JaBistro

JaBistro (Twitter: @JaBistro222, Facebook: JaBistro), brought to you by the same owner as Guu and Kinton Ramen, is currently serving up some of the most exceptional sushi in Toronto. I know this is a big statement coming from me but I completely stand behind it. JaBistro, located on Richmond Street near the entertainment district, is not your typical Japanese restaurant...far from it actually. At JaBistro, you won't find watery miso soups, salads drenched in vinaigrette,  or bento boxes with your choice of chicken / salmon / steak teriyaki. No. None of that. And no, JaBistro is definitely not an all-you-can-eat sushi joint! JaBistro is much, much more than that... 

JaBistro is inventive. JaBistro is refined. The quality of JaBistro's sashimi and sushi is top-notch. Truly phenomenal. Complemented with visually stimulating presentation, everything served at this modern Japanese restaurant is ridiculously delicious.

JaBistro's space is modern with clean lines, exposed brick and light-coloured natural wood. The vibe is casual and not at all pretentious. Below is a shot of the sushi bar; a row of tables stretches along the opposite side of the bar.

Chef Koji Tashiro has 12 years of sushi experience under his belt. He has worked in Japan and Vancouver prior to JaBistro.

I have already been to JaBistro for dinner twice since it opened last month and this post combines both visits. I went with four friends for the first time and I took a good friend of mine for his birthday the second time. You can probably tell which visit is which from the the pictures; I sat at the sushi bar (which has brighter lighting) for my friend's birthday. Anyway, here goes!

Railroad Man - Sake, cointreau, simple syrup, lemon, egg white

JaBistro has a good list of sake, wine, as well as sake- and shochu-based cocktails

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)

Sukhothai on Wellington (Soft Opening)

Sukhothai's second location on Wellington and Church (Twitter: @sukhothaifood, Facebook: sukhoTHAI) is set to open today. Along with Khao San Road, Sukhothai's first location on Parliament has always been a favourite of mine when it comes to Thai food (see blog post here) so I'm really excited about this new location. Why? Because: 1) this new location is just more convenient for me to get to, 2) the Wellington location has over 100 seats, which is many times larger than the Parliament location, and finally 3) this new location will also have a liquor license (which the Parliament location does not have). W00t!!!

I was invited to Sukhothai's soft opening yesterday for lunch. Here's a snapshot of the space; the restaurant was still doing some last minute renovations when we were there.

I confess. We pigged out:

THAI iced tea ($4)

Shrimp chips with tamarind dip ($4)

Hunter's Wine Dinner at Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar

In support of Movember, Ten Restaurant & Wine Bar (@tenrestaurant) in Port Credit hosted a Hunter's Wine Dinner this past Tuesday. The fundraising dinner brought together eight talented chefs who each donated their skills and time for a great cause. In case you live in a cave (that is, a cave with internet) Movember is responsible for the sprouting of mustaches on men during November of every year to raise funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer. Personally, I'm not a big fan of facial hair...I like my men clean shaven...makes me kinda glad that today is the last day of Movember :D Sorry I digress...

  The Hunter's Wine Dinner was held on the second floor of the newly renovated Ten Restaurant, a perfect venue for private events and parties.

Rosewood Estates & Winery (@Rosewoodwine) provided all the wines and mead cocktails for the Hunter's Wine Dinner. By the way, I absolutely adore Rosewood! They have such great wines and they throw the best events (I attended All-Stars In The Vineyard and the Bees, Mead & Cheese class earlier this year...both tons of fun).

Krystina Roman from Rosewood giving guests a short intro about their wines and meads.

A stellar line-up of wines for the night. 

The Winner of the Firkin Pubs Gift Card Giveaway is...

@foodinthecityTO

Congratulations Grace =D You have just won a $125 Gift Card to Firkin Pubs! Please email me at foodjunkiechronicles@gmail.com with your first and last name and your address so I can mail you the gift card. 

Congrats again and I hope you will enjoy your time at Firkin!

I also want to say a big THANKS to the 95 contestants who participated in the contest. 

Here's a snapshot of the Excel spreadsheet where I tracked the #FirkinContest stream from day one of the contest. The tracking was done in chronological order, as in, #1 was the first person to enter the contest. To enter, the person has to tweet "I want to win a $125 Gift Card to @FirkinPubs! http://bit.ly/Uh0H5D #FirkinContest #FirkinRevolution". Once the contest was over and everybody's entry was accounted for on my spreadsheet, I went to check if they follow me on Twitter. 

Out of the 95 people who entered my contest, 11 people do not follow me on twitter; they were removed from the above spreadsheet. There were also quite a few people who entered my contest more than once... I only counted their first entry.

I used "True Random Number Generator" from random.org to pick the winner for me.

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

Mysteriously Yours...Mystery Dinner Theatre

Mysteriously Yours ... Mystery Dinner Theatre is a professional producer of Interactive Murder Mystery (i.e. plays). Ideal for corporate team building, parties, birthdays, anniversaries, or simply a different kind of dinner date with your significant other, Mysteriously Yours (Twitter: @WhodunitTO, Facebook: Mysteriously Yours Mystery Dinner Theatre) is all about providing guests with a fun and engaging evening. As guests, you can either sit and watch and be entertained, or can go as far as writing down clues and questioning suspects! Either way, it's all in good fun. I was invited to Mysteriously Yours last Friday for a dinner and show. I was pretty excited because although I've heard about Mysteriously Yours ... Mystery Dinner Theatre for years, I've never actually been. I also asked my friend Julia to come with me because she's a big Sherlock Holmes fan :)

Celebrating 25 years of interactive murder mystery theatre, Mysteriously Yours is currently playing The Fine Art of Murder - A Sherlock Holmes Mystery: 

"In the castle of a wealthy Countess, Sherlock Holmes is re-united with his trusted side-kick Dr. John Watson for a thrilling case of murder and deception, when a body is found at the foot of a priceless painting. Can Holmes solve the riddle and crack the case? More importantly, can he solve it in time?"

The Mysteriously Yours... Mystery Dinner Theatre (2026 Yonge Street)

Complimentary gear from Mysteriously Yours :)

Café Boulud's à la carte

Yes. Yes I did. Merely two weeks after my fantastic tasting menu, I went back to Café Boulud (@CafeBouludTO) for dinner again...this time, for their à la carte menu. I know going to Café Boulud twice in such a short time period seems a bit excessive, but I had a very good reason for my second dinner: a friend from out of town was visiting and it was my job, my duty, to take him around Toronto to eat. I'm telling the truth. I swear ;)

Anyway, here is what we had:

FLUKE CEVICHE - Celery Vinaigrette, tapioca pearls, Persian cucumber and caviar

VITELLO TONNATO - Celery, anchovy, caperberries

CRISPY DUCK EGG - Fricassée of wild mushrooms, duck confit, salsify and celery root

Firkin Pubs Gift Card Giveaway - CLOSED

I'm giving away a $125 gift card to Firkin Pubs!

After 25 years, Canada’s largest chain of traditional English pubs is getting a makeover with a dramatic rebrand. Firkin Pubs (Twitter: @FirkinPubs, Facebook: The Firkin Group of Pubs Canada) are offering new menu items, a curated list of cocktails, wines and craft beers, and a fresh, contemporary décor with a cool Britannia vibe.

Special features in select Firkin locations include:

*A social mingling area infused with traditional British artifacts;

*Comfy couches and an open seating area;

*Cozy“snug-style” booths; and

*Dedicated sports areas with billiards, darts and televisions.

Goose & Firkin (Photo credit: David Whittaker)

Enter my contest for a chance to experience the Firkin Revolution!

HOW TO ENTER

1) You MUST follow me (@foodieyu) on Twitter;

AND

2) Tweet the following sentence, exactly as shown, nothing before or after it: 

I want to win a $125 Gift Card to @FirkinPubs! http://bit.ly/Uh0H5D #FirkinContest #FirkinRevolution

*Limit one entry per person

*Contest is tracked by the #FirkinContest hashtag stream

*Gift card is valid for the following four Firkin locations:

THE BULL - 1835 Yonge Street

THE GOOSE - 1875 Leslie Street

THE OWL - 7181 Woodbine Ave.

THE QUAIL - 1055 Yonge Street

 *Gift card expires on April 30, 2013

CONTEST DURATION

Contest starts on Thursday, November 22 and ends on Thursday, November 29 at 12PM.

The lucky winner will be chosen randomly from www.random.org. I will announce the winner on Friday, November 30.

GOOD LUCK!!! ^_^

Red Fish

Red Fish (Twitter: @redfishresto, Facebook: Red Fish) is a restaurant that is all about sustainable seafood. Located at the corner of College and Delaware (previously Mitzi's on College), Red Fish is an Ocean Wise restaurant (Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program that educates and empowers consumers about sustainable seafood). Because Red Fish only uses seafood that is Ocean Wise approved (i.e. an item which is a good choice for keeping ocean life healthy and abundant for generations to come), the restaurant's a la carte menu changes daily depending on availability. 

Ken (@inyourmouthTO) and I headed over to Red Fish last week for dinner where chef David Friedman (@fishcooker) spoiled us an all-encompassing seafood feast (some back ground info: chef Friedman was trained at a Vancouver culinary school involved with Ocean Wise and is also currently involved with Slow Fish, an international campaign for sustainable fishing).

ELDERBERRY MARTINI

INCAN MOJITO (with muddle Quirquina)

OYSTERS - Pickled artic kiwi, dulse and tomato water, pickled mushroom

CHEF'S BORED - Scallop crudo, keta salmon, mackerel sashimi, rainbow trout liver mousse, pickled shiro plums, pickled garlic scapes, grain mustard, pickled mustard, ponzu