Nam Dae Moon

After watching a ton of Chinese dramas, I've really wanted to eat their flower cakes and bean cakes. When I saw that Nam Dae Moon had osmanthus rice cakes, I really wanted to try it and I ordered it from Doordash. 

Osmanthus Rice cake $9.90, purple sweet potato and red bean daifuku $4.99 and mango daifuku $5.49

The osmanthus rice cake had really good osmanthus jelly, but unfortunately, it was just the drop that you see on top of the rice cake in the picture. Otherwise, the rice cake was bland and tasted like a huge block of cooked, mashed up and packed rice. 

Mango and purple sweet potato and red bean daifuku

The mango daifuku was really big, but it was frozen solid, so I had to let it sit out to defrost for a while before I could eat it. The mango filling was good and there was some ice cream in there too. The mochi was sticky and glutinous. The purple sweet potato and red bean daifuku was much smaller than the mango, but it had a lot more filling inside and it was quite tasty. 

Cactus Club Cafe

With the Doordash June 50% off your first order promotion (code 50JUNCA), I figured there was no time like the present to try out Cactus Club Cafe, a popular chain restaurant from the West Coast with Rob Feenie, of Iron Chef Canada fame, as the corporate chef. I was also pleasantly surprised that they delivered for free all over Toronto (even though their main restaurant is downtown). The Doordash promo basically covered the cost of the 11% service fee, taxes and tip (since it goes up to a maximum of $20)

Cajun Chicken Sandwich $14, trio of mini Crispy Chicken burgers $16

The Cajun chicken sandwich had a really yummy sauce and a large portion of perfectly cooked chicken breast. 

The mini crispy chicken burgers were really good chicken sandwiches as well, but they paled in comparison to the cajun chicken sandwich. 

Feenie Burger with truffle fries ($2.50 upgrade for a total of $22.75)

This burger was the star of the day, I can totally understand the hype around Cactus Club Cafe because this burger was REALLY good! The portion was really large and the burger with all the sauce, toppings and condiments was so tasty - the highlight was definitely whatever secret sauce they put in the burger, because it was SO GOOD. It was worth the money for the burger. Also, the truffle fries were delicious with the aioli sauce (the aioli was REALLY tasty). The fries were a little soggy (due to the long drive uptown) as we expected and the truffle oil flavour was a little light, but when it was paired with the aioli sauce, we just couldn't stop eating. I would highly recommend this!

Website: https://www.cactusclubcafe.com/

Burrito Bandidos

June 29, 2020

The new online ordering system made it super convenient to order in advance and pick up!

Burrito Bandidos Menu (July 2020)

The prices online were pretty similar to the prices in store. 

Large Chicken burrito $11.29 and Large Steak/Chicken Burrito

I liked how you could also customize your burrito online. There was a lot of meat in the burritos and they were really good with lots of melted cheese, toppings including guacamole and they were grilled and pressed to perfection - yummy! The portion size was also really big. 

March 1, 2018

Massive small burrito with chicken and steak

I love that they press the whole burrito after they finish throwing in all the condiments and wrapping it. It melts the cheese and makes it taste so much better! 

November 5, 2015

Looking back at my old blog entry, I realized that I've actually had burritos from Burrito Bandidos quite a few times in between.  I've just been a little too lazy to blog every time. :)

Steak and Shrimp burrito bowl 

Every since I've discovered the burrito bowl, I can't help always coming back to it. With a burrito, it's like you're dependent on how the staff pack your burrito and it's all encased in one massive hand-held wrap. In a bowl, you have control over how you want to eat your burrito bowl (or box in this case). It's just so delicious all laid out and you can even toss it as a salad so that every bite is different.  

Also, the shrimp is delicious - definitely try it!

Dec 23, 2011

 Burrito Bandidos has a reputation for the best burritos in Toronto - Eye Magazine, NOW magazine, DineTO and Toronto Life Magazine have rated the burritos here very highly.

My coworkers have also tried this place and raved about how these were some of the best burritos in Toronto (better than Chipotle,Burrito Boyz and Zteca). Therefore, my friend and I decided to try it out for lunch. The store is two blocks north of Yonge and College, so it was a relatively quick walk from College Park and although the store is very tiny and the menu relatively simple - there was still a decent variety of stuff to choose from.

My friend and I both got the Chicken burrito (I got a large and she got a small - but they used the same wrap size - I just got a lot more of the toppings as you can see below). The ingredients were super fresh and we got premium toppings for free with our burrito (contrary to the other burrito places, where they charge you an extra $0.50 - $0.75 for guacamole and cheese).  My burrito was perfect! Crispy skin on the outside, the cheese inside was melted everywhere in the burrito and the chicken was succulent and full of flavour. Definitely worth the $8 something for the lunch - I was so stuffed I could barely eat my dinner later that night. 

Just a warning: my friend got the hot sauce and spicy stuff in her burrito and it didn't sit too well with her stomach... 

Conclusion: Amazing! (for me), the small is definitely better value and I would totally recommend this place  & go back again (but I should probably warn you against the hot sauce...)

Update on Dec 30, 2011

Still as delicious as the first time!

Halibut Burrito! 

Amazing! A bit pricier - but the fish was melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Not as much kapow flavour as the chicken or steak, but still really good! The only size available is Large - so be prepared to pay a bit more.

Halibut and chicken burritos

The steak burrito on the left, halibut in the back and chicken on the right.

I felt that the chicken had the best flavour! (I might be slightly biased since chicken is my favourite type of meat). The ingredients are fresh and I love that they really stuff the burritos with everything you want (including a ton of cheese and guacamole). Consistently amazing! 

Website: http://www.burritobandidos.com/

Tori-San Ramen

For new accounts, DoorDash is offering a promotional 50% off your first order (up to $20 off with code 50JUNCA). I took a look at some things in my area and decided to try out Tori-San Ramen. 

Left to Right: Black Garlic Ramen, Original Tori Paitan Ramen and Red Spicy Ramen ($15 each)

6 Chicken Wings $9, Red Spicy Ramen and Original Tori Paitan Ramen

Chicken wings were okay, but definitely on the pricier side (and nothing spectacular about them)

Original ramen came with pork cha shu, ramen noodles, scallions, red onions and seaweed and it was good because the broth was really flavourful. I was a little surprised to read after that it was 100% chicken broth since it was so rich, fatty and creamy (it'd be something I'd expect from a pork or beef broth rather than chicken since most chicken broths are pretty clear). It was really filling and tasty. The spicy ramen was good too since it had the same base but also included spicy paste, sweet corn and bok choy. The ramen noodles were also good! They survived the delivery test and didn't get too soggy/mushy from being overdone and instead, they maintained a bite to them. 

Black Garlic Ramen 

Personally, I thought this was overkill of garlic - it was REALLY garlicky with roasted garlic and garlic in the broth. It was way too much for us, we eventually had to "wash" the noodles in another broth to eat them since the flavour was so strong. 

We realized after the seaweed was included as part of the cutlery items (the seaweed was placed into white paper bags which we didn't notice) Website: https://torisanramen.com/

Prairie West Honeydew Melon Ice Cream @ No Frills

I've been on a bit of a search for good ice cream lately considering how hot it's been in Toronto. I picked up a container of Prairie West Honeydew Melon Ice cream at No Frills since they were on sale for $4.14 for 1L. 

The ice cream smells great the second you open the container!

It's really fragrant and the taste and texture is pretty smooth. The ice cream is really sweet and has a heavier cream flavour than honeydew and it is slightly artificial tasting (which is understandable since it's so hard to get a proper honeydew flavour). 

Ecake.ca

Ecake.ca is also the same company as Ecakes.ca, where I recently ordered a Dufflet cakelet. They have a pretty large variety of cakes online and it is an economical option for cake considering they offer free delivery over $20 to certain areas around the GTA. 

Pistachio praline gateau (6 pack) $7.50

I'm not sure if there was a praline flavour, but I tasted a pistachio saffron flavour with the cakes. The mini cakes were pretty good and fluffy, but light on the pistachio flavour. 

Hawaii Mango Tropical Cheesecake Flan (8 inches) $24

I imagine this might have melted in the heat, but even after refrigerating it, it wasn't really salvageable. I'm not sure where the cheesecake was, but it was mostly a really watery, runny and sweet mango filling/puree for most of the tart. The tart shell was really weak, it totally collapsed and the whole thing turned into a watery mess the next day. It looked really pretty, but kind of fell apart - probably avoid this one. 

Website: https://ecake.ca/?v=3e8d115eb4b3

TORCH Pressed Sushi

The packaging at Torch Sushi is really nice.

Tasting Box with 8 pieces of Torch Sushi, 1 lobster handroll, 1 toro handroll, red and green seaweed salad and edamame $23.95

Wagyu beef bowl with Australian Wagyu beef, Japanese BBQ sauce, corn, butter and wasabi $11.95 for 50g

The original salmon and spicy salmon pressed sushi were really good. I liked the unagi sauce with the original salmon. The marinated butterfish was a favourite as the fish was super tender and really tasty with the jalapeno garlic sauce (which wasn't spicy at all) and the BBQ unagi was really sweet and tasty. Overall, all the pressed sushi was really good except for the wasabi tuna which had a lot of wasabi and there was a wasabi surprise in the rice at the bottom - it was a little too much for me.  

The hand rolls were delicious! Crispy flaky seaweed with yummy tuna and lobster inside. 

I wasn't a big fan of the edamame which seemed a little bland to me and the seaweed salad, while refreshing, was on the salty side. I'd probably go for the Mix 8 next time. 

I was a little surprised by how much corn was in the wagyu beef bowl compared to the picture on the menu (but it could be that we got the smaller portion of meat). The beef was thinly sliced and delicious with the sauce. There was also quite a big portion of rice underneath and it was so good with the beef and sauce. 

Website: https://torchpressedsushi.com/#menu1

Street Eats Market @ Yorkdale

In the era of social distancing, Yorkdale Mall has created a new street eats food truck drive thru! 

Mary Brown's Spicy Big Mary Chicken Sandwich

Good crispy fried chicken with a really tasty and spicy mayo. A good spicy chicken sandwich overall and I learned that pickles can be paired well with chicken sandwiches. 

Rebozos Taqueria Flautas $14+tax

Fried rolled tortillas with chicken, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream and medium sauce

The flautas were okay for the most part, but I wished there was a stronger flavour in the salsa to add more flavour to the dish because the chicken flautas were kind of plain overall. There also wasn't a lot of sauce. 

Website: https://streeteatsmarket.com/

Ghadir Meat & Restaurant

June 17, 2020

I really like the food at Ghadir Meat & Restaurant, but the last visit to Ghadir wasn't great. This time around, I called ahead and they made my order in time, but I was rather frustrated by the lack of social distancing in the restaurant (even at an off-peak time like 2pm). The store had helpfully drew arrows to direct the flow of traffic, but people totally ignored it and most people didn't wear masks either. Considering the small enclosed space inside the store, it's very difficult to avoid/distance from people walking in all directions. My order was already done, but it took me a while before I could safely walk to the counter (at a distance from other people) to pick it up. 

Ghadir Plate with two chicken shawarma sandwiches $15.99

The portion of fries has decreased! The sandwiches were still pretty good, but we were hoping for enough fries to help us finish the garlic sauce container (that comes with the chicken below).

BBQ Whole Chicken $18.99

So tasty and delicious! 

Mar 27, 2020

Many restaurants have moved to a take-out or delivery model during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ghadir is one of them. We called our order in advance and just came by to pay and pick up, but they forgot our order until we got there and then proceeded to make it. 

Barbecue chicken and shish tawook platter with fries, hummus, turnips, pickles and tons of garlic sauce.

There were more fries in the sandwich combo than the shish tawook platter. However, there was an extra portion of garlic sauce in the platter box. I think the better deal is the sandwich combo (since it's cheaper and you get more fries). The shish tawook is pretty yummy, but it was a lot of chicken to eat. 

Mar 13, 2020

One barbecue chicken meal with a sandwich (wrap in the middle), fries and drink combo

We got the sandwich and fries combo mostly for the extra order of fries (so we could eat them with garlic sauce - Ghadir's garlic sauce is TO DIE FOR). 

Barbecue chicken meal

Delicious whole cooked chicken - flattened and cooked over a charcoal fire. The meat was really tender and juicy and it was seasoned really well. 

Dec 22, 2019

 

The sandwiches look kind of small by just by themselves since they've also been pressed and grilled. 

The chicken sandwich is pretty good. 

BBQ Whole Chicken $18.99

Flattening the chicken and grilling it over the fire is pretty awesome. The meat was well seasoned and it tasted great with the charred skin from the open grill. It was also served with a TON of garlic sauce, mixed pickles and a few pitas. Definitely enough to feed a family of 4 with some leftover. Great value for money.

Dec 7, 2019

Ghadir Mini Plate with one shish tawook, one beef cubes and one kofta skewer $18.99

The chicken was really nicely done and the kofta was pretty good too. It's a good sampler plate if you don't know which spiced meat you would like better. 

Nov 30, 2019

 

Ghadir Mixed Shawarma Plate with beef and chicken, fries, salad and pita

Excellent plate! They gave us a huge portion of fries and sauces (garlic, hummus and hot sauce) and it also comes with pita, so you can make your own sandwich. 

Tawook plate with fattoush salad

The chicken was perfectly seasoned and really tender and juicy. The fattoush salad had a strange dressing I didn't really like, I'll stick to their regular salad in the future. 

Zaatar and Cheese Manakeesh

I wasn't sure about their zaatar mix, but it grew on me. 

Jul 6, 2019

Mixed Shawarma platter with fries, garlic sauce, tahini, hummus, pickled radish, salad and pita

The beef had a kind of gamey taste to it, but the chicken was good (some parts of the chicken were kind of dry). The garlic sauce is AMAZING, especially with fries. 

Lychee basil seed drink was really good, but definitely on the super sweet side. I've never tried basil seed drinks before this. 

Cheese Manakeesh

It was so pretty and it was actually pretty good as a snack. 

Website: https://ghadirmeatmarket.com/

Lung Tung BBQ

I've been coming for Chinese BBQ here for years (I'm surprised I haven't posted about Lung Tung BBQ before). Some of our favourite meats to order are Chinese roast pork (siu yuk), soy sauce chicken and Chinese BBQ pork (char siu)

Char Siu, soy sauce chicken and roast pork

The char siu is the best we've had in Toronto! The flavour is fantastic and the sauce isn't too sweet or overpowering. If you get the right piece of pork tenderloin, it's super juicy and tender. 

The soy sauce chicken is also really good and it comes with green onions, ginger and oil as a topping/sauce - which makes it taste even better. 

The roast pork is always perfectly done here with a nice crispy skin and delicious juicy meat. Their roast pork is so popular here that they usually roast more than one pig a day since it sells out so quickly. 

Adamson Barbecue

June 14, 2020

Adamson Barbecue is open for curbside pickup!

EZ Brisket Dinner with 1 lb of brisket, two sides (potato salad and coleslaw usually), pickles and bread $35

We also topped up with a jalapeno sausage $6 and an extra pound of brisket $30 and asked them if they would substitute macaroni salad for coleslaw (which they did!)

It was super easy to order in advance online and pickup at their location. The brisket was so flavourful and tender and 2 pounds of it was more than enough for a few meals (so yummy!) 

Feb 18, 2020

2 Meat Plate with brisket, pork ribs, macaroni salad and potato salad

The portion looks kind of small, but it's definitely enough for two people to eat since there's a lot of meat. 

Key Lime Pie

Really good key lime curd, not too sweet and not too tart. The pie crust seemed like it was made out of packed tightly together crumbs which was pretty neat. Yum!

Sept 6, 2019

Beef Brisket and pork ribs with loaded fries, macaroni salad and a Nanaimo bar

The brisket was delicious and just melted in your mouth. The pork ribs were so tender they were practically falling off the bone. The macaroni salad is really good, it might be my go-to side at Adamson. 

Feb 16, 2018

Mashed potatoes, beans, brisket, sausage, pork ribs, pie and slaw $25

Pretty hearty meal - can definitely feed more than one person. The brisket is amazing! Will definitely be back to eat here again. The sausage was good too. The ribs were dry rub - and I usually prefer my ribs with lots of sauce - so I'll probably try another meat next time.

Turkey, brisket and sausage with mashed potatoes and beans

The turkey was pretty good - all white meat and not dry, but it didn't have a lot of flavour. 

Website: https://adamsonbarbecue.com/