One2Snack

Dec 11, 2020

We came by here a few times since I really wanted Malaysian food, but they were closed for a family emergency for a while. When they reopened, we went to pickup some delicious eats!

Curry Laksa $8.25 

We got medium spicy so that we could enjoy the flavours we missed! Excellent curry laksa with a good noodle and vermicelli mix. There wasn't as much chicken, tofu and fish balls in the take out portion, but it was still pretty delicious. 

One of the best things about the curry laksa is the complexity of flavours since there's so much going on with shrimp paste, curry and chicken broth - it had heat and tons of flavour. 

We waited about 1/2 hour for it without pre-ordering since the store was pretty busy with lots of takeout orders. You can also email them a day in advance now, but they're only open Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. 

Mar 3, 2019

Nasi Lemak (no chicken curry)

I didn't realize that nasi lemak doesn't usually have chicken in it - the dish almost seemed like ti was missing something.

Curry Laksa (slightly spicier)

It tastes so much better when it's spicy. It's like the flavours pop out at you more.

Chicken curry nasi lemak (take out version)

Delicious!

Desserts

September 9, 2018

Desserts

I was really excited for the pandan dessert at the bottom, but unfortunately it didn't have a lot of pandan flavour. The desserts were okay but it makes me really miss Nyonya Colors pandan desserts. 

August 18, 2018

Curry Laksa

Full of flavour that reminded me of Malaysia

Curry puffs

Char Kway Teow and Nasi Lemak with chicken curry

Delicious! I totally understand why they always have a line up here - the food is really good and the prices are reasonable. The weekends have a lot more options than the weekdays including nasi lemak and desserts. 

Yi Fang Taiwan Fruit Tea

Dec 12, 2020

Getting to try a new bubble tea place on Ubereats is great, getting it BOGO is even better!

Oolong Pearl Milk tea and Black Milk tea $5.95 (x2)

The oolong milk tea was really watery, but it did have a stronger oolong tea flavour than the last oolong tea I had at Real Fruit's Victoria Park location. The pearls were on the soft and slightly mushy side (would skip them here). 

The black milk tea was also watery, with a little bit of milk and actually quite sweet despite having 0% sugar. 

Website: https://www.facebook.com/yifangtea.ontario/

Montmatre Bakery

Dec 9, 2020

Blueberry Pie $7.75

Interestingly enough, it didn't have the same blueberry filling or jam as the blueberry danish. I really liked my first bite of the pie and filling, but after a while, it got a little boring and I was searching for different flavours or textures in the pie (like the apple with the cinnamon and spelt was a lot more dynamic in terms of overall flavour and textures). 

Nov 25, 2020

Lemon Danish

Really good with a slight tart sourness from the lemon, however, it was mostly sweet and it didn't taste like the usual pre-packaged lemon curd - must be homemade. Nice flaky pastry too - very nice!

Nov 20, 2020

 

Apple Strudel

It's pretty big and quite long with lots of doughy pastry and powdered sugar on top. The apple strudel was good, not too sweet, but I think I prefer the pie since I wasn't a fan of the pastry. 

Carrot (L) and Blueberry (R) muffins

Carrot muffin was good and not too sweet, but it wasn't really amazing. 

The blueberry muffin had good blueberry flavour, but it didn't really stand out as much as the apple spelt muffin did. 

Nov 14, 2020

Back to try more of their delicious baked goods!

Blueberry danish

The blueberry filling wasn't too sweet and the pastry was flaky and really yummy. It had a lot of glaze and icing on top, which made it sweeter. I'm not sure about their blueberry pie though if they use this wild blueberry filling.

Spelt muffin with apple pieces $1.30

Really good spelt muffin and while the texture of the spelt flour was interesting and the apple pieces retained their moisture and were lightly seasoned with cinnamon in a soft muffin interior, in my opinion, I thought it was okay overall (but I'm not a huge muffin fan). 

Cherry Custard Danish $1.30

More custard than cherry in the danish and the cherry wasn't too sour or too sweet. The pastry was also really flaky and drizzled with a lot of icing (which made it much sweeter than I probably would've liked it). I think it was pretty good overall - I could see them making a really delicious cherry pie with this cherry filling. 

Also got the apricot custard danish (similar look to this one) and while it had excellent custard, it didn't have a lot of apricot.

Apple crumble pie $6.75 

It was so good, we got it again - I'm finding I really like their spelt flour pies, it has a slightly grainier texture and it just seems to work really well with their apple crumble pie - maybe a bit of a play on texture? And their pies aren't super sweet like supermarket pies - so I'm a huge fan.

Nov 7, 2020 

After trying croissants at Bomou and Patisserie de la Cigogne, I wanted to try it at Montmatre:

Croissant $1.25

It was soft and chewy with a flaky exterior and soft interior and a nice buttery flavour, but I found the croissant at Patisserie de la Cigogne a lot better (even though it's double the price there). This one had a chewier bite to it.

Apple Crumble pie $6.95 

REALLY GOOD - the crumble was delicious, the spelt pie crust was a bit lost in the whole thing, but it held it's shape relatively well. The apples were sweet and lightly sprinkled with cinnamon and they held their shape well with a nice soft and crunchy texture - really delicious and the pie overall wasn't too sweet. This is probably my new favourite pie place! A sizable 8 inch freshly baked pie for $6.95 is such a good deal! I'll be back to try more flavours (or maybe buy more of their apple crumble since it's delicious). 

Oct 24, 2020

BlogTo wrote that Montmatre Bakery had some of the best pies in Toronto and I've been meaning to check them out, so when I was in the area I stopped by to join the line at the bakery in a commercial area a little north of Lawrence off Midland. 

The line moves really fast - there's a lot of regulars here who know exactly what they want (and they order a ton of baked goods!)

Apricot and Cheese Danish $1.30

They used canned half apricots which are more sugary and sweet than fresh apricots, but they were still pretty good with the cheese and the pastry was really flaky and crispy - so good and it was fresh from the oven which made it even better! 

Apple danish $1.30

Exactly what I expected from the apple danish - super sweet delicious and slightly crispy apples in the middle and flaky and soft pastry surrounding it. The apples were baked PERFECTLY - I can see why they would be a top apple pie/danish/strudel bakery. So good!

7 Grain Bread small load $2.85

The fresh baked bread was really soft and fluffy inside and had a nice crunchy outside from the seeds and grains. Would highly recommend getting bread here! Montmatre Bakery has a ton of varieties - but we were super impressed by the 7 grain bread because it's super tasty and healthy for you! 

Website: https://montmartrebakery.com/ 

Bubble Tea & Me

Dec 8, 2020

Trying out a new bubble tea shop near Yonge and Steeles since they have the Ubereats BOGO promotion.

Original Milk Tea $3.99 (x2)

Good strong black milk tea, that was evenly mixed with a good milk and tea ratio that balanced well. I would definitely get their milk tea again! (Unfortunately though, the BOGO was one time use, but this was an amazing cheap deal for two drinks!)

Website: https://www.bubbleteaandme.com/

Chipotle

Dec 8, 2020 @ Shops at Don Mills

Huge regular chicken burrito and chicken burrito bowl

The chicken was a tad dry at this Chipotle location today, but it was still seasoned okay. The bowl seemed like it was mostly rice with some Mexican toppings like salsa, sour cream, cheese and beans rather than a real Mexican burrito bowl dish - it was kind of missing something to tie it all together. 

Oct 31, 2019

Boorito has become an annual thing now! $6 with a Halloween Costume, I think it used to be cheaper than that.

Steak bowl that got smooshed on the subway

Chicken burrito bowl and steak burrito

Packed with lots of beans, rice, vegetables and meat! 

October 31, 2018

Chipotle has a promotion on Halloween if you wear a costume, you can get a Boorito for $4.

Awesome deal! Unfortunately no guacamole included. 

For more on burritos in Toronto, refer here: https://peachgirlblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/burrito-bandidos-vs-chipotle.html

Website: https://chipotle.ca/

North Express

Dec 8, 2020

Koobideh Sandwich $6.99

I think it's official, the man who makes their delicious laffa bread no longer works here...I'm super sad because that was one of the best things about their sandwiches here. 

The wrap was super dry and crumbly and it was wrapped twice to almost make sure that the food inside the sandwich stayed inside. The meat was still good, but it tasted like there was some gamey meat (maybe lamb) inside it today. The sandwich also didn't come with sauce or anything other than parsley and onions - which also made it super dry. Super disappointed on this trip, I wonder if I should give up on this location for koobideh sandwiches now - it's no longer as worth it as it used to be. 

Aug 7, 2020

Koobideh sandwich 

The price went up a little bit and the laffa has changed to a thinner wrap. The sandwich condiments have also changed - they no longer have the eggplant, mushrooms, tabule and other Persian sides for the sandwiches. Instead, they have the regular cucumber, lettuce and tomato - but they do still have baba ganoush and hummus. The sandwich is still pretty good, but not as amazing as it used to be.  

Jan 24, 2019

Huge Koobideh sandwich

(Banana included for size comparison)

Their sandwiches are really good - you can choose all the toppings you want from their counter and it includes items such as tabbouleh, baba ganoush, hummus, sauteed mushrooms and more. 

January 6, 2015

This place has become one of my go-to spots when I'm in the area.

And they finally have a take-out menu! 

I think the prices are a little cheaper than North next door, but I'm not too sure since I've only ever eaten at North Express.

Massive Sandwich for $6.95 (excluding tax)

It's a little bigger than a foot long sub.

So colourful! There's tabbouleh, cabbage, sauteed onions, koobideh (of course), hummus, babaganoush and more in this deliciously tasty sandwiche.

It's definitely got some tangy-ness and a tiny hint of sourness, but it's nothing overpowering and there's so many veggies packed in. Delicious!

November 1, 2014

Chicken shawarma sandwich

Also on a fresh laffa and with all the accompaniments
This time they were much quicker at serving us and preparing our orders. However, I think they haven't quite worked out all the issues with their dry chicken yet because the chicken shawarma sandwich (despite having a lot of sauce from the hummus, babaganoush and tahini) was still really dry. Conclusion: I think the Koobideh is the go-to sandwich at North Express.

October 28, 2014

Ever since I ate at Taftan Kebab, Persian food has been on my mind and I recalled that my coworkers mentioned that there was a place near Yonge and Steeles called North that served really good Persian food. So the next time I was in the area, I decided to grab dinner at North (Shomal). 

We were all set to walk in the restaurant when I noticed that there was a store next to it called North Express serving take-out of the North menu items. They recently opened a few days before we dropped by - so we had excellent timing to try out their new offerings. The menu probably isn't as extensive as next door's, but they had cheap sandwiches and lunch/dinner specials.

Koobideh sandwich on a freshly made laffa

I put a little of everything into my sandwich: marinated olives, eggplant, tabbouleh, babaganoush, hummus, beets, tomatoes and cabbage salad.
And it was all delicious! A little tangy from all the accompaniments which offset the doughy bread and I thought it made the koobideh (which is a Persian minced meat kebab) stand out more.

Chicken Breast Lunch Box
I think this might have been been better in concept than execution. The vegetables were simply steamed and lightly seasoned - but they didn't survive the journey home. Unfortunately, it tasted like they absorbed the smell of the plastic from the container as did the chicken. The chicken was also really dry after the trip home. The only thing intact was the salad.

Overall: We kind of wrote off the lunch box, but the sandwich was fantastic! The service was a little slow, but it's understandable since they recently opened and weren't really sure how to run the take-out counter yet. We will definitely be back for more sandwiches because the koobideh we had was delicious and great value for money. 

Website: http://shomalrestaurant.com/