Category

Downtown/University of Toronto

Category

Sansotei-Ramen-outer

The Globe and Mail rated Sansotei Ramen one of the top 5 spots for ramen in Toronto. As a Vancouverite, we have some top notch ramen places and it’s pretty hard to beat. Of the top 5 list, I skipped Hokkaido Ramen Santouka as we have it in Vancouver too.

Sansotei has their second location open on Younge Street and we don’t have Sansotei in Vancouver, so I really wanted to see how it faired amongst the other ones in Canada. Plus, a delicious bowl of noodles for a cold Toronto evening is much needed.

Sansotei-Ramen-wall

The interior walls were pretty cool with the textures. The restaurant was pretty small and can get quite busy during peak hours. Since it is still new, the word hasn’t spread too far yet.

Sansotei-Ramen-cover

Sansotei-Ramen-menu

Everything is under $10 and there are 6 different types of ramen to choose from:

  • Tonkotsu
  • Tonkotsu Black
  • Miso
  • Shio
  • Shoyu
  • Spicy TanTan

Sansotei-Ramen-tea-water

Cold Barley Tea ($2) was what M ordered. Fabo and I chose regular water. The cold tea was refreshing, but it was a bit pricey. It was a nice change from Green Tea.

Sansotei-Ramen-dumpling

Gyoza ($4.50) comes with 5 pieces and ponzu sauce. Slightly crisp on the outside and a yummy savoury filling.

Sansotei-Ramen-karaage

Zangi ($4.50) is deep fried chicken. It was very good!

Sansotei-Ramen-ramen

Tonkotsu Black ($9.85) has pork belly, black fungus, egg, green onion, and garlic oil. M and Fabo thought the broth was very rich. The egg was perfect and runny.

Sansotei-Ramen-tantan

Spicy TanTan ($9.60) has limited quantities each day. It has pork belly, ground beef, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, green onion, and egg. It was good, but was lacking something. The pork belly was delicious and tender. The egg was oh so good too.

Overall, the ramen was good but Santouka is still better.

We Rate Sansotei Ramen

Address:
650 Yonge St
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.sansotei.com/

Sansotei on Urbanspoon

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

Guu Izakaya on Urbanspoon


View Larger Map

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

Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens on Urbanspoon


View Larger Map

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/

Senator Restaurant on Urbanspoon


View Larger Map