My Burger Birthday Cake!

Happy Birthday to meeeeeeee! ^_^ I'm actually not that thrilled about being one year older *sigh* but what makes this birthday really, really cool is this AWESOME, AWESOME BURGER CAKE that I got on the weekend from my boyfriend! Not only is it a birthday cake in a shape of a giant burger (with two patties, obviously) it has a HELLO KITTY on the SIDE! Hahahhaa! =D How perfect is this cake? Really??


My talented friend Eunmi (@LoveAndBearTrap) made this cake for me. It is huge yet sooo cute, and every single thing is edible! I haven't tried it yet as today is my actual birthday so I'm saving it for tonight =) Anyway, you guys need to check out Eunmi's blog, Love & Bear Trap; she recently made a beautiful and elegant wedding cake and she also participated in the 2011 Cake Show a month or so ago where she submitted her cake for the show's Design Challenge. 


I simply could not leave this cake alone once I laid my eyes on it and I kept on taking more and more pictures. It was simply too cute. It deserves a *kiss* from me.

And..er...yeah =)

Kultura

My friend and I went to Kultura for her birthday back in February. Worked out great since I purchased a Fabfind voucher for the restaurant in January ($60 worth of food and drinks for $30). The coupon was pretty limited as it did not allow any reservations on Fridays or Saturdays after 6:30pm., but this was okay as my friend lives in downtown and I work in downtown so meeting up during the week was perfect. Anyway, I'm glad I got a chance to try Kultura with the voucher as I wouldn't have wanted to pay full price for the dinner - the food was average yet overpriced but we weren't even close to full. If not for the voucher, our dinner for two with one alcoholic drink would have been close to $100. I semi-expected this but what bugged me the most was the lack of service as it was pretty much non-existent.


A good friend of mine loves Kultura so I asked him before going that night what dishes I should order (Kultura is tapas style or in other words, shared plates). I also tweeted during the day asking for suggestions and got several replies regarding various dishes. I put them all in my phone.


This is the dining room downstairs with a bar at the far end. Some corporate happy hour event was going on at the time. My friend hasn't arrived yet so the hostess told me to wait at one of the tables here. 

When my friend arrived, we were led upstairs.

Happy Birthday Jason!

It was my brother's birthday yesterday and to celebrate, we all went out for dinner at Apricot Tree Café. I've blogged about the restaurant before (see post here). I absolutely adore this place, it is my favorite restaurant in Mississauga. It is a quaint little café with good food, good service, and very reasonable prices (I included the prices on this post to emphasize my point). Better yet, I was able to use two of my dealfind vouchers at the same time last night as there was 5 of us (the deal was a $60 voucher for $25, can use two coupons for a table of 4 or more). I swear to God if Apricot Tree Café has any deals like that again, I'm going go buy like...10 vouchers.

 
If you want to see pictures of Apricot Tree Café (i.e. their European café decor, open kitchen, dessert display, etc.) go see my first post about it because I'm just going to dive right to the food this time.


Besides their regular menu, Apricot Tree Café has different specials everyday. They always have a special for each of the following: soup, salad, pasta, crepe, entrée.

Appetizers

Smoked Salmon - Smoked salmon served with pita bread, bermuda onions, capers and dill sour cream ($7.95). 

Bright, orange smoked salmon with soft pita bread. Yum. The onions were too big though; they could have done a better job on those for sure.

Tapas at Cava

This was one epic dinner at Cava for my friend's birthday back in November of last year. We had 7 people for this meal and we left it up to the chef to bring out whatever he wanted. That night was very memorable and unforgettable. It is getting harder and harder these days for my close friends to meet up and get together, and I really cherish these occasions. I think we spent more than 3 hours at Cava  just eating, chatting, and catching up.


Cava is tucked away in a small plaza. I had difficulty finding the restaurant even though I parked only down the street from it. There was no visible sign outside the plaza so Cava is pretty easy to miss (I had to phone my friend and ask her to come outside and wave haha). 

Cava is a small restaurant, you see it all once you walk in. However, it does not feel small or crammed at all. We got a big rectangular table by the front of the restaurant; this is a picture taken from where I was sitting.

They posed for me =)

Grace Restaurant

My first experience at Grace Restaurant was about two years ago. At the time I didn't have a food blog but I still remember this particular restaurant when Cindy suggested going to Grace for her birthday dinner last month - I remember it because of its name (my Aunt's name is Grace) but not because of the food - well I thought the food at Grace was only average two years ago, and my view of it didn't change after going last month; it wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either.


The four of us, including the birthday girl, went to Grace one Tuesday evening in December and it was freezing that night, which probably explains why the place was so empty (we were also early). I regret coat checking my jacket too because the restaurant was so cold the whole time we were eating there.


The people at the table there were exchanging Christmas gifts.

We sat towards the back of the restaurant by these French doors; there was a beautifully lit Christmas tree inside. There weren't any seating inside that room though so I'm guessing the room is probably just for looks. 

Yuzu Sushi & Sake Bar - My Second Visit

Back in October, I blogged about my first ever dinner at Yuzu and how much I was blown away by everything there. My second time at Yuzu was just as great - I enjoyed everything from the cocktails, oyster shooters, to the sashimi and hot dishes, and finally dessert. Everything was phenomenal, all except for ONE dish. But more about that later.


Like last time, this was also a birthday dinner; last time was for my birthday, this time was for May's birthday.  I actually told May to choose a place since she was the birthday girl but I guess she loved Yuzu so much that she wanted to again. Well no hesitation on my part either =)


If you want to see some pictures of the decor at Yuzu, check out my first post here. For this post I'm gonna dive right into the food.


We each ordered a cocktail. May had the Yo-Ki-Hi,  which was sweet, smooth, and had a refreshing taste of lichee with a kick of sake. I had the 
Yuzu Moni, a light, sparkling cocktail. We were both very happy with ours.


With no further adieu...

Soup & salad - came with the sashimi dinner we ordered. 

Oyster shooter fresh oyster, quail egg, tobiko, yuzu ponzu, uni, green onion

Oliver & Bonancini Café Grill - Yonge & Front

This post is way overdue, and I mean WAY overdue. The first half of this post is from my friend, Adrienne's birthday back in July. I honestly don't know why I didn't blog about the dinner sooner; really no reason at all so don't be bias when you're reading this, it's not like I was dreading it because the food was bad hehe. Maybe at the back of my mind I knew I was going to come back to this O&B for another friend's birthday? So that the two events can be combined into one "Duo Birthday O&B" post? Whatever the case may be, my second time at this O&B location was indeed for my friend Jenn's birthday party several weeks ago.


This is O&B's entrance from the inside. They have another entrance beside their patio.

By the way, the majority of the pictures in this post will be from my first visit to O&B since thats the time I brought along my SLR; the pictures from the second dinner was taken with my iPhone. 


Why the difference in gear? Well for Adrienne's birthday, it was an intimate small dinner with only me, the birthday girl, and my foodie friend Cindy - my dear friends who are already used to my foodie tendencies of taking pictures before they are allowed to eat anything on the table. For Jenn's party, it was a big party with a lot of new faces so I didn't want to seem like a weirdo by taking pictures of food like a mad woman. I like to make friends too.

Moving on. I really liked the decor at O&B. I love the huge wine rack at the entrance. It had a casual vibe but not TOO casual.

Canoe

I have never been to Canoe before last Friday. This seems to be surprising for many since I'm supposedly such a "foodie". I don't know, Canoe has never been on my "to-eat" list of restaurants. A lot of people go to Canoe during 'Licious, but for those who are in-the-know, Canoe is one of the most, if not the most, difficult restaurant to get a reservation during 'Licious. It also doesn't help that 1) I do not own an American Express credit card, and 2) Given #1, I am not the kind of person to redial day-in and day-out just so I can get a reservation (or in hopes of one - getting through may not guarantee a table). Doesn't help either that Canoe is pricey; if you've been following my blog, you would know I've never been too keen on super expensive and pretentious restaurants. Last, but not least, I do hear from some people say that Canoe is over-rated - not sure what they mean but I never bothered to find out more either. Whatever the case may be, due to some of the above reasons or all of the above reasons, I've never been to Canoe.

Well, obviously, I went last Friday. Not with my significant other or friends, but with colleagues. Work was crazy hectic for the last two weeks, and since last Thursday was the deadline (we all worked 24-hour straight in the office), the bosses thought it was time to treat ourselves to a nice lunch. It was also a colleague's birthday, so my bosses a.k.a. the-ones-who-would-pick-up-the-tab, decided to go "all-out" and Canoe was chosen.

It was the Friday before Halloween and Canoe had this giant pumpkin out front, nothing else. I thought it was kinda awkward - either they go all out with the Halloween decor, or have none at all. 

To more important things.

We got a table by the window so we had a superb view. My boss ordered a bottle of white wine right away and the bread came immediately afterwards. I gotta say the service was meticulous, attentive, and friendly - not snobby at all. 

Without further ado, here are the appetizers (note: we did not share appetizers; we each got our own).

Cumbrae Farms Steak Tartare: Cookstown Chips & Forbes' Wild Flavours - I ordered this appetizer thinking "how big could it be?". Well I was wrong - it was really the size of a burger patty, or bigger. I did not expect this portion for an appetizer from Canoe - I expected, maybe half? The steak tartare (or what I like to call "beef sashimi" hehe) was very delicious. The different ingredients mixed in with the steak tartare along with the chips gave the whole appetizer various textures to the palette (if it was just the steak tartare itself it would've been really boring - just stickiness/mushiness). The saltiness of the egg and the seasoning of the veggies also gave the whole dish a lot of different flavors. I was genuinely full after this.

Emperor Fine Chinese Cuisine

Emperor (君臨天下) is a Chinese restaurant owned by the father of one of my boyfriend's friends. The restaurant is located in Richmond Hill on 9019 Bayview Ave. at a strip plaza. 


Due to obvious "connections", my boyfriend and his friends (and me of course) have been to Emperor several times for birthday celebrations and other special occasions. We usually get a private room or section for our mini parties. Everytime we eat at Emperor we come out so stuffed! Similar to wedding receptions, we would have the extravagant 10 course meals (or sometimes more). But unlike the crappy food quality that you sometimes get at other restaurants, Emperor consistently serves really delicious food. They are also very creative - I've had dishes there that I've never had anywhere else before (this goes for dim sum too).


Emperor is pretty big and spacious.

You won't find a Chinese restaurant without the following two essentials: Maneki Neko cats...

and bamboo plants.

Duggan's Brewery

My colleagues took me out to lunch for my birthday awhile back. Before heading out, they asked me where I wanted to go. The first place that popped into my head was the Beer Bistro (I haven't had their frites in ages, cravingggg even right now). Unfortunately, one of my bosses took a client there for lunch the week before and politely asked if I can make another suggestion. What can I say? "No its my birthday and I call the shots"? Um. No. Not really. So I thought for awhile, then remembered seeing a foodie friend's pictures of her dinner at Duggan's Brewery on Facebook before and the food looked quite good. I suggested Duggan's Brewery and off we went. It is literally a two minute walk from my work. 


I don't really drink beer. I find that it fills me up too quickly so I usually pass on it. But this never deters me from going to a pub as long as they have good food and good munchies. My colleagues ordered the first two beer on the list below: German pils and Asian Lager (pictured above).

Buca for Birthday

For my birthday, five of my girl friends and I went for dinner at Buca. None of us have been there before so we didn't know what to expect (there is no menu posted online either). But since Buca was suggested by Cindy, my best foodie friend, I wasn't worried =). 

Beautiful decor. 

 Edison-bulb chandeliers.

Dozo Sushi + Sake Bar

For my birthday, I wanted my boyfriend to pick a place for lunch. I ask this of him because it was already my decision to go to The Drake Hotel for dinner, so I wanted him to surprise me and plan somewhere to go for lunch. 


My boyfriend is always very hesitant  to pick a place to eat because 1) he is not really into food hence is pretty laid back about it 2) he is always nervous about picking a restaurant because he is afraid I will be disappointed if the food turns out bad, and 3) I love food and actually has a food blog, which I guess, indirectly gives him more pressure hahaha. I tell him time and time again that I don't care whether the food turns out good or bad;  I just want to be surprised and not have to think of where to go all the time. So for my birthday lunch, he chose Dozo Sushi + Sake Bar. Verdict? Let's just say he breathed a sigh of relief =) 


By the way, I love saying the name DOZO (sounds like "BOZO" and I like to elongate the "O" sound haha). I like it so much I named my pet fish DOZO. I'm not joking =D


Dozo Sushi + Sake Bar is located in Richmond Hill, at a strip mall on Commerce Valley Drive. The mall also has Baton Rouge, Brix, and Bombay Bhel. From the outside, Dozo already looks a bit different than the other Japanese restaurants uptown...more "upscale". This was confirmed when I walked in.

The Drake Hotel

I've always heard good things about the food at Drake Hotel (especially their burgers) and have always meant to go try it, but somehow I never got around to it. There are just toooo many restaurants in Toronto that I want to try, and Drake Hotel always somehow falls off my "to-eat" list. I guess a part of me wanted to wait till it's super duper hot out so I can go then and take full advantage of their rooftop patio, the Sky Yard. Anyway, for my birthday, I was at a lost about where to go for dinner. Since I wasn't in the mood for fine dining and because the weather was beginning to look promising, I made a reservation at Drake Hotel a week in advance of my birthday  - it was a go, rain or shine.


Although it was still a bit chilly, the rain stopped late afternoon (it was raining all day) so I was excited about the thought of getting my hands on some meaty burgers at the Sky Yard.  But when we arrived, I got the feeling the hostess was trying to keep us inside - she kept on telling us that "it's pretty cold up there" and that even if "it's nice out now, it's gonna get cold later"; I just got the impression that she was trying to deter us away from the patio. So okay fine, we settled for inside.

My Love for Ruby Watchco

When I found out about Ruby Watchco, I knew I had to go. Why? Because of many reasons, one being that the owner / head chef is Lynn Crawford! The Lynn Crawford who I saw in the episode of Iron Chef America where she competed against Iron Chef Bobby Flay (Chef Lynn is the third Canadian chef to appear on the show). The Lynn Crawford who appeared in the Food Network's show Restaurant Makeover. The Lynn Crawford who has her own new show now called Pitchin' In (also on the Food Network) in which she goes and takes on the challenge of getting the freshest local ingredients. The Lynn Crawford who was formally the executive chef at the Four Seasons in Toronto AND New York, the most prestigious job in North American hotel cooking. And precisely the Lynn Crawford who has resigned from that job last fall after 24 years, and has now opened a restaurant at Queen street east where she would be preparing and cooking all the dishes herself.  


I know many people out there are skeptical when it comes to "celebrity chefs" and their ability to produce consistent high quality food and to run a restaurant. But hey, I personally think it is cool to have previously seen Chef Lynn on T.V and now have the opportunity to have meal prepared by her.  In all honestly I knew I would go to Ruby Watchco. Nothing, and no one, could've stopped me...it was just a matter of when.


But thanks to Ray, my wonderful best friend, who surprised me one day during work by bbm'ing me, saying that he got both of us a reservation at Ruby Watchco for my birthday (which was earlier this month). I was sooooo deliriously happy!!!


We arrived at 6pm (the restaurant only has two seatings available for dinner, one at 6pm and the other at 8pm). Once I walked in, I fell in love with the decor. I was really digging the dark brown / mahogany tables and chairs, the simple lines, and the lighting.

A Memorable Experience At The Black Hoof

Fellow foodie Cindy and I visited The Black Hoof back in December. It was her birthday, and as foodies, there was no way that such celebration can take place at an ordinary restaurant.Cindy suggested The Black Hoof, and asked me if I was OK with food that is more out there...maybe like internals, bone marrow, fried brains, etc. I told her I was totally down for that. I read some reviews before going to The Black Hoof (they don't have a website, but the owner, Grant van Gameren, has his own blog). And wow was I impressed! Toronto Star gave it 4 out of 4 stars - its critic said that he was "in love with the restaurant", the Globe and Mail claims that the restaurants serves "the most exciting meat Toronto has ever tasted", and EnRoute Magazine placed The Black Hoof at #2 for "Canada's 10 Best New Restaurants for 2009". So after reading all that, not only was I "down", I was outright excited and counting down to the days till we go.

We went on a Saturday night around 6pm (it does not take reservations and the restaurant is tiny). We actually walked past it because the restaurant does not have a sign outside (and in December, its already pretty dark at 6pm). The only indication that a restaurant existed there was the word "charcuterie" on the front tent cover above the restaurant. The place was full already (not surprised given the rave reviews) and it was just our luck that there were two seats available at the bar. I ordered a martini right away to get things going.

I don't remember what this was. I just remember that
it was average