The Albion Rooms, Ottawa

Thanks to my friend Don's recommendation, I stopped by The Albion Rooms for lunch when I was in Ottawa last month. I was only in town for four days so I had to make the best of my road trip. If you're ever heading to the O dot and looking for dining options, do what I did - check out Don's food blog foodiePrints or hit them up on Twitter at @foodiePrints - you'll soon realize that Don and Jenn knows everything food related in Ottawa! When I told Don where I was staying and that I wanted some lunch options in the area, he quickly suggested The Albion Rooms.

Opened at Novotel Ottawa Hotel in April 2013, The Albion Rooms serves up rustic yet contemporary, farm-to-table Canadian cuisine. According to the restaurant's website, chef Stephen La Salle (@TheSKLaSalle) of The Albion Rooms calls his food “Contemporary Country Canadian”:

"...he pulls in different contemporary elements of Canadian cuisine with a country rustic style to produce plates that are modern but familiar. In paying homage to “Albion” (our British settlers) Chef Stephen plays with subtle British undertones in the food that will definitely stand alone."

 When I walked into the restaurant, I quickly learned that La Salle will be one of ten chefs participating in Ottawa’s regional Gold Medal Plates on November 17th! Founded in 2003, Gold Medal Plates is a prestigious, national culinary competition where chefs from 11 cities across Canada compete to win gold, silver and bronze medals.

The Albion Rooms (Twitter @TheAlbionRooms, Facebook: The Albion Rooms) was also ranked #5 in Ottawa Magazine's Best New Restaurants 2013 list.

The beautiful bar is most definitely the focal point at The Albion Rooms. However, the restaurant also houses a cozy lounge area, a large outdoor patio and a modest dining room.

Sunday Lunch at Chantecler

By the lack of brunch posts on my blog it should be obvious that I'm not a brunch girl. 

I mean brunch food is good and all but it's not that good so I'm just not that into it. I know for a fact that I'm the minority here because everybody in this city goes berserk over brunch. I admit that having to wake up early Sunday morning doesn't help the cause but then knowing that I may have to line up half an hour for food is a major turn-off. Thanks, but no thanks. I choose my comfy and cozy bed.

I think the main reason why brunch is not appealing to me is because being Chinese I'm used to family-style dining. Perfect example would be dim sum! So many options and the opportunity to try so many things. Even dinner - whether it be my Mom cooking at home or eating out at a Chinese restaurant - we would always order multiple dishes for the table. Nobody is ever stuck eating the same plate of food the entire time. And when I'm not having Chinese food I'm all about tasting menus; multi-course meals are right up my alley. So unless I'm going to a brunch buffet a typical brunch is incredibly monotonous to me. I've always wondered: Why can't brunch be family-style? And if so, why isn't anybody doing it?

Well, in comes Chantecler.

Chantecler's Sunday lunch, happening every Sunday from 11:30am to 3:30pm, breaks away from the norm. Consistent with their communal-style dinners, chef and co-owner Jonathan Poon serves lunch - not "brunch" - with a menu consisting of shareable small plates. Go with a few friends and go nuts ordering for the table. I bet you haven't done that before for Sunday brunch lunch!

Anyway, some of Chantecler's dishes here are unlike anything I've seen before, or probably will ever see, in Toronto. Let's just say you won't find eggs benny, French toast or pancakes here....even their Caesar is different than anybody else's:

SNOWCRAB CAESAR ($13)

Szechuan Pepper, Clamato, Cucumber & Coriander

Remember what I said about going nuts ordering? My friends and I did just that when we had Chantecler's entire Sunday lunch menu last week. "Go big or go home", right? Feast your eyes, friends!

HASH BROWN ($3.5)

Heinz Ketchup 

Why? How about why not? Everybody loves hash browns! Fried to a nice golden brown served with a packet of Heinz ketchup, this is just plain fun.

FRIED STEAMED BUN ($4)

Condensed Milk

Exceptionally soft with a slightly crisp coating, these fried steamed buns are served with a generous amount of thick, sweet condensed milk for dipping. No twist. Pure traditional Chinese plate here.

Death Row Meals - Youngblood

Inspired by the 1980's hockey movie "Youngblood", last Sunday's Death Row Meals (#DeathRowMeals) dinner featured 7 courses prepared by 7 very talented young chefs in the the city. These up and coming chefs prepared a themed feast reminiscent of the iconic film starring Rob Lowe, Cynthia Gibb, Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves (his first movie appearance) and the Toronto Maple Leafs own Steve “Stumpy” Thomas. The evening also included cocktail and wine pairings from Dillon's Distillers (@dillonsdistills) and Rosewood Estates Winery (@rosewoodwine). A portion of the proceeds from Youngblood benefited Right To Play Canada, a global organization founded in 2000 by Johann Olav Koss - a four-time Olympic gold medalist and social entrepreneur - that uses the transformative power of play to educate and empower children facing adversity. 

The Youngblood dinner took place at the classy and sophisticated Hot Stove Club. Located at the Air Canada Centre, the Hot Stove Club was established in 1963 (happy 50th birthday!) and revitalized in summer 2012. The restaurant is equipped with a large dining area, three bars and a lounge.

Below is a recap of Death Row Meals - Youngblood.

ONE

PREPARING THE ICE SURFACE

Coulson Armstrong (@Chef_Coulson), Canoe Restaurant

Crudo of fluke - Gatorade, concord grapes, buffalo yogurt and caribou moss

TWO

THE SNACK BAR

Luca Gatti (@lucagatti22), Sanagans

Mini Chicago dog, house made potato chips, gravy seasoning

Frida Restaurant + Avocados from Mexico

Last week I was invited to a special dinner at Frida Restaurant & Bar (Twitter: @FridaRestaurant, Facebook: Frida Restaurant & Bar). Hosted by Miss Ava Cado (@missavacado) of Avocados from Mexico, chef Jose Hadad of Frida took guests on a culinary journey with a delicious four-course meal featuring irresistibly rich and creamy Mexican avocados.

What you should know about Mexican avocados...
- The world’s first avocado was grown and cultivated in Mexico countless generations ago.
- Due to fertile volcanic soil, ideal climate and centuries of expert cultivation, Mexico remains the source of the world’s finest avocados. 
- Mexico is the only place in the world where avocado trees naturally bloom four times a year. 

Avocados in general are very nutritious because they are..
- High in monounsaturated fat or "good" fat: a diet high in monounsaturated fat from avocados has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and raise HDL (good) cholesterol.
- High in potassium and deliver lutein and zeaxanthin: these are two phytochemicals that protects against cataract and macular degeneration. 
- A great source of folate: folate is a B vitamin that keeps the DNA of your cells in good repair. Half of an avocado provides one-quarter of a day’s worth of folate (the recommended daily intake is 400 micrograms). 
- An excellent source of fibre

Yes avocados are really, really good for you! The great thing is they are also very tasty :) Below is a recap of my evening where chef Jose utilized and incorporated this beautiful fruit in his four-course dinner for us.

SALSAS WITH CHIPS

MARGARITA AND SANGRIA

APPETIZER: GUACAMOLE

Avocados, red onions, tomatillos, cilantro and corn tortillas

Neal Brothers' Maple Bacon Kettle-Style Chips

Chips are my weakness. Not chocolate, not candies. Well Pocky actually comes close but still nothing trumps chips. It's weird because I'm not even a big snacker but I cannot say no when someone offers me chips. Chips seem to have some magical power on me...a magnetic pull of some sort. If I'm at a party and there are bowls of chips out you would probably see me guarding them all night (ya I'm that girl). But the absolute worst would have to be when I'm like "Screw it I'm just gonna have a few!" and open a bag of chips at home. A few? That never happens. NEVER. More like half a bag or 3/4 of one! Then what follows is just self-loathing and it's ridiculous because it happens every single damn time.

Are you one to understand my love and hate relationship with these crispy things? If your answer is "yes, of course!" then understand that there was absolutely NO WAY I would skip out on the launch of Neal Brothers' Maple Bacon Kettle-Style Chips at Amsterdam Brewery, right? Right???

So...MAPLE. BACON. CHIPS. And as if that wasn't enticing enough, the launch event had these Maple Bacon chips paired with Amsterdam's (@amsterdambeer) selected ales, Big Wheel Amber Ale and Market Pale Ale. Oh geez beer and chips for lunch on a Tuesday? Don't mind if I do, friends.

Neal Brothers Foods Inc. (Twitter: @nealbrothers, Facebook: Neal Brothers Foods) a Toronto-based boutique distribution company, brought together maple and bacon, two emblematic Canada tastes, as the fourth flavour to their established line of kettle chips. These hand-cut chips are seasoned with rich maple and brown sugar, chili pepper and other natural flavours to create a sweet flavour accompanied with smoky and savoury notes characteristic of bacon.

Ahhh chips and beer. I had a lot some of this Big Wheel Amber Ale with my Maple Bacon chips...they go so fabulous together. An award winning amber, this Big Wheel Amber Ale is brewed with a blend of imported Pale and Crystal malts for a bright amber colour and sweet malt character then dry hopped with a blend of UK hops.

Origin North

The newest venture by chef Claudio Aprile is Origin North (Twitter: @originnorth, Facebook: Origin North Restaurant & Bar). Located in Bayview Village near Bayview and Sheppard, Origin North is the third restaurant under Aprile's "Origin empire". The Origin umbrella began with its first location on King Street (2010) followed by a second location in Liberty Village (2012).

This uptown restaurant is massive. With 12,000 sq ft, the space houses 200 seats indoors and 138 seats on its two patios.

Much like the Liberty Village location, an enormous bar in the middle of the room catches your attention right away. The floor-to-ceiling windows allows a lot of light in, highlighting the dark plush leather seats as well as the brown wooden beams. Really spacious and comfortable here.

Right of the bat there were several items on Origin North's menu that I recognize from Origin Liberty like the spicy Spanish fries, truffled popcorn and beet salad (I used to work really close to the Liberty location). I made an exception this time and did not order the spicy Spanish fries - I used to order it every single time 'cause I love them! But this time I resisted...I wanted to save room for new dishes instead.

Round 1 of cocktails:

MAPLE SOUR - Bulleit Bourbon + Maple + Lemon + Bitters ($11)

LA DIABLO - Don Julio Blanco + Cassis + Ginger + Lime ($11)

CNE Toronto 2013 Media Day

CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION

AUG 16 - SEP 2

18 days of fun, food, rides, games and great entertainment at Canada's largest fair

Yup! It's CNE time~ I know it's sorta bittersweet. Whenever CNE (Twitter: @LetsGoToTheEx, Facebook: Canadian National Exhibition) starts it essentially means summer is over :( but to me it also means it's time for GAMES and FOOD! GAMES as in "I don't care how much money I spend I want a MINION!" and FOOD as in "I want to eat everything that will potentially clog my arteries!" Don't believe me? Check out my deep fried adventure at the CNE two years ago.

This year, I was invited to CNE's Media Day. I arrived at Princes' Gate bright and early yesterday morning and whoa was it chilly! I was so glad to see Gourmet Gringos serving hot coffee and breakfast for us :) Gourmet Gringos will be one of the many food trucks participating in CNE's Food Truck Frenzy on August 23, 24 and 25.

Gourmet Gringos' hot breakfast burrito totally warmed me up.

Welcome remarks from CNE General Manager, David Bednar. 

Kicking off our media tour was husband and wife buskers, Mr. Spin & Pandora Pink.

Sabai Sabai

Being a huge supporter of Khao San Road, I knew it was only a matter of time that I would make my way to Sabai Sabai Kitchen and Bar (Twitter: @sabaisabaito, Facebook: Sabai Sabai Kitchen and Bar). Nuit and Jeff Regular, formerly of Khao San Road, parted ways with the restaurant early last year to open Sabai Sabai on 225 Church Street in November. Teaming up with the couple is Jason Jiang and Seng Luong, who became friends with the Regulars after being regulars (ha!) at Sukhothai's original location on Parliament (Nuit and Jeff continues to operate the two Sukhothai locations).

I really like the decor at Sabai Sabai. With colourful paper lanterns hung up high and vintage artwork on the walls, the space feels roomy, bright and festive.

I had dinner with my friends Carmen (@carmenhungry) and Grace (@foodinthecityTO) that evening. I ordered a lychee slushie ('cause I always prefer booze) and it was everything I hoped for: cold, refreshing, slush with a sweet taste of lychee and Soho (the Soho came through a lot more compared to the Vodka and Limoncello). It was wonderful.

Thai iced coffee ($4), Thai iced tea ($4)

Lychee Slushie - 3 oz (Vodka, Soho, Limoncello), lychee ($10)

Sabai Sabai's menu items are all meant to be shared so we ordered eight dishes followed by dessert:

Crispy shrimp chips with tamarind dip ($4)

Popchips Snacker's Paradise Sweepstakes

You are missing out if you haven't tried popchips yet. 

Not fried nor baked, popchips (@popchips) are popped! They are tasty and healthy with 0 cholesterol and 0 trans fat~

Here's an old picture of me (i.e. w/ long blonde hair) with my favourite popchips flavour :D

If you are a fan of popchips and random beach vacations (who isn't?!) you will be thrilled with this incredible giveaway:

popchips and Esperanza Resort (@EsperanzaResort) have teamed up to bring Metro shoppers across Ontario a chance to win a trip for TWO to the world-renowned Esperanza Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico!

How to enter: 

With the purchase of any 2 bags of popchips for $5, shoppers can swipe their AIR MILES card which will automatically entered them in the contest! That's it! 

What the popchips #snackersparadise giveaway includes:

- Airfare for 2 guests

- 3 nights, 4 days at the Esperanza Resort with an ocean view

- Two 60-minute massages at their award-winning spa

- Complimentary fitness classes

- Daily breakfast

- $500 USD in spending money

Total value of the giveaway is approx. $7,000!

The contest is already underway and ends at 11:59:59 PM Eastern Standard Time on May 30, 2013.

See complete contest rules and regulations: snacker's paradise

Sunday Brunch at Splendido

I remember taking my parents to Splendido (Twitter: @Splendido_TO, Facebook: Splendido Restaurant) for Mother's Day brunch last year, which was the one and only day of the year that the Harbord landmark restaurant serves the mid-morning meal. However, that all changed a month ago when Splendido started its first ever regular brunch service in its 23-year history. From 11am-2pm, you can now indulge in Splendido's two-course brunch, dubbed "The Spread", every Sunday for $35. And if you want to do it up in style, the restaurant also offers large-format communal dishes catered for larger groups for pre-order, such as whole roasted lobes of foie gras with fresh brioche, seafood platters, caviar service and whole sides of house-smoked trout, etc., that will guarantee to tickle your fancy and enrich your favourite Sunday pastime. Oh yes, those who decide to splurge on a bottle of champagne can even put on a show and sabre it at the front of the restaurant ;)

My friends and I ordered a couple of cocktails to start.

MILANO SUNRISE - Tanqueray, Aperol & Fresh Grapefruit Juice ($12)

RUDE AWAKENING - El Jimador Tequila, Averna, Punt e Mes, Khalua, Espresso ($12)

The following assortment of pastries, charcuterie, cheeses were shared amongst the four of us:

Croissant, Scone, Country Bread

Butter, Preserves, Whipped Cream Cheese, Farmhouse Cheese, Cured Ham, Potted Parfait, Terrine & Pickles

Hunt Camp

My dinner at HUNT CAMP is without a doubt the BEST meal I've had so far this year. Not only was the food feast itself spectacular, the entire dining experience was INCREDIBLE.

HUNT CAMP (@HuntCampTO) is an exclusive dinner series brought to you by the folks at Farmhouse Tavern (@FARMHOUSEtavern). Owner Darcy MacDonell launched the temporary project on January 30th and since then, the dinners have been happening every Wednesday night at 7:30 pm. Running for 13 weeks until April 24th, the intimate dinners only seats six...and YES, I'm proud to say I was one of the lucky ones who managed to snatch up a reservation (it sold out extremely quick)!

Farmhouse's chef Alex Molitz is also the chef of HUNT CAMP.

 A restaurant within a restaurant, HUNT CAMP takes place in a cozy dining room in the back of Farmhouse Tavern.

New Menu at West50 Pourhouse

The first time I was at West50 Pourhouse & Grille (read post here) I was stunned by its massive selection of beer (over 100 different beers and taps) and was rendered speechless after realizing that West50 Pourhouse (Twitter: @West50Pourhouse, Facebook: West50 Pourhouse & Grille) is actually the biggest pourhouse (i.e. has the largest selection of draught beer) in Canada. I was so impressed. I was then rendered speechless again, literally, from the pure act of stuffing my face with a very tasty, very delectable eight-course dinner (with beer pairings of course.) It was good times. Fast forward nine months later a.k.a. two nights ago, I was back at West50 again to try their new menu. Sheesh! Time flies! So cliche, but so true!

Anyway.

First things first - once I sat down, I knew I had to choose a beer. SO MANY OPTIONS! I admit it, I'm a complete wimp when it comes to beer. I like the fruity stuff! So when our server came over and asked me what I wanted, I naturally said Fruli. She then recommended Liefmans on the rocks (Liefmans is a fresh beer blend with natural juices from cherry, bilberry, elderberry strawberry and and raspberry...honestly, can beer get any fruitier?!) She told me she personally prefers Liefmans over Fruli. After hearing that, I was sold. And guess what? I'm so glad I tried it! Liefmans Fruitesse on the rocks is now my new favourite beer :) It's pleasantly sweet and refreshing...like apple cider...but cherry? I'm also in love with that tumbler.

Beer. Check. 

Next up: food.

I asked chef Brendan Prong (@chef_prong) if there was anything that inspired his new menu:

"My inspiration behind this menu was to return to my roots, trying to step away from global con-"fusion" cuisine and back to continental comfort. A lot of the dishes are personal favourites for me and my staff. We worked together to find a happy medium of bar food and upscale comfort. I was very inspired by my ingredients on this menu, I made some major changes in my purveyors and taught myself new techniques, allowing for a more fresh, ingredient-driven menu. The beer bistro concept is hot right now and I want to bring us to the top of that game even if we are far west of the "buzz". With Canada's largest selection of draught beer inside my restaurant I feel I really need to step up my game, and this is just a start."

From West50's new menu:

Chips - Russet potato, sea salt & malt vinegar

Beer Snacks - Maple & brown sugar, spiced garlic

Pickled Vegetables

Charcuterie - Chorizo, Portuguese blood sausage, saucisson sec, hunter sausage, quail & pear pate, guanciale.

Rock Lobster

It has been a packed house every night at Rock Lobster ever since the 72-seat seafood restaurant opened late November / early December of last year. Chef and co-owner Matt Dean Pettit, who started Rock Lobster Food Co in 2011, has promptly graduated his small pop up company into a permanent location on Ossington merely nine months since its successful debut at the Toronto Underground Market (Pettit also had a lobster shack in Kensington Market last summer selling his very popular lobster rolls). This is truly impressive to say the least! And like I said earlier, it has been three months in and Rock Lobster is still rockin' it. With a no-reservation policy, be prepared to do a bit of waiting, that's my warning to ya ;)

Quick throwback! This was me with a 1.5 lb lobster at Lobstah Palooza last August, one of many sold-out events hosted by Rock Lobster Food Co. *Oh summer, I miss you sooo much!*

Even though is snowing right now, tomorrow is the first day of spring! *YAY!* 

Anyway, back to Rock Lobster.

Adorned with cool paintings and murals (such as the one shown above, done by Pettit's father) and a rustic Canadiana feel to the space (which Pettit designed himself), it seems like Torontonians are loving everything Rock Lobster (Twitter: @RockLobsterFood, Facebook: Rock Lobster Food Co).

Rock Lobster's raw bar includes gulf shrimp, Atlantic snow crab, Nova Scotia lobster tail and oysters.