Tag: Fish

FRANK’S KITCHEN

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588 College Street, Toronto
When people ask me what my favourite restaurant in Toronto is and without flinching I tell them Frank’s Kitchen. I didn’t know casual fine dining actually existed, the atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxed but still classy. I’ve seen customers dine in shorts, suits, sandals, etc.
The service is outstanding, the servers are very knowledgeable, friendly and a tentative.
 
We started off with the daily complimentary amuse bouche, tomato bisque with a side of housemade focaccia & dip. The bread was lightly toasted, I enjoyed the small portion of starters so you don’t actually fill up on bread before your meal.
The daily appetizer special was the Deep Fried Squash Blossoms stuffed with Homemade Goat Cheese & Spinach. It was my first time having squash blossoms and they were delicious! Light and crispy with a creamy sweet and savoury filling. I would definitely order this again but it’s hard to find squash blossoms on menus because it’s such a seasonal item.
 
I also got the Kobe Beef Tartare with Fried Egg, Shaved Black truffles, Pickles and Guiness Mustard, $21. Look how beautiful the plating is. The truffles paired very well with the beef giving it an earthy element to the dish.  The pickled vegetables cut through the fattiness of the beef, I could eat this over and over again. The dish was also served with truffle brioche
The main courses were outstanding.
 
Catch of the Day: Salmon with lobster sauce, $26 & 12 oz Aged Beef Striploin with Shaved Truffles in a Shallot Jus with a side of Parmesan Frites, $40
The steak was perfectly cooked, the jus was flavourful without being too salty. It was everything anyone could want when ordering steak frites.

ZEN JAPANESE

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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.

Zen Japanese on Urbanspoon

MIDEASTRO YORKVILLE

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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.*
Mideastro on Urbanspoon