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BAR ISABEL

November 23, 2013September 16, 2019Leave a comment

797 College Street | Toronto, ON
http://barisabel.com

First of all I would like to apologize for the bad quality photos, I had to resort to Instagram.
When the former chef of Black Hoof opens a restaurant how could I not try it? Bar Isabel has been on my radar since it opened last year in the College Ossington area.

A few weeks ago we tried to get a table around 7pm without making reservations unfortunately we weren’t able to get a table till 11pm, we smartened up and made reservations for the next week.

We started off with the Roast Bone Marrow served with toasted bread, chimichurri and salt, $9, I have a weird love or obsession with bone marrow and I always have to order it when I see it. Super rich and fatty, it’s like beef butter!

The crowd pleaser of the night was the Whole Fish Ceviche, $26, we got sea bream. The presentation was phenomenal, the skeleton of the fish was deep friend and the ceviche was served on top. Fresh chunks of fish, creamy avocado and thinly sliced red onions are perfect together.

The number one reason why I wanted to visit Bar Isabel was for their Octopus, we opted to order 1/2 ($34) but you have the option to order a whole ($59) octopus as well. Charred, tender and flavourful, the potatoes went really nicely with the octopus too.

But the Highlight of the night was dessert.

The Corn Ice Cream with burnt husk & walnut crumble and spicy caramel, $6.50, was to die for. The hint of corn flavour in the ice cream was just enough, it wasn’t too sweet but the caramel sauce made up for that but also adding a surprising kick of heat. One of my favourite desserts in Toronto.

We also got the Salted Dark Chocolate with olive oil, $6.50. This is one intense scoop of chocolate, rich, thick and smooth and incredibly chocolatey; like coats the back of your throat thick.

We also got the Marinated Swiss Chard with raisins and anchovy for $6 but I forgot to take a picture. it was served cold and reminded me a lot like Korean marinated seaweed, very tasty.

Overall a fantastic dinner but a little pricy, Bar Isabel is definitely a must try in Toronto and is most definitely lives up to the T.O hype.

ZEN JAPANESE

November 10, 2013September 16, 20192 Comments

2803 Eglinton Avenue East | Toronto, ON
http://www.zenjapaneserestaurant.com

This tiny restaurant in a tiny plaza that would probably be overlooked by many has one of Toronto’s most authentic sushi bars. I came here quite some time ago so I won’t go into detail about everything.
My sister and I treated my mom to Zen for her birthday dinner (my mom’s birthday is in June, I’m quite behind on posting), we got a table at the bar which is where the major happens.

We started off with complimentary miso soup and we also ordered the grilled Black Cod.

I got the Chirashi.

My sister got the Tokujyo Sushi

My mom splurged and got the Omaskase Sushi. The fish she got were: Fluke, Sea Bass, Hobo, Sea Bream, Hiramasa, Squid, Hamachi, Medium tuna, Shrimp , Fatty tuna, Spanish Mackerel, Eel. She also got a fatty tuna roll.

Our sushi chef and fish educator.

Overall I Thought Zen was really good, I loved how they informed you on where each fish came from and they offer fish that you don’t normally see at other Japanese restaurants. We also got a lesson on the different types of seaweed (did you know that? cause I sure didn’t!), and you can actually taste the difference between the more expensive seafood.
I would probably visit Zen more often if the location was more convenient for me.

PIGGY’S RESTAURANT

November 7, 2013September 16, 20191 Comment

5 Glen Cameron Rd, Unit 27A | Thornhill, ON
www.piggysrestaurant.ca

I’m no Korean BBQ expert but I do know good food and Piggy’s Restaurant serves up some delicious mouth watering pork belly BBQ. Piggy’s is located in Thornhill just North of Yonge St. and Steeles Avenue.

My authentic Korea friend, Michele, said Piggy’s has the best Korean BBQ in town so I guess we had to visit. For the three of us we order 2 servings of the pork belly which comes with side dishes, lettuce (for wrapping your pork), sauce and a small tofu soup.

Look at all that food, my mouth is salivating as I type this!

You can also add on white rice, fried kimchi rice or stone bowl rice. We opted for the kimchi fried rice (Mook Eun Gi )for an extra $2.95.

Michele also mentioned that Piggy’s has the best Bi Bim Naeng Myeon (Sweet potato vermicelli noodles with spicy red pepper sauce, $9.95).

This was my first time trying Bi Bim Naeng Myeon, I usually get the Mul Naeung Myeon (Sweet potato vermicelli noodles in icy cold beef broth) but I got to admit it was super yummy, the sauce wasn’t too spicy and it was a fretting break from all that pork belly.
The pork wasn’t too greasy or fatty, the fatty just melted away. I usually spit out or avoid the fatty parts of meat but I devoured the nuggets of pork.

I would highly recommend Piggy’s Restaurant for good authentic Korean BBQ, I haven’t tried their BBQ beef yet but I will make a trip soon.
The three of us were incredibly stuffed but we definitely had room for some bubble tea!

TSUKI IZAKAYA

November 4, 2013September 16, 2019Leave a comment

35 York Blvd | Richmond Hill, ON
http://www.tsuki.ca

Another Izakaya but the bonus is that Tsuki is located uptown in Richmond Hill. Tsuki has a large extensive menu which includes both Japanese and Korean dishes and the menu has pictures of almost every item.
We didn’t order a lot since it was just Cherry and I, the food arrived quite quickly after we put our order in.

We started off with the Tako Wasabi, Octopus with chopped wasabi stem on bed of sliced onion, $4.00. It good but not anything special or memorable.

Kaki Fry, Deep fried oyster served with Japanese tartar and salad, $8.00. Seemed a little pricy for 2 pieces of oyster that were cut in half.

Green Dragon Roll, Avocado on dynamite roll, $12.00

Maguro Tataki, Lightly seared tuna sashimi with ponzu, $14.00. This was probably my favourite of the night but not the best I’ve had.

Tsuki is a nice option to have in Richmond Hill but everything I tried was jut pretty average and nothing really stood out to me. The prices are a little higher for what you are getting, bonuses here are that there aren’t any waits and that you can actually hear what people are saying.
I hear good things about their ramen so I’ll probably come back to give that a try. Also the staff here is very polite and nice.

MIDEASTRO YORKVILLE

November 3, 2013September 16, 2019Leave a comment

27 Yorkville Ave| Toronto, ON
http://www.mideastroyorkville.com

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend Mideastro’s two year anniversary. Mideastro is located in the posh neighbourhood of Yorkville where they are offering a fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. Executive Chef Benny Cohen is the brains behind the menu creating a wonderful fusion of flavours from multiple countries.

The interior is beautiful with dark wood furnishing and black leather seating, the place feels incredibly warm and cozy yet still being elegant.

I loved how they had personalize name cards for everyone, little touches go along way people!

We started off with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

Risotto with edamame, asparagus, green peas and spinach.

Foie Gras with lemon, chili and halvuh on pecan pastry.

Beef Carpaccio with parmesan and arugula pesto.

For cocktail hour we got to mingle with media personals and bloggers, the food just kept coming and the drinks kept flowing. My favourite was probably the beef carpaccio and the risotto.

For the sit down dinner part we started off with a trio of appetizers:
Persian Grape Leaves (Stuffed with dried mint rice, ground tenderloin in tomato hearts, lemon, fresh mint and pine sap, on a bed of Lebanese sumac tahina and red & white quinoa table)
Duck Confit Pastilla (on a coconut cream mash, drizzled with date honey, sesame paste, pomegranate reduction and pistachios)
Shrimp Falafel (tzatziki feta, pickled vegetable tartare, hummus masabaha, aji panka & herb tahina)

The flavours were complex and interesting, the Duck Confit probably threw me off the most. It was sweet and savoury with incredible texture. At first I wasn’t a big fan, you really had to savour the flavours and texture but it was probably my favourite of the three.

Entree Trio:
Halibut (whipped fennel cream, quinoa tabule, Spanish almonds, sweet arisa preserved lemon pesto with Syrian olives, baby artichokes, okra & lemon raki)
Crispy Quail (mung bean pods, mango, chili, candied garlic, root vegetable tartare & pineapple reduction)
Miami Ribs (marinated in ginger, garlic, mint, date honey & orange juice)

Miami ribs were hands down my favourite of the trio, it had a very Korean-ques quality to them, sweet, savoury, garlic-y and tender.

We got miniature sized desserts, the only compliant I had was I wish they were bigger cause they were so good!

Fig Kataiv, crisp kataiv pastry layered with spiced mascarpone, fresh figs and pistachios
Mini Nutella Parfait, frozen nutella cream, caramelized bananas, rich crème anglais, salted pecan brittle and tuile cookie. Who doesn’t love chocolate, hazelnuts and bananas?

Each course was paired with a hand-picked wine to accompany the flavours of the dish. The night was amazing from start to end, I met some great people and had a delicious meal. Thank you Mideastro for letting me celebrate with you and providing such a great array of flavours to try.

Happy 2nd anniversary Mideastro and to many more successful years to come!

*This was a complimentary meal. The opinions in the post are my own.*

DRAKE ONE FIFTY

October 20, 2013September 16, 2019Leave a comment

150 York Street | Toronto, ON
http://www.drakeonefifty.ca

Drake One Fifty opened it’s door a few weeks ago in the heart of the Financial Distract, the sister restaurant to The Drake Hotel, the restaurant is an incredible 6000 square-feet space with an open concept kitchen, a large wrap around bar and endless seating. The decor is a mixture of retro meets modern with a little bit of rustic.

I was invited to the Family and Friends appreciation dinner by Manal, basically it was a dress rehearsal dinner for the grand opening. That night the one drink, starter, entree and dessert was on the house, we clearly order more and were going to cover the extra expenses.

We started off with the Warm Olives ($9) followed by a small Seafood Platter (Mussels, Shrimp Oyters and Clams, $50) and the Scallop Crudo (with Preserved Lemon, Kohlrabi, Black Olive Reduction, Puffed Rice, $17)

Our server suggested we split our dinner into three parts considering the amount we ordered, everything wouldn’t fit onto the table at once. For the second part of our dinner we had the Octopus Salad (Grilled Octopus Tentacle with Teardrop Tomatoes and Greens, $17), then the Grilled Truffle Cauliflower ($14) came and we opted to add on grilled scallops for an extra $12.

For our entrees Manal got the Pickerel (served with Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower Puree, $17) and Michelle and I got the Steak Frites (served with sauteed greens and mushrooms, $38).

All the desserts were priced at $9. First one we tried was the Mint Ice Cream served with a Coffee Macaron, chocolate shavings and some sort of crumble. Then it was the Lemon Brûlée Tart with a Toasted Vanilla Marshmallow and Camomile Tea Caramel. The last dessert we tried was the Olive Oil Cake served with Vanilla Ice Cream, and an Orange Sauce.

Everything was amazingly cooked and executed with incredible flavour combination, not only is Drake One Fifty a great addition to the Financial Distract, it’s a great addition to the Toronto dining scene. Our server was fantastic and knowledgable about the foods and wines. Prices are a tad steep in my opinion but definitely worth the splurge.
My favourites of the night were the Scallop Crudo, Truffle Cauliflower and the Pickerel. They seem to have a pretty delicious looking brunch menu as well.

*This was a complimentary meal. The opinions in the post are my own.*

TABULE

September 28, 2013September 16, 2019Leave a comment

810 Queen St East | Toronto, ON
http://tabule.ca

Tabülè opened it’s second location on the east side of town in Leslieville, this new Tabülè is modern and chic with a combination of rustic and modern decor. During summer they even open up the front windows to create a bigger space.

They started us off with an array of pickled vegetables (cucumbers, olives, raddish and peppers).

We got the Babaganüj, pureed bbq eggplant mixed with lebanese tahini, garlic and fresh lemon juice, $5.50, to start. Come with some warm pita to dip, it was creamy, rich and flavourful.

Kefta – two skewers of charcoal broiled ground mixed lamb and beef with onions, tomatoes, parsley, garlic and spices

I love Tabülè’s Falafel vegetarian patties consisting of crushed chick peas, split fava, parsley, garlic, onions and spices fried and served with tahini $5.75. They were ridiculously crispy but the inside was soft with a fresh herbiness.

We got the Kefta (two juicy skewers of charcoal broiled ground mixed lamb and beef with onions, tomatoes, parsley, garlic and spices $14.95) to share. This was kind of a disappointing dish, I had such high hopes for it considering the rest of the meal was delicious, the skewers were dry and tasted like a not-so-good meatball. I just felt like the dish needed some sauce of some sort, in the end was asked for some hot sauce.

Overall the food was good but we got terrible service, we had to wave down multiple servers. Most of them walked off not even glancing at us. No one came over to ask how our meal was and it just seemed like everyone was too busy to pay attention to us even though the restaurant wasn’t packed.
I had so much more I wanted to try but I’ll probably head over to the original location to give Tabülè another go.

SABAI SABAI

September 28, 2013September 16, 2019Leave a comment

225 Church Street | Toronto, ON
http://www.sabaisabaito.ca/

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged so bear with me while I blast out a number of posts. After much rave about Sabai Sabai my foodie coworker and I just had to try it out for ourselves. We walked in (without a reservation) on a Wednesday around 6pm, the place was empty but we were told we only had an hour and a half for our meal before we had to leave because of the next reservation.

The atmosphere is casual and relaxed with little brightly coloured lanterns hung around the back of the restaurant.

Thai Iced Tea, $4 and Mock Mojito $4.

We were quite excited about trying Sabai Sabai considered Chef Nuit is from Khao San Road (my all time favourite Thai restaurant in Toronto). I had to order the Crispy Shrimp Chips with Tamarind sauce, $4.

They were crispy, salty with a hint of spiciness.

Desi highly recommended the Deep fried freshly grated squash fritters, $7. I enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away.

How could we not get the Khao soi, egg noodles in coconut curry gravy with beef, $9? Creamy and rich but it felt like it was a tad too sweet. The beef was incredibly tender though.

We also got the Grilled Chicken Wings with Sabai Sabai House Marinade, $7.
This really reminded me of my mom’s BBQ chicken wings which I love and is what I look forward most to during the summer. Sweet, spicy and sticky; finger-licking-good. At this point we were stuffed so I don’t think we enjoyed it as much as we would have liked to.

There was noway we could’ve left without getting the Mango Sticky Rice but sadly it wasn’t as coconuty or creamy as I would’ve liked it to be.

Overall Sabai Sabai is good but not on my number one pick for Thai food.

BUCA OSTERIA & ENOTECA

September 9, 2013September 16, 20192 Comments

602 King St West | Toronto, ON
http://buca.ca/

For my last birthday dinner celebration, a bunch of us headed to Buca. I’ve heard amazing things about Buca so why wouldn’t I want to come for my birthday and what better excuse to get a bunch of my friends together to join me a restaurant that I want to try?

The restaurant is quite hidden and you won’t be able to find it from street view, it’s in the basement behind a building. There are two different seating areas; one with 30-feet ceilings with gorgeous natural sunlight. The other area is more like a cellar, there’s an impressive meat fridge. The overall space is rustic but elegant. The menu is updated daily so they don’t have a menu online.

We started off with a Salumi Di Buca ($18) which is basically their charcuterie made in house and Formaggi ($19) (a selection of three local and imported cheeses), You have a choice of three meats and three cheeses and is served with preservatives. Our server also served us bread knots without telling us it wasn’t complimentary. I was a little taken back with the size or at least quantity of the board. I’ve had better and bigger charcuterie boards (Black Hoof) at other restaurants so I wasn’t that impressed with Buca’s. We also got two orders of Nodini, warm bread knots with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and sea salt, $6. Who doesn’t like warm garlicy bread?

Ravioli Doppi, double stuffed ravioli, braised duck and foie gras, goat cheese mousse finished with good crackle and citrus & lovage sauce, $26.

Gnocchi Alla Cenere, hand rolled dumplings made with onion ash served with pecorino and parmigiano cheese, $21.

Carbonara Di Mare, bronze die-cut mezze maniche from abruzzo with parmigiano reggiano cheese, fresh italian chili, sea urchin, mullet bottarga and trout caviar, $25.

Seafood special of the night was ricotta stuffed squid.

Salumi Di Buca, smoked pizza dough with buffalo cheddar, eggplant and salumi di buca, $21.

Out of all our dishes, I think mine was hands down the favourite with the group.

All the boys weren’t full so we all headed to Wvrst after! Our server wasn’t very attentive and when we asked him to recommend some dishes he kind of trailed off without even suggesting anything. I’m not sure if it was because my friends and I all still look like we’re 16 but he was much more attentive to all his other tables.

At the end of our meal we were served individually packaged amaretti cookies with the bill, which were absolutely delightful. Everything at Buca was tasty, innovative and flavours you wouldn’t normally find at Italian restaurants. Having said all that, I wouldn’t pick Buca as my favourite Italian restaurant and would probably only be back if someone else picked up the tab.

Buca has tasty innovative food, a lovely place for date night but too pricey for me to call my go-to Italian restaurant.

RAMEN RAIJIN

September 9, 2013September 16, 2019Leave a comment

3 Gerrard Street East | Toronto, ON
http://zakkushi.com/raijin/

I’m back on my ramen phase craze again, my coworkers and I visited Raijin Ramen a few weeks ago. It’s taken me a while to visit Raijin beause of the mixed reviews, there’s probably a 50/50 percent like to dislike but I knew I had to try it out for myself.
One thing that stands out at Raijin’s compared to other ramen joints in Toronto is that they serve charcoal soup based ramen. They also have quite a spacious restaurant, no need to sit shoulder to shoulder to complete strangers here.

I got the Shio Ramen which is their regular ramen seasoned with salt. I usually get shio when trying new ramen restaurants. Raijin Ramen does not use pork belly but instead uses pork shoulder, the meat wasn’t as tender and it doesn’t have the same lovely melt-in-your-mouth goodness that you experience at other ramen places.

My favourite part of the meal was probably the egg. The soup was was lacking in flavour and it kind of had a burnt taste (maybe from the charcoal? I’m not sure).

Both my other dining companions got Black Charcoal Dark Miso Ramen and it was ten times better than their regular Shio Ramen.

It was so much more flavourful and I was definitely recommend ordering this one.

We also got the Steamed Pork Bun and the Kara-age but both weren’t anything mind blowing, just average.

Overall the ramen isn’t very memorable but it wasn’t horrible.