Roywoods

The lineups are always so long here, it must be super popular.

Jerk Chicken with rice & peas and vegetables $9.04

The lunch portion was good, but it was kind of expensive considering the portion size. (Maybe it's the cost of operating in Union station)

Website: https://roywoods.ca/

Wong's Ice Cream

Really unique flavours

Cute box for the ice cream: boozy egg tart and toasted ramen miso

The ice creams were really true to their named flavours. The toasted ramen had pieces of ramen in it and the boozy egg tart had hints of alcohol. Really innovative and cool! I wish they had the purple ube, but alas, they didn't today.

Website: http://wongsicecream.com/

Asteria Souvlaki Place

Chicken Souvlaki wrap

Wow, you could see how big the pieces of chicken souvlaki were right from the beginning. 

Gyro wrap

The meat was in long strips which made it slightly harder to eat (versus if it was in smaller pieces). 

The wraps were good. 

Beer Bistro

May 27, 2019

Belgian White

Red Thai mussels

Puttanesca

At first I wasn't sure what to think since it had everything I don't like: anchovies (salty fish), olives (salty vegetable), capers (salty plant) and chili (spicy). However, it somehow worked really well with the sweet mussels. 

Duck fat fries - a must have here 

August 27, 2015

Belgian Frites $6
Beer Bistro has some of the best fries in Toronto (and I'm not a big fan of fries - but these are delicious!).  The frites are blanched in beef & duck fat and served in a nice cone with house made mayo and smoked ketchup.  The blanching in fat really helps the flavour since they're pretty strong tasting by themselves. However, with the slight tangy and sweet mayo, they're so much better - the mayo balances the fries somehow.

Provençal mussels with fresh herbs, tomato, lemon zest and spiced ale
I feel like the last time we were here, the food was much better. The one thing that didn't change is the warm sourdough bread and dipping it in the provencal broth to make it tastier!

 
Spicy Red Thai with coconut chili broth, maudite, lemongrass, sweet peppers, lime leaf & cilantro
I've definitely had a better version of this before and this one was rather disappointing - the Spicy Red Thai broth wasn't that great with the sourdough bread either (it was a little too spicy for the doughy bread).  Also the size of the mussels:

We asked the manager about them and he said that these were the sizes provided but that they made sure that they gave us a pound of mussels each.  I thought this was a bit of a rip off and it kinda put a damper on the whole meal. I mean - they were the size of a small lemon! Granted it was probably because they were seasonal, but yikes! So mediocre. 

May 2, 2014

When given the choice between a glass of wine or a pint of beer, I will definitely admit that I"m a beer drinker rather than a wine connoisseur. And while in the past I wasn't a big fan of beer flavoured food, I have a much better appreciation for it now after eating at the Beer Bistro.

Poached Pear Pizza with caramelized leeks, l'ermite blue cheese and parmesan cream sauce
The flatbread pizza crust was thin and crispy with large chunks of softened poached pear on top and a nice cheesy sauce. It worked really well together.

Coq au Biere: Maredsous braised chicken, woodland mushrooms, tarragon, creme fraiche dumpling
I really enjoyed the beer spin on the coq au vin - it's such a classic French dish with a twist. The chicken was tender and delicious and really absorbed the flavours well as did the dumplings from the earthy mushrooms, salty bacon and slightly sour beer.

  
Belgian White Mussels: Blanche de Chambly, garlic, parsley, lemon, cream

You can never go wrong with mussels & beer and the Belgian White mussels are definitely a classic at Beer Bistro. They're succulent, tasty and there's just something about the sweet mussels and sour beer combination that's makes it so delicious. 

Overall: A great beer-centric meal at Beer Bistro. I love the beer selection here and it's classier and nicer than Bier Markt down the street at the Esplanade. 

Website: http://www.beerbistro.com/

Green Curry

Top: Pad thai, red curry chicken and curry tofu

Bottom: Eggplant, green curry chicken and pad thai

The curry chicken dishes were pretty good with good spiciness. The pad thai wasn't that great though.

Gonoe Sushi

May 21, 2019

Grilled Salmon

Small Sushi & Sashimi Boat

I liked that they gave us lots of salmon (it's my favourite). The sushi was good. 

June 15, 2013

The restaurant has partitioned rooms - very cute!

  
Menu

Miso soup starter
The miso paste was a little strong; it probably would have been better with some tofu

Midori roll with unagi, crab meat, cucumber, tobiko and wrapped avocado
The roll was okay: there wasn't a lot of bbq eel, the cucumber was crisp, avocado was a little mushy and the crab meat was the fake kind.

Chicken Teriyaki Combo Lunch Special
The combo lunch special came with 3 California rolls and 3 pieces of sushi. (see below).
The teriyaki sauce was too bland and not tasty or strong enough. The chicken was okay if a little rubbery.

I really liked the gyoza (deep fried dumplings). They were authentic Japanese gyoza.
 The other sides were cold stir fried chicken and vegetables in the corner (at least this was tasty), salad and a tiny portion of rice.

The first part:

Salmon sushi, white snapper sushi and tuna sushi

Salmon Teriyaki lunch bento
The salmon teriyaki was better than the chicken (but the sauce was still pretty bland).

Spicy Chicken lunch bento
The spicy chicken was basically a hotter and spicier version of the cold stir fry in the bento box.
Not very impressive.

Flying dragon roll

The flying dragon roll looked a lot like a rainbow roll and it was pretty good with BBQ eel on top and crispy warm shrimp tempura inside.

Overall: The sushi rolls are better than Tako Sushi, but the actual meals and bentos aren't up to the same level.

Website: https://www.gonoesushi.com/

New Northern Dumplings

Spicy and Sour Soup

A nice way to stimulate your appetite before a meal.

Sauteed lamb with green onions

So yummy! If you like lamb.

Zhajiangmian and pancake

Beef and choy noodle soup and wo tip

Xiaolongbao

The skins were a little thick at New Northern Dumplings compared to other places I've eaten.

Pig intestines in spicy sauce 

Luckily it had cucumbers to cool you down a bit.

Fried rice

Grand Electric Taqueria

Update: Location has closed.

Carne Asada $5.25 and Baja Fish $5

Yummy tacos and pretty reasonable prices. 

Website: http://grandelectrictoronto.com/parkdale/

Kanga Aussie Meat Pies

Traditional Meat Pie

Pretty good meat pie - lots minced beef and gravy inside. 

Website: https://www.eatkanga.com/

Silver Bay Cafe

May 5, 2019

Soup

Hainan Chicken Rice $9.50

The rice was really good with lots of chicken essence, but they're missing the sweet and spicy sauce.

Fried chicken with noodles in soup $6.99

The only flavour was from the fried chicken cutlet, otherwise it was quite bland.

Pork chop with egg on rice $1.99

Promotional price if you spent over a certain threshold.

Portuguese Chicken $9.50

It's definitely the same recipe, but it doesn't pack a punch of flavour the same way it used to. It's like the sauce was diluted.

Baked pork chop with tomato sauce spaghetti $8.99

It's kinda unfortunate, I used to love the food by the chef of Macau Portuguese food, but now I think I prefer the tomato sauce spaghetti at Sugar Sweet Cafe. The food tastes better and the portions are bigger, it's just better value for money.

April 28, 2019

The main chef/owner of Macau Portuguese Food now works at Silver Bay Cafe!

Baked Pork Chop with tomato sauce spaghetti and fried rice

The sauce had the same flavours, but it felt like a super watered down version. The taste was diluted somehow. 

Fried Vermicelli

Red Bean Float

Don't get this - it's terrible. It was mostly milk with some old red beans or something and it tasted kind of off.