Sushi Bar

Date: December 22, 2012

Location: 3369 Yonge Street (near Yonge/Lawrence), Toronto

Website: http://www.thesushibar.ca/

Cuisine: Japanese

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

Oh boy, let me start off by saying that I never noticed the eerie greenish cast to my pictures until now. These pictures really do the food no justice!

I met with my good friend AD (or SD as I affectionately call him) at our usual meeting place. And as usual, he ordered two bowls of brown rice with 3 orders each of tuna and salmon sashimi.

I had my favourite thing from here: the EEL AND AVOCADO SUSHI ($5.49) with brown rice (extra $0.50). The brown rice is really a must. Yum yum yum! 

The restaurant also had some new items, including... TAKOYAKIS ($6.99)! Of course, I had to order this. This was not bad, but as I've said about so many places' takoyakis, this was just not as good as Guu's. It was a bit dry and the flour was not 'fluffy' enough. It could have also used more sauce.

I was still hungry after the above two items, so I ordered a AJI WAKAME ($4.95). I've had this before. 

So while I was a bit disappointed with the takoyakis today, I still enjoyed the whole dining experience. First, I had great company, and second, I had my favourite sushi roll. You really can taste the quality in the food here. And as I said in a previous post, Guu really has set the bar high for many things and I won't give up my search for good takoyakis. The service is also top-notch. The waitress is naturally really friendly, but because she recognizes my friend and I, she is exceptionally nice to us.

Pizza Pizza

Date: December 21, 2012
Location: 3359 Bloor St W (Islington/Bloor), Etobicoke
Website: http://www.pizzapizza.ca/
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I was at my friends' apartment hanging out before we were going to all head out to a party. Also my friends had just bought a new 55" LCD TV and new fireplace that they were going to use as a TV stand that they wanted to show me.

While we were hanging out, one of my friends suggested we order in from Pizza Pizza. Up til that point, I didn't really like their pizza, but I was hungry and knew it was the closest pizza place to where they lived, so I thought why not and let them call all the shots as far as topping goes.

This is what was put on it: STEAK STRIPS, BBQ SAUCE, BACON, ROASTED RED PEPPERS and MOZZARELLA. 

This pizza turned out to be delish! I liked this as much as I do Pizzaiolo - and if you've read any of my numerous posts on that place, you'll know just how much I adore them. I have to say, Pizzaiolo's title for my favourite pizza chain is at stake!

Menchies

Date: December 21, 2012

Location: 3828 Highway 7 (Warden/Highway 7), Markham

Website: https://www.facebook.com/menchiesmarkham

Cuisine: um.. international??

Meal: snacks

My thoughts:

I'd heard from my sister that Menchies was swirling some seasonal Christmas flavours, so of course I had to come and check them out!

I tried all of the seasonal flavours but truth be told, I wasn't all that impressed. The 'best' seasonal flavour would probably be candy cane, but overly sweet mint (without that tingly minty feeling like you get from mint gum) just doesn't jive well with me, so I had these instead (clockwise from right): the CHERRY TART, CARAMEL and ORCHARD PEACH SORBET.

Yang's Izakaya & Japanese Cuisine

Date: December 21, 2012

Location: 8432 Leslie Street, Unit 110

Website: https://www.facebook.com/YangsIzakayaJapaneseCuisine

Unofficial specials menu: http://yangs.uberflip.com/i/85972

Cuisine: Japanese

Meal: lunch

 

My thoughts:

I had heard of this restaurant a while ago, and had been looking forward to finding how out if it measures up to Guu, especially because it is so much closer to me than Guu. So when my sister mentioned she'd bought a voucher off on one of those deal sites and invited us all out to lunch, I jumped at the opportunity.

Glancing over the menu did make me reminiscent of Guu. (On the topic of the menu, it was filled with random anime cartoon panels, which I found both amusing and odd - more so odd.) Anyway, Yang's carries your typical sushi fare as well as izakaya items, including my favourite okonomiyakis and takoyakis.

We didn't order either of those things, though. Here is what we had:

EEL PANCAKE ($12) - pancake topped with eel and bonito flakes. This was the first thing that came, and I was immediately disappointed by how thing the pan cake was for that price point. I held high expectations for the quality as I took my first bite, and... it really was nothing more than just a plain old pancake with some eel. Definitely not worth that price!

 

OYSTER MOTOYAKI ($8.50) - cream-baked whole oyster. I was excited to try this because the one I'd had at Guu was to-die-for. But this fell short of my expectations. It was very plain and it tasted like a whole lotta mayonnaise on an oyster, and then baked.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN ($13) - teriyaki chicken with a side of rice (not shown). My sister ordered this and she really liked it. I thought this was nothing special.

RAMEN ($9.50) - ramen in soup. I like the ramen at Nine Up Sushi better. It was cheaper, too.

GYOZA ($5.80) - pan-fried ginger-marinated pork. Ew, these were gross. The filling tasted weird and didn't resemble meat at all.

SASHIMI 5 KIND ($19) - assorted sashimi platter. I only had the salmon, which was good.

SMOKED GUY-TAN ($8) - hay-smoked ox tongue. Salty and dry, but better than most of the other things we ordered that day.

 

All in all, this was a huge disappointment. The prices were outrageously expensive for the portion sizes and quality of the food. Even if I were given a voucher, I wouldn't come back. This is definitely is no Guu.

India's Delight

Date: December 19, 2012 
Location: 680 Denison Road (Denison and Esna Park), Markham
Website: http://www.indiastaste.ca/
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
My friend DV and I had been meaning to go for Indian food for quite some time now and our schedules finally matched up this month.

My friend asked our waitress for a dish of CHAAT PAPDI. He'd been here before with a friend of his who had asked for this, and he really like this. The colourful presentation almost made me not want to ruin the design but I dived right in. This was mild in flavour but delicious. It was a rice chip dish with three sauces: a mint sauce, a sweet tamarind chutney and some yogurt dressing. Just ask for it - there is no extra charge for it!

Here is some of what I had. Everything was pretty good, with the exception of the goat curry. I don't mind goat, but the meat was pretty bland.

This place was pretty packed when I arrived at noon. At $11.99 for all-you-can-eat for decent Indian food, I guess that should come as no surprise. I'd suggest arriving no later than noon if coming here for lunch.

Nine Up Sushi

Date: December 17, 2012

Location: 3278 Midland Ave #D118 (Midland/Finch), Scarborough

Website: N/A

Cuisine: Japanese

Meal: lunch

My thoughts:

My mom, sister and I were on our way home from a colour selection appointment I'd had for a condo I'd purchased. It was around noon so we decided to make a stop for lunch somewhere. 

This place was on our way home and I really enjoyed the whole experience. While I enjoy a good deal as much as the next person, I was very skeptical when I saw the prices, which were literally dirt cheap. However, my first bite into the sushi dismissed my suspicions.

We each ordered from the Lunch Specials. I had the MAKI COMBO B ($9.95), which consisted of a Green Dragon Roll, a Spicy Salmon Roll, and a California Roll. If you do the math, each roll was about $3. Ridiculous, right?? All rolls were all very good.

My sister had the PORK CUTLET RAMEN ($6.99). I have never been a huge fan of pork cutlet because I find them dry, which was the case here. But the ramen was really good - if you guessed I was going to say "chewy noodles," you guessed right!

My mom had the CHICKEN TERIYAKI BENTO BOX ($7.95). Everything here met my expectations. Pretty good.

We were given complimentary MANGO YOGURT desserts in shooter glasses, which were delicious. I'm pretty sure there was gelatin in the yogurt, which made the 'yogurt' seem more like a pudding. No complaints from me; merely an observation.

All things considered, I think you get the most bang for your buck with the sushi combos. I'll definitely return for those! Also, they offer all-you-can-eat and conveyor belt sushi, which is sushi served on a conveyor belt. I had this once downtown; there is no difference in taste in the sushi of course, but it's a neat experience.

Spigolo Ristorante

Date: December 14, 2012
Location: 200 Marycroft Ave. Unit 5 (near Weston and Hwy 7), Woodbridge
Website: http://www.spigoloristorante.ca/
Cuisine: Italian
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
My aunt gave my mom and I a voucher for this restaurant. She paid $29 for a 3-course meal for two that includes one appetizer, two entrees and two desserts. 

Let me tell you it was a good thing the restaurant owner decided to feature his business on one of those deal sites because we would have otherwise never have stumbled upon this place. It is hidden at the back of a small, inconspicuous strip plaza.

Anyway, onto the meal! We were given a plate of PITA BREAD with olive oil and garlic seasoning. This was so good that I unwittingly had three of the four slices. It eventually dawned on me that I might ruin my appetite for the actual meal, but I couldn't stop myself!

For our appetizer, we had the RADICHIO AND FUNGHI ($12), which was a dish of sautéed Italian chicory leaves and mushrooms served on toasted bread and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. We really enjoyed this but the veggies were a bit greasy.

For my main, I had the RISOTTO DEL PESCATORE ($22), which was Arborio rice with shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels and clams in a white wine tomato broth. I really like this. This reminded me of the paella I'd had a few times at Cafe en Passant. I liked this one better because the rice grains were whole and there was more seafood. 

My mom opted for the BISTECCA ALLA GRIGLIA ($24), a 12 oz grilled rib-eye steak. This was soooo gooooood. The beef was very fatty, I have to say, but incredibly tender. It just melted in my mouth. My only gripe was that it was a bit too charred.

For the finale, I had CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM ($6). There was a vanilla ice cream centre, which still had a lingering taste of alcohol. I don't normally like ice cream, but I wanted to sample both of the desserts that were available.

My mom had the TIRAMISU ($7). This was divine. After sampling both desserts, I regretted having ordered the ice cream. Oh well.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable experience. I think the fact that the restaurant is so hidden is a big reason why the restaurant was so quiet on a Friday evening - which was good. The only thing was the place smelled like cigarette smoking the moment we walked in, which was a huge turn off. But the food was impeccably done. We will return and hopefully we won't encounter the smoke problem again!

Congee Delight

Date: December 10, 2012
Location: 3555 Don Mills Road (at Finch), Toronto
Website: N/A
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
I came here with my mom, cousin CL, and aunt. My aunt had been here before and chose this place. We shared the following:

MINCED BEEF CONGEE: I prefer sliced beef congee, but my cousin wanted this. Not bad.

FRIED SQUID TENTACLES: This was really good. Served piping hot. The batter was thick and crispy.

STIR-FRIED VERMICELLI: I've had better stir-fried vermicelli. I think there were too many pickled radishes in there, which threw off the flavour.

STEAMED BOK CHOY: This was okay. I mean, it was steamed veggies, haha.

Go For Tea

Date: December 8, 2012
Location: 3700 Midland Ave (south of McNicoll Ave), Scarborough
Website: http://www.gofortea.ca/
Cuisine: Taiwanese/Chinese
Meal: snacks/tea

My thoughts:
My family and I came here after dinner, partly because it is on our way home. 

My youngest sister and I shared a BLACK SESAME BLACK TEA BUBBLE TEA ($3.99 for a small) with tapioca ($0.50 extra).

My parents shared an HOT APPLE TEA ($6.99) and my middle sister had a HOT PEACH TEA ($6.99). Both teas were pretty good. Definitely something different, but I like my tapioca :)

And in celebration of my mom's birthday, we surprise ordered a slice of MANGO CHEESECAKE ($5.99). The cake itself was nothing special, but you know as they say, you can't put a price tag on the special memories you create with loved ones. Hahaha...

Momiji Sushi

Date: December 8, 2012
Location: 2111 Sheppard Ave E (east of Hwy 404), Toronto
Website: http://www.momijis.com
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here with my family to celebrate my mom's birthday. (Yes, I know what you're thinking. A lot of my friends/family's birthdays are this time of year.) I specifically chose this place because my mom's birthday falls on a Saturday, and the last time I was here on a Saturday, there was live music, which I knew my mom would like.

We made reservations for 6pm, but when we arrived, we were told the live music doesn't start until 8:30pm. We knew we probably weren't going to stay that late for dinner, so that was a bit of a short sight on my part as I should have done my research first. 

Anyway, this is what we had to share:

SASHIMI C PETITE ($15.95): 15 pieces of assorted sashimi. My mom ordered this. Quality was all right.

UNAGI KANI TEMPURA ROLL ($9.95): Deep fried shrimp, BBQ Eel, crab meat and unagi sauce with rice skin paper. This was really good, but the portion sizes were much smaller than I first had this with my sister here just a mere two months ago!

VOLCANO ROLL ($15.95): Special spicy tuna roll, volcano shaped with mixed of spicy tuna, tempura bits & cucumber. The presentation was neat, but the dish itself was... gross. Not even my sashimi-loving mom liked this. We didn't finish this, packed it to go, and not eating it at home, so in the trash it went. Hefty price tag for this quality of food.

GREEN DRAGON ROLL ($8.95): Fried shrimp, crab meat, masago, avocado, cucumber, momiji mayo topped with avocado & momiji sauce. My middle sister ordered this because she doesn't eat sashimi. Typical green dragon roll. Not bad.

SPICY SALMON SUSHI PIZZA ($9.95): Raw salmon & mix of cucumber, crab meat, tempura bit & momiji spicy mayo on a deep fried crispy sushi rice crust. When this arrived, I said that it is missing a black sauce, and our waiter replied that it has never been served with a black sauce. Well, I have the pictures to prove that you do, sir! This was very bland without the black sauce, whatever it was. 

AGE DASH TOFU ($6.95): Deep fried tofu with sweet soy sauce. My dad ordered this. Typical fried tofu, but pretty good.

My biggest disappointment was the salmon sashimi pizza and the very expensive volcano roll. I have noticed that this restaurant is VERY INCONSISTENT. I've been here twice on a Saturday before, and even the salmon pizza was prepared differently. Even the portion sizes and presentation is very different. And to top it all off, the waiter was either lying or he clearly doesn't even know what he's talking about! I had really hyped up this restaurant to my family because I really thought very highly of this place, but after a such a big fail on an important date like my mom's birthday, I'm not sure I'll be back.

Dessert Trends

Date: December 7, 2012
Location: 154 Harbord Street (near Spadina and Bloor), The Annex, Toronto
Website: http://www.desserttrends.ca/
Cuisine: contemporary desserts
Meal: desserts

My thoughts:
My former supervisor at another work place had told me about this place last summer, and ever since, I'd been meaning to come here. What better occasion to come to an upscale tea/dessert/brunch establishment than someone's birthday?

Came with the same party of people as the Hapa Izakaya bunch, KK and JA. JA was full from dinner but knowing that she loves cheesecake, I ordered a slice of the RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE ($8.50) for her. This was so-so. I suppose this isn't their specialty.

KK had a PASSION FRUIT PARFAIT ($8.50), which was da bomb - do people even use that expression anymore? The inside is a passion fruit sorbet encapsulated within a mango chocolate casing. Topped with a mango glaze and a side of blackberry sauce and whipped cream. Yum.

Hapa Izakaya

Date: December 7, 2012
Location: 602 College Street (west of Bathurst), Toronto
Website: http://hapaizakaya.com/
Cuisine: Japanese izakaya (bar)
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here to celebrate my friend JA's birthday with KK. A year ago, the three of us had celebrated JA's birthday at Guu, which of course, is also an izakaya, so this was an anniversary in more than one regard! 

I was an hour late due to unforeseeable circumstances, and my friends were so kind as to wait for me to order. Once I arrived, we quickly ordered and decided to each order an entrée and to share one appetizer. 

We shared the EBI MAYO ($8.99), which were tempura prawns with spicy mayo sauce. This was pretty good. My favourite dish that evening.

I had the KINOKO ISHI-YAKI ($9.99), which was a rice dish with mixed mushrooms and iwanori (seaweed) served in a hot stone bowl. I like the crispy bottom of rice, but I thought the whole dish was a bit too salty and buttery. My waitress taking our order had said this is one of her favourite dishes there - whatever. She probably throws that line out there randomly with every table because this wasn't that good! Overall, I thought this wasn't bad, but my friends didn't like this because they don't like shiitake mushroom.

My friends each had the YAKI UDON ($9.49), one requested spicy and the other did not. The people sitting next to us had udon in soup, but this was not on the menu. My friends said they would have much preferred udon in soup. I, on the other hand, was quite a fan of their meal. The noodles were very chewy, and the dish was flavourful but not too salty.

Overall, my friends really didn't like the experience and food. The birthday girl, JA, said while she was waiting for KK and I, she was asked to move three times. Little things like that really ruffle her feathers. I admit it's a bit of a nuisance, but if you're just sitting around waiting for people, I wouldn't have minded. Both girls said they're never coming back. 

I thought the food was all right, but it definitely is no Guu. I also thought it was weird how they would have waitresses of various backgrounds (one was even white, I think) trying to pronounce Japanese words as if it is their native tongue, when it is clearly is not. That is lame.

Magoo's Gourmet Hamburgers

Date: December 5, 2012
Location: 4242 Dundas St W (east of Royal York), Etobicoke
Website: http://www.magoosburgers.com, 
Unofficial website for pricing: http://www.phenu.com/MagoosGourmetHamburgers
Cuisine: fast food/hamburgers
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
My friend HF, who I also work with, and I decided to meet up outside of work so that we can chat without looking like we were slacking. I suggested this place because it is close to our work and I'd heard really good things about this place.

We met up around 10:30am and discovered that this place doesn't open til 11am, so we wandered around the Bruno's Supermarket in the same plaza. At 11am, we headed over.

I had their CHILLI SOUP ($3.95) because I was pretty cold from waiting outside. The chilli was cheesy (good) but very greasy and cold (bad, obviously). As you can see in the pic, not even the cheese is melted. It definitely didn't serve its intended purpose of warming me up. It would have been nice if there was a bit of heat to it, too.

HF had their MAGOOGOO BURGER ($4.25), which is essentially their 4 oz. classic burger. I didn't try this, but HF said this was pretty good.

Maple Yip Seafood Restaurant

Date: December 1, 2012
Location: 4227 Sheppard Avenue East (at Midland Ave), Toronto
Website: N/A
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
We came here to celebrate my dad's birthday. My dad claimed he'd been wanting to try this place for a long time but it has always been packed. We arrived around 6pm that night, but it wasn't that "packed."

We had the Thousand Island Shrimp.

Fuzz Box

Date: November 28, 2012
Location: 1246 Danforth Avenue (just a few steps east of Greenwood Subway Stn), Toronto
Website: http://thefuzzbox.ca
Cuisine: Nova Scotian donairs
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here with my former coworkers, AB and AE. The fourth member of our self-dubbed 'social club,' MM, had bailed last minute. AB had recently moved to the area and "highly recommended" this place, and so we went!

I had the DONAIR PIZZA (9" for $10.49), with seasoned beef, tomatoes, sweet red onion topped with mozzarella, smothered in donair sauce. The donair sauce is really something special. Its base is condensed milk, which I know sounds bizarre on a pizza, but oh-my-frickin'-god. It is sooooooooooo good!!! There is really nothing quite like this. You must try this at least once in your lifetime. This was very filling. I could only finish 3/4s of this. Oh, and did I say this is really good?