South St Burger

October 29, 2020 @ Shops at Don Mills

BOGO 5 Oz Burger $8.42 with tax

Yummy as usual! The whole wheat bun and thick quality beef patty here make a huge difference! The toppings are always fresh here too. Definitely one of the better burger chains in Toronto in my opinion.

March 30, 2018

Birthday freebie! Free 5 oz. burger!

Oct 28, 2017

We got some more promotional coupons and came back for burgers at South Street again: 

Another case of the strange bun, I wonder if this is their normal bun - I usually get the whole wheat one. I also wished they melted the cheese. 

Oct 24, 2017

They didn't ask me what kind of bun I wanted - but I didn't like this one. 

The burger was still okay - the meat was good and the lettuce and other ingredients were good - I was just thrown off by the bun. 

Jan 21, 2016 

The Chicken Burger 

Generally, we found their chicken burgers a little drier than the regular beef burgers - sometimes the servers would compensate by putting on more sauce and mayo (which worked out better), but we preferred the beef burgers. 

Mushroom and Swiss Burger - pretty good sauteed mushrooms and melted gooey Swiss cheese and of course the customized toppings!

Dec 26, 2015 (Jan 13, 2016)

We tried their burgers off the regular menu: Hawaiian and the True North and the Mushroom Swiss 

Burger wise - I liked the glazed and grilled pineapple in the Hawaiian, but the Mushroom Swiss was the best of the three.  There's definitely a scientific reason why the mushroom swiss is such a popular burger - it's all about the savoury sauteed mushrooms and melted swiss cheese. 

Nov 30, 2015

We received some South St. Burger Co. coupons in the mail. 

The coupons were BOGO for most of their burgers and some of their specialty off the menu burgers. 

We went to a few locations for our burgers and they were all pretty consistent in their toppings. 

First up: Mac Burgers with Two Patties and Two cheeses

It was like a Big Mac, but with your pick of cheese (Swiss, Cheddar, Brie and Monterrey Jack) and they had customizable toppings such as guacamole and all these fun sauces like garlic mayo and signature sauce. 

Really delicious! and the burgers were super juicy. 

Website: http://www.southstburger.com/

Golden Bubbles

Golden Bubbles won an award for Hong Kong Style Milk Tea a while ago, but I was more interested in their bubble waffles - especially in my favourite flavour taro! 

Taro egg waffle $7 

10% off with cash payment = $5.10

Super crispy when they first came out, but there wasn't a lot of taro flavour and instead had more of a batter flavour. Once the egg waffles sat for a bit, I found them rather gummy, but they had a stronger taro flavour. 

Website: https://goldenbubbles.ca/

Chi Patisserie

I was hoping Chi Patisserie would have their cakes available for sale on walk-in,  but they only had cake in boxes which were selling for $10 each and slightly discounted if you bought more.

Pretty small boxes, but they had some interesting flavours. 

Lychee Rose Petal Cake in a Box

The lychee and rose made a very floral combination and made a pretty tasty cream. The dessert was really sweet and it was mostly cream rather than cake, the sweet lychees on top were pretty good too and there was lychee jelly, as well as orange and red jelly in the middle of the cake box. 

Taro Cake in a Box

The cake layer and taro layer were pretty distinct even as seen outside the box. The taro was more grainy in texture and there were coconut milk jellies in the dessert as well - as part of one of the layers of the cake box. It had more of the true taro taste than the artificial taro flavour. 

Website: https://chipatisserie.ca/

Jatujak

 October 17, 2020

Jatujak has 10% off pick up and some pretty decent lunch specials under $10

Basil Chicken $9.95, Tom Yum Soup $9.95 and Green Curry with Rice $9.95

The basil chicken was super spicy this time around, it usually isn't that spicy but this dish got spicier as we kept eating. The tom yum soup was very tomato heavy and had a bit of sourness (which was tangy) and it was another dish that got spicier the more you ate - the chicken and noodles were pretty good though. The green curry was delicious with great green curry flavour and lots of chicken and peppers. It did seem like the portions got smaller compared to last time though.

Aug 11, 2020

We were exploring Skip the Dishes options around our neighbourhood, when we came across Jatujak with pretty good reviews and some lunch specials for $9.95 (along with free delivery over $30). So we gave it a shot and ordered through Skip which had a $10 promotion code. 

Lunch special Pad Thai (chicken and tofu) and Basil Chicken $9.95 each

The pad thai was sweet and savoury and it kind of reminded me of the pad thai at Thai Express (which is a successful Thai food chain in Canada) and it was a large portion (so great value for money). The basil chicken was also really good - the sauce was really tasty and the chicken and vegetable stir fry was done well. A savoury and yummy lunch dish with white rice. 

Lunch special pad siew and curry chicken (green curry) $9.95 each

The pad siew tasted like spicy chow fun (Cantonese style flat wide noodles) and it was really spicy. The green curry was really good with a great balance between sweet and spicy and it had soothing delicious coconut milk (to make it less spicy). It was a pretty big portion in the container and it came with a side small bowl of rice. 

Overall: Great Thai food at Jatujak! I'd definitely order from here again at lunch. 

Website: https://www.jatujak.ca/

Pacific Mall Heritage Town Food Court

It's been quite a long time since I've been to Pacific Mall, but I came to do some cheap phone-related stuff and decided to pick up food from a few different places upstairs at the Heritage Town Food Court. 

Sun's Kitchen 

It was pretty busy especially since they make their noodles from scratch in front of you

Dan Dan Mian

Very peanuty with the sauce, but less heavy on the peanut flavour than the jajangmian at the other place we ordered from (below). It did taste better with the hot chili oil and the fresh noodle difference was really obvious - the noodles had more of a bite and tension to them and weren't as soft/soggy as other noodles. 

sun noodles - dan dan mian - very peanuty as well - less than the jajangmian - better with the hot chili oil =much more tasty and the noodles were really good - freshly made in front of us - slight bite, less chewy than potato noodle and not as soft - good tension

Potato Noodle Soup of Bai

Making noodles sounds like an interesting use of potato

A2 Potato noodle with short rib $8.99

Clear chewy potato noodles were a lot gummier and chewier than the noodles from Sun's kitchen due to the potato texture. The broth had a strong seaweed flavour and wasn't really that great. The short ribs were braised well and very tasty, but it didn't quite work all together with the broth, noodles and short ribs. 

QQ Noodle King

QQ Cold Noodle (top box) $5.99 and Jajiangmian
The QQ cold noodle had a good contrast of spicy and sour and the cucumbers helped make the dish rather refreshing. The flat noodles were pretty good, but the dish had too much vinegar at the end which made it rather overwhelmingly sour. The jajangmian was a large portion with okay noodles, but the flavour was really peanut heavy (which I wasn't as big a fan of).

Prairie Lamb Kabob

Yummy! Lamb skewers - I haven't had those in a long time. 

7 for $15 including 3 lamb, 2 chicken and 2 beef

All of the skewers had the same lamb seasoning spices (cumin being the most prominent taste) - so the chicken and beef skewers were a little mismatched. The lamb was delicious with the seasoning though and the lamb meat was done well. 

Yummie Egg Waffle

There was a long line waiting for the egg waffles at Yummie, which is a candy/bulk food store with a small section for egg waffles. 

$3.50 for one egg waffle 

Excellent egg waffles! I totally understand why the lineup was so long here (and why it was constant). The egg waffles were a perfect balance of egg flavour and vanilla and they were light and fluffy as opposed to dense inside. 

Tung Tung Dan Quan King

No line up at Tung Tung, it used to be a super big and popular chain that had locations in most of the major Chinese malls around the GTA.

$3.50 for egg waffles

Harder egg waffles than Yummie and not as tasty overall. The flavour was a little off in the egg waffle since it tasted like the batter was old? It was also super dense so that the egg waffles were almost cake like. 

The inside of the egg waffles tells the difference between the two places.

A&W

October 15, 2020

Truffle Buddy Burger $3.49

Oooo Truffle sauce! It sounds like a super gourmet and expensive burger (considering how expensive truffle oil is) for a super cheap price! 

However, the burger turned out to be super dry again and I barely tasted the truffle aioli since it was overpowered by the mustard, pickles and relish. I wouldn't get this one again even though it's super cheap. 

October 4, 2020

A&W is having a Mama Burger promotion: $2.50 each!

Burger with pickles, mustard and onions - not my favourite burger toppings, but still okay.

Overall: I felt like this whole burger was dry: the meat was really dry but the seasoning was okay, the bun was dry even though there was some evidence of butter and there just wasn't enough sauce. 

I'd skip getting this burger again.

WingBurger

 Wingburger was running a Groupon Promotion for a burger, drink, fries and wings for $11.49. 

Pretty decent combination and more than enough food for one (it could definitely feed two people)

Good juicy smash burger with your choice of condiments and freshly deep fried crispy fries! They make your order when you get there to be as fresh as possible. For the fries, I got the dry Cajun rub and it was pretty tasty with a hint of spiciness. 

Harvey's

October 15, 2020 @ 898 Don Mills Road

Buffalo chicken poutine $4.99 small

Sweet and tangy buffalo chicken on top of squeaky cheese curds, gravy, buffalo chicken sauce and fries. This location gave a much bigger portion than the other location and there was a lot more chicken. However, I found the poutine just very strange overall since it had buffalo sauce and gravy and cheese. Something about that combination just didn't work as well. 

October 14, 2020 

Harvey's is running a half price poutine promotion with their new poutine flavours such as chicken bacon ranch and buffalo chicken. 

Chicken Bacon Ranch Poutine $4.99 small size

Pretty sizable portion, but unfortunately the ranch sauce did not translate well in this box. The box was pretty salty overall with not a lot of fried chicken, but there were a ton of fries and lots of gravy and ranch sauce. I also managed to find bits of bacon and ooey melty cheese that paired well with the gravy. Aside from the saltiness (maybe from too much ranch sauce?), I was okay with this poutine otherwise. 

Mar 5, 2019

2 original burgers for $6 promotion

Good deal for hamburgers!

June 27, 2017

Now that Harvey's isn't doing their Build-A-Bowl promotion, I had to find other Harvey's alternatives. They were offering their Angus Burger combo for $5.99.

Angus Burger (just the way I like), onion rings and a strawberry milkshake upgrade 

The angus burger was pretty good with all the toppings I love on my burger. The onion rings were just fresh from the fryer and a little oily. My milkshake was really good (super glad I upgraded). 

March 16, 2017

Harvey's introduced their Build-A-Bowl recently and started running 1/2 price promotions. It's a really good deal considering the bowl usually costs around $8 and it's a pretty filling meal by itself with a base of rice, salad or fries and then unlimited Harvey's toppings and either chicken or burger (and you get a choice of crispy, buffalo or grilled chicken or angus, veggie or original burger). 

Grilled chicken bowl with fries and crispy chicken salad bowl

These bowls were REALLY good for $4. They put all the toppings I wanted including guacamole and those yummy crispy noodles. I didn't really know if I would like the fry bowl, but it turned out really well. The salad bowl was a little strange since you got all the toppings you wanted anyways - so I had lettuce on lettuce. I'd go for the rice bowl and the fry bowl. 

March 18, 2017

Angus Burger rice bowl

The angus burger was pretty good. I was a little unsure at first, but it was pretty good with the rice bowl and all the toppings. I also discovered Harvey's has tzatziki sauce!

The tossed rice bowl

They really pack a lot of rice in there and it's so good with the sauce and all the ingredients. Yummy!

Website: https://www.harveys.ca/mobile/en/menu_build-a-bowl

Woofles and Cream

 Egg Waffles and ice cream! Yum! I came a few weeks ago and there was a crazy line, so when I saw that there was no line today - I quickly put in my order.

Towering Earl Grey Milk Tea Soft Serve $5 and Earl Grey Woofle (total $10.74)

The earl grey milk tea soft serve had good earl grey flavour, but the flavour wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be, but it was sweet and yummy. 

The earl grey woofle was crispy on outside and in-between the egg waffles and the egg waffle batter was pretty tasty with a light earl grey flavour.

Website: https://woofflesandcream.ca/

Sugar Peony

 I've been craving pandan and ube desserts, so I thought I'd stop in and see if there were any cupcakes or small cakes available at Sugar Peony (unfortunately, they only accept pre-orders for individual cakes now and you need a minimum order of 24 pieces, so I picked up macarons instead). 

The packaging was really pretty! 6 macarons for $15

Such pretty pastel colours! Macaron flavours included lavender black tea, ube coconut, chai tea, durian, pistachio and almond rose tea

Durian: great durian flavour and it was nice and sweet. The macaron feet were kind of crumbly and hard (maybe due to being a little older or frozen) and there was a lot of buttercream in the middle (similar to the Korean macarons with more cream than cookie). I found the ratio was a little off for a French macaron, but the flavour was great!

Chai tea: heavy cardamom flavour and good chai tea flavour overall

Ube coconut: loved teh sweet ube in this and it came out well with a fragrant taste, there was less coconut flavour in this and unfortunately it had a crumbly foot too. 

Lavender black tea: strong floral lavender flavour and there were hints of tea as well, but the lavender really stood out with a strong perfume (like the lavender oil scented products)

Almond rose tea: also really floral and rose flavoured - Sugar Peony does floral scents really well! 

Pistachio: excellent pistachio buttercream with a strong prominent and delicious pistachio flavour

The macarons here also had some black crunchy things in the macarons which added a different texture to the macaron between the feet and the buttercream (which was kind of neat)

Website: http://sugarpeony.com/

My Sweet Tooth - Hamilton

 We got these as a gift from Hamilton:

$5 per cream puff in assorted flavours

Clockwise from top left: Salted Cookies and Cream, Pumpkin Spice, Matcha, Thai Tea, Vanilla

The vanilla was the best of the batch in my opinino, fluffy with great vanilla cream flavour and it was a really classic crispy (like pineapple bun) outside and soft whipped cream inside. The matcha was also really good with a strong matcha flavour. 

The Thai tea and pumpkin spice had good flavours (the pumpkin spice reminded me of the pumpkin spiced latte at Starbucks with more cinnamon flavour), but I wasn't really a fan of the salty and sweet cookies and cream. Pretty neat and fun flavours and something different. 

Website: https://www.mysweetooth.ca/