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DAN DAN NOODLES | RECIPE

January 24, 2022January 24, 2022Leave a comment

WHAT’S IN IT:

your choice of noodles, I like fresh think Shanghainese noodles but any noodles will work
vegetable for health if desired, I like gai lan in this dish
chopped green onions

PORK MARINADE:

1/2 lb ground pork
1 tbsp shao xing wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp minced ginger
1 cloves minced garlic
black pepper to taste
1/3 cup diced shitake mushrooms (optional) *

DAN DAN SAUCE:

2 tbsp cooking oil
3 tbsp sesame paste/peanut butter of choice
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 tbsp crispy chili oil (Lao Gan Ma)
2 tsp spicy chili oil (alter to your liking)
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup noodle water if the sauce consistency is too thick

HOW TO:

Mix the pork with all of the marinade ingredients and marinate for 15-20 minutes.
Throw the pork + marinade into a wok on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, then simmer until the pork is golden brown in color.
* If adding mushrooms, this would be the stage you add them at, cook until soft.
If you’re adding veggies, you can stir-fry them with the pork or blanch them in the noodle water. Set aside.
Mix the dan dan sauce together.
And assemble meat, noodles, sauce + vegetables! You can add some crushed peanuts, Chinese pickled vegetables, green onions and any additional chili oil on top!

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted here but I thought it would be fitting to start off my new found motivation with a post about a DIY Ramen Burger Kit created by Anothoni Chan, a self proclaimed ramen enthusiast.

Anthoni started blogging about ramen in 2012 and his ramen filled instagram feed in 2015, he’s had over 215 bowls! During that time he started experimenting with different ramen recipes and would post his results on his blog. A few years ago the famous ramen burger took the world by storm but never quite made it to Toronto so Anthoni decided he would make his own. His ramen-loving followers loved the idea and kept asking how they could get their own, that’s how Anothoni’s DIY ramen burger kit came to be.

I’ve had the pleasure of getting my own DIY kit, Anothoni customized it to the flavours I enjoy most, I told him was that I liked Japanese & spicy food and this is what my kit consisted of:

2 ramen burger “buns”, shrimp tempera, cheese, over easy egg, spicy mayo and tempura sauce.

Everything in the kit is individually wrapped and Anothoni gives you instructions on how to reheat everything accordingly. The ramen “buns” had a new crunchy exterior while the middle of it stayed soft and chewy, I was surprised that the ramen stayed so crispy through packaging and travel time. The flavours went well together, I wish the spicy mayo was spicier but there’s nothing a little more sriracha can’t fix. The tempura sauce really kept the burger moist and flavourful.

I would love to see Anthoni come up with maybe 5 set ramen burger kits that people could order, maybe pull ideas from actual ramen combinations but I do love the idea that people can customize their kit.

As of right now Anonthi will do ramen giveaways through his Instagram account (so go follow him!) but he wants to start selling limited kits per month. He has no plans to open his own ramen burger shop anytime soon but is open to the idea of having a workshop so people can make their own at home. If you really want a burger you can place your order with him via anthoni.foodlab@gmail.com.

Thank you again Anthoni for letting me try the ramen burger!

Hunger Games

April 10, 2013Leave a comment

My sister and Chris sometimes like to play a little game called Hunger Games, this is not what you think it is. Basically they go around downtown Toronto going to different places and stuffing their faces with food. This Hunger Game is quite different from the one novel or movie.

Philip recently came back from his 2 month vacation and we decided to play our very own version of Hunger Games.

“Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour.”

Our first stop was Guu, Guu recently started opening for their lunch crowd with set meals that range from $8 – 15. You can find their daily lunch special on their twitter page, they update everyday.

I got the Gyu Don, sukiyaki beef on rice topped with a half boiled egg, $8.80. Everything was delicious but not outstandingly so.

Philip got the Chirashi Don for $14.80, there was B.C tuna, salmon, scallops and salmon caviar.

Both dishes are served with miso soup and different pickle items.

Then we ended up at Paulette’s, my last visit here was with Philip as well. I felt like the first time our chicken was less greasy, I’m also not a big fan of cakey donuts so I opted to skip the donut part of Paulett’es. You can read about my last visit here!

You can read about my last visit here!

But since we decided to skip out on the donuts at Paulette’s, we headed all the way to the west end to Glory Hole Doughnuts. This is my second time visiting Glory Hole Doughnuts and I must say their donuts are still gigantic and delicious!

Philip and I spilt 6 and my choices were the Stuffing with bacon, Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana and S’mores. My favourite hands down was the Stuffing, it was savoury, sweet and everything you would look for in stuffing! It had chucks of cranberries and flecks of rosemary throughout the donut but I could do without the bacon, in fact I just picked off all the bacon.

Philip’s choices were Rum Raisin Twist, Stuffing with Bacon and the Blood Orange. Philip loved all his choices. and Here’s the post from my first visit. The menu changes seasonally so take a look at their website before going. They took off their Lemon Meringue donut (which was my favourite from my last visit), they said it was just too much work but they might bring it back as a special.

Our last stop for the day was Butter Avenue, this was my first time here so I got half a dozen macarons to try.

The flavours I got were White Chocolate Strawberry, Matcha, Chestnut, Earl Grey, Sea Salt Caramel, lychee raspberry. I love the light, Asian inspired flavours here and they weren’t too sweet. Their macarons are $2.25 each which isn’t a bad price compared to Ruelo which range from $3 – $5 (black truffle macaron). Butter Avenue in my opinion might have the best macarons in Toronto but I still have a lot of places to still try.

I didn’t get a chance to try any of their cakes but everything looked too good to even eat!

Shoom Shoom

February 20, 2013Leave a comment

7355 Bayview Ave Unit 6
Markham, ON
http://www.shoomshoom.ca/

Shoom Shoom serves modern Middle Eastern cuisine, I came here with my family one night to check out their all you can eat soup and salad bar. Basically it’s $13.99 for just the soup and salad bar but you can add a main dish for only $3. The main comes with your choice of meat (range from chicken kebobs, salmon kebobs, chicken shawarma, lamb or beef kebobs) or falafel and two sides (fries, sweet potato fries, middle eastern rice & steamed vegetables).

What I love about the salad bar is that they have dips (hummus, babaganoush etc.), grilled vegetables, different kinds of salads (couscous, tabouleh etc.), they have such a wide variety of choices! They also have two kinds of soups which are equally fantastic.

Just some of the things I got from the salad bar, I literally went back 3 times.

I got the lamb kebobs with sweet potato fries and middle eastern rice, everything was delicious. The fries were extra crispy and the lamb was tender and perfectly cooked.

My mom got the falafel dinner with sweet potato fries and vegetables. The falafels are super crunchy, crispy and delicious!

Shoom Shoom is an affordable, healthy, delicious all you can eat restaurant. I really love coming to Shoom Shoom.

Sassafraz

February 5, 2013Leave a comment

100 Cumberland Street
Toronto, ON
http://www.sassafraz.ca/

These past few years I haven’t really been as crazy I as I used to be with my Licious reverations. The first restaurant I went to was Sassafraz, I’ve been dying to go here for the longest time but never had time or it was always fully booked but this year Jess called in early.

I really love Yorkville, everything about the area is so quaint. The restaurant is divided into two sections, the lounge and dining room. The front of the restaurant is separated by glass doors as the lounge with floor to ceiling windows. We got seated at the back of the restaurant where they have their own waterfall feature, big skylights and white walls make the restaurant feel open and airy.
I must apologize in advance for the dimly light orangey pictures, it’s hard to take pictures with a steady head without flash in a dimly lit restaurant.

The Winterlicious menu on the website and at the restaurant are a little different but for dinner is $45.

Appetizers:

Jess got the Roasted Tomato Soup, she said it was way too salty. I didn’t try any since she was sick and the fact that she said it was too salty.

Philip seemed to really enjoy his Orange and endive salad with shaved radish, balsamic jelly, pecan vinaigrette. I thought it was average in taste but the presentation was beautiful.

Cherry and I got the Red Wine braised octopus served with tomato, caper and olive ragout, toasted couscous. I really liked my appetizer, the octopus was incredibly tender and I loved that the couscous still had a little crunch.

Entrees:

I decided on the Honey and chili glazed Prawns with saffron Risotto with red pepper emulsion and coriander cress. My plate came with two giant prawns that we’re perfectly cooked.

Jess got the Confit Ontario duck leg with pommery mustard braised cabbage, double smoked bacon pinto bean cassolet. I tried some and I thought the duck was superb, tender and flavourful, probably the best entree of the night.

Black garlic glazed halibut with red rice, baby bok choy, diakon, heirloom carrots and red miso broth is Philip’s choice in entree. I thought the dish was blend and the fish was overcooked but Philip had no complains.

Seared 10 oz striploin with horseradish pommes puree, collard greens, sauce Bordelaise

Dessert:

Warm apple compote with oat crumble, maple walnut and caramel cream

I was pretty stuffed by the time dessert got around but both Philip and I got the Gotham city cheese plate. Served with flatbread and assorted dried fruits but as you can see we didn’t get dried fruits or flatbread. Philip had to ask for some and even then only he got a basket of flatbread and I didn’t but I was stuffed anyway so I didn’t really mind.

Overall it was a great meal with good service, probably will be back to try their regular menu.

Happy 3rd Anniversary Guu

December 19, 2012Leave a comment

This past Tuesday was Guu Izakaya’s third birthday and in celebration they hosted a buffet style party. The party ran from 5pm – 12am with a time limit of 2 hours, it was excellently organized with great food, drinks and entertainment. The entrance cover was $33 and that included all you can eat food, 1 alcoholic drink or 2 non-alcoholic drinks, entertainment and a free small gift.

The had the buffet along the bar with cocktail tables all around and a stage for the performers at the front.

Guu staff were working so hard as per usual, they kept the buffet stocked pretty well.

I basically tried to fit everything on my first plate. Chicken katsu sandwich, salmon and tuna tataki sushi balls, roast beef with red wine onion sauce, marinated pork belly and tamago.

I also takoyaki and deep-fried cod tacos.

I only took pictures of two plates but I had my fair share…

Each person got one drink ticket but you could buy more if you wanted to. One ticket could get you a beer, cocktail or wine. Half of a ticket could get you two pops, ramune or lychee/guava juice.

This is the Bamboo, with lychee juice, white wine, soda, and melon liqueur. It tasted like an Asian sangria, delicious. Chris opted for a Sapporo.

There was also fantastic entertainment with After Hours, a acapella group, graffiti art by RANDOM : and Winston Matsushita and fantastic djing by DJ TOM.

We literally ate from 5 – 7 and we were both pretty stuffed.
Guu is one of my favourite restaurant ever and I was happy that I could celebrate such a special day with them.

Santouka Ramen

November 24, 20121 Comment

91 Dundas Street East
Toronto
http://www.santouka.co.jp

Welcome Santouka, yet another ramen restaurant has graced Toronto. Santouka Ramen started off a 9 seater from Hokkaido, Japan in 1988. Now with restaurants all over Asia, United States and now Canada, how could I not try Santouka? Dundas literally has 4 ramen restaurants within a span of 3 blocks and just on the corner of Dundas & Church lays Santouka.

Philip and I came on a Wednesday afternoon and luckily the weather was in our favour, the 35 minute wait wasn’t terrible at all. We opted to sit at the bar where I can see all the action happen.

Action Shot.

As the steamy bowl of noodles arrived at the table, I was incredibly excited and had high hopes for Santouka. One look down and my mouth started to water (heck, I’m salivating right now thinking about it.) Philip and I both got Toroniku Ramen, $15.90, this is the only one where the cha-shu is served on the side.

The Tonkotsu soup was piping hot which I love, so hot that I had to spit out the noodles I shoved in my mouth (classy eh? I know!). I always feel like the best part of a good bowl of noodles is the temperature of the soup. The soup is much oilier than most other places but Philip says it’s to keep the broth even hotter. The pork was super tender and packed full of flavour, the fat just melted in my mouth but the best part was hands down the ramen. They were perfectly cooked with right amount of doneness, the best ramen I’ve had in Toronto.

As I enjoyed my noodles, I zoned out everything and just heard slurping. Yes, it was that good. As full as I was I couldn’t finish my bowl of noodles yet even when the bill came I found myself still slowly picking at them.

Santouka is a little pricer than the typical ramen place but definitely worth every penny. Hands down this is my favourite ramen place.

Asuka Fusion Sushi

October 21, 20123 Comments

142 Main Street
Markham, ON

This little Japanese restaurant opened up on Main Street Unionville for a few months now, which once was a hooka bar. This little restaurant has about 4 tables which could probably seat a maximum of 20 people, they do have a patio but won’t be used much since Toronto is cold most of the year.

Super small interior with typical Japanese decor & paintings, nothing fancy or worth mentioning.

Darren got two rolls, the Dynamite Roll & Spicy Salmon Roll. The dynamite roll was just average but still good but the spicy salmon roll lacked salmon, the main component were the crunch bits from left over tempera. A little pricy for what they were but we figured Main Street rent was probably pretty expensive.

I got the lunch special which included a Veggie Udon and Spicy Salmon Roll for $10.95.
The udon came piping hot! The broth was flavourful and the udon noodles were soft yet chewy at the same time, perfect texture.

Overall the prices are a little expensive and the waitress wasn’t very attentive considering we were the only table there. I had to walk up to her while she was on her computer to get the bill. Definitely not my first choice for Japanese food.

Sansotei Ramen

October 17, 20122 Comments

179 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
http://www.sansotei.com/

It seems like ramen places started popping up everywhere recently, starting with Kenzo & Guu’s Kinton. Sansotei and Momofuku Noodle Bar are one of the more recent additions to the the reman scene.
Kevin, Joyce and I visited Sansotei late one Thursday, no line ups. We got some appetizers to share before digging into our ramen.

We started off with the Gyoza, $4.50, they weren’t anything special.

We also got the Seaweed Salad, $5.00, also this was kind of typical.

I wanted to order the Zawgi (Deep fried chicken), $4.50, the chicken was super flavourful and most with hints of sweetness, savouriness & garlic-iness. It was served with a lemon wedge which brightened up the chicken and kept it less oily & and heavy, I really liked this.

Joyce, Kevin and I all got the Tonkotsu Ramen ($9.25), Both Kevin and Joyce got extra noodles. While Kevin got extra eggs, Joyce added corn to her ramen (pictured below). They were really hungry and finished everything in their bowls.

I on the other hand just stuck with the regular portions without adding anything, mine looks so empty compared to theirs! But I was stuffed by the time I finished it.

Everything about this bowl of noodles was fantastic, the soft boiled eggs with the runny yolk is super flavourful and just plain delicious. The pork was tender but I felt it was a little too fatty for my liking. The noodles were different from other ramen places, they stayed chewy and I feel like they were thinner than most places. But I think the highlight of the meal was the soup base, creamy, rich and packed full of flavour.

Highly recommend going to Sansotei! I heard that there were long line ups at Sansotei so I would recommend going early to ensure you can satisfy your hungry stomach.
I still have many other ramen restaurants to try.

Street Food Friday

August 20, 20129 Comments

707 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario

Last Friday Philip and I headed to Street Food Friday! Basically Market 707 is in partnership with Food Truck Eats and are hosting monthly Street Food Friday events (every 3rd Friday to be exact).

They even have little chairs and tables along the sidewalk, how convenient and considerate!
Most of the vendors here share a storage container, there’s probably 5 containers, and such a wide variety of different cuisines.

Philip and I didn’t know where to begin so we scoped out all the different vendors and read all the items on the menu before deciding.

For my first choice I decided to try out some Latin cuisine from Ceviche 707, I got the Tostones with guacamole and pulled pork.

I’m pretty sure this is my first time having Latin food but I’m sure there’s better, it wasn’t anything special. But the shrimp ceviche looked really good so I might try that next time!

Not only were there the storage containers there were also food trucks! Philip got the Mole Braised Short Rib Taco from Gourmet Gringos. It took quite a long time for them to produce it and it wasn’t like they were swamped with order either.

But boy was it worth the wait! It was probably the best taco I’ve ever had! The beef was perfectly braised, so tender. I didn’t even mind the onions, I’m usually not a fan of raw onions but the crunch and freshness just enhanced the taco. Yum!

After that we headed to get some Filipino food, what drew me here was the Halo Halo. Look at all the different ingredients, from corn kernels to tapioca, dulce de leche flan, nata de coco and a bunch of other sweet treats all topped with evaporated milk. But after a while the concoction just got a little too sweet for both of us. Philip wanted to try Lechon Kawali which is basically pork belly that’s fried until crispy, honestly it just tasted like 烧肉 (siu yuk) but not as salty.

Last but not least we headed to Per se for their combo platter which included a Jerk Chicken Sandwich and two Shrimp Tacos.
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By this point I was pretty stuffed but still found a way to eat 1 of the tacos and half the sandwich. The shrimp taco was really fresh and light. The jerk chicken wasn’t spicy enough, it just tasted like grilled/blackened (not in a bad way) chicken, nothing special.

This is a nice change to the typical night markets where it’s so cramped with garbage all over the floor. I will definitely try to make my way down again.

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