Shish Kebab Express

Nov 30, 2018

Chicken Shawarma plate with hot sauce

Pretty big portion of chicken shawarma and it's tasty too. I like their chickpea side dish - it's different from other shawarma places. 

Sandwich

January 5, 2018

Shish Tawook Sandwich

Lots of juicy chicken! (Excuse the half eaten sandwich - but it's so good!)

December 1, 2017

I came here because I saw the positive Yelp reviews and boy was I glad Yelp was actually accurate for once! It's a pretty simple takeout counter with some tables for seating. They have some daily specials where you can get two wraps for a slightly cheaper price. I came on the Friday, so I got two shish tawook wraps for $11.99. 

Shish Tawook Wraps (1 of 2)

Everything was really good! There was a lot of flavour from the tabbouleh, pickled turnips and chicken and the chicken was really tender and juicy. This is such a good Middle Eastern restaurant! I'll definitely be back. 

Website: http://shishkababexpress.ca/

Dong Kee Chinese Restaurant

Nov 25, 2018

Beef and Kai-lan

Steamed Chinese Okra and vermicelli 

It's so good, we had to come back again.

Lamb stew

It has that strong gamey lamb taste - so if you don't like the strong flavour, beware!

I like lamb, so I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Fish

Fried Rice

Fukien fried rice

I liked the fried rice with sauce better - it just makes the dish not as dry and adds a great flavour. 

Sept 30, 2018

Dong Kee Chinese restaurant has been in Scarborough for a really long time (and yet for some reason I haven't tried it until now). The restaurant only opens after 4pm, but it gets really busy fast. 

Crispy Chicken

The skin was really crispy and the flakes/crumbs on top helped add to the texture. The chicken was juicy and tender.

Pork belly and lotus root with fermented tofu

I was really skeptical about this dish especially when I saw that the word "fermented" (which brings back memories of shark and natto beans). Surprisingly, this ended up being one of my favourite dishes of the night. Something about the slightly sour and tangy taste with the pork belly and sweet lotus root worked really well. 

Steamed Chinese okra with vermicelli

 I usually don't eat Chinese okra - so this was a bit of a new experience for me with steamed okra and garlic and vermicelli. It was really good, I would definitely get this again. 

Salt and pepper pork chops

This dish was good, but it didn't really wow me like the other dishes. 

Hero Burger

Hero Burger has a Black Friday sale on their burgers - $1.99 for a 4 oz. solo burger

Some restaurants let you customize your toppings and others didn't. However, the basic ingredients were lettuce, tomatoes and onions - if they ran out, then you were out of luck. 

Solo burger

Pretty good for $2. 

Website: https://heroburgers.com/

7Numbers @ Danforth

My second option for Ritual $1 week. 

$1 lasagna at 7Numbers

I liked their lasagna before at their Eglinton location, so I thought this was going to be a great deal at the Danforth location. Unfortunately, this lasagna was terrible - it was super salty and a really tiny portion (like 3 pasta sheets). I don't know if it's just because of the Ritual promotion or if it's usually like this at this location, but I definitely wouldn't pay regular price for it.

Website: http://www.sevennumbers.com/

Momo Hut & Gardens

The Ritual App had a promotion this week from November 12 - 16th, they had some options that were $1. Per person, per day in the Danforth area. 

I thought I'd try Tibetan food since I've never had the opportunity to before.

Chicken momos

They look like xiaolongbao, but they have much thicker skin and they were heavily spiced. I almost didn't even recognize that they were chicken dumplings. 

Baba Dhaba

Nov 11, 2018

 

Did some hiking at Rattlesnake point, but unfortunately, we missed the changing of the leaves.

I really liked Baba Dhaba the last time I was in Brampton, so we came here again for good Indian food.

Butter Chicken

Chicken Biryani

Unfortunately, the experience this time was even worse than the previous time. The servers were extremely negligent; we saw a big table arrive after us and get served almost their entire meal before us. The food was really good as usual, but the hour and a half wait wasn't worth it. I doubt I'll come back here. 

June 5, 2016

After our teas, we decided to look up some Indian food options since we were in Brampton (which has a large Indian population).  The first restaurant on Yelp was Baba Dhaba and the reviews were all great, so we went to give it a shot. 

It was so weird driving here - it's located in an industrial area in an office-like building with a parking-lot that has a ton of potholes. 

When we walked in, there were a few tables taken, but we also noticed the mis-matched chairs and tables (there was a large dining table with a mix of folding-chairs and dining room chairs and even a rolling office chair at another table).  It was also rather dark inside - it really felt a little surreal going into the restaurant like it was a hole-in-the-wall kinda place.  Someone on Yelp commented that "Dhaba" is a roadside stop restaurant and I thought it was a little appropriately named. 

Butter Chicken and Chicken tikka masala

The sauces were really flavourful and so very tasty! The chicken in both dishes was tender and so good. 

The naan and rice below had to be ordered separately, but both were really good complements to the saucy chicken dishes we ordered.  I would highly recommend the rice - the spices helped enhance the flavour. 

Overall: A really popular place, as we were eating, more people started coming in.  The service can be a little slow and they do make the dishes when the orders go in (so you can tell when you get served and if you put your order in too late).  The food is delicious and I would recommend the restaurant for that. 

Fat Ninja Bite

Chicken Katsu burger

Wow - the katsu was bigger than the burger. I liked the mix of Asian flavours with Japanese mayo and katsu sauce with the shredded cabbage. 

Chicken katsu noodle

I liked the burger version more than the udon version

Cheese Don Katsu

This was a pretty big portion of katsu and rice, but taste wise - I liked Mr. Tonkatsu more. 

Website: http://fatninjabite.ca/

Luma

Nov 6, 2018

We were going to see a show at the Princess of Wales Theatre, so it made sense to grab a meal close by at Luma.

 Calamari Tacos and Steak Frites
The steak was good with the chermoula, but I would skip the tacos next time.

 Short Rib Mac & Cheese
I liked the dish - the cheese sauce really tied it all together.

Grilled Salmon

Dec 31, 2012

On the second floor of the Tiff Bell Lightbox building is Luma, another Oliver & Bonacini restaurant. 

Another photography fail...I don't know why I thought these looked okay without flash. Generally, I try to avoid using flash photography in restaurants because I know it's really annoying and distracting to your companions and other restaurant patrons. It's a fine line between wanting your blog entries to be nice vs. driving people insane in the restaurant with your cameras (in this case the latter won)

Burrata cheese with butternut squash, spiced walnuts and black pepper maple vinaigrette $17

The mozzarella was soft with a delicate and light taste. The butternut squash purée and vinaigrette added a stronger flavour to the creamy cheese. It was beautifully presented. 

 

Arctic Char with parsnip purée, roasted salsify, parsley root and red wine vanilla jus $26

I really liked the medley of root vegetables especially the long strips of roasted salsify. The arctic char was also really nicely done with a crispy skin and tender flaky meat.

 

Steak frites with grilled strip loin with red wine braised shallots and truffle parmesan fries $29 

Truffle (or truffle oil) really does make everything better (it has an additional benefit of allowing restauranteurs and chefs to hike up the price tag on a dish). The fries were delicious and the steak was a nice medium rare. 

Pistachio Financier with cardamom poached pear, gianduja chocolate mousse and almond milk ice cream $9

Amazing! I loved the pistachio financier (small, light and moist French cake made with almond flour) - it was delicate, tasty and who doesn't love the combination of pistachio and almond? Add that to the beautifully spiced poached pears, dollops of rich hazelnut and chocolate mousse and light and creamy almond ice cream and you officially have one of the best desserts of 2012. WOW!

Sticky Toffee Pudding with whisky butter sauce, apple compote and chestnut ice cream $9

This dessert was a little disappointing considering the portion size and price. The plating looks artistic, but the sticky toffee pudding kind of tasted like fruitcake. It tasted better with the whisky butter sauce, apple compote and chestnut ice cream, but I'd prefer the pistachio financier. 

Overall: Great meal at Luma! The food was really nice, service was attentive and quick (they were considerate and accommodating around showtimes and schedules), and the ambiance was great. Little heads up: Luma is definitely on the pricier side of things. 

Website: http://www.oliverbonacini.com/Luma.aspx

Taiyaki NYC

Taiyaki with Custard

It was a little too cold for ice cream today, so I opted for a taiyaki (fish cake) with custard inside.

It was good, but I think it might be better with ice cream (future plans). 

Website: https://taiyakinyc.com/

Dagu Rice Noodle

Signature Rice Noodle Soup with Braised Pork

Pickled cabbage rice noodle with fish slices

The soup bases for both were really good - I liked the pickled cabbage base better since it had stronger flavour. The noodles were separate - so you could drop them into the boiling bowls whenever you wanted. 

Website: http://daguricenoodle.ca/downtown-menu/