3 new places to hit

I beg to differ - to each her own for sure - I would recommend Bi Bim Bap to other asians/koreans who already know the real thing and want to try something that's a bit different, a little bold and made with a health conscious approach. the bibimbap variations at this resto are not what you would find at most korean restos in the city: altho their traditional bibmbap is more traditional in the toppings and rice they use, the other mushroom or seed baps are variations on the traditional dish. I appreciate the variations and the fact that they take so much care with their ingredients, toppings, and particularly the rice. I've taken my mother and other koreans here and we can definitely taste the difference in the way they prepare the rice which is the foundation for any bibimbap. as tradition-bound and picky as my mother and her friends are when it comes to korean food, they appreciate this place because they can see the care put into the preparations of dishes here and prefer the quality of this place over the quantity produced at other places. I like Song Cook as well, but it's a bigger operation, and as a result perhaps, it's a bit inconsistent and the care is not there. While I like their food it;s a bit on the greasy side. it's also a bit pricey as well if you look at the prices for the rice and 'sides' that you order separately, since Song Cook does not provide a lot of side dishes, only kimchi. the sauces are not that hot at Bi Bim Bap but I agree with the owner - who was quoted elsewhere here or in another post - that in many korean homes the chili sauce has less heat than at the restaurants: that's certainly true of our home as we find that too much heat will just kill the taste. (I'll admit, in younger days, me and the siblings would make all dishes hotter just because we could, tho we regretted it later).

I guess it depends on what you're looking for: if you want a traditional spread with banchan but nothing too out of the ordinary korean, then go to MotNaSon or BukChangDong, Korean Village, etc. Song Cook I would recomend for Chinese-Korean fare (despite touting themselves as a bibimbap restaurant, their bbb is not that great or different). If you want a little more health-conscious korean fare, that's a bit different, try Bi Bim Bap.

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Korean-ish Restaurant Uptown

not sure if you will find kimchi but you will find a very good Korean-ish restaurant at Bathurst & Eglinton called Stone Bowl - http://stonebowl.ca/ - variations on the bibimbop in stone bowls...probably the best bibimbap in town...

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Nona Restaurant Review 3397 Yonge Street Toronto, ONM4N www.nonakitchen.ca

I tried this place a few days ago and also enjoyed their food. I tried the quinoa salad and falafel - both were mildly spiced but I prefer that over the over-salted offerings of other middle eastern places. Whatever salt may have been lacking was made up for by the pickles I got on the side. Guess it's a matter of personal preference but I prefer foods to have less salt to allow the fresh flavours of the ingredients to come through. I don't recall a cardomom-y taste in the falafel, but that may be because I doused it in the garlicky tahini sauce. I appreciated that they make the falafel to order and not have them sitting around precooked. looking at their menu, they were past owners of the Mezzetta on St Clair so I think they have some experience in this industry. I wish them well in this location.

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Edible flowers

Does anybody know where I can get edible flowers in Toronto this weekend? need it for a Mother's Day meal....TIA!

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Has anyone been to the Chef's House at George Brown for Winterlicious?

would love to hear any reviews. also, I tried their online reservation system and it's showing fully booked for this week. Is the online system accurate? would I have any luck if I just walked in without a reservation?

tia!

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu - Uptown

I believe Traditional Korean Restaurant is the English name for Wonjo restaurant....

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Shiso plant for sale?

if it's the Korean perilla plant you are looking for - which is a bit different from the japanese shiso - you can find them these days at many korean supermarkets for planting - they are sold much like the herbs that are sold at various nurseries/markets for transplanting at home.

in my experience, i replant new perilla plants every year but a lucky (and lazy) relative of mine doesnt do a thing (ie. replant) and gets perillas every year!

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

how do you know if tomato sauce has gone bad?

Thank you to everyone for the quick, unanimous response! It was not canned, air did look to have seeped in, and it's been a very mild winter up here in T.O. so, I dumped the jar as per your collective wisdom!

berbere in Home Cooking

how do you know if tomato sauce has gone bad?

In early January this year, I picked up a large can of San Marzano tomatoes from Costco and made some tomato sauce - added onions and garlic sauteed in olive oil. I divided them in several glass jars and stored them in the garage (in winter, my garage is my other fridge). Went through the jars pretty quickly, in a matter of a couple of weeks. But then yesterday, I was going through the garage and found one jar left, completely overlooked as I shuffled around the jars!! I don't see any mold, nothing white, and it smells/tastes of a slight tartness that could be from the garlic. Is it bad? Any way of knowing if it's bad or should I just give it a good boil?

berbere in Home Cooking

Any recommendations for great Korean dolsot bimimbap?

in toronto, i'd say Wonjo (at yonge/steeles, aka. Traditional Korean Restaurant much talked about on this board) has superior bibimbap in stone bowl, esp the seafood one if i recall correctly....
...am curious about your experience in Bracebridge - was this in a private home or in a resto? as i dont know of any korean restos up there, i'd love to know: please do share

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Canbe Foods Inc

Has anybody been to this place? It's on the north side of an industrial part of Ellesmere Rd, just west of Bellamy - a couple of doors west of Sheridan Nursery and B&A Bakery....I drive by it everyday around rush hour (5-6pm), I don't see any seating, no signage to indicate what kind of food, and even their orange sign with "Canbe Foods Inc" doesn't tell much - I thought it may be a warehouse but then, I started to seen lineups inside starting some months ago....am I missing something?...

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Korea town and Korean food virgins!

well, it's a cultural thing - if you eat it all, you leave nothing for the meal and the sides are supposed to be eaten with the rice; also, if you are eating with someone else, it's kind of considered poor manners to finish off a dish that is meant to be shared....having said that, traditionally, the oldest person (elder) dining with you is never given the last remaining morsel, it's the youngest who is allowed to clean off the plate...counterintuitive in some ways, since i'm always inclined to give the last remaining bite to the most respected in the party (ie. the oldest) -- anyways, here in Canada, I don't think any restaurant will refuse you more side dishes if you finish it before your meal

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Braised Pork Chops & Creamy Cabbage by Molly Stevens....oh, so good!!!

has anyone tried the World's Best Braised Cabbage using savoy cabbage rather than the smooth round green cabbage? I want to make this for dinner tonite but only have savoy on hand....thanks!

berbere in Home Cooking

Carved watermelons

bumping this up - does anybody know of any private caterers or individuals who do fruit art/carvings/arrangements? looking for something more creative than the offerings at Edible Arrangements to take the place of a birthday cake for someone on a low cholesterol diet.
thanks in advance!

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Where to eat the best hwae dup bap?

Sam Jung - this is a korean japanese restaurant, on the east side of leslie, just north of york mills. it's been a couple of years since i was there but i recall the prices being very inexpensive and quantity was large. there were lots of side dishes but that might be because we ordered a lot (we had the cook at your table fish stew, tangsuyuk, grilled fish and some sushi which i did not touch).

il bun ji - i also am sorry to hear about the poor experience of dubchild. just fyi, hwae dup bap (the korean version of chirashi sushi) tends to use more of the min-uh fish (i think that is grouper in english). this fish is white/pink and tends to be more chewy, which is preferred by many koreans to the soft melting tuna or salmon. i don't know what fish dubchild was served but if it was a white fish, that may be it.

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Colombian empanadas

Thanks for the report, Davwud, it gave me a chuckle as it reminded me of me whenever i go to this place: my head just spins seeing all the offerings and i end up like a kid in a candy store getting all kinds of goodies i've never had and dont even care to know the names of.... i do recall the dough on the empanada being actually less doughy than the ones offered at the old El Bodegon (which were about 1-1.5 times the size), so i'm really sorry that i missed la paisa when it was around as it seems their offerings were superior, according to other posters. agreed also that a salsa/sauce would be a perfect complement!

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Colombian empanadas

just revisiting to see if there have been any colombian empanada sightings since my original post....i can report that I have only tried one place which is a colombian bakery on east side of dufferin, south of lawrence (beside Lady York) - their empanadas are excellent and of a decent size, not too small and easily transportable, consumable in 3-4 civilized bites (tho i'd never complain about the largeness of any colomb emp given my love for them) - i believe they were about 2 for a buck but can't confirm as i never leave with empanadas alone...their sausage is also very good but i always end up reheating it at home as i'm too occupied eating all the empanadas first....

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Greek Bakery / Grocer in the Markham / Scarborough Area

Athens Pastries - 2567 Victoria Park Avenue

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

soba noodles

yes, they are somen, and no different than boiling your own skinny somen noodles with some dashi broth

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

soba noodles

unless there is another 'soba' version of the Hoo Roo Rook, to my knowledge this instant noodle only comes in one version with the skinny ultra thin white noodles which is not made with buckwheat at all but made with flour. the only korean noodle that comes close to soba insofar as it is made with buckwheat flour would be the naengmyun noodles also called 'maemil' (=buckwheat in korean) - in any case, noodles made with buckwheat would be a little brownish in colour and Hoo Roo Rook is starkly white (at least the one I have tried).

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Korean Ox Tail Soup Recipe

in my experience, soup made from the gori/tail of the beef will not turn milky white, and certainly not after the first boil. if you want the milky white soup, it works better with the cow foot: similar to the above recipe but before the boil, cover the bones a few hours in hot tap water, drain; repeat this 2-3 times; then cover with cold water and boil 4-5 hours, adding in the last hour or so the sliced daikon/radish. after finishing the soup, don't throw away the bones, cover with fresh water and repeat; the second batch will be whiter.

berbere in Home Cooking

Sushi restaurant around Yonge and Lawrence

Glad to hear your approval (at least of the rolls). I tried the yaki udon once and it was just ok, tho it was a huge portion with lots of chicken. Seeing the lunch specials (around $8) and the empty space most days, i worry that it may not last - I do hope the owner perseveres as it is the only decent japanese in the area.

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

For Anyone Looking for a Pumpkin Pie Recipe

have you ever substituted butternut squash for the pumpkin in this or any other pumpkin pie recipes? I have tons of butternut squash at home right now and want to try to use it up...

berbere in Home Cooking

Weekday lunch recs in Yonge/Lawrence area

I tried Gourmet Shawarma and overall I liked their offerings but found their food to be on the salty side; their service was also a bit lacking (counter staff were gruff and forgetful with the details of our orders - maybe caught them on a bad day)

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Weekday lunch recs in Yonge/Lawrence area

Actually, i found the BreadBar menu to be more than adequate and their portions (not that you asked but) while initially looked small was very very filling. Their naan bread is the best i've had in T.O. As for Joy Thai, yes, they do have vegetarian dishes.

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Weekday lunch recs in Yonge/Lawrence area

There is very good Indian at Amaya/Bread Bar, Joy Thai at Ranleigh/Yonge, Sushi Bar. I wasn't impressed with Cravings when I went the few times - I had some sweet-sour-Gen-Tso type dish which was rubbery and greasy.

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Making kimchi - who has a great recipe?

i am not a kimchi expert but do make it quite regularly, and have learned from my mom so very little precision of ingredients are involved. here are some things i have learned over the years:

for me, the size of the cabbage varies depending how long I want to store the kimchi: if I am doing a long term kimchi, jars that will keep for few months with slower fermentation time, I cut the cabbage in half or quarters, salt, drain then pickle with chili paste-garlic-fish sauce. if I am doing a kimchi that i want to eat within days, i cut the cabbage into bite size or tear them into strips before salting to wilt, then pickling, as i find these ferment faster (also helped by keeping it outside the fridge for a day or two)

if I am doing the larger cabbage halves or quarters, i have found it is enough to soak them in a warm-water-salt brine for a few hours without the need to salt them overnight (as that was traditionally done, by my mom anyways); i make this by taking boiled hot water, adding salt, then adding more water to make enough to cover the pail/bowl of prepared (washed/cut) cabbage; it should be as warm but not hot (smthg like the heated milk bottle you would give to your baby)

as to the amount of salt in the brine, i have found that it is enough if the tastes just right to your tongue ie. not as salty as dill pickles, say, but like a nicely salted chicken soup broth - that usually signals enough salt for my kimchi.

for more precise recipes, i recommend www.maangchi.com whose instructions are very easy to follow and usually accompanied by a video

i usually use the same kimchi seasoning recipe to make the following kimchis:
cucumber, radish, rapini, perilla leaves, green onion

have fun!

berbere in Home Cooking

Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu - A Great Way to Spend $7

agreed with aser about the depth of flavour in the broth - the difference between TK and BCDST is like homemade chicken soup vs the powdered instant cuppa soup, no comparison! besides, TK serves more side dishes and everything (to my knowledge) is homemade. plus, ifyou like the crusty rice on the bottom of your stone bowl, and can't finish it at the resto, TK packs it for you to take home (on request) whereas BCDST doesnt

if you like walnut cakes the best in my opinion are to be found at the walnut cake place on the little side street west off Yonge, just south of ManDoo Hyang (at 6068 Yonge) - cant recall the name but the shop is hardly noticeable, faces north and leads you into a clothing store. their cakes are fresh and packed full of filling (red bean, custard)! their shaved ice with red bean topping is very refreshing on a hot day...

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)

Gourmet Cupcakes?

stopped by mcewan's at the don mills centre today - they were providing free cupcakes made by Sweet Definition: the baker was there herself explaining the different flavours and answering questions - they were beautiful and very yummy - she said that she does custom orders including vegan, gluten-free and diabetic ordeers - althou mcewan's will carry her cupcakes orders can be placed directly with her - www.sweetdefinition.com (looks like a work in progress, too bad cuz the cupcakes were really beautiful with handmade roses)

berbere in Ontario (including Toronto)