Fishbar's New Menu

The month of May marks the two year milestone for Fishbar (Twitter: @_fishbar, Facebook: Fishbar). Fishbar on Ossington is a proud partner of Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Wise Program and serves a seasonally-evolving sustainable seafood menu. To celebrate its second birthday, Fishbar revamped its menu with a host of new and exciting dishes. I was invited to their media tasting last week to sample some of the restaurant's latest plates.

To execute the new dishes and evolution of Fishbar, owners William Tavares (left) and Renata Andreazza (right) have enlisted Chef Miro Lelas. The Croation chef's background includes stints as Chef de Cuisine at Rosewater Supper Club and Catering Chef at Atlantis Pavilions.

The front of the restaurant lets in a lot of natural light. Love that.

The back of Fishbar

Lunch at Guu SakaBar

Guu (@GuuIzakaya) fans rejoice! 

You can now get your Guu fix at lunch, Monday to Friday, from 11:30am to 2:00pm! 

I made my way to Guu Sakabar (Facebook: Guu SakaBar) with a friend last week to check out their lunch menu. The first thing I noticed when I got there was that unlike dinner time, there were no crazy lineups *yay!* and secondly, the entire restaurant was beautifully decorated with hanging lanterns, and red, pink and white paper blossoms. So pretty.

Even the maneki-neko was sporting a pink hat! I soon realized that all this was in celebration of Guu Sakabar's two year anniversary.

My friend and I sat near the back of the restaurant, right in front of these giant sake barrels.

Guu Sakabar's lunch menus.

Guu Sakabar Never Disappoints

Guu Sakabar's menu and specials posted outside

When it comes to izakaya (i.e. a Japanese drinking establishment which serves food to accompany drinks), I always default to Guu. Although there are several newly opened izakayas in downtown Toronto, I somehow find myself at either Guu SakaBar or Guu Izakaya whenever I have a craving for izakaya. And because these 'izakaya cravings' do not happen that often, when they do, I want to make sure that I will be completely happy and satisfied after my meal, which is is precisely why I always end up at Guu (@GuuToronto) - I've never left Guu disappointed. The food there is consistently good, their awesome vibe never ceases to amaze me, the staff is always friendly and cheerful, and last but not least, I find myself practically rolling out of the restaurant, beyond full with a grin on my face, every single time :)

This time was no exception. I took a friend to Guu SakaBar recently. He has never been to Guu before (I know, shocking!) so I felt that it was my duty, as a friend, to take him there (OK I admit, I was also having an izakaya craving at the time).

To experience the full "Guu experience", I find it best to sit at the bar. Despite the fact that it can get a bit loud, I strongly encourage those who haven't been to Guu to try it out (you can always sit in the tatami room next time...only available at Guu SakaBar though!)

I had the GUU CAESAR (obviously) with Yuzu pepper infused vodka, clamato ($6.5) 

My friend had ASAHI ($7)

Between the two of us, we had the following: 

KURAGE - Marinated jellyfish ($4.5)

InvASIAN: GwaiLo's Pop-Up Finale

GwaiLo and Senses Restaurant wrapped up its month-long pop up dinner series on Monday night with a bang. Sponsored by Senses with all proceeds going to the Stop Food Community Centre (@TheStopCFC), the event, dubbed InvASIAN, brought together six distinguished modern Asian chefs (two of which are from New York) for a one-night only fundraising dinner. A unique culinary collaboration of Toronto and New York, each chef created one course for InvASIAN. Below is a short bio of each chef who showcased their skill and creativity that night:

Chef Nick Liu (@Ninjachefnick), GwaiLo (@GwaiLoToronto)
As Executive Chef and owner of GwaiLo Asian Brasserie, Chef Nick Liu's merging of Asian influences with French techniques has garnered local and international accolades. His dishes have been enjoyed by dignitaries and royalty, as well as at the esteemed James Beard House.

Chef Danny Bowien (@dannybowien), Mission Chinese Food (@Missionstfood)
Chef Danny Bowien launched with Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco and then in New York. His whimsical, responsibly sourced Chinese food has garnered accolades and awards from Food and Wine and People. He is also a James Beard finalist.

Chef Andy Ricker, Pok Pok (@pokpokpdx) 
Chef Andy Ricker is a James Beard award-winner and owner of Ping, Portland, Oregon and Pok Pok, Brooklyn, New York. He has been recognized by the likes of GQ Eats: Top Ten Best New Restaurants (Pok Pok) and the Oregonian as 2009 Rising Star (Ping).

Chef Nuit Regular, Khao San Road (@khaosanroadTO)
Chef Nuit Regular is the culinary talent of Khao San Road. Stemming from Thailand, Regular has won the hearts of local foodies and critics with her authentic and fiery Northern Thai Cuisine.

Chef Cheska Ang (@CheskaZarah), Actinolite (@actinolitefood)
From British Columbia to Ontario, Chef Cheska Ang has established herself in some of Canada's best known kitchens and is currently sous chef at the recently opened Actinolite.

Chef Robbie Hojilla (@RobbieHoho), Mr. Pong's Bar (@Mr_Pongs)
Chef Robbie Hojilla is the chef behind the Asian-Canadian cuisine of Mr. Pong's Bar. He draws his inspiration from Filipino cuisine and delivers using Canadian ingredients to create unique Asian-inspired dishes.

Tickets for the six-course dinner was $95 per person, with optional cocktail and wine pairings at $35 per person. Pairings were developed by Christina Kuypers (@deKuypers), co-founder of GwaiLo, and sponsored by Ponte Wine and Spirits.

Once seated, each guest enjoyed a Hayman's Sloe Gin Sweet & Sour.

Without further ado, here is what I had at the InvASIAN dinner:

OYSTER & PEARLS - Nick Liu 

Scallion, egg custard, steamed oyster, smoked beurre blanc, soy lime pearls

Buerre Blanc Bowmore Islay 12yr

Omakase at Noka

Opened around a month and a half ago, Noka (Twitter: @nokatoronto, Facebook: Noka Japanese cuisine & sushi bar) is yet another Japanese restaurant in the Annex. *NODS* yes, you read right, another one! I'm now really curious as to how many Japanese restaurants are on Bloor between Spadina and Bathurst...anyone know? Maybe if I'm really bored one day I'll go count. Anyone care to join me? LOL!


Located beside Menchie's Yogurt, Noka serves not only lunch and dinner but also happy hour everyday (see Noka's hours here).  From 3pm to 5pm, and 10pm to close (12am or 2am depending on day), Noka's happy hour menu includes a variety of appetizers, tempura, rolls and sake bombs(!). I think it is a pretty smart move on Noka's part to open late because the Annex is always bustling even at 2am in the morning! Noka also gets another thumbs up from me in terms creating pre-opening buzz; they started tweeting weeks before their opening night. Even now, Noka is doing a fairly decent job in tweeting regularly and engaging with other tweeters.


I went to Noka last week with a friend of mine to celebrate my birthday :)

Chef Cheng Lin behind the sushi bar.

Nigori Sake. 

Lettuce Sundays at Chantecler

Big fan of Chantecler right here :) I practically ordered their whole menu when I went for dinner  a couple of months ago. Ever since then I've been recommending Chantecler (@ChanteclerTO) to all my friends (you can read about my dinner here). 

With regular service from Wednesday to Saturdays (at least for the summer), every Sunday from now on at Chantecler will be all about LETTUCE WRAPS! My friend and I went to Chantecler's first ever #lettucesunday last Sunday. 

Served communally on a first-come, first-served basis, Chantecler will be offering lettuce wraps with big helpings of meats, assorted pickles & condiments at $19 pp until 1am every Sunday (or until they run out of food). You can also order extras on the side (they will be rotating the sides depending on what's available at the time and what's fun). 

 That night's drinks special: Soju Mojito w/ Yuzu & Shiso Leaf  ($10)

Below are two orders of lettuce wraps:

Assorted Lettuce & Rice Cracker (replaced steamed rice that evening)

Slow Smoked Pork Shoulder w/ Brown Sugar and Soy

Braised Beef Rib w/ Fermented Bean Paste

Braised Short Ribs with Ginger Soy Glaze and Fried Egg with Preserved Turnip

So with 3lbs of short ribs left in the freezer, I was determined *once again* to make the Short Ribs in Red Wine from Sass and Veracity (I bought 6lbs of it last weekend and made half of them as Bar-B-Q Short Ribs because I didn't have red wine). Heading to LCBO after lunch on a Sunday afternoon, there was no way it can be closed now right? Oooh sooo wrong, it is Easter Sunday. Two Sundays in a row now this has happened to me. Maybe it's a sign? A sign indirectly warning me that if I do make this dish, it will turn out disastrous. Sigh. Well whether or not this is a blessing in disguise or my lack of preparation, I knew I had to Google my way out of this again, but at least this time I didn't go grocery shopping yet.

I found this Braised Beef Short Ribs with Ginger Soy Glaze from Just Beef Recipes:

Ingredients

• 3 lb Beef short ribs
• 5 Star anise -- whole
• 1/4 c Shao xing
• 1 oz Ginger, fresh -- sliced thin
• 6 Garlic clove, med -- peeled
• 3 tb Soy sauce
• 1/2 oz Rock sugar
• Salt
• 2 Scallion, med -- sliced crosswise