Lion City Restaurant

Date: March 29, 2013

Location: 1177 Central Parkway W, Mississauga
Website: http://www.lioncityrestaurant.ca/

Cuisine: Singaporean, Indonesian and Malaysian

Meal: lunch

My thoughts:

My family and I were going on a day trip to Hamilton, and my dad suggested this restaurant because a) it was on route to our destination, b) he was curious to try their Indonesian offerings since that is his roots, and c) it was actually open on Good Friday.

This was what we ordered:

Satay skewers ($7.50) - pork, beef or chicken skewers served with peanut sauce. These were alright. My favourite was the beef, as I found it a bit fatty and therefore juicy.

Gado Gado ($7.00) - Indonesian salad with prawn crackers, vegetables & peanut sauce. This is an Indonesian staple, so of course my dad had to order it. It is a pretty basic dish: an assortment of steamed vegetables, Asian-style fried prawn crackers and peanut sauce. This was okay - pretty standard.

Deep fried tofu ($4.50) - This came with a peanut sauce, which was the saving grace for this dish, because the tofu itself wasn't very good (i.e. crispy).

Goat rendang with biryani ($8.50) - This was goat biryani, which came as a surprise to us, as this item was called "briani" on the menu and also because this is southeast Asian cuisine. Anyway, while I love biryani, this was nothing special. There was nothing about it that made it southeast Asian in any way.

Chendol ($4.50) - jelly in sweet coconut milk drink. This was too sweet for my liking and expensive for the lack of jelly it had.

I feel obliged to remark that the owners, who also served us, were very nice. They came by to chat with us a few times. That, however, doesn't warrant a good review. I found the menu unorganized and the food unimpressive. I won't be back.

Sansotei Ramen

Date: March 28, 2013

Location: 179 Dunas St, Downtown Toronto
Website: http://www.sansotei.com/

Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
If you read my older posts, you probably know I have had ramen before. But I was never a huge fan, and I certainly would have never go out of my way for it. I was convinced though that I just hadn't had good ramen yet and this place proved me right.

I came here with coworker DQ. We were in a pinch for time, so we made the wise choice to come at 11:30am to beat the lunch rush (they open at 11am and when we left at 12:15pm, there was a line-up).

I had the tonkotsu ramen ($9.25), which had pork belly, black fungus, egg and green onion with original noodle. (For noodles, you have a choice of original, thin or thick.) I knew after my first delicious mouthful that I was going to be a changed woman (at least as far as ramen is concerned). The noodles were fresh and chewy, but the real winner was the soup. It was very flavourful, rich and creamy, which in my books is a winning combination. My only gripe is that although the serving bowl is huge, there wasn't much noodle, and I left hungry. Next time (yes, there will be a next time), I will make sure to get extra noodle for $1 more.

My coworker had the miso ramen ($9.50), with pork belly, corn, bean sprout, egg and green onion. I didn't try it but he told me he thought it was really good. This was his first ramen experience and he said he would be back. (That is, until he found out their soup is pork-based. He doesn't eat pork.)

So all-in-all, this was a very enjoyable experience. I'm glad to have found a solid and quick place in my work's vicinity. I'll be back soon.

Khao San Road

Date: March 25, 2013

Location: 326 Adelaide St W (east of Spadina), Downtown Toronto

Website: http://khaosanroad.ca/

Cuisine: Thai

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
After two unsuccessful attempts to come here (i.e. to actually dine here), I finally made it! I came here with fellow (closet) foodie aka coworker aka DQ for an early dinner. Initially, we were going to just head over to a work convention after work, and he was close to bailing in favour of studying, but after I suggested coming here, he quickly changed his mind - if that says anything.

Anyway, enough non-food chit-chat. This is a food blog, after all.

This being my first time here, and having heard wonderful things about everything here, I allowed my companion to take the reins in deciding what to order. Worried that I might be disappointed with his order, he decided to play it safe and ordered his usual Khao Soi with Chicken ($13) - egg noodles in a coconut milk enriched curry, garnished with crispy noodles, green onion, coriander and lime.

When our order came, which was a mere couple of minutes after we'd ordered, I was doubtful that we'd ordered enough. I'd been anticipating this meal for ages and I came hungry and prepared to eat!

But by the end of it, we were full. The egg noodles were fried - I know, unhealthy, but oh-so-good. Who knew that deep-frying egg noodles would produce such a light and crispy texture? Also, the creamy coconut sauce was so rich and extremely flavourful that I drank the whole thing like soup. (Yes, seriously.) Needless to say, I ate like a barbarian and made a complete mess of myself. Even my coworker said he was surprised I was such a messy eater. I replied that I only am when I am this hungry and the food is this good.

Despite our better judgement, we each decided to get a dessert. Khao San only has one dessert, Sa Koo Ma Prao ($4), making it easy for us to decide. This is a small personal-sized cup of small tapioca pearls in a sweet coconut milk, flavoured with pandan and strips of tender young coconut. While I liked this and the fact that there was fresh coconut in this (nice twist), this was nothing new. My mom made this all the time when I was a kid. But my coworker really liked this.

By the end of all of this, both my companion and I were so stuffed that we felt like boycotting the convention in lieu of a nap. I also felt like I was pregnant with that extra weight on my ventral side (never having been pregnant, that's what I imagine being pregnant feels like anyway.) Worry not, though. We carried ourselves, with the extra 5 pounds that I'm sure we each had packed on from dinner, to the convention.

Just one final note. Our waiter was incredibly attentive (without being overly so) and consistently refilled our waters within a minute, tops. He was also friendly and smiley - which I think is worth mentioning as, sadly, not all people in the service industry are.

Great meal! Will be back to try other things!

Ravi Soups

Date: January 18, 2013

Location: 322 Adelaide St W (east of Spadina), Downtown Toronto

Website: http://ravisoup.com/

Cuisine: fusion

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

Let me start by talking not about Ravi Soups, but another establishment called Khao San Road, which is located next door Ravi Soups. My friends - MM, AE and AB - had been raving for ages how amazing Khao San Road is and we (minus MM) finally made the trip here for their famous Pad Thai.

We arrived at 7pm, and were told that the wait was 1.5 hours. We were starved decided to instead come here. (This was actually how my friends had first discovered this place.) My friends told me to not be disappointed, because this place is great.

I opted to get the soup and wrap combo ($10.99), which is really a fantastic deal, seeing as how most soups and wraps are in the $7-9 range. I got the PORCINI MUSHROOM WILD RICE BISQUE and FLANK STEAK WRAP. Both were very good. Apparently, this is an organic restaurant. I'm no avid organic foods person, but this was good to know. There was just the right amount of food. The food itself was very fresh and tasted quite 'gourmet,' even though the decor and signage would've made one guess otherwise.

The style of this restaurant is you place your order and grab a seat at either a long wooden communal table or small side tables. The communal table was rather unusual, with an large hole at one end. The interesting thing was the table was intentionally made this way.

This place can be easily missed as the signage is very inconspicuous, so keep your eye for it. When in that area, just look for a place with a large crowd of people inside and on the street; this is Khao San Road. Ravi Soups is right next to Khao San, east of it. Check this one out!

Terroni

Date: January 11, 2013

Location: 1095 Yonge Street (south of Summerhill), Toronto

Website: http://terroni.com/

Cuisine: Italian

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

I was so excited to come here for their pizza! I had heard great things, as well as that it is a good idea to make reservations, otherwise you might be stuck waiting for an hour or more, especially on a weekend night.

I called two days in advance and was told that there were no tables available for a party of three but that we were more than welcome to try walking-in. We did just that. My friends got here at 6pm, and luckily, while the restaurant was very busy, there was no wait whatsoever!

My friends, AK and HF, and I shared the AL SALMONE ($17.95) and the DA DO DA ($16.95). When the food came, it looked like a lot, and we didn't think that we could finish everything. But the crust is so thin that it is deceivingly very little food (and for that reason, the pizzas were expensive). Having said that, though, the pizzas were very good. I especially liked the AL SALMONE. 

Note that Terroni does not allow you to make substitutions or additions to their pizzas. They believe that their combination of toppings are the perfect complement to one another. The toppings are good good, sure, but I found this strange!

That aside, I will be back for sure!

Kim Po Vietnamese Restaurant

Date: January 1, 2013

Location: 550 Hwy 7 E #61-62A, Richmond Hill 

Website: http://kimpovietnamese.com/

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Meal: dinner

My thoughts:

My family and I came here after watching Les Mis. We decided to come here because Vietnamese food is generally pretty quick (we were hungry as it was already late) and it is on our way home.

We ordered the SPRING ROLLS ($5.50) for starters. This was pretty good.

My sisters each ordered a noodle in soup and my dad and I shared one; we had barbequed pork with ours. The pork was incredibly juicy and savoury. 

All in all, while I am not the biggest fan of Vietnamese food, I have to say this place wasn't bad. But the service is not going to be bringing me back here again. Our waitress (a rather chubby, or even overweight, middle-aged woman) was very unattentive, rude and clearly did not understand what being in the service industry is all about.

Butter Tarts and Jamaican Rum Cake

Date: December 31, 2012

Location: N/A

Website: N/A

Cuisine: N/A

Meal: dessert

My thoughts:

My friend, who is quite an avid baker (and cook), made these to give away for Christmas, and I was lucky enough to receive some. 

I like nuts and raisins in my butter tarts, which were absent in these tarts, but they were still very good. The pastry was flaky, akin to an old-fashioned pie crust and the filling gooey and perfectly sweet.

The rum cake, I was told, took a year to prepare. It is prepared from fruits soaked in rum for a year, which really brings out a much richer and deeper flavour (and colour). The fruits are pureed, and even more rum is added to the batter. All that rum acts as a preservative, and I understand that this cake can keep for quite some time, even at room temperature!

Congee Queen

Date: December 30, 2012
Location: Don Mills/Steeles, Markham
Website: http://www.congeequeen.com/
Cuisine: Chinese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here with my family around 7:30 and had to wait for about 1 hour! The restaurant was at full capacity, but it was sure worth the wait. We shared the following:


FRIED CHILI TURNIP PATTIES ($5.25) - My sister's recommendation, and a very good one indeed. Turnip patties are a traditional Cantonese dish made of ground turnip and have a soft chewy texture. It is very unique (in a good way!) and flavourful. They are also often spicy, as was the case here. If you are not Chinese and are guilty of only ordering fried rice and wontons every time you go to a Chinese restaurant, I'm telling you, you have to try this. It's very good!

CANADIAN SMOKED SALMON FRIED RICE ($11.25) - Continuing from my last point, if you DO decide to order fried rice, order this one! Haha. Very good and different (again, in a good way).

CONPOY CONGEE ($2.50) - Conpoy is dried scallop and congee is basically a savoury rice porridge. The conpoy gives the congee a lot of flavour.

SLICED BEEF CONGEE ($4.75) - If you have never tried congee, this is a good place to start (unless you can't eat beef, that is). I don't know what it is that restaurants do, but the beef in beef congee is always very tender. A great thing to have in the dead of winter to warm up you right up!

FRIED RICE NOODLE WITH SHRIMP AND SCRAMBLED EGG SAUCE ($9.25) - This is one of my sister's favourite noodle dish, so we ordered it. While everything else came within 5 minutes of us ordering, this one took quite some time and as such, we were pretty full and couldn't finish this. We took it home. This dish does not reheat well, as the noodles absorb most of the sauce.

My verdict:
This is an excellent Chinese restaurant with a wide selection of traditional and non-traditional Chinese dishes. I couldn't help but notice that there were also quite a few non-Chinese patrons. My dad made this observation too, and he thinks it is because of the central location (just off the DVP), the offerings, and the fact that the menu is supplemented with lots of pictures. The service was very quick (with the exception of the rice noodle) and all the employees speak fluent English, but most of all, the food was EXCELLENT! We were all thoroughly impressed.

Boston Pizza

Date: December 28, 2012
Location: Warden/Steeles, Markham
Website: http://www.bostonpizza.com
Cuisine: North American
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
My mom was leaving town the next day for a few weeks, so we decided to have a family dinner. We opted to eat out to avoid the hassle of cooking and cleaning. As usual, we ordered a few dishes to share:

I had an 8" TUSCAN PIZZA ($12.25) on a multigrain crust, which came with pomodoro sauce, mozzarella, cheddar, spicy chicken breast, roasted garlic, fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and feta. This was sooooo good! I normally prefer thin-crust pizza, but the pizza was perfect as is. The spicy chicken gave this a good kick. I could definitely taste the heat.

My sister had the CHIPOTLE CHICKEN CLUB ($12.25), which had a chargrilled chicken breast, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce and chipotle Caesar sauce on their signature pizza bread. This was pretty good, but I found the pizza bread to be a bit dry.

My other sister had the BAKED CHIPOTLE CHICKEN PENNE ($15.25), which had chipotle seasoning, smoky bacon, alfredo sauce, mushrooms, green onion, tomato, cheddar and mozzarella. This was also not bad, but a bit salty and while it was cheesy, it would have benefitted from more alfredo sauce.

Finally, we had NACHOS ($10.99), which was tortilla chips topped with cheddar and mozzarella, olives, green peppers, tomatoes and jalapeño peppers. Did I like this? This has some basic no-fail ingredients, so of course I did. But I have had bigger and better nachos at other places, like Kelsey's and Moxie's. I like how both of those restaurants have 1) more cheese, and 2) a layer of crispy cheese on the plate - maybe a result of baking at a higher temperature or for a longer period of time.

I can't believe I'd never ordered the pizza before. I was definitely very glad I ordered it. As much as I liked the Tuscan, however, I'll be trying their other flavours next time. Also, this was a good place to have a casual family dinner. It wasn't very busy, so we didn't have to shout over each other to be heard. We all had a good time.

Sushi One

Date: December 27, 2012
Location: 4924 Yonge St (Yonge/Sheppard), North York
Website: http://www.mysushione.com/
Cuisine: Japanese
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I came here with my former coworkers - AB, AE and MM. They'd been here before and said this is a really good AYCE place. Here is a sampling of what we had:

Kalbi ribs: My friends loved this and ordered about 50 pieces. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Barbaric, right?? Haha

Shrimp tempura: this really, really good. Very crispy.

Vegetarian gyozas: so-so. The stuffing tasted weird.

Green dragon on the left, and don't remember what the others were. The green dragon roll was mine and AB's favourite roll that night.

Avocado cucumber roll (left) and yam tempura roll (right).

Beef teriyaki: very tough. Like leather. Yuk.

More rolls.

Fried banana: sooo good! Most places use unripened banana for frying because they retain their shape better and don't caramelize to a dark brown colour. But this place used ripe banana but managed to make it very presentable. Mmm..

While I had a good time that night, $19.99 + tax and tip is a lot to shell out for a meal. I'd rather go for lunch AYCE and have pretty much the same food for half the price. (Come to think of it, I realized we never ordered sashimi, which is usually what is available in the dinner menu but not in the lunch menu. Oh well.) Actually, if I had a choice, I'd rather not go for AYCE at all. The idea of stuffing your face to feel like you got your money's worth just doesn't appeal to me. Again, oh well! Good times nonetheless.

Viet House

Date: December 26, 2012
Location: 3200 Dufferin St (Dufferin/Lawrence), North York
Website: N/A
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Meal: lunch

My thoughts:
My sisters, dad and I came here after a long day of chaotic Boxing Day shopping. We were tired and in need of fuel. It is our family tradition to go for Vietnamese food after Boxing Day shopping every year. We typically go to this place at Kennedy and Lawrence, but we felt like trying something new this year.

For starters, we had springs rolls (two vegetarian and two meat). I liked the vegetarian one better. I always have for spring rolls.

My middle sister had a pho with rare beef.

My youngest sister had a pho in spicy noodle soup. This soup was really good. Definitely my favourite soup that day.

And my dad and I shared an egg noodle soup with mixed BBQ meat. There was chicken, pork and beef. Everything was really good except the chicken, which was bland.

This place had nice décor  including a standalone fireplace and dense arrangement of Christmas lights against a dark ceiling, which made me feel like I was in a space observatory. There was a bit of a language barrier with the staff. The food was not bad, but I prefer our usual place at Kennedy/Lawrence - they have better food.

~KG Hosts Christmas Eve Dinner~

Date: December 24, 2012
Location: my house!
Website: N/A
Cuisine: international (East meets West)
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
I invited my relatives over for dinner on Christmas Eve. My family and myself included, there were 15 people - yes, that's a lot of people to feed!

For starters, I had:
- a cold soba noodle salad with Japanese mayonnaise wasabi, fish roe, crab meat and cucumber strips
- potato mushroom bruschetta --> used this
- Asian-style fruit salad, which is fruit with mayonnaise

For the main, I served:
- roasted turkey --> used this for brining and equal parts thyme, rosemary and sage with a sprinkling of ground black pepper for seasoning

For the sides, I made:
- stir-fried bok choy
- a Chinese-style soy-based veggie platter (store bought)
- stir-fried ramen noodles
- Shepherd's pie --> used this for the meat base and scaled this down by half for the mashed potato topping

This meal turned out to be a hit! Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal and for confirmation, my grandma who lives in Asia called me a few days later, telling me how all my aunts and uncles have been raving to her about my dinner. It was a lot of work, but it was all well worth it :)

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.