West Restaurant + Bar on Granville Street serves contemporary Pacific Northwest cuisine, and it is one of seven restaurants in the Toptable Group restaurant group.Helmed by Executive Chef Quang Dang, West came highly recommended by my good friend Mijune of Follow Me Foodie. Even though it was not on my Vancouver restaurant "hit list", I was more than happy to try out Westgiven that Mijune and I have very similar taste in food.
West's sophisticated dining room boasts a temperature-controlled wine wall (on the right), a Werner Forster installation from the ceiling (Forster was a well-known Vancouver architect), etched stone tabletops, and Mario Bellini designed original chairs found at MoMA. There are also two chef's tables for guests who like to see all the action in the kitchen.
Pretty pink cocktails to start. Forgive me but I don't remember what spirit and ingredients were in them. All I remember is that they were very tasty and, contrary to how they may look, not crazy sweet.
I wrote a blog post about Sidecar Bar and Grill in May 2010, about a month after I started this blog. You can check it out here if you want. In a nutshell, it's about my friend Cindy and I trying Sidecar's prix fixe menu for the very first time and me falling in love with their steak frites (FYI till this day Cindy and I still go on a lot of dining escapes together!). Ughhh, looking back at old blog posts always make me cringe - I hate the way I wrote back then. Sometimes, I have an urge to delete certain old posts, but a friend once said I shouldn't because "it shows growth"...yea, seven year's worth! *Sigh*. Reading that post actually made melaugh though because of how I described my cocktail:
"This was so yummy and refreshing. I love fruity drinks!"
Kill me now! Oh, how I've grown. I despise fruity drinks nowadays. The boozier, the better. Actually, this is an excellent example of how a person's taste can change over time, which is why I always encourage people to try foods they previously didn't like because you may end up enjoying it the second time around (especially if years have passed). I used to despise sea urchin but now I can never get enough. Can you imagine? Hating uni? I don't even know myself anymore.
Sorry to veer off topic. Anyway, since that blog post, I've probably been to Sidecar a handful more times over the years. Admittedly, I frequent their second floor cocktail bar - Toronto Temperance Society - way more often. TTS is like my second home; it makes some of the best cocktails in the city and the atmosphere there is second to none. Seeing that I haven't been to Sidecar in a while, I was very intrigued when I heard that a new chef took over downstairs.
Before I start talking about the food, there are two things worth noting: 1) A minor change, but nonetheless important, is the restaurant's slight name change. Back in the day, the restaurant was called "Sidecar Bar & Grill", now it's Sidecar Restaurant(Instagram: @sidecar_restaurant), and 2) Since 2017, the restaurant eliminated tipping completely to become Toronto's first gratuity-free restaurant.
Helming the kitchen at Sidecar now is chef H ("Hyun Jung") Kim (@hhyunjkim). Graduated from George Brown in 2010, Kim started his career at Globe Bistro under chefs Kevin McKenna and Daniel Sanders, followed by a brief stint at C5 with chef Ted Corrado. He then worked at George Restaurant for chef Lorenzo Loseto as chef de partie and eventually moved up the ranks to junior sous chef. After two and a half years at George, he traveled around Europe for six months. When he came back to Toronto, he staged at a couple places and briefly worked at The Chase before heading back to George as sous chef. In December 2016, Kim took over the kitchen at Sidecar, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Move over fruity drinks! Nobody gets between me and my old fashioneds anymore.
OLD FASHIONED ($14)
Bourbon, sugar, bitters
I have a soft spot for restaurants that offer complimentary bread. There's not many of them out there anymore.
Happy Chinese New Year to all my Chinese friends! 2017 is the year of the Rooster, and because I have no idea what that entails, I googled it. I found this nifty graph showing how people born in a year of the Rooster (i.e. 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029) will do in 2017 when it comes to work, love, wealth and health. Check out how scientific the folks at Chinahighlights.com made it all look:
This shows what's lucky and unlucky for Roosters. Note the cockscomb (obviously) and how Roosters should never, ever, venture east.
I'm not superstitious at all but it's fun to look at horoscopes sometimes, especially during Chinese New Year! But y'all know what's more fun than zodiacs during CNY? Eating the food my Mom makes.
This year, my Mom switched it up a bit. Instead of making multiple dishes, she made poon choi, or 盆菜, which literally means "basin vegetables" in Chinese. Ingredients are cooked separately, layered carefully and topped with an assortment of delicacies. Each person at the table takes food from the "basin", layer by layer, from the top to the bottom. Eating 盆菜, or "big bowl feast", signifies abundance and richness in the coming year.
FYI. According to Wikipedia, poon choi was invented during the late Song Dynasty. When Mongol troops invaded Song China, the young Emperor fled to the area around Guangdong Province and Hong Kong. To serve the Emperor as well as his army, the locals collected all their best food available, cooked it, and because there were not enough serving containers available put the resulting meal in large wooden washbasins.
There are all the ingredients that went into my Mom's poon choi:
⇒ Bottom layer: white radish, carrots, cabbage (白蘿蔔, 紅籮蔔, 長紹菜)
⇒ Top layer: black moss, abalone, soy sauce marinated tiger shrimp, egg tofu and broccoli (發菜, 鲍魚, 豉汁明蝦, 玉子豆腐, 西蘭花)
A short Instagram video of my Mom pouring homemade chicken broth into the pot on the stove. That sizzle thooo (don't mind my Dad talking in the background).
Each bite of the poon choi was such a treat - I wouldn't change a thing. The poon choi fed the five of us no problem..there was so much food in there! Before I go, I want to mention the most precious ingredient in the poon choi, which was the abalone. My mom bought this "Gold Price" boiled canned abalone from the supermarket. With just two abalones inside, this can was close to $70. The mollusks were tender with a bit of chewiness to them, and due to the salt water they lived in, the meat tasted a bit salty.
Like always, my Mom totally spoiled us :) Thanks, Mom!
French-inspired Korean cuisine. Have you tried it before? Not me, at least not until I visited Doma back in December. Doma(Instagram: @domatoronto, Facebook: Doma) is a French-inspired Korean restaurant that meshes French cooking techniques with traditional Korean ingredients and flavours (or vice versa). According to Doma's website, their menu changes every month, which is in line with chef/owner Paul Kim's philosophy of using local ingredients as much as possible. Each month's menu would include Kim's new creations, as well as two to three popular dishes from the previous month.
Located on Clinton and College, the Doma space was previously occupied by Backwoods Smokehouse, and before that Red Sauce, and before that Acadia. The decor is minimalist and simple; clean lines with white walls and light-wood furnishings. I personally find the room a bit bleak. Also, maybe it's the OCD in me but because all the tables and chairs are angled diagonally, I had a really strong urge to move everything so that they would be parallel to the wall.
Anyway, enough about the room, let's talk about the food. I was really eager to try Doma because I always viewed Korean food as a more casual type of cuisine; as in, I've never experienced "Korean fine-dining" or "refined Korean food" before. Which is why I was really excited to try Doma, especially having heard that chef Kim studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa. Combining his knowledge in French techniques with his Korean background, I was pretty sure that Kim would be debuting a refined menu that none of us have ever tried before.
By the way, I love the long and slender cutlery at Doma. They are a more stylish matte black versions of the silver ones you would normally find in traditional Korean restaurants.
My friend and I chose the $65 per person tasting menu which consisted of an amuse, six courses and a dessert. You basically get to try the entire menu with this tasting so I highly recommend getting it.
AMUSE BOUCHE
Steam bun filled with mushroom, caramelized onion and sweet doenjang
Maillard.co is a brand new online butcher shop that offers over 100 different cuts of meat of all sorts, free of artificial colouring, from beef and veal, to pork, poultry and lamb. I was sent a sample Maillard.cobox last month to try so I'll share my experience with you here. If you like what you see, make sure you enter my contest below!
All Maillard(Instagram: @maillard.co, Facebook: Maillard) products come in a 100% recyclable isotherm cooler that allow the meats inside to remain frozen for at least 30 hours following their shipment. When you open the box, you'll also find a layer of dry ice blocks used to maintain an inside temperature of -80 degrees for maximum preservation. The cuts of meat – sold by unit or in boxes – are individually vacuum sealed then instantly frozen.All online orders are delivered the next day.
Maillard.co guarantees its meat to be free of artificial colouring. From slicing to shipping, all of their meat, except their flattened chicken which is packed directly from their supplier, is processed in their HACCP-certified facilities located in Terrebonne, Quebec. Their beef is selected according to its high-quality grading (AA, AAA and Prime), which guarantees optimal marbling, tenderness and flavour.
"From slicing to shipping, all of our meat is processed right here in Quebec at our Terrebonne facilities that are HACCP certified, which are the highest food processing standards in the world. Our customers will enjoy choice cuts of meat that have been carefully selected and prepared by our artisan butchers year-round." - Pascal Arsenault, owner of Maillard.
For my Maillard sample box (valued at $85), I received:
The Maillard Grilling Guide
A Maillard apron
1 pkg AAA boneless ribeye steak (Selection 1913)*
1 natural flattened chicken
I pkg trimmed boneless chicken breasts
1 pkg boneless duck breast
1 pkg frenched bone in pork chop
*Selection 1913 is Maillard's finest tasting product. The best meat in categories AAA and Prime is selected according to marbling, colour and musle size. These choice cuts are aged for 45 days for optimum flavour and tenderness.
With all the wonderful cuts of meat in my freezer, it was time to get cookin'! My box came with several recipe cards, so I decided to use one of them, their "Portuguese Piri Piri Style Chicken" using their flattened chicken (there are currently more than 20 featured recipes on the Maillard website that shows you the different ways you can cook your choice cuts). We seasoned the AAA boneless Ribeye with some salt and pepper, and pan-seared it to a nice rare to accompany our piri piri chicken and roasted vegetables.
It has been a long time since I've been excited about a new restaurant here in the city. Maybe I'm harder to please now that I'm older, but I feel that the Toronto dining scene is pretty stagnant currently when it comes to creativity and offering people new things. As in, do we need another Italian restaurant? Do we really? I'm also tired of seeing gimmicky and/or "instagrammable" foods that do not deliver on taste. Do these "creations" deserve that much attention? And, sorry, I'm just not that into barbecue. Finally, against popular opinion, I want more "fine dining" or "upscale" restaurants, and less "fast casual" restaurants, please!*End rant*
So, let me just put it out there: Canis Restaurant is now one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto. Canis, which opened a month ago on 746 Queen Street West, does upscale, yet approachable, Canadian cuisine. Their menu is intricate, thoughtful and original. Canis is good. Real good.
The interior of Canis is sleek and modern with a bright open kitchen at the back. The modest dining room features mostly concrete, wood and leather.
To start, my friend opted for beer (below) while I opted for a glass of bubbly (not pictured).
WAG THE WOLF HOPFENWEISSE ($14)
Canis' dinner menu is divided into snacks, starters, mains and desserts. I asked chef Jeff Kang if he could just bring out dishes for us since we do not have any allergies and we eat everything. So, here we go!
BREAD (complimentary)
Sourdough from Clark's Bread served with whipped garlic butter, and fresh ricotta & chimichurri. Mix together the cheese and chimichurri, and you'll literally get the best spread ever. The garlic in the butter was a bit too subtle for my taste (I love my garlic) but the sourdough was excellent.
Gyu-Kaku is a chain of Japanese yakiniku (barbeque) restaurants. Since their first Japan location 20 years ago in 1996, the chain has grown to a staggering 688 locations in 11 countries. There are now over 600 restaurants in Japan, with worldwide locations in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Taipei, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Gyu-Kaku's Toronto location opened last month on 81 Church Street. It took them 20 years to get here but I guess better late than never! My friend and I went on a busy Friday night, and thank goodness we made reservations because it was an hour-and-a-half wait otherwise.
A charcoal grill is installed in every table at Gyu-Kaku, and if you're worried about the smoke, don't be. The chain restaurant is known for their smokeless roaster, where with its down draft system, smoke is sucked in to the bottom of the table. The air was never smoky or stuffy when I was there.
Gyu-Kaku (Instagram: @gyukakujbbq, Facebook: Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ) offers a wide range of ready-to-grill beef, poultry, pork, seafood and vegetables. On the menu are also a ready-to-eat appetizers, salads, soups, noodles and rice dishes.
To be fair, my last couple of visits at Canoe were all tasting menus at the chef's rail, which is, in my opinion, a very different experience than ordering a la carte from their dining room. The thing is, if I'm at Canoe, I'm gonna go all out since I'm most likely there to celebrate a special occasion anyway. Needless to say, I do hope that I can call Canoe a "regular spot" one day. I'm definitely not there *yet* but one day :) #Lifegoals, am I right?
Canoe's tasting menu blows me away every single time, and I feel like the Canadiana-focused restaurant just keeps getting better and better. Sounds almost impossible given that Canoe (Twitter: @CanoeRestaurant, Facebook: CanoeToronto) has been around since September 1995, which is more than 20 years ago! But I truly believe that one can never get bored of eating at Canoe. The restaurant is so innovative, and constantly strives to create new and ambitious plates. It's contemporary Canadian cuisine at its finest.
This post is, regrettably, two months late. I contemplated just not blogging about it but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't since the food was so good. The one reason why I thought of not writing about the dinner is because Canoechanged their tasting menu like two days after my visit, which means most of the dishes you see on this post is not even served at the restaurant anymore :( Oh well, bad timing. I still hope you guys will enjoy this post, though!
My friend took me here for my birthday and we reserved two seats at the chef's rail. Seriously, why would anyone want to sit in the dining room when you can get front row seats to the kitchen? The only "bad" thing I can think of was my constant urge to reach over the counter for oysters the entire night.
There are two more days left of Summerlicious! This year, the citywide restaurant event began on July 8th and will end on July 24th, so you still have this weekend to check it out. With over 220 restaurants participating, including 24 new participants, I'm confident that you'll find a 3-course menu to whet your appetite. Summerlicious (Twitter: @LiciousTO, Facebook: LiciousTO) prices range from $18 to $28 for lunch, and $28 to $48 for dinner.
Drinks are not included in Summerlicious but they are a requirement for me :) Azure serves VERY boozy drinks (note the bold, italics and caps for "very")!
MAPLE MAHATTAN ($14)
Knob Creek bourbon, maple syrup, sweet vermouth, Dillon's DSB bitters
OLD FASHIONED ($14)
Canadian Club Rye, cane sugar syrup, angostura bitters, water
For Summerlicious, Azure is featuring a $28 lunch and a $48 dinner (both with vegetarian option available). My friend and I dropped by for dinner last night, and before I talk about what we had, I want to let you know that I'm quite sad that Azure got rid of their bread basket. If you take a look at all my previous Azure write-ups (links at the end of this post) I always made it a point to mention how great their bread basket was. However, during this visit, we were given two pieces of bread each. It's better than nothing, of course, but I do miss that bread basket very much. When I asked my server, Coco, she told us that it was more economical and less wasteful this way because the restaurant always end up throwing out a lot of bread (since most diners do not consume all the bread in the basket). Totally makes sense but I can still be sad :(
APPETIZER
TRUFFLE HONEY FIG & PROSCIUTTO TARTINE
Focaccia, mascarpone, balsamic & baby watercress
Azure substituted figs with blackberries because they ran out of figs. Boo. I was disappointed because I love figs, and the entire time I couldn't stop thinking about how perfect truffle honey figs would go with the savoury prosciutto and the sweet-tartness of the balsamic. Thankfully, the blackberries worked well too. The baby watercress added a very welcoming "lightness" to the appetizer. I also thought the presentation was very pretty.
CRAB & SWEET CORN FRITTERS
Pea shoots, shaved fennel & rémoulade
These fritters tasted much better than I expected, not that I thought they would be bad but they certainly exceeded my expectations. I couldn't taste much of the crab itself but the sweet corn flavour really came through. Fried to golden brown, the crispy fritters were delicious with the cool and creamy rémoulade underneath.
“You don’t need to use your line of credit to eat french!” - Chef Jean Regis Raynaud, Le Baratin
True, that is if you're eating at Le Baratin! Opened nearly two months ago, Le Baratin - which stands for "Smooth Talker" in French - is a small French bistro on Dundas West. Helming the kitchen is classically trained French chef, Jean Regis Raynaud, formerly of Le Paradis. After 18 years of cooking in France, UK, and St. Martin, Jean Regis finally realized his dream of running his own restaurant, where he is able to share his "food philosophy, L’art de Vivre- the art of life, a touch of France here in Toronto”, Jean Regis explained.
Quite often, when people hear the words "French food" or "French restaurant", they immediately think of white tablecloths, pretentious service, lavish menus, and $$$$. So, I'm thrilled to tell you that Le Baratin (Twitter: @LeBaratinYYZ, Facebook: Le Baratin) is anything but those things. The atmosphere at the small bistro is casual and relaxed, and the service is prompt and friendly. Le Baratin is a cozy French bistro, and it's somewhere I see myself going back again and again.
Le Baratin serves classic French fare, with some modern elements incorporated by chef Jean Regis. It is opened for lunch/brunch, seven days a week from 9AM - 5PM, and dinner five a days a week from Tuesday to Saturday, 5PM - 10PM. During the Day, Le Baratin serves dishes such as the Farcou (French spinach pancake), the Croque Monsieur, and the Tartifete (baked gratin with potatoes). The lunch menu offers a selection of salads, omelettes, and original sandwiches such as the Boeuf Bourguignon on a bun.
I visited Le Baratin for dinner last week, and let me tell you right off the bat that it exceeded my expectations. So much so that I've already recommended a handful of my friends to Le Baratin already.
ELDERFLOWER GIMLET (left)
SIDECAR (right)
Armagnac, Cointreau, lemon
All their cocktails are priced at $10. Cheers to that!
TORTE PROVENCALE ($9)
Baked tomato torte with goat cheese & "herbes de Provence" served w/ mixed green salad
This baked tomato tart is the perfect summertime fare, especially when paired with the light green salad. Unlike some other tarts with custard or cream, this torte really showcased the seasonal tomatoes. The crust is nice and flaky, and the goat cheese is superb; I enjoyed the crusty-brown parts on top and the warm and creamy soft inside.
Back to back Biff's! I know I just wrote about Biff's Bistro (Twitter: @BiffsBistro, Facebook: Biff's Bistro) but I thought it'd be nice to share another one of recent my dining experience there with you guys. Unlike the previous post where I wrote about some of the restaurant's a la carte offerings, this post will only focus on the "Biff's Fixe", or Biff's "3 courses for $37.95" prix fixe menu.
Looking back on last week's Biff's post, I realized I didn't include any patio photos! Silly me, especially when we are well into patio weather now too. Well, here they are :)
I really like the rustic French charm of the patio. The trees, the details like the mix of textured wicker and leather chairs, the awning, and the patterned table cloths all contribute to the French bistro setting. Super cute!
We didn't end up having dinner on the patio, though, since the reservation was made a couple of weeks beforehand and we weren't sure if it would be warm enough. So, back inside we go...
Complimentary bread
The five of us all decided to go with the Biff's Fixe since it's such a great deal at three courses for $37.95. And to be honest, prix fixes are the best way to go when dining out with a group of friends because it makes splitting the bill so much easier (I'm also the worst at math so this is really important to me).
For Biff's Fixe, diners can choose from four appetizers, five mains and three desserts. Both the appetizer and main includes a vegetarian option. With the five of us, you would think that there would be a variety of dishes ordered that evening, but on the contrary, we all ordered the same appetizer. I guess that's why we are friends :) Mains were a bit better with three different plates, and desserts we picked two out of the three options. The food blogger in me was really hoping that I could try and get a photo of each and every prix fixe dish, but meh, no luck.
