it was warmed up for me on a grill, the center of the quiche was cold, but I was too hungry to wait another 3-4 minutes for it to be warmed up to the core - so I ate it anyway lol :o)  I didn't care too much for the filling. The problem was there was too much moisture (perhaps a result of the spinach being cooked/baked right in the quiche as opposed to being wilted first?) The crust was very flavourful though, even more so than the filling. It did stave off my hunger, but I'm not sure I'd order this again.

I am now relaxing on a bench at the Trin-Bell park across the street with my box of crookies as I impatiently watch the minutes tick until I meet my friends. The crookies are packaged in a box and sealed with a sticker, so I am unable to sneak a taste of one (just kidding!) and will have to share my take on it later.

Also worth noting is that the staff are incredibly personable and friendly. But good service doesn't necessarily warrant return visits. I'm not sold on the food yet, but maybe the best is yet to come with the crookies. I'll give my two cents on them when I try one later tonight.

Update: I just had the crookie. First at room temperature and later warmed up. Let me tell you that heating it up makes a big difference. At room temperature, it literally tasted like I grabbed an Oreo with one hand and a croissant with the other and stuffed both into my mouth at the same time. Heated, however, the flavours melted together and created a unique contrast in texture that was both gooey (from the Oreo) and flaky (from the croissant). Even so, the crookie wasn't as amazing as I'd imagine it to be. And at $2.90 a pop, it was expensive for what it was; I don't think anything other than an Oreo was inside the croissant.

I'm still glad I tried it for the novelty of it. But it wasn't anything special. I may be back for the almond croissants but won't be going out of my way for them.

Wafflian

Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Location: McCaul St. Unit 28B inside The Grange (near University and Dundas), Toronto
Website: http://wafflian.ca
Cuisine: N/A
Meal: dessert

My thoughts:
My dad and I came here as our final stop of our impromptu foodie adventure. When we went in, there was one lone staff member working, and either she had a language barrier or she just didn't like her job. 

Anyway, they offer waffles, a variety of cupcakes and drinks (coffees and the like). They have two types of waffles: one is what they call the 'original' waffle, which is less sweet and fluffier, and the other is the Liege waffle, which is sweeter and denser. It is mostly a build-in-own-waffle kind of place. A plain waffle is $4 and you add toppings, which are generally $1 each.

We had a plain original waffle with whipped cream, and added a coffee for 50 cents more to make it a combo. Paper plate and plastic utensils aside, you would probably agree that presentation is very basic. But what they lack on that front they make up for in the waffle. True to the menu's claim, the waffle was very light and fluffy, with a crispy exterior. Yum. 

Not that cheap given that it is situated within a food court and its vicinity to a number of schools, but also not the most expensive either. The cost of toppings quickly add up at $1 a pop. Still worth checking out though! Will be back.

Thai Bright

Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Location: 109 McCaul St in The Grange (University and Dundas), Toronto
Website: N/A
Cuisine: though the name says Thai, it's Chinese
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
My dad happened to be in the downtown core and we spontaneously made lunch plans. This was the first of three stops for lunch.

Recently, this place has been offering a large combo with 1 vegetable and 1 meat dish with choice of rice or noodles for $5 tax IN. Ever since discovering this amazing deal, I've been coming here once a week. I hope this deal be sticking around. I've got my coworkers hooked on this place, too. Food's great, prices are now great. Just to put things into context, their small combo, which is about a quarter of their large, is $4 PLUS tax, which comes to about $4.50.

Get in on this deal while its still around. I doubt it'll be around forever. It's probably just a scheme to attract new customers. I don't imagine a business can subsist on such a great deal for long.

Abruzzo Pizza

Date: July 12, 2014
Location: 9010 Yonge St (just south of 16th Ave), Richmond Hill
Website: http://abruzzopizza.com/
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here tonight with my coworkers. Being the event organizer for this outing, I wanted to choose something that would satisfy even those hardest to please that is situated someplace central for all of us.

After extensive research, I decided on this place. Judging from the very simple and unpretentious-looking storefront and menu (I saw pictures on their website), I was expecting a very no frills type of mom and pop shop with decent, affordable food.

Well, affordable it was. Decent it was not - it was amazing! I had to fight hard not to gloat as to how good of a recommendation it was I made. Everyone was thoroughly impressed.

Here's a rundown of what we had:

FRIED CALAMARI ($13): Fresh calamari rings coated in a light and crispy batter and deep-fried. This came with a sauce that resembled bruschetta. Whatever it was, it was good and complemented the calamari very well.

SMALL THIN-CRUST PIZZA ($9 + $1.20 for each additional topping): For toppings, we got extra cheese, mushrooms, eggplant and sun-dried tomatoes, so our pizza came to $13.80. In a nutshell, it was love at first bite. It was the perfect amount of cheese (and I'm a cheese lover), the crust was thin and crispy, and the pizza well-seasoned. The vegetable toppings were a perfect marriage atop the pizza (of course, they were our choosing). This was my favourite of the evening. A real winner.

LARGE THICK-CRUST PIZZA ($14 + $1.75 for each additional topping): We got pineapple and Italian sausage, the latter which counted as two toppings, so our pizza came to $19.25. We unanimously agreed that the thin crust was better. Even those who generally prefer thick crust agreed. We found the thick crust to be rather dry. This was probably the only complaint that night. Still a winner.

PANZEROTTO ($8 + $1 for each additional topping): The "basic" panzerotto comes with pizza/tomato sauce and cheese. We added broccoli and chicken strips, the latter which counted as two toppings, so ours came to $11. I'm glad we didn't ask for extra cheese on this. I'm a cheese lover and I found it plenty cheesy as is. We decided to be health conscious and had this baked rather than friend, and it was still plenty tasty. A winner!

TIRAMISU ($3): I wasn't sure what to expect for a $3 piece of dessert, but as it turned out, this was not only a real steal but also really tasty! This was about 4 inches in diameter and enough to share amongst 6 ladies. The crust was also partially frozen, something I'd never had before, and it served as a nice contrast to the creamy topping.

Also, apparently this business's website needs some updating. The place shown on the website has now become a takeout establishment (same business but strictly does takeout). The restaurant (where we ate) is two doors down. It is renovated very nicely. Still unpretentious, but nice enough for a casual date and very family friendly. Even more points because the service was awesome - prompt, friendly and efficient (which seems to be a rarity these days, or is it just me?)

I'm so, soooo glad we came here. We all had a great time and were very impressed with the food. It has definitely reignited my love for Italian fare. I will be coming back, and soon!

Butter Chicken Factory

Date: Thursday, July 3, 2014
Location: 556 Parliament St (south of Wellesley), Toronto
Website: http://www.butterchickenfactory.ca/
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I am not joking when I say that I've been wanting to come here for years, since university in fact! This is just so out of my way. But my dad and I so happened to both be free this evening, and I was having the worst craving for rice, so I suggested we come here.

We called 20 minutes ahead requesting for a window table and were told one was available. But when we got there, we told no window tables were available and given another table. (I wanted a window table so that my food pics would turn out better.) Anyway, that was a very minor issue, if even that.

We ordered the ALOO PAPRI CHAAT ($4.95), which is a combination of chickpeas, potatoes & flour chips served with chutney & yogurt. This wasn't bad albeit nothing special. I've had better.

We also shared the DAAL MAKHANI ($9.95) with an order of STEAMED RICE ($2.99). Looking back, it was pretty foolish of me to order something other than their namesake dish, given that we were only ordering one dish. Call it what you want, but I was just really craving daal, and my dad loves lentils. It seemed like a pretty safe bet. This again was nothing special, though the serving dish (pot) was unique.

All in all, this was a huge letdown. We don't have any real complaints, but this is hardly something worth making such a trek for. What we had today wasn't good enough to warrant a return visit, even to try their butter chicken.