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HONG KONG EATS

August 8, 2012September 16, 20191 Comment

I finally have a chance to share my Hong Kong food adventures with you guys! Oh my goodness did I eat a lot, I swear I gained 10 lbs just in 2.5 weeks. Just to let you guys know Hong Kong is known for absolutely delicious food and great shopping (no tax)! My apologies in advance if I use the phrases “The BEST I’ve ever had” or “IT WAS SO DELICIOUS” or anything along those lines way too many times in this post.

How could you go to H.K. without having a giant seafood dinner (rhetorical question, you can’t!). We headed to 西貢 (Sai Kung). We started off with the best deep-fried tofu I’ve ever had, the batter was light, not greasy and the tofu was soft and flavourful. We also had Mantis Shrimp which I’ve only ever had in H.K., it’s like a small lobster but way sweeter and more tender. Razor clams, lobster with braised noodles, steamed scallops with garlic vermicelli, deep-fried abalone and geoduck sashimi. Everything was so fresh and so very, very delicious!

Some Hong Kong staples: Steamed rice roll, curry fish balls and sweet rice cake with red bean. It’s also a must that these are eaten at the most grimy places like an alley or you have to sit on fold-up chairs.

My uncle brought us to the best Vietnamese restaurant I’ve ever been to in my 23 years of exsistance.
Everyone MUST head over to Locomotive Contemporary Vietnamese Restaurant, I’ve never had such delicious pho.
Also satisfied my sushi craving while I was there! Cheap and delicious, my favourite combination.

Australian Milk Company, line ups out the door for the best steamed milk dessert ever. They also have fantastically buttery scrambled eggs!
Made some time to relax and go to Repulse Bay for some high tea!

Chinese desserts! 豆腐花 (Tofu flower) and 楊枝甘露 (Yeung Ji Gum Lo) which consists of mango, pomelo, and dragon fruit with sago in coconut milk. SO DELICIOUS!

Also had to get some Pepper lunch, don’t know what is it? Read all about it here.

That is only a fraction of the delicious meals I had in H.K. Just looking through these pictures make me salivate! It’s a good thing I only go back every few years because if I lived there I would be 300lbs +.
Hong Kong has fed me well!

BIG MOE’S BURGER

June 26, 2012September 16, 20192 Comments

3517 Kennedy Road | Toronto, ON

I’m super picky on where I eat burgers; I refuse to eat fast food burgers but I want something inexpensive and I don’t like traveling downtown (Burger’s Priest, Holy Chuck etc.). I was really craving a burger so dragged my boyfriend with me to try out Big Moe’s Burgers.

Both Satya and I got the Juicy Lucy, $6.79, Big Moe’s cheese stuffed beef patty, how could you go wrong?

The burgers were juicy, not greasy, flavourful and just so darn good. I also loved how they toasted the bun a little, nothing worse than hot burger and cold bun.<img
Just the amount of cheesy-ness!

Satya really enjoyed his burger; in the time it took me to take two pictures of my burger and eat 1/4 of it, he finished his…I’m not a slow eater in any means and I only spent tops 10 seconds to take both pictures!

They cook your burger to order so we had to wait for about 10 minutes, which I didn’t mind at all. I would much rather have something cooked fresh and have to wait a little longer than to eat something pre-cooked. They burgers are cooked on the flat top which gives the burger a really yummy seared crust.

I read past reviews on Big Moe’s, they used to have a foot long hot dog wrapped in their tornado fries (The Foot Long Twister Dog), needless to say they don’t have that on the menu anymore.

Sadly after scarfing down our burgers we were too full for funnel! Will definitely come back for more Juicy Lucys and try their funnel cakes.
Both Satya and I fell in love with the Juicy Lucy burger, it’s nice knowing there is a good burger joint in the Markham area.

Buster’s Sea Cove Truck

June 19, 20121 Comment

“Busters Sea Cove has been a staple at the St Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto for over a decade. Known for our fabulous fresh grilled fish, calamari, fish and chips, locals and tourists alike have made our spot a downtown favorite.”

I honestly don’t think there’s anything better than good seafood and when I found out Buster Sea Cove had a food truck that sold lobster rolls I had to check it out.
You can find where they are each day if you follow their twitter (@bustersseacove) or even like them on Facebook , the food truck is usually dock somewhere different each day so all over downtown can get their lobster rolls.

Look at that gorgeous lobster roll!

We finally arrived! On this particular day they were parked on the corner of Queen Street East & Jarvis with three other food trucks.

Walked up to the truck and didn’t even have to think about it, the words “lobster roll” just came rolling off my tongue, $13.00.
The lobster roll came with a slice of lemon, pickle and a bag of Mrs. Vickie’s chips…I guess that kind of justifies the $13.00 lobster roll.

The bun was butter up on the outside and grilled and there was a nice helping of lobster salad which by the way was super fresh with not a lot of fillers (just some mayo, parsley and celery). It was so good, I could’ve eaten 5 in one sitting! Only compliant was that the sandwich was smaller than expected but it did fill me up.

I would advise getting some extra napkins cause your fingers will be greasy and buttery by the end of your consumption. And because this is a food truck there isn’t any seats for you so you have to venture off finding a quiet curb or park to enjoy this delicious sandwich.

I used to live literally 5 minutes away from St. Lawrence Market and totally regret not heading to Buster’s more often! Next time I’m downtown again I will definitely drop by St. Lawrence Market for some awesome seafood!

BANH MI BOYS

June 18, 2012September 16, 2019Leave a comment

392 Queen St. West | Toronto, ON
http://www.banhmiboys.com/

Banh Mi Boys have been the all the rage for quite some time now so I knew I had to make a special trip downtown just to try one out for myself (also because Satya was craving a banh mi). After getting lost…multiple times (never give directions to a girl…or just me), we finally arrived!
We walked into a small a small restaurant that seat only about 20 people with bold colours and an awesome graffiti mural on the walls.

The menu, oh the choices! I wanted to try everything.

Satya opted for the spicy Five Spice Pork Belly Banh Mi and boy was he one happy camper eating it.
Delicious is his only comment, haha. I had a bite and it was life changing! The crust of the bread was crispy and the inside was soft. The pork belly was so tender and flavourful and the pickled radish & carrots and cucumber just gave the banh mi some extra freshness and made the sandwich lighter.

Just look how good that looks! He was quite annoyed that I made him wait an extra 20 seconds before he could devour it for this picture.

I opted for the the Braised Beef Cheek Steamed Bao because I ate before coming…so silly I know. But my bao was so good! The beef tasted like the beef you would get in spicy Shanghainese noodles (which btw I love!), super tender and packed full of flavour! One down side was that I felt the combination of everything was too soft, maybe some next crunch would make it exceptional but overall I was happy.

We also had to get the Kimchi Fries! One of the best loaded fries I’ve ever had…maybe even better than Smokes if I dare say. Loaded with kimchi, pulled pork, sweet mayo and cheese for $5.99, at first I questioned the priced of the fries…$5.99 for fries?! But as soon as I saw and tasted it, it was well worth every penny.

You know something is extraordinarily good when Satya is full but is willing to finish up the whole box. If you know him you know when he puts his fork (or chopsticks) down he won’t pick them up again but he devoured the rest of this even though he was stuffed. I was recommend sharing this between 3 – 4 people if everyone is getting their own banh mi.

I’ve been telling everyone about how I lost my Bahn Mi Boys virginity and everyone raves about the deliciousness of the bahn mis and everyone has their own favourite which probably means everything on their menu is fantastic! Can’t wait to go back and devour a banh mi myself!

THE BURGER’S PRIEST

May 21, 2012September 19, 20195 Comments

1636 Queen St East | Toronto, ON
http://www.theburgerspriest.com/

Darren and I went on another burger adventure and since he’s been dying to try Burger’s Priest we headed there last weekend. He also did his homework and found their secret menu but we both just stuck to the regular menu when we ordered. We got there around six and there was already a line up of about 6 people in front of us.

This the line up when we were eating, I feel sorry for the variety store and the people who live upstairs.

Balls of fresh ground beef!

I’ve had the famous Priest Burger once before and I wasn’t that wow-ed at the time but decided to give it another try. If you don’t know what the Priest Burger is it’s a cheese burger with the option (a Portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese and deep fried) and your choice of fixings (ketchup, mustard, relish, lettuce, tomato, etc.).

I was actually really excited to take out bite of it and oh boy was it good! Juicy, meaty, flavourful. and oh my gosh so cheesy! A little too cheesy in my opinion (is that even possible?) but a really good burger none the less.

Just look at that little piece of heaven!
One down side of the meal were the fries, not a fan of soggy unseasoned fries. I would definitely just stuck to the burgers.

Also there’s only 4 bar stools so don’t expect to have a sit down meal, a lot of people got take out or went across the street to eat outside (which we did).

If you haven’t tried Burger’s Priest, you have to try it out for yourself. Meat eater or vegetarian there are options for both and both are delicious!

GRAZIE

May 17, 2012September 16, 2019Leave a comment

9100 Jane Street | Vaughan, ON
http://www.grazie.ca/

The last time I visit Grazie was probably 3 or 4 years ago at the Yonge & Eglinton location. I’m quite happy they opened another location up in Vaughan so I don’t need to trek down there for a good bowl of pasta.

The menu has a large variety of pizzas and pastas to choose from. It definitely took me a while to decide on what I wanted, everything looked so good!

Free bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar!

Kevin got the Margherita Pizza (Tomato sauce, basil & mozzarella), $10.00. Margherita pizza is probably the most basic pizza you can get but this particular pizza was anything but basic. The crust was super thin, crispy and thin at the same time. There was the perfect amount of sauce and cheese, just wished there were more piece of fresh basil.

I got the Penza Pizza (Rigatoni pasta with vodka, pancetta, green onions & a touch of chili pepper), $15. Perfectly cooked pasta with a rich creamy sauce and bacon, how could you go wrong with that?! I had a slice of Kevin’s pizza so he helped me finish up my bowl pasta. The portions don’t look like much but boy are they filling! I highly recommend this one.
Tip: I also used the pizza crust to dip into the sauce, fantastic.

A picture of the inside dinning room. Kevin and I sat on the patio cause it was such a nice day but I do warn you the patio is facing a busy street with loads of construction trucks.

RESTORAN MALAYSIA

May 14, 2012September 16, 2019Leave a comment

815 Major Mackenzie Drive East | Richmond Hill, Ontario
http://www.restoranmalaysia.com/

When I first discovered Restoran Malaysia, it was half of the size it is now and was always packed but they expanded and renovated, no wait time anymore! The menu consists of a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisines but all done very well. We celebrated Chris’ birthday here and oh boy did we order a lot of food for 6 people.

We started off with the Appetizer Platter, $22.50, it includes 3 satay beef, 3 satay chicken, 3 fish cake, 3 spring rolls served with plum sauce & peanut sauce.

Tender meat, crispy spring rolls and mouth-watering fish cakes!

If you come you must get the roti and some sort of curry, We decided on the Roti and Curry Chicken, $8.50. The roti is crispy and soft at the same time and, piping hot and the perfect vessel for soaking up the curry. The roti is so good we got 2 extra orders.

We also shared the Indonesian fried rice or Nasi Goring, $10.00, fried rice with chicken, shrimp, mixed vegetables, egg, topped with fried egg and shrimp chips. A nice change to the typical pineapple fried rice.

I don’t remember the name of this dish but it was basically Cantonese Chow Mein, nothing outstanding but still yummy.

As we were walking to our table I was scooping out what other tables were eating and not even in a subtle way…It’s a bad habit I have. One of the tables had what looked like fried chicken pieces with shrimp crackers. I knew right at the moment we had to order it.

The dish was Malay fried chicken or Ayam goring kampung, $11.00. Crispy, hot and flavourful, it had a special kind of taste that I can’t really point out but it was just really good.

We absolutely love green curry, we got the Green Curry Beef. It was full of bold flavours and incredibly spicy. Down side is that the beef was a little tough.

Great food, huge portions, reasonable prices, authentic flavours and good service! What else could you want? Oh! They also really refreshing blended drinks! I love the Malaysian Cooler, orange juice-pineapple juice-coconut milk.

RUBY WATCH CO.

May 14, 2012September 16, 2019Leave a comment

730 Queen St. East | Toronto, ON
http://rubywatchco.ca/

My friend Kevin sure does know good food and great restaurants! We went to Ruby Watch Co. for his birthday a few weeks ago.

Ruby Watch Co. is unlike any other restaurant, the concept is to create a 4-course menu inspired by what’s in season and to use locally grown food. Therefore the menu changes on a daily basis and you have no choice besides getting the prix fixed menu, $49. If you’re a little picky about what you eat, you can go on to http://rubywatchco.ca to take a look at the menus for the whole week. Also all the courses are served family style beside the dessert course.
Did I mention Food network celebrity chef @CHEF_LYNN is the chef at the place? Unfortunately she was still filming her t.v show “Pitchin In” when we went.

I love the cosiness and warmth of the restaurant. The restaurant is small but you don’t feel crowded among all the other tables.

This was what was on the menu when we went:

Charred Broccoli & Applewood Smoked Bacon Salad
Veal Chops w Spicy Pepperonata Sauce served with mashed potatoes, roasted purple carrots and button mushrooms
Artisanal Cheese course
Vanilla Roastd Pineapple Upside Down Cake

One of the best salad any of us ever had! Love the bacon!

Did I mention these cheese biscuits? DELICIOUS AND WARM!

Super flavourful and tender veal chops.

The sides: mashed potato, sauteed mushrooms and roasted purple carrots.

The cheese course was a little too over whelming for most of us, the blue cheese was too strong but I ate most of the beets cause I love beets!

I felt that the cake was a little dry but I was way to stuffed to even finish it.

Did I mention how great the service was? It was awesome! We made reservations but had to wait an extra 15 minutes and we all got a free glass of bubbly! Not to mention all the servers were really nice, attentive and talkative.

ORO RESTAURANT

May 14, 2012September 16, 20192 Comments

45 Elm St | Toronto, ON
http://www.ororestaurant.com/

I’ve been to Oro Restaurant once before and the food was delicious, Cherry took me here for my belated birthday dinner and I was quite happy about that. We came on a Saturday night and it wasn’t as packed as I thought it was going to be.
They did a really good job on creating a warm atmosphere with brick walls, comfy chairs and dim lighting.

We started off with two appetizers to share.

Sweet Shrimp Ceviche, $13.95, Fresh citrus, serrano chili, green apple, radish and fennel. The shrimp were so good but we both felt that everything else was way to sour, to the point where it was kind of hard to eat. It was my first time ever having ceviche so I’m not sure if it was supposed to be that sour.

We also got the Grilled Octopus Salad, $14.95, Kalamata olives, roasted garlic, arugula, marinated red pepper, grainy mustard balsamic. The octopus was super tender but the salad was slightly over dressed and we both thought that was octopus salad from Fabbrica.

Cherry got the House Made Sausage Tagliatelle, $19.95, Nagano pork sausage, basil pesto, Unionville mushrooms. The pasta was earthy and filling, even though it looks like such a small portion. Also Cherry didn’t complain and gobbled it all up so it was good! She probably just got it cause of the “Unionville mushrooms” (haha).

I opted to get the Ricotta Gnocchi,$19.95, Amatriciana, house made guancaile, basil and Grana Padano.

(sorry for the blurry picture)
The gnocchi was soft and melt-in-your-mouth good! The sauce had a little kick to it, which I absolutely loved. Oh! Did I mention the pieces of bacon? Fabulous. Everyone must try the gnocchi! And to think I was going to pick the Carbonara over the gnocchi, I’m so silly.

We were definitely too full to order dessert.
Super good meal, great company, and a very adventurous night after, what else could I ask for?

HOLY CHUCK

April 17, 2012September 16, 2019Leave a comment

1450 Yonge Street | Toronto, ON
http://www.holychuckburgers.com/

I can finally say I’ve been to Holy Chuck and holy chuck are the burgers good!
We got there around 12:45pm and it wasn’t as busy as I thought it was going to be but I guess that was a bonus for us!

As soon as you walk in you get the full view of the open kitchen, on the left side you have the giant menu board and condiment station.

On the right you have the infamous “Go Chuck Yourself” challenge board. If you can finish a Go Chuck Yourself burger (6 patties, 6 slices of cheese, triple bacon, caramelized onions which are stacked between 3 grilled cheese) & one of their famous milkshake in under 6 minutes you get to be on the wall of fame and if you don’t, you go under the wall of shame. Some guy finished it in 3 minutes, what a champ!

Sometimes I order more then my stomach can handle but I knew I had to order a milkshake, how could I not? They have such mouth-watering combinations! I got the Nutella & Salted Caramel milkshake, it was super incredibly thick!
To be honest it was really good the first few sips but it got too rich & sweet way too fast. I had to cut the richness with my friends Coke and in the end I had to throw away half of it cause either of us wanted to finish it, it was heart breaking.
(Sorry to the lady in the background…didn’t mean to take an action shot.)

I got The Grind n’ Shine, $10.99, double cheese burger with bacon, caramelized onions, crispy homemade chips topped with a fried egg. It was absolutely fantastic and I loved the over easy egg. I had meat juice and grease dripping down my hands and mouth, I was not a very attractive at all.
Although the burger was a little greasy and salty but overall a really good burger.

Darren got the Holy Chuck Burger which is their signature burger (double cheese burger with bacon and caramelized onions). No complaints from him and he ate it pretty fast so that must be a good sign! The fries were perfectly crispy and soft at the same time

I wanted to get dessert but was absolutely stuffed to the brim, I was definitely on the verge of having some serious food coma.
A super indulgent & heavy lunch, we both wanted to eat some sort of vegetable or salad after the burgers. I would come back and try the many other different burgers and get dessert. Oh and possibly the Foie Gras Poutine?!