May 2012

In Downtown

Kamei Royale: Kamei Kiss Dining Package Review

May 31, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Kamei Kiss” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package for myself and I brought along M to keep the review as unbiased as I could.

Kamei Royale Japanese Restaurant is located on Burrard near West Georgia, thus very close to the Burrard Skytrain. They are owned by the Kamei Group that also owns Ebisu and Daimasu. I’ve visited Ebisu and Daimasu before, but I have not been to Kamei Royal until this experience.

The guys at VANEATS.ca is offering a new dining package called Kamei Kiss for $19, where you get 4 courses consisting of:

Healthy Agedashi Tofu
Crab Salad
Oda Roll
Ice Cream Tempura

The interior is quite nice and the interior is large too. I would think this would be a good location for large parties. Some of the staff are even dressed up in kimonos.

Crab Salad has a crab mixed with avocado, mango, mayonnaise and tobiko. It is garnished with tomatoes, fried lotus roots, sprouts and greens. It is served in a martini glass and was a little bit difficult to figure out how to eat it since we were unsure if we should be eating the large leaf of lettuce or not. In the end, M and I just at the crab mixture and the garnishes and left the large leaf. M enjoyed the amount of crab and the accompany ingredients.

Healthy Agedashi Tofu is deep-fried and topped with kinpira, nameko mushrooms, edamame beans and lotus roots. It sits on top of a bed of ponzu sauce. The outer skin of the agedashi tofu was a little big soggy due to the ponzu sauce and the ingredients on top. It’s best to eat the item fairly quickly when it arrives at your table before the skin gets too soft. Nonetheless, the tofu does have a delicious flavour that balances with the sauce.

Oda Roll has mango, avocado, cucumber and salmon inside. It is topped with tempura eel and cream cheese. The server comes by and torches the top of the cream cheese with a blowtorch. It’s a fun little show, plus it looks amazing. I’ve never seen cream cheese being torched since it’s usually raw fish.

The creaminess from the cream cheese and the avocado made it a delight. The scorched cream cheese added a nice smokey taste that accompanied the tempura eel quite well.

Ice Cream Tempura has vanilla ice cream deep-fried in tempura batter, drizzled with chocolate and topped off with powdered sugar and a cherry. It’s about the size of a baseball. When we cut into the ice cream tempura, the inside was still cold, but it does start to melt quite quickly. M really enjoyed the dessert and was tempted to purchase another one just for himself.

Overall, if you look at Kamei Royale’s regular menu, you will see that the dining package is a steal! The Oda roll by itself is $15.50, the crab salad is $8.50, agedashi tofu is $5.95, and then tempura ice cream is $5.50. You save about $16.45 with getting the package. If you get the package and an additional noodle or rice dish, two people can get full.

The package is on sale now till it’s sold out, so you can grab this at VANEATS.ca for $19.

Words of Wisdom:

Beautiful decor and food presentation
Good for large groups
Tea costs $1.50 🙁
Overpriced for what you get, there are many cheaper options Downtown

We Rate Kamei Royale:

Address:
1030 W Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

http://www.kameiroyale.com/

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In Cafe

Cafe-Bistro Van Houtte: Coffee in Montreal, QC

May 31, 2012

Walking around Montreal, I found that there were more Van Houtte Cafes in the area than Starbucks. I guess it isn’t’ too strange since Van Houtte is based in Montreal Quebec. Since I always need a cup of coffee to get my day started, I thought I would try this place out.

The interior is large and modern. Plus, they have wifi access, which is awesome especially for people who need to lounge around.

The cups even have their logos on it.

The latte tasted good and had a pleasant aroma. It’s good to have something besides Starbucks for a change.

Words of Wisdom:

Free Wifi
Decent coffee, decent prices
Nice interior to chill

We Rate Cafe-Bistro Van Houtte:

Address:
1 Place Ville-Marie
Montreal, QC

Website:
http://www.vanhoutte.com/

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In Brunch

Lola’s Kitchen: Delectable Brunch in Toronto, ON

May 30, 2012

Lola’s Kitchen is located in Yorkville in Toronto. They serve up some delicious brunch and is an excellent place to dine on the weekend. They have lots of seats inside and outside.

BaguetteGirl and FaceMan took CanuckGirl and I here for some yummy brunch.

The restaurant is in a house, but does have several floors and is cozy.

Green Tea uses the usual Tetley tea bags and there wasn’t anything special about it. The cup was quite small too and they couldn’t give us a pot of hot water to fill up ourselves.

Orange Juice

Pomegranate-green tea iced tea

Eggs Rancheros ($12) has chipotle spiced organic black beans scrambled with eggs or organic tofu in a crisp whole wheat tortilla bowl topped with cheddar cheese, guacamole, tomatillo pico de gallo & lime yogurt. You can choose between salad, fries or potatoes.

Warm Chick Pea Wrap (#12) has grilled organic tofu, warm citrus & herb marinated chick pea mash, Lola’s tomatoes, baby spinach & organic sprouts in a grilled whole wheat tortilla. You can choose between salad, fries or potatoes.

‘Shroom Benny ($11) has toasted organic whole wheat biscuits topped with caramelized onions, baby spinach, roasted mushrooms, poached eggs & our hollandaise sauce. You can choose between salad, fries or potatoes. CanuckGirl really enjoyed the benny and the potatoes.

Brunch Burger ($15) has an all beef burger with grilled peameal bacon, caramelized onions, Lola’s cheese blend, sweet pickles, sunny egg, house made ketchup aioli on a multigrain bun. I chose to have the salad to balance out the fatness of the burger.

It was a pretty meaty burger, but the sunny side egg made it a bit difficult to eat with hands. I resorted to the knife and fork technique. The flavours were good, but I think my beef patty was a bit scorched, so it had a smokey/burnt taste to it.

Lola’s Stuffed French Toast ($12) has a lemon vanilla cheesecake sandwiched in Challah French toast with seasonal fruit compote. It was so delicious! It even made some other people come up to our table to see it. It wasn’t too sweet either! It’s a must order!

Overall, pretty good brunch options here.

Words of Wisdom:

Best to make reservations for groups
Service can be a bit spotty if you are on alternate floors
Must order the french toast and bennys!

We Rate Lola’s Kitchen:
Address:
634 Church Street,
Toronto, ON
Website:
http://www.lolaskitchen.ca/

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In Contest

[Giveaway] Win a Food Adventure with Foodology in New Westminster!

May 29, 2012

The city of New Westminster is evolving quickly. From innovative startups, to boutique shops and hip restaurants, new businesses are emerging in the heart of downtown New West. In this historical city, great eats live side by side with some amazing landmarks.

When I was a kid, I would make trips to New Westminster with my parents to walk around the Quay and eat at the surrounding restaurants. Since then, may restaurants have closed and many more have popped up. There are lots of amazing restaurants located here such as Sherlocks Café, Burger Heaven and Old Bavaria Haus. If you look hard enough, you can find some amazing gems.

Join me on a food adventure around New Westminster and explore some amazing culinary finds courtesy of the Salient Group. The lucky winner will choose any restaurants they would like to dine at! You can eat your heart out!

Here’s how to enter:

Comment below and let me know which New West restaurants you are dying to try. (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry):
RT to enter! I want to win an all-day #NewWest food adventure w/ @foodologyca courtesy of @thesalientgroup. http://bit.ly/KLAlnp #THLiving

I will draw a winner at random at noon on June 5th, 2012 and they will be contacted via email. The winner and I will visit the Trapp+Holbrook presentation centre at 668 Columbia Street and then go for lunch, snacks, and dinner in New West.

Just one to two blocks away from two Skytrain stations, Trapp+Holbrook, a preconstruction condominium project by the Salient Group, will be located in the heart of downtown New West. Completing in 2014, Trapp+Holbrook previews have begun, with sales commencing on May 26, 2012. For more information, follow the Salient Group on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest, or visit thliving.com.

Winner: Jenny L. / @Depotato

In Dessert

Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt: Cant Resist Froyo in Toronto, ON

May 29, 2012

Menchies Frozen Yogurt is another Froyo store on Bloor Street. There are 3 different froyo stores within a block or so away from each other…. but I ended up going to all 3 for some reason. It was close to BaguetteGirl’s place and we always felt like eating froyo.

It’s also a chain store and they recently opened one in Vancouver too. I was actually excited to go to this location since I haven’t been to the one in Vancouver yet.

The interior is very open and has a few seats and lots of space to walk around to create your froyo. The instructions are very basic – mix, weigh, and pay.

Everything basically has their mascots face on it, even their lamps.

Apple Tart froyo and original tart froyo with fruit toppings ($0.55 per oz). I enjoyed it!

More froyo.

I love their cute mascot! It makes eating froyo very enjoyable at Menchies because of the cute characters and bold colors.

Overall, they do have a large list of flavours and similar concept to the other froyo places on the block. Their consistency between each flavour is slightly different, so that could be improved. Nonetheless, it’s still a healthy dessert option! No matter which froyo place you go to on Bloor St. … it’s all about the same.

Words of Wisdom:

Similar prices to the other froyo places on the same street
Fun and unique spoons
Can try all the flavours before deciding which to get
Friendly helpful staff

We Rate Menchies Frozen Yogurt:

Address:
511 Bloor St W
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.menchies.com/

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In Niagara Falls

Boston Pizza: Nothing Else Good in Niagara Falls, ON

May 28, 2012

After roaming around Niagara Falls after the Maid of the Mist boat ride, CanuckGirl and I were quite hungry, so we walked around for a few blocks to find food. We found most of the places were very overpriced and were chain restaurants. Our tour guide even suggested a few places but…any place rated 17% was not a place for us.

Eventually we gave up and settled with Boston Pizza.

The interior is very open and seats lots of people. You can have the choice of sitting indoors of having patio seating.

We opted for patio seating, but it was still indoors and just has the windows up. You get a good view of the street.

Oven Roasted Salt & Pepper Wings ($9.29) were alright and we did enjoy getting the options of not having them deep-fried. CanuckGirl said the wings were tender but it wasn’t anything special.

Pepperoni and Feta Thin Crust Pizza ($13.29) has layers of pepperoni, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, cheddar, pizza mozzarella and green onion. The pizza was very oily and the green onions were chopped up very largely.

Overall, food was pretty meh. It’s something edible and we got full.

Words of Wisdom:

Service is decent
On the main road of food
Lunch can cost you around $15

We Rate Boston Pizza:

Address:
4960 Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, ON

Website:
http://www.bostonpizza.com/

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In Food for Thought

Hershey Store: Best Cupcake Ever at Niagara Falls

May 27, 2012

Hershey has a store in Niagara Falls. I was surprised, but I just had to go inside. I’m such a candy lover. Clearly I was really excited because I loved Hershey’s as a kid. Plus most people like chocolate.

They have tons of items branded with their signature candies such as Reeses. It’s a tourist attraction, but hey…there’s really nothing else to see around Niagara Falls besides the Maid of the Mist.

Instead of merchandise, they sell unique snacks too, such as this Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookie. They also have good milkshakes too.

I on the other hand decided to get this Cookie Monster Cupcake for about $3. It’s so cute! I just had to get it. It was not too sweet, but the cupcake portion of it was just a vanilla cake.

Overall, super cute store to browse around and has some yummy desserts and snacks to purchase.

Address:
5701 Falls Ave
Niagara Falls, ON

Website:
http://www.hersheycanada.com/en/discover/niagarafalls.asp

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In Four Beakers

Buca: One of Toronto’s Top Italian Restaurants

May 26, 2012

Buca is an Italian restaurant in King West area of Toronto. It was recently named one of Canada’s Top 50 restaurants. The food is simple, but is known for the amazing flavour and quality.

We were originally going to Lee, but they are closed on Sundays. BaguetteGirl decided to take us to Buca instead and it was not disappointing at all.

The interior is quite rustic and has some cool interior decor. They even have cured meat hanging in certain places of the restaurant.

It’s usually busy and its hard to get a reservation for weeks apparently. Fortunately, without reservations, we were able to get a table for 3.

Their menu changes daily depending of their ingredients that they have on hand.

Orecchio Di Maiale ($8) is crispy pig ears with wild fennel salt. It was very crispy and most delicious! It also wasn’t too oily too. I would highly recommend this item!

Pomodoro E Tartufo ($29) has preserved tomatoes, basil and truffled burrata cheese finished with scorzone truffles. It’s a simple pizza, but it is incredibly thin and super crispy. They even give you scissors to cut it up into pieces. You must get pizza here!

Spaghetti Al Nero Di Maiale ($22) has hand cut blood pasta with n’duja, soffruitto and wild leeks finished with burrata cheese. The pasta was surprisingly spicy, but if you can stand the extra kick of spice, you’ll like it. The burrata cheese gives the pasta a nice creamy texture.

Orecchiette ($27) has hand-made pasta with basil fed snails, soffrietto, brussel sprouts and fresh fava beans finishes with butter and crisp pancetta. The pasta was soft and the snails contrasted nicely with the salty pancetta.

Overall, it was a great dining experience at Buca. I can see why they are one of the Top 50 restaurants in Canada. Their pizza is to die for and I’ve never had anything close to it in Vancouver. The service was sparse and it would be hard to get the attention of the waiter.

Words of Wisdom:

Pizza and crispy pork ears is a must!
Make Reservations

We Rate Bucca:
Address:
602 King Street W.
Toronto, ON
Website:
http://buca.ca/

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In Food Tour

Vancouver Foodie Tours: Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour

May 24, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited to attend the Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour, but wasn’t pressured to write about it. I thought it would be informative for tourists and locals to try these food tours for a change.

Vancouver Foodie Tours was founded by Michelle Ng three years ago. They are currently offering a new tour called “Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour”. Where foodies embark on a 3 hour journey through 5 courses, 12 tastings, and 8 unique stories. As a local, I really was not sure what new experiences I would get from the tour, but I did learn to appreciate Vancouver a bit more. Since I was born in Vancouver and eat out quite often, I tend to forget how amazing our city truly is.

Our meeting place and our first location was at Kirin Restaurant on Alberni Street. The decor is very beautiful and the service was really good. We were seated at a table and shared a few items. We tasted:

Steamed Prawn and Pork Dumpling (Sui Mai)
Sticky Rice with Pork and Dried Scallop wrapped in lotus leaf (lo mai fan)
Jasmine Tea

The sui mai tasted alright, but I liked the lo mai fan because it was packed with so much filling, thus making it nice and savory.

Our second location is the Sutton Place Wine Merchant on Burrard Street. We were given a tasting of:

Domaine de Chamberton Bacchus

It was paired with some crackers and spicy jam. The white wine paired quite well with the jam and completely changed the flavour of the wine when they were eaten together. I am glad it was white wine since I really dislike red. The wine was sweet and very enjoyable. I may actually go back to purchase that bottle of wine too since it was good.

Our third location is Ensemble Tap, which is owned by Top Chef Canada Winner- Dale MacKay. They have some good ol’ comfort food with a large variety of beer. As we arrived, everything was already laid out for us. We sat at the bar and began snacking way on:

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich
Red Truck Ale

If you never watched Top Chef Canada, the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich made Dale MacKay win one of the challenges in the show. The pairing of the beer was good as well. I wasn’t a fan of the pulled pork sandwich, perhaps it was because of all the hype I kept hearing about it. What made this portion of the tour super cool is that they showed us around to the kitchen! Unfortunately, Dale wasn’t there but it’s still awesome seeing where all the magic happens.

We then went to Shuraku Sake Bar and Bistro, which was only a few minutes walk. I’ve only been here for lunch, but it’s always nice to try other items on their menu that I would not usually order. We were given tastings of:

Artisan Sake Maker’s Osake Junmai Nama
Agedashi Tofu
Spicy Wild Salmon Tartar

The cup of sake was quite large, I had a hard time drinking it because I just never liked sake. If you love sake, you’ll love this portion of the tour since they pour a lot of it! I was in love with the tofu and the tartar because of their great tastes! Out of all the restaurants on this tour, it was my favorite. What can I say, I just love Japanese food!

Our last stop was Bella Gelateria on Hastings Street. We were given a few samples of different gelato and then James gave us a rundown on their processes and a bit about what they do. It was so informative that even a little boy was “adopted” into our tour. He clearly had as much fun as we did. We also got a tour of their “laboratory”, where they create the gelato. After that tour, we were given a cup of:

Salted caramel gelato
Meyer Lemon Sorbetto

I’ve never had these flavours before and after this experience. I can never stop having lemon or hazelnut flavoured gelato. True story, sometimes I wake up and start thinking about it. It sounds super weird, but i’m not kidding. I wasn’t a fan of the salted caramel since I found it too sweet. The other people on the tour loved it, so it really comes down to personal preferences.

Overall, it’s a pretty good tour if you are new in town and want a taste of a few cool places with a bunch of other strangers. They keep the numbers low to keep a nice intimate vibe. We even got to see a few hidden sites on the tour too. Food tours aren’t for everyone and can get expensive depending on which ones you do. $69 for the tour is a bit steep and I would rather use that all up for one awesome meal. I did learn a lot from the tour, but as I have lived in Vancouver all my life, I would not normally think about doing a food tour. These types of tours are good if you love food, but have limited time to eat at all the amazing places in Vancouver…and are probably from out of town.

Michelle was a fantastic tour guide and made sure everyone was happy and enjoying themselves. She is very knowledgable about Vancouver food and has been running these tours for the past three years.

Check out Vancouver Foodie Tours here for more information– http://foodietours.ca/

In Dessert

Yogurty’s Froyo: 16 Unique Froyo Flavours in Toronto, ON

May 24, 2012

Yogurty’s Froyo is another self-serve yogurt shop on Bloor Street in the Annex. There are tons of yogurt shops near by, such as YoYo’s Yogurt Cafe and Menchies within a few blocks of each other. I thought it was strange, but all of them were packed at night.

FaceMan, Batman, BaguetteGirl, CanuckGirl and I came here after dinner to finish off the day.

There are lots of space inside, but it’s super busy at 11pm.

Since it is self-serve, you just pay for the weight of what you put in your cup. The cup is only one size, but it’s a big cup.

Yogurty’s has about 16 flavours! It’s quite a large selection! You can taste test all the flavours before choosing what you want.

After you fill up the cup, you can add candy toppings or fresh fruit.

Wafer and Peanut Butter swirl Froyo ($0.55 per oz.) I added some brownies, cheesecake bits and cookie dough on top. Yummy.

There’s a good amount of fresh fruit to add on top too!

Overall, Yogurty’s does have a lot of flavours and good consistency between their yogurt. They also have lots of toppings to choose from too.

Words of Wisdom:

Try out a majority of the flavours before filling up your cup
Go place to chill and hangout
Wifi

We Rate Yogurty’s:

Address:
527 Bloor St. West
Toronto, ON
Website:
http://www.yogurtys.com/

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In Downtown/University of Toronto

Guu Izakaya (Toronto): Still got it Guu’d

May 23, 2012

Guu Izakaya is the first Guu location in Toronto. It is much smaller than its other location – Guu SakaBar, but it is very very popular. BaguetteGirl, CanuckGirl and I waited 1.5 hours for a table of 3. That’s quite nuts, but I have a goal of going to all the Guu’s in the world. It’s my favorite restaurant, so it just seemed like I needed to go. No line up will stop me. I’m just glad Vancouver has 6 Guus so I don’t have to wait so long.

The interior has bar seating, a few long tables and some patio seating. It’s quite hard to get a large table unless you come here early.

We sat at the bar watching the chefs cook up some delicious food and we saw this super cute cat!

Big Mug Sapporo ($9.50) is similar size to a ‘Mega’ Sapporo in Vancouver. It’s quite large…a liter of beer! I couldn’t finish it….but if I did…I probably wouldn’t be able to get home.

Gomae ($3.80) is blanched spinach with black sesame sauce. I liked the spinach, but I think there was too much sesame sauce.

Gindara ($9.80) is grilled black cod with Saikyo miso and white wine sauce. It was a bit small for the price, but it was very tender and flaky.

Karaage ($6.80) has deep-fried soy sauce marinated chicken served with a mayo sauce. I had the karaage at Guu SakaBar and they karaage does differ slightly. It seems like this one has a bit more battering to it. Nonetheless, it still delicious and tender on the inside.

Okonomiyaki ($6.80) is a deep-fried Japanese pancake with squid, tonkastsu sauce and karashi mayo. It comes in 4 pieces and quite delicious! It is topped with bonito flakes and seaweed! The bonito flakes move around as heat is emitted from the dish. It looks alive, but it isn’t.

Gyu Carpaccio ($6.50) has seared beef sashimi with ponzu sauce. It is topped with scallions, radish, garlic chips and mayo. It’s one of my favorite dishes! You take the slices of beef and put a little of everything on it.

Kimchi Udon ($7.80) has udon noodles with spicy cod roe and kimchi. It is topped with dried seaweed and scallions. You mix this together with your chopsticks to get everything incorporated. It’s not spicy at all! Very delicious and savory. Usually when you cook kimchi, it softens up and the spiciness disappears. Very yummy!

Overall, the items between all Guus in the words are quite similar. They have very similar items, so no matter where you are in the world, you can have their delicious karaage, sashimi, and udons.

Words of Wisdom:

Super long waits
If you hate waiting, go to Guu Sakabar for a shorter wait
Under $10 per dish, but can add up if you drink

We Rate Guu Izakaya:
Address:
398 Church St
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.guu-izakaya.com/toronto.html

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In Dessert

Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens: Gelato Time

May 22, 2012

The newest Loblaws in Toronto is located in the old Maple Leaf Gardens near Ryerson University. It is very very large, but has everything you ever wanted from a grocery store. It has a very large selection of ready to eat food and deli section. I was so amazed by the sheer size and modern interior.

As we were waiting in line for Guu Izakaya a few blocks down, we decided to just roam around Loblaws and check it out.

They have a gelato section with 16 different flavours. BaguetteGirl and I were enticed by their flavours and decided to spoil our stomach before dinner.

Lemon Gelato ($2.99) was very tart tasting. The consistency was like a harder sorbet. It’s not the best gelato in town, but it was good considering it came from a grocery store.

Hazelnut Gelato ($2.99) was very fragrant and tasted really good.

Overall, it’s a strange place to go eat gelato, but we were not the only ones. A bunch of others were getting it to-go or sitting in their cafe area. What I like about the design of the store is that they still have left remnants of the old stadium and incorporated them into the design.

Words of Wisdom:

Large Selection of groceries with very modern look
Find ‘Center Ice’ in the Canned Meat section
Decent and Quick deli section and food

We Rate Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens:

Address:
60 Carlton Street
Toronto, ON

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In Brunch

Senator Restaurant: One of Toronto’s Oldest Restaurant

May 21, 2012

The Senator is Toronto’s oldest restaurants, which can date back to the 19th century. It is located close to Dundas Square and is quite popular for breakfast. Dre from Bite Me Food Blog was kind enough to take CanuckGirl and I here. It is slightly hidden, so you need to look around for it.

The interior is very narrow, but they can still fit a decent amount of people here.

We came at around 9:30am and the place was quite packed when we arrived.

French Toast ($10.25) has thick slices of challah bread dipped in egg Batter & served with maple syrup & seasonal compote.

Senator Breakfast ($7.95 Before 11:30am) comes with bacon & eggs with challah toast, beans & home fries. Also your choice of tea or coffee. It was a good standard type of breakfast. I enjoyed it and so did CanuckGirl.

House Blend Coffee was much needed since 9:30am Toronto time is 6:30am Vancouver time.

Overall, good for breakfasts and has a cool diner feel to the interior. The breakfast selection is under $10 and has great value.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Near Dundas Square
Good hearty breakfasts

We Rate Senator Restaurant:

Address:
249 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.thesenator.com/

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In Four Beakers

Buster’s Sea Cove: Fish Sandwiches at St. Lawrence Market

May 20, 2012

Buster’s Sea Cove in the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto is very very popular and there are always long lines on Saturdays. Even though the line is quite long looking, the staff are very efficient, so it shouldn’t take too long to order and then receive your items.

BaguetteGirl, CanuckGirl, Fabo and I went here to eat lunch since we heard the fish sandwiches were to die for. Plus, there was a long lineup, so there must be a reason why they were there.

New England Clam Chowder (S- $3.80) comes with a small cup of goldfish crackers. CanuckGirl thought it was good but not very creamy.

Calamari & Salad ($9.95) was actually just a box of calamari and then a box of salad. The calamari tasted fresh, but it wasn’t very crispy. It comes with a marinara type of sauce. The salad was pretty usual but it does come with a balsamic vinegar.

Shrimp in Rose & Herb Sauce ($11.95) comes with a bed of basmati rice and slaw. Fabo enjoyed the size and freshness of the shrimp.

Grilled Salmon Sandwich ($8.95) comes with a side of slaw. BaguetteGirls usual orders the sandwiches at Busters.

I stole a bit of BaguetteGirl’s sandwich and the salmon was so tender and perfectly done! I usually hate cooked salmon, but it was just so moist and delicious.

Overall, the seafood tasted very fresh and is a great place to go for a good lunch at the St. Lawrence Market. Definitely a go-to place if you visit the market!

Words of Wisdom:

Delicious Fish Sandwiches and Fish + Chips
Long waits, but goes fast
Decent amount of seating

We Rate Buster’s Sea Cove:

Address:
93 Front Street East
Toronto,ON

Website:
http://ww.busters-seacove.com/

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In Izakaya

Guu SakaBar: Still Guu’d in Toronto, ON

May 19, 2012

Guu SakaBar is another restaurant part of the Guu restaurants. They sell Japanese Izakaya items like tapas dishes. Guu currently has 6 restaurants in Vancouver and 2 in Toronto. Since I have already been to all the ones in Vancouver, it just seemed right to visit the other two in Toronto.

CanuckGirl and I headed down to this location during our first day in Toronto. We went at about 7pm and there was already a line up outside. Fortunately, we were able to get a table in about 10 minutes.

Guu SakaBar can easily be missed if you don’t pay attention since the sign is not very large.

The interior is huge! They have 2 rooms and can fit a lot of customers. That’s probably why people say this location is easier to get a seat. The other area has the bar and more tables.

Whats great about Guu is that it has a lively atmosphere and good food. Compared to the Vancouver locations, this Guu is much larger and has better interior decor.

Pot of Tea ($4) was expensive! In the Guu’s in Vancouver, you never have to pay for tea!

Maguro Tataki ($6.80) has seared BC tuna sashimi with ponzu sauce and garlic chips. It was delicious, but I still felt that Guu in Vancouver has better sashimi.

BBQ Pork ($6) has pork belly with a honey soy sauce. It was not too fatty at all and had a delicious taste.

Kabocha Korokke ($4.80) has deep-fried kabocha pumpkin croquette with a boiled egg inside. It is coverd with a spicy mayo sauce. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Karaage ($6.80) has deep-fried soy sauce marinated chicken with a side of mayo. The chicken pieces were quite large and very moist.

Yaki Udon ( $7.80) has pan-fried udon noodles with beef, mushrooms and scallions. There was a good amount of beef! It was savory and most delicious.

Overall, we did enjoy the dining experience at Guu SakaBar. The wait wasn’t too long for a table of 2 and the food came out at a good pace. The servers were nice and could speak english quite well.

Words of Wisdom:

No Reservations
Go early or dine later since it gets super busy
Tea is super expensive, so perhaps ask for water.. or hot water

We Rate Guu SakaBar:

Address:
559 Bloor St W
Toronto, ON
Website:
http://www.guu-izakaya.com/

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In Dessert

YoYo’s Yogurt Cafe: Frozen Yogurt in Toronto, ON

May 18, 2012

Yoyo’s Yogurt Cafe is located on Bloor Street in the Annex. They currently have 5 locations in Ontario. During the day, CanuckGirl and I passed by and this place was packed! A majority of the seats were occupied, even the patio. Seeing that frozen yogurt is a better alternative than ice cream, we decided to see how this place compared to the ones in Vancouver.

The interior has a lot of space to walk around. You can sample the flavours before choosing what you want.

They have 8 different flavours to choose from and they do vary every week. There are 4 steps to make the yogurt processing easier.

Choose your flavour
Add the yogurt into the cup
Add toppings to it
Weight it and pay

They have a decent amount of toppings to put on.

I just wished there were more varieties of fruit to add on top.

You then can pay at the till. You can ask for a cup of water if you need it.

Frozen Yogurt ($0.55 per ounce). CanuckGirl and I got very different looking frozen yogurts. Unlike Pinkberry, you pay by weight and not per cup. Can you guess which bowl is mine?

I wish I was the one that ordered the full cup, but the way I can tell if I like a frozen yogurt place is trying their original flavour. Original works great with all the fresh fruit, but I wish it was a bit more tart. Mine came out to be about $5 and CanucksGirls HUGE cup was about $11.

Overall, it’s still a great place to chill with friends and eat dessert. Lots of seats to sit down. The staff were very nice and love to joke around with their customers.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay by weight
Self-Serve
Vegan/Gluten Free options
Open late

We Rate YoYo’s Yogurt Cafe:

Address:
417 Bloor St W
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.yoyosyogurtcafe.com/

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In Cafe

Green Bean Cafe: Airport Food Sucks

May 17, 2012

Green Bean Cafe is located at the Domestic terminal of Vancouver Airport after you check-in and get scanned by security. There’s not much around to eat at the terminal besides this place.

Since I had a hunch that no meals will be served on our WestJet flight, I decided to get something quick. Plus, early flights aren’t fun, so I needed a coffee. This was what I could find.

They have drinks, sandwiches, and other little pastries. The prices and service

Medium Coffee ($1.70) was alright, nothing too special about it. Everyone else in line was also ordering coffee.

Butter Croissant was bearable, but was not fresh at all. The cashier just popped it into the microwave to heat up.

Overall, pretty subpar offerings from this Cafe. Since it is “airport” food, I wasn’t too surprised. If I had known there was a Starbucks a bit further, I should have gone there instead.

Words of Wisdom:

Nothing Special
Convenient just before your flight

We Rate Green Bean Cafe:

Address:
3211 Grant McConachie Way
Richmond, BC

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In Airplane Meals

WestJet: Food Options for Flights

May 16, 2012

CanuckGirl and I headed off to Toronto from Vancouver on WestJet for a little bit of a Summer vacation. The flight is about 4.5 hours, but there was no information anywhere about snacks or food on the flight. I’m a newbie when it comes to travelling. To be safe, I grabbed a few nibbles before boarding.

As we boarded, we were informed by the stewardesses that we would receive 2 rounds of complementary drinks and snacks. All other items can be purchased off the menu.

At your seat, you should be able to find their food and entertainment menu.

They have meal combos too and they aren’t too expensive. You can only pay by credit card and no cash!

They have a bunch of other snacks too that you can order. It’s a bit expensive, but at least you won’t starve to death.

You can choose from juice, pop, coffee or tea when the stewardesses come around to offer the complementary drinks and snack. As for the snack, you can choose from a cookie or Bits n Bites.

As it was a short plane ride, I won’t think I really minded what they provided us since I wasn’t expecting anything at all. Plus the plane tickets are cheap, so everything is quite standard.