Tag: Pork

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.

LUMA

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350 King St W | Toronto, ON
http://www.oliverbonacini.com

This was my first time at LUMA and I was surprised by how nice and elegant the space was. I’m not sure what I was expecting but the interior cozy, warm, and classy. LUMA is located at the TIFF lightbox right above their sister restaurant, the Canteen.

We got to nibble on some warm bread with white bean and hummus dip while looking through the menu. The hummus was addictive, I finished all of it.

For my appetizer I got the 100km Celery Root Soup with maytag blue cheese, apple and bacon compote. The soup was creamy and velvety, it had a nice flavour without having too much of a off-putting celery flavour. I love the sweetness of the apple compote with the savouriness of the soup.

Philip got the Fregola & Mixed Bean Salad with a 62.5° celsius hen’s egg, charred treviso, onion, chilies and anchovy lemon dressing. He really enjoyed the dish, no complaints from him.

I got the Roasted Trout with glazed roots, puffed wild rice and brown butter bay scallops for entree. This was hands down my favourite dish of the night, everything was perfect. My trout was perfectly cooked with an incredibly crispy skin. The puffed rice gave the dish a nice crunchy texture with every bite and the beets were light and refreshing contrast to the butter scallops.

Philip got the Braised Willowgrave Pork Shoulder with shiitake mushroom pilaf, green mango pickle, rice paper crunch and honey truffle sauce. The pork was tender and delicious.

I got the Steamed Banana Pudding with burnt marshmallow ice cream for dessert. I was somewhat disappointed with the dessert, I wasn’t expecting a banana muffin let alone a dry banana muffin. The ice-cream made up for the dryness of the cake but wasn’t anything special.

Philip got the Chocolate Espresso Budino with an almond biscotti. Incredibly rich and intense with chocolate flavour, a coffee is a must with this dessert to cut the richness.

Overall I had a great experience at LUMA, great food and good service. I loved the atmosphere and a perfect location for date night without breaking the bank. I would definitely try to come back for their regular menu.

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LA CARINTA

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501 College St | Toronto, ON
http://lacarnita.com

La Carnita is one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto, I’m never disappointed when I visit.

Mexican Street Corn (2pc) Mexican crema, queso anejo, arbol & ancho chili powder. The corn is a must order, corn is on my top 5 favourite vegetable and La Carnita takes it to another level.


Tortilla Chips w/ ancho chili powder & Guacamole

I love how the tortilla chips are seasoned, they even taste good by themselves.


Beef Cheek Ancho braised cheek, lime avocado, green cabbage, pickled jalapeño & crispy shallots


In Cod We Trust: voltron sauce, lime crema, pickled red cabbage, green apple & cilantro


Crispy Avocado & Frijoles Beans: crispy avocado, chipotle sauce, queso fresco & cilantro

Chorizo: Chorizo, mango salsa, pickled onion, queso cotija &cilantro

My favourite taco of the night was the Cod taco, perfectly fried cod with an extremely crispy batter. The pickled cabbage and apple cut through the richness of the crema and the fried batter, SO perfect.

For dessert we got two orders of Churros with house made cajeta (caramel) 

Tres Leche Cake Served with Ontario fruit which was strawberries that night.

I’ve been to both La Carnita and Grand Electric and I must say La Carnita is my go to taco joint!
From the atmosphere, service, lighting, seating and food, La Carnita wins by a land slide.

La Carnita on Urbanspoon

Santouka Ramen

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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.

Santouka Ramen on Urbanspoon