Toronto Life | I ♥ Burgers

I never buy magazines but when I saw this I couldn't resist! 

Magazine - Toronto Life: The 29th Annual Edition "Where to Eat Now?", April 2011

What it includes - Free Restaurant Guide, Top 10 New Restuarants, 25 Best Dishes of the Year, and 2011's Hottest Food Trends (rustic Italian, boozy cocktails, house-made bread, southern barbecue and burgers).

Price - $5.95

Burger - Any guesses? ^_^

Mickey's Stuffed Steak & Cheese Pizza - Snowstorm Edition

For those of you who follow my blog, you all should know by now that I adore the Stuffed Spinach & Cheese Pizza from Mickey's Pizza (click here to see my post). At the end of that post, I basically swore that I would have to, need to, return to Mickey's Pizza to try their Stuffed Steak & Cheese Pizza. ♥ steak. ♥ cheese. ♥ pizza. There is no way I can ignore the existence of such a deadly delicious combo all on a pizza pie.
 Of all the days I choose to have the biggest craving for this Stuffed Steak & Cheese Pizza, I choose a snowstorm day. No, it was not that over-rated "Snowmaggedon" in the middle of the week a month or so ago, but rather, on the Saturday after that. It started snowing furiously late afternoon that Saturday, but I wasn't aware of that when I phoned Mickey's Pizza since I was studying the whole afternoon in my room, in the basement, with no windows. So when it was time for me to go get my beloved pizzas, my first reaction when I stepped out of the house was "ohhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiieeet".


For some reason or another, the weather forecast failed to predict this snowstorm. How frustrating. But too late, my order was placed and there was no turning back; Mickey's Pizza was expecting me and I was already anticipating stuffing my face with two stuffed pizzas. I drove through slippery roads, going 20 km/h on the QEW, through white-out conditions, slip-sliding as I do my lane changes - it was a mission, it was an adventure. It was also on that very night that I am so thankful that I have snow tires and drive a manual car as these factors really gave me better control of the car.
The first thing I got when I arrived to Mickey's Pizza 45 minutes later was a big hug from Sandi, the owner of Mickey's Pizza. She said her and the staff were all so worried about me! We chatted for a bit and without further ado, Sandi handed me the two stuffed pizzas and I was off again.
A few minutes before I got to my boyfriend's place, I text him, telling him to heat up the oven. I did not want to waste anymore precious time as it was getting very late and I was extremely starved. But of course I needed to take a picture of these beauties first.

Sam's Congee Delight ("黃三記")

I have the weirdest cravings sometimes, cravings that come from nowhere. 


Sunday morning, my boyfriend and I were thinking of doing some errands in the afternoon and thought it would nice to grab something to eat beforehand. And you know when it comes to "brunch in uptown" I'm always at a total loss; besides Bluestone Bistro, I do not know of any good brunch places in uptown (I have yet to try Fraticelli's and please, please do not tell me to go to Cora's). Besides, that morning I wasn't feeling French toasts, or eggs benedict, or pancakes / waffles - I wanted something Chinese.


Usually when my boyfriend asks me where I want to go for lunch, I draw a blank. This time around, I replied right away: "Let's go to 黃三記". Hmmm wait...no.... I actually said "Let's go to that congee place at Market Village".


Sam's Congee Delight is located inside Market Village, a Chinese mall in Markham (Kennedy & Steeles). It is a small "hole-in-the-wall" type of restaurant where you go in, eat, and then leave (I know technically, it shouldn't be considered a "hole-in-the-wall" as it's located inside a mall LOL but it is trying to give that effect). You won't find anybody lounging around, reading newspapers, sipping tea at this place - it is not dim sum.


There were a lot of people waiting when we went.

Sam's Congee Delight is known for their fried dough sticks ("油炸鬼").

It's great how you can see them up close making everything. Here he is preparing the dough sticks for frying.

The Harbord Room

My boyfriend and I went to The Harbord Room back in early December of last year. I remember it was quite difficult to get a reservation; we couldn't go on the Saturday that we had originally planned even though we called more than 2 weeks in advance - the whole Saturday night was booked up. I guess I shouldn't be surprised since it was close to Christmas holidays.


I was no longer surprised as to why the The Harbord Room could be booked up weeks in advance once we arrived there; the restaurant is really small, but it was a very lovely place. It had dim lighting too making the whole place really cozy. The bar is on the right and rows of seats are to the left. It is dark at The Harbord Room so please don't mind the pictures (I do not like to use flash). Speaking of flash, I accidentally used it and noticed that the walls at The Harbord Room are actually pink! I wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.

Our table wasn't ready yet so we sat at the bar and waited a bit. Everybody at the bar were having their meals there. I sat beside the chalkboard.

Hip & Urban Girls at Lux Spa

Last Thursday, March 10th, I attended Hip & Urban Girl's Spa Party and Networking Event  at Lux Spa in Yorkville (hashtag #hugLux). This is the second hugTO event I've been to (first one being the Cookies & Champagne Party) and already I'm pretty much hooked on hugTO parties. I can always count on Lisa (@hipurbangirl) & Wendy (@BossLadyWendy) of Hip & Urban Girl's Guide when it comes to throwing cool and fun parties; they never disappoint! Last time the theme was cookies & champagne, and this time, for $30, I get a mini-manicure ($18 value) while networking with other ambitious and talented HUGs. I'm totally in.

I arrived a tad late and this was the scene at Lux Spa already:

The logical thing to do usually, for any girl, is to either grab a drink, start mingling, or start lining up for the the mini-manicure, right? Or maybe a visit to the restroom first? Well not me...all that can wait once I saw these platters:

Complimentary platters, snacks & nibbles from The Healthy Butcher (@healthybutcher).

Cheese School 101

When Jo (@clickflickca) asked me whether or not I would be interested in going to #CheeseSchool at School Bakery & Cafe (@schoolville), a tweetup event where cheeselovers get together to learn about cheese and eat like a king in the process, I was thrilled. Not only do I love cheese, but School happens to be one of my favourite, if not the favourite, brunch places in Toronto (check out my blog post about School brunches). I've also been to School for dinner recently and it was just as fabulous (I haven't posted about the dinner yet because as usual, I'm backlogged). I was probably the first one to to RSVP for #CheeseSchool, being the keener that I am. I also invited my friend Cindy along too.


I had a so much fun at #CheeseSchool - it was great seeing familiar faces and also meeting new tweeps. Thanks again to Reggie (@reggieramone), Sarah from School, and Jo for organizing such a fun and successful event. Also, a special thanks to David from The Village Cheesemonger (@TOcheesemonger) for providing all the delicious cheeses. Oh, and our server was also very nice and attentive so a shout out to her too (I didn't get her name).


School had set up a special section for #CheeseSchool at the back of the restaurant. Here we are waiting for #CheeseSchool to start. What is Jo is taking a picture of?

The cool chandelier made of sheets of paper held by paper clips, of course.

I had to take a picture of this. So true. Don't feed supermodels. Feed me instead!

Krispy Kreme

I'm confident that everybody knows what Krispy Kreme is, right? Doughnuts? =D


Fabfind (@FabfindToronto) recently had a voucher for 1/2 dozen free Original Glazed Doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. Since I'm a queen of deals, I took full advantage of it. It also helps that I live in Mississauga (the voucher is only valid at the Mississauga location on Mavis and the downtown location on Harbord). Anyway, I'm always down for free stuff, especially food.


To be honest, I think I've only had Krispy Kreme doughnuts a couple of times before this time. There was so much hype about it when it first came to Canada from the U.S., and that was probably when I had those couple of doughnuts. Not sure what happened to Krispy Kreme after that but the hype quickly faded; I'm thinking it's probably because everyone is so health-conscious these days.

I have never been inside this Krispy Kreme before. It was a big store with very bright lights; very clean too. Once you walk in, you can see a conveyor belt full of doughnuts. 

DumplingMe

I blogged about Ding Tai Fung previously as it is one of my go-to place for Shanghainese food. When Mack (@M3foods) suggested doing a Tweetup there (#DumplingMe) I was all for it . It is rare that Tweetups are in uptown (like Markham or Richmond Hill) so initially I wasn't counting on a big turnout....but whoa! This Tweetup was full in record time - I think after 15 minutes or so it was already full. I guess a lot of people like dumplings, either that or a lot of people like Mack =P

My first post about Ding Tai Fung can be found here, in case you want to read about what I had there that particular time. I have also included some background information about the restaurant on that post, and how it is actually different from the restaurant chain in Asia (even though they have the same name).

Having said that, I'm going to go right into the food. Mack and I were pretty much in charge of ordering food, with a few suggestions from Evie (@eviechiu) and Ben (@LauBenedict). We wanted mostly dim sum with a few noodle dishes on the side. 

Have you tried ordering dim sum for 13 people? It is not an easy task as it is hard to gauge whether or not we are ordering enough or ordering too much. It was quite a daunting task as I have never had to write down "5" besides "pork dumplings" on the order sheet before (each order has 6 dumplings)! Well I don't know, maybe it was just me who felt it was daunting since Mack was just like "yeah order whatever and as much as you want" =P Anyway, we had 3 to 5 orders of each dim sum dish to ensure that everyone got to try everything.

So here goes! 

Jellyfish and Shredded Turnip 

Savoury Soy Milk with Fried Dough Sticks

Fried "Man Tau" with Condensed Milk 

Café du lac (Winterlicious)

I took my parents to Café du lac for dinner on the last day of Winterlicious. I've heard great things about the food at Café du lac and have always been meaning to go. Café du lac serves contemporary, Quebec style food. Whenever possible, Kathryn Ashby, owner and manager of Café du lac, sources food products directly from Quebec-based suppliers, such as their maple syrup, cheeses and wild boar.


I remember when I first checked out Café du lac's regular dinner menu, I was taken back at how their food is right up my alley! Check these out:

• Fresh meat pate
• Salmon tartare
• Foie gras parfait 
• House-made charcuterie 
• Poutine (with cream sauce, curds, pulled beef short-ribs)
• Bacon-wrapped venison meatloaf
• Roasted wild boar tenderloin
• Pan-seared duck breast 

Oh and it gets better, you can add foie gras to anything! *faints* I ♥♥♥ foie gras!


And to top that off, get this, Café du lac has this thing called "Duck in a Jar" which they only offer on weekends (or by ordering one day in advance), description as follows:

"Foie gras stuffed duck magret immersed in venison balsamic reduction with savoy cabbage, leeks and Berkshire porkdouble smoked bacon served on a bed of rustic mashed potatoes ($36)"

I will let that sink in =D


Meanwhile, check out View the Vibe's video on Café du lac

I've been tweeting with Café du lac's owner, Kathryn (@cafedulac) for a few months now. Kathryn is super friendly, outgoing, and I love how she connects with everyone on Twitter; she really embraces social media and knows how much value it brings. How do I know? I made my Winterlicious reservation with Kathryn on Twitter when I was in Utah on a business trip ^_^

Café du lac is a small bistro located on Lake Shore. My parents and I both thought it felt like we were dining at a small café in Quebec somewhere; the wooden floors, tables, chairs, and the simple decor all gave a very relaxed atmosphere. Being the last night of Winterlicious, Café du lac was packed so the restaurant was a bit louder than we would've liked; my parents and I had to raise our voices just to talk to each other. Thankfully, as it got later in the evening, people left and we were able to talk normally again.

Knowing that my parents and I would be there, Kathryn reserved us a good table (by the wall with cushioned seats). We sat at the bar while the table was being set up. There is Chef Hudson Bernard.

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.