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!