Reposado Bar and Lounge

Empanada Flight

I love empanadas as a snack - which was what this was before going to my friend's NYE party. 

They were pretty good with different fillings inside and crispy skin on the outside. 

Website: http://www.reposadobar.com

Tsujiri

This new Japanese matcha drink place opened up recently and there were still really long line-ups to buy their specialty drinks

Houjicha latte

I don't like the flavour of matcha (but my friends wanted to try it out), so I thought I'd enjoy the houjicha latte. It's a roasted green tea and was really fragrant. I found it interesting, but I wasn't really a fan. 

Website: http://tsujiri-global.com

Pho Xe Lua

There's a few of these popular Pho Train restaurants in Toronto. 

 Beef, tendon, flank and tripe pho 

We got a large bowl with lots of beef and noodles which was good; it was a decent bowl of noodle soup.

Grilled pork, meat balls & spring roll nuong

The ingredients were all pretty tasty, but the fish sauce fell a little flat for me. I like strong flavours in my fish sauce and this was kinda mediocre - which made this dish not as impressive as I would have liked. 

Overall: Decent prices, fast service and okay food. 

Website: http://phoxelua.ca

Smith Bros. Steakhouse Tavern

After reading BlogTo's post about all-you-can-eat (AYCE) restaurants, my friend and I decided to try out the AYCE mussels at Smith Bros. 

Mussels!

We were surprised that it was only $22 for AYCE mussels!
The mussels were okay - it would have been nice if they had some different broths other than the beer broth. We managed to finish 2 bowls each (success!).

Fries (?) on the side
These were really like potato matchsticks - kind of fun, but hard to dip in ketchup or mayo.

Overall: They give you huge portions of mussels which is great! They were okay - I fell for the AYCE part - and totally regretted eating so many mussels the next day. (Lesson learned).

Website: http://smithbrotherssteakhouse.com

Scone Battle - Drake Hotel vs. Mildred's Temple Kitchen

I've heard great things about the blueberry scones at Drake Hotel and the currant scones at Mildred's Temple Kitchen. It was time to try them side by side and do a little comparison to find out which brunch restaurant serves the better scone: 

Blueberry Scone from Drake Hotel and Currant Scones from Mildred's Temple Kitchen

Size: Drake's are bigger. Enough said.

Texture: Mildred's were flakier and fluffier; Drake's scone was harder and denser. I like the fluffy scones better - Mildred's is the winner. 

Flavour: Usually I like blueberry flavour more than currant, but the currant flavour wasn't super strong and it was still really good - so it's a tie in my opinion.  

Jam/Cream: The Drake scone came with raspberry jam, while the Mildred's scone came with clotted cream. Interestingly enough, I found that the raspberry jam made the blueberry scone taste better! The clotted cream didn't really do anything for the currant scone. So if we're talking better combination of jam/cream with scones - I'd say Drake's is the winner. 

Overall: When it comes to scones, I like them fluffy, buttery and not super sugary - so my winner is Mildred's! 

Drake Hotel Website: http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/dining/menus/brunch/

Mildred's Temple Kitchen: http://www.templekitchen.com

Mill Street Brewery

 

Distillery District! (Post Christmas Market)

It's amazing how different it feels without all the people and booths open. 

Fish and Chips

The tartar sauce was really good and the fish was really nicely cooked with a crispy exterior and a flaky inside. 

Burger and Fries

The burger looked a little intimidating with the skewer holding it all together. It was pretty good and the fries were even better with my friend's tartar sauce. 

Overall: Decent meal at Mill Street Brewery and it's in a great location in the Distillery District (and even better after the chaos of the Christmas Market since it's still really pretty with the lights and the tree).

Website: http://millstreetbrewery.com

Queen Margherita Pizza

We went to the Leslieville area originally to try Descendant Detroit Style Pizza, but it turns out that they were closed. So we kept walking until we got to Queen Margherita Pizza and decided to eat here. 

We all got a prix fixe menu with a starter:

Eggplant Parmesan, Arancini (Rice Balls) and Calamari

My favourite was the eggplant with that delicious marinara sauce! The arancini and calamari were good too! 

The Dominator with fennel sausage, rapini, mozzarella and chili oil

So good! The sausage and rapini were a great combination and the crust on this pizza was AMAZING! 

Rocco the 1st with sausage, cheese and red onion

The sausage is really good (I can't emphasize that enough) and the fior di latte cheese was really soft and yummy.

La Scala with cheese, pork belly, red onion, arugula and hot peppers on a white pizza

I was a little skeptical at first since it was just a white pizza, but the crust was amazing and the pizza toppings were great! The pizzas here are just so good!!

Overall: Great lunch and delicious pizzas at Queen Margherita Pizza! The service was great and everything was good value for money.

Website: http://www.qmpizza.com

Upper Deck by Fran's

Fran's is a popular diner style restaurant chain in Toronto and they recently renovated their upstairs space into a brand restaurant area: the Upper Deck. 

Really cool decor!

They had some really interesting shareable plates/appetizers

Fried Ravioli and Chicken and Fries with gravy

The fried ravioli was different - I'm not sure I really liked it. The fries were okay, but they didn't really work with the chicken and the green onions and gravy were strange. 

 

Chicken and Waffles

I split this order with my friend and they were nice enough to split the order into two plates as well! 

The waffles were pretty good, but the chicken was a little strange - instead of a crispy fried chicken skin, it was a battered chicken outer layer? The syrup was okay, but it didn't really work for me. 

Overall: Interesting experience - it's a lovely new space and I think they're still working out the menu. Hopefully, they sort it out soon! 

Website: https://upperdeckbyfrans.com/eat/

George Brown BBQ-style Cooking Class

I enjoyed my experience with the George Brown Culinary Arts 1 Class a few years ago. So I came back to do another class in the fall term. Unfortunately, the class I really wanted to take (American Regional Cooking) was cancelled due to low attendance, so instead, I decided to try BBQ-style Cooking.

The class style is rather unique for the Continuing Education program. Instead of everyone individually cooking their dishes for themselves and taking home their own individual trays like in Culinary Arts 1, everyone in the class works together on cooking all of the items in the course outline and everything gets portioned out evenly at the end of the class for students to take home.

The course outline by week was as follows:

Week 1

 B.B.Q. Strip Loin Steak with Chimichuri Sauce

General Purpose Grilling Spice

Asian Beef Short Ribs

Balsamic Grilled Green and White Asparagus

Week 2

Cider Glazed Pork Chops with Grilled Spiced Apples

Slow Cooked BBQ Pork Butts

Sweet Chili and Smoked Paprika Rub

Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Blue Cheese Coleslaw

Caramelized Onions

Week 3

Grilled Striped Bass with Lemon Thyme and Ginger

Miso Honey Glazed Salmon Fillet

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Grilled Acorn Squash

Week 4

Roasted BBQ Chicken with Sichuan Peppercorn Rub

Stock Ale BBQ Sauce

Jerk Chicken Legs

Lemon and Herb Fingerling Potatoes

Chili and Lime Rubbed Corn on the Cob

Week 5

Char Siu BBQ Pork and Spit Roasted BBQ Pork Ribs

Ginger and Chili Grilled Flank Steak

Peanut Crusted Grilled Beef Yakitori with Honey Wasabi Glaze

Week 6

Slow Cooked Beef Chuck Ribs

Grilled Back Ribs with Tunnel Style Sweet and Hot Sauce

Grilled Banana Peppers

November 5, 2017

I forgot to take pictures of the food from the first week - but the steaks and short ribs were delicious (and we learned how to make char marks on the grill). I learned some interesting things (like white asparagus is asparagus grown in the dark and had a lot of fun working with my table/team for the first week. 

November 12, 2017

Cider Glazed Pork Chops with Grilled Spiced Apples
So yummy! The apples were delicious and they had such nice grill marks too. The pork was so juicy. 


Trays of Caramelized onions...

Smoked BBQ pulled pork (from the pork butt)
The sauce was delicious and the pork was really tender - pulling the pork when it comes out from the oven kinda hurt - but the pulled pork was worth it.

November 26, 2016

Fries!
Which are surprisingly easy to make with a deep fryer filled with hot oil, salt and pepper. Once you've made them, it gives you a whole new appreciation for thin cut and thick cut fries.

Striped Bass with lemon
It doesn't look very flattering with the skewers of lemon holding the stomach of the fish closed, but it tastes delicious!


Salmon and our two side dishes - so yummy! And surprisingly easy to make.

 December 3, 2017 

Chili and Lime Corn on the Cob
Definitely an interesting way to eat corn on the cob - but I wasn't a big fan considering the corn was sweet enough to just eat plain. Also, the chili powder was super messy.


Jerk Chicken drumstick - so tender and juicy!


BBQ Chicken and Jerk Chicken in one tray and fingerling potatoes and corn in another.
So much chicken...

December 10, 2017

Chef Ian and some of the students working on the grill. 

The world's biggest sauce bowl. 

So many ribs and char siu! 

The ribs were good, but the char siu sauce was a little overly sweet (lesson learned). 

Yakitori Skewers

These were okay - I wasn't a big fan of the honey wasabi glaze. 

December 17, 2017

Our last class surprise was: Pig Roast Day!

Yes - we cooked this whole pig and split it into trays to eat!
Surprisingly easy to cook this with an industrial convection oven - spray some brandy and water onto the pig skin to crisp it and push it in. It'll be ready in a few hours.

 
While we were waiting, we went back to one of our favourite class appliances --> the deep fryer and made some onion rings (without batter) and fries.

Stuffed Banana Peppers - These were delicious! Even if you don't eat spicy food, these were so good!

 
With the leftover stuffing (we ran out of banana peppers first), we made little rice balls and then threw those into the deep fryer. (They were a little bland - and needed more salt).


Beef Chuck Ribs
There was so much meat on these ribs and the beef was very tender after being in the oven for so long.

Back ribs with Tunnel Sauce
Interesting Fact: Tunnel Sauce (a type of BBQ sauce) originated in Windsor, Ontario. It has a pretty sharp flavour from the vinegar - and smells super strong when you make it - but it's great on ribs.


The Roast Pig!
It broke in half - but the crackling skin was delicious!

Fantastic Course with Chef Ian! He's so funny, helpful and just a great passionate instructor at George Brown's cooking school. I would love to do another class with him again!

Hong Kong Bistro Cafe

I was craving some really good Hong Kong style "Ketchup Spaghetti" (especially after my favourite place closed).  So after seeing some good reviews of this place near Chinatown, I thought I'd give it a try. 

Cream/Borscht soup

A little watery and clumpy (I'm not even sure how that works - but it happened)

Stir Fry Chinese noodles

Pretty good and a relatively large portion (not as cheap as Scarborough or Markham though - but it's probably a factor of location more than anything else). 

Baked Chicken Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce

Hmm not exactly the baked "ketchup spaghetti" I was looking for. Also there's a price difference between chicken strips and chicken breast. 

It was okay - probably won't be back for this.