Tag: Toronto Eats

ALO RESTUARANT

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Spadina Ave. 3rd Floor
Toronto, ON
Alo opened during the summer and it’s been the talk of the town, this little restaurant is right at the corner of Spadina & Queen on the third floor. The restaurant is mainly a multi course tasting menu. The menu consists of 5 courses with two options to pick from, $89. You can also have a seat at the chef’s rail where you can watch the chefs prepare each course, this menu consists of about 20 tasting bites all chosen by the chef, $100.

Ontario Corn 
Foie Gras Torchon
Tomato
Peau de Lait 
Egg
Chawanmushi 
Carolina Gold Rice
Duclair Duck Breast 
Yorkshire Rack of Pork 
Cheese Course, +$15
Yellow Plum
Milk Chocolate 
Cherry
Cannele & Choux
I had the pleasure in grabbing in a seat at the chef’s rail. I was blown away with every single bite they presented in front of me. My favourites were the Hamachi, Corn with corn sobet, Peau de Lait, Egg with corn, and the Pork.
The hamachi was sandwiched in between two thin pieces of bread which was reminiscent of incredibly crisp skin. The corn dishes were packed with so much corn flavour, and since corn is my one of my favourite vegetables I was in corn heaven. The Peau de Lait had the core flavours of lasagna, so rich and creamy but the tomato cut through the fattiness of the milk. 
I’ve never had such perfectly cooked pork. 
After every dish I was left wanting more and more, I could’ve eaten 5 plates of each dish. Everything was beautifully presented, so much detail and care was put into each plate.
The service at Alo was very attentive, they had shawls for chilly guests, purse hooks, and everyone tried to create the best experience for each guest. 

HOME BAKING CO.

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1242 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON
Co-owner of Baker Bots, Christopher Stopa, opened up this cute little shop last year serving up comforting baked goods. They are also making amazing cookie ice cream sandwiches, cupcakes, incredibly chocolatey cake, and so much more.
The space is small with 3-4 tables, the long counter space has a large variety of baked goods that change daily.
Cinnamon bun with cream cheese icing, red velvet cupcake, mint chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie, chocolate cookie with dairy free chocolate ice cream, and chocolate cake.
The chocolate cake is the most decedent, fudgey cake I’ve ever had but my favourite was the peanut butter cookie, I ate it the next day and it was still super soft and chewy with crushed pieces of peanuts and white chocolate.

KOI SAKANA

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360 Highway 7 East, Unit 3
Richmond Hill, ON


The Grilled squid, $7, was tender and not chewy. There was a slight smokey flavours from the grill and the sauce wasn’t too salty.


From top left going clock wise: Pork Cutlet Tonkotsu Ramen (changed soup base from Pork Cutlet Curry Ramen), Hokkaido Ramen & House Tonkotsu Ramen.


Not really a fan of the curry but the restaurant name does indicate that it’s a ramen shop and not curry shop. The pork cutlet was on point, someone once told me that you can tell if a restaurant is good by how delicious their pork katsu is. It was nicely golden brown with an ultra crisp exterior and the pork itself was tender and juicy (I hate that word).


My broth was tongue burning hot, just the way I like it and the noodles were thin and had a nice chewy texture. I opted to get the House Speical Tonkotsu Ramen, bbq pork, egg, green onion, black fungus, corn, fishcake & seaweed, $8.50. Overall the ramen was good, no comparision to Sansotei or Santouka but a nice option for people who want to satisfy a ramen craving without heading downtown.

Koi Sakana serves up one of the better ramens uptown.

Update: I’ve been back quite a number of times and Koi really hits the spot when you’re craving quality ramen uptown!

Koi Sakana Ramen on Urbanspoon

LADY MARMALADE

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898 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON
One of the best Brunches I’ve ever had, I’ve been longing to dine at Lady Marmalade for quite some time now but I’m not quite the fan of 1-2 hour weekend line-ups. I finally made a trip to Leslieville on a Thursday and got a seat with no hassle.
The restaurant is small with around 10 -12 tables, simple decor and nothing too frufru or over the top. At the front of the restaurant, there is a giant window that opens up to the street which gives you the patio feeling without the sun blinding you in the eye while you eat.
Eggs Benny with Brie, Avocado and Bacon, $15.00.

Cheddar & Spinach Waffles with Bacon and a Poached egg, $12.95 + 3.00 for the poached egg.
There was an orange tomato type sauce with the pancakes that at first I thought might have been a weird combination but it was a hit! I’m typically not a sweet breakfast type girl but I couldn’t resist a savoury waffle.
Lady Marmalade definitely lives up to the brunch hype and I can’t wait come back for more,

COPA BY SEA

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230 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, ON
I cannot speak highly enough about Copa by Sea, I’ve never been so impressed with the quantity and quality of food and service at a buffet. The concept of the buffet is the same as their upstairs restaurant, Copacabana Brazilian Steak House. There’s open concept kitchen that lets you see and smell what the chefs are grilling.
There was an endless amount of crab legs, smoked salmon and shrimp cocktail near the bar area but wait, save room for everything else!
You can also order from the “a la carte” menu which consists of a selection of ceviche, sushi rolls (dynamite, spicy tuna etc.), nigiri sushi and PEI oysters (4 per person). I wasn’t a big fan of the ceviche so I would recommend skipping it all together, a little too sour with a bitter taste at the end but everything else was good & fresh.
The side dishes don’t end yet, you can get french fries, onion rings, fried calamari, soba noodle salad, corn bread and lobster & shrimp mac n cheese! All the sides were pretty standard but the lobster mac n cheese is a must try!
Okay, let’s just take in how much food that was and we haven’t even gotten to the main attraction. Let’s talk about the Rodizio (grilled over a charcoal flame and served tableside), firstly you don’t even have to get out of your seat to get food cause the food comes to you! My long list of personal favourites were the garlic shrimp, teriyaki salmon, black cod (I could eat my weight in it), fillet of branzino, umadashi scallops, ribeye, beef ribs (so incredibly tender), lobster & shrimp mac n cheese, crab legs and fried banana.
pictured; Bacon wrapped cod
On my plate I had part of a lobster & cheese biscuit, garlic shrimp, bacon wrapped cod, teriyaki shrimp and lobster & shrimp mac n cheese. Everything was cooked so well, probably better than most restaurants in Toronto.
If you’re sick of all the seafood, you can get the buttermilk ribeye that’s grilled to perfection.
pictured; umadashi scallops
If you have room for desserts, the two options are grilled pineapples or fried banana that’s coated in cinnamon sugar then drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce.
The service was great too, they would periodically come and change your plate so flavours don’t mix
too much, everyone was friendly and attentive. They’re having a limited time price for $30 per person (super great value) but if you miss that you can come back on your birthday with friends and eat for free (might be for a limited time as well). I’ve never written a post so quickly before because I never felt so passionate about a restaurant and their price to food quality ratio but I highly recommend checking out Copa by Sea!

THE GOOD SON

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1096 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON 
Southern Fried Chicken, maple waffles & spicy creme fraiche, $15.
The fried chicken was boneless and had a light crispy coating but the star of the dish were the waffles, crispy exterior and fluffy interior. The combination of savoury, sweet and spicy was perfect. It was so good!
Eggs Benedict, roasted pork cheek with poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and field greens, $15. The eggs were perfectly runny and the pork cheeks were just the right amount of saltiness and crispiness. The sauce was incredibly velvety.
I must say these were one of the best eggs benedicts I’ve ever had, they were so simple but done so well. I even traded half my chicken & waffles for the rest of my sister’s benedicts, it was that good.
As soon as you walk through the doors of The Good Son, you’re instantly transported back to the 1950s. The hostess area resembles a kitchen pantry with the white cabinets and wooden counter tops. The restaurant itself is incredibly cozy with mismatched seating, large leather booth seating, an open concept kitchen that over looks a a massive family table that seats 18. Even though the walls are covered from floor to ceiling with decor, it doesn’t look cluttered.
Did I mention that the service was on point, super friendly.  Can’t wait to come back for brunch and to try out their dinner menu. They even have their own pizza oven at the back of the restaurant! 


The Good Son on Urbanspoon

HAN BA TANG

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4862 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON 

Han Ba Tang is one of the new restaurants in the Yonge and Sheppard area, they opened up this past May serving up Korean fusion tapas. “Han Ba Tang” means “one full round”, weather it’s one full round of laughter, food or drinks.

The interior of the space has quite the industrial feel with the bare exposed bricks, scrap metal wall and reclaimed wood pieces. The mismatched chairs and lighting give the space somewhat of a warm, cozy atmosphere.My favourite part was the giant custom Han Ba Tang sign right as you walk in.


The cocktails range from $8-10 each.


Butter poached lobster with creamy tomato sauce.


Spicy Chicken with Fondue, grilled chicken in a sizzling plate with a mix of rice cakes, onions & carrots with a side of creamy cheese fondue.


Black Squid Ink Pasta, squid ink pasta, mussels with a house made gochujang cream sauce topped with a Korean beef cake.


Kalbi & Spicy Pork Tacos, grilled kalbi and spicy pork on a bed of shredded cabbage with red onions and a light house aioli.


Kimchi Fries with Bulgogi, extra crispy fries topped with kimchi, aioli, gravy, sizzling bulgogi & green onions.


Chilli Shrimp, lightly battered shrimp dipped in sweet chilli sauce.


Spoon Pizza, mashed sweet potato “crust” with vegetables, tomato sauce topped with cheese and bacon or kimchi.


Spicy Seafood Soup, a spicy seafood soup with shrimp, mussels & crab with Korean Ramyun.

My favourite dishes of the night included the black squid ink pasta, spicy pork taco, chilli shrimp and kimchi fries.
The pasta was deliciously creamy, pasta was perfectly cooked and the sweetness of the beef patty was the perfect contrast to the savoury cream sauce.

Although the tacos were both good, the spiciness of the pork taco was on point! I couldn’t stop eating and actually wanted more, I’ll definitely be back for the tacos.

The chilli shrimp were ultra crispy and I loved the sweet and spicy sauce it was coated in.

The kimchi fries were hard to resist, ultra crispy fries that stayed crispy even at the bottom of the plate. I could honestly eat a whole bucket of just plain fries.


Not only does Han Ba Tang have great food, they have a great selection of drinks. HBT offers house infused soju called “soju flights”, for $15 you get a selection like apple cinnamon, strawberry, pineapple, citron, ginseng, etc.

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

Han Ba Tang on Urbanspoon

AFT KITCHEN AND BAR

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686 Queen St East
Toronto, ON

Weekends and brunch go hand in hand and it’s probably my favourite type of meal. For some reason I feel like I can always indulge when it comes to brunch. I used to work at the East end and I would pass by AFT everyday but never had the chance to try it.

I took my mom here for lunch and we walked in a little past 11am and there were already people ordering. Aft has two different sets of menus; a brunch and dinner menu for the weekends and a separate one for the weekend.

I got the Brisket Hash, slow-smoked beef brisket with shredded potato hash, pan fried with two sunny-side eggs and served with toast. ($15.00)

My meal was alright, I didn’t think it was anything special. The potatoes were perfectly cooked with part of the hash being crispy and the middle being soft. I thought the brisket was going to be more like pulled pork but it was diced up into little nuggets scattered throughout. I wish there were more tomatoes or something to make the dish more fresh and light.

The Kentucky Hot Brown, house-smoked chicken, roma tomatoes & Mornay sauce served open-faced on thick toast with double-smoked bacon ($14.00).
If you want something super rich and filling, this is the dish to order. The Mornay sauce is a ultra thick creamy sauce, it’s so buttery, creamy and hard to  stop eating. The chicken was tender and the bacon was crispy. This dish was so good it was hard to picking at it even after being completely stuffed.


I think AFT’s BBQ sauces really make the meal, you get the choice between three. Our waitress didn’t explain which was what but I have a pretty good guess. From left to right; mango BBQ, a smoky BBQ and maple habanero. I really liked the sweet mango sauce, I slathered it on my whole meal.

I would definitely want to try their dinner menu.

AFT on Urbanspoon

KINTON RAMEN

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51 Baldwin Street
Toronto, ON
http://www.kintonramen.com/

Winter is approaching which also means ramen season is here. I’ve been hesitant on trying Kinton ramen for a while now because I’ve heard mixed reviews from a lot of people so I had to try it for myself. Kinton is part of Guu’s giant empire in toronto, from opening two izakayas, a high end sushi restaurant, and now their forth ramen joint.

I’m not a ramen connoisseur  but I do have some requirements that I like to mentally check off; 1. the soup has to come to the table piping hot 2. the soup can’t be too salty 3. the meat has to be flavourful and tender. I’m not asking for much, right?

Aaron and Carmen both got the Miso Ramen, soybean paste, bean sprouts, scallions, corn & garlic oil ($10.90). Aaron got his noodles with pork shoulder and Carmen got it with pork belly. I had some of their soup, it was mild in flavour with a hint of miso flavour.

I tend to get the original flavour when I try a ramen joint for the first time. This time I got the Shio Ramen, sea salt, bean sprouts, scallions, nori ($10.90). I also added a seasoned egg for $1.50. My soup base had a little more flavour compared to the miso soup but it didn’t come throat burning hot! 

I really enjoy Kinton’s choice of noodles, thin and chewy which makes this girl happy. I like how the noodles were slightly undercooked so they can soften while you’re eating. The egg was perfectly soft boiled, it was probably the best thing I ate that night.  While everyone else is raving about Kinton’s ramen I have a different opinion, I found the soup base to be too salty even though I picked a “light” for the soup base. The piece of pork belly was paper thin but I do give them credit for blow torching the piece of meat, giving it a smoky flavour but I guess you do have the option of getting extra meat for $2.

Kinton Ramen on Urbanspoon

MILLIE CREPERIE

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161 Baldwin Street
Toronto, ON
 http://www.milliecreperie.com/

This little three tabled restaurant located at Kensington Market serves up Japanese style crepes, not only do they have sweet dessert ones they have absolutely delicious savoury crepes.  The thing the attracted me to come was the Mille Crepe cake which is notorious to Lady M, unfortunately they weren’t selling them by the slice that day.

Instead we got the Japanese special, strawberry, azuki, green tea gelato, macha sauce & chipped cream ($6.75). The crepe is a little thinner compared to your traditional crepe. The green tea gelato was really good, just a sold yummy crepe.

The favourite of the day was the Pork Belly Okonomiyaki, cabbage, carrot, okomoni sauce, Japanese mayo, bento flakes, and miso-braised pork ($8.00). You had me at pork belly, everything about this crepe was on point. The miso-braised pork belly was definately the star though, the fat just melted in your mouth and the meat was so tender and flavourful, just serve me a bucket of that please!All the flavours blended so well together, a great crepe to share (if you don’t mind spit swapping) or even a quick light lunch.
The picture does this crepe no justice. They were generous with the portions of sliced pork, even after finishing the crepe you didn’t feel groggy or like you just ate chucks of fat.

In store they have a lot more choices for their savoury crepes and I can’t wait to come back to try more! 

The only complaint I have with the savoury crepe was the crepe vessel, they use the same wax paper wrapping as they do with the sweet ones so it’s hard to hold a piping hot crepe. We had to play hot potato with it and by the end of the crepe all the pork fat was pooled at the bottom or had already dripped on your freshly washed pair of jeans.

Millie Creperie on Urbanspoon