qtxniki's Profile
Best Doughnuts in Toronto
OMG! Yes...this place is amazing for it's donuts. Been going all my life. It's the same family who's owned it. As a child, they used to give the donut holes away for free whenever I came in. They make the best chocolate dip in the city! Too bad I live downtown now...
OC and LA cheap eats - MUSTS?
Hey all! I've got an address for everyone. I'll be living close to Jamboree and San Jaoquin Hills. I'll take the Metrolink into Union Station for 2 days to see what around also. Anything good to eat around the square?
What bus should I take into Costa Mesa? In the evenings and weekends, I'll have a ride and can pretty much point where I wanna go within 50 miles.
BTW...I don't mind wandering and walking. I typically go for 20km strolls no problem.
Keep the suggestions coming (please, no more pho) as I have 27 meals at least I need to fill up there. ;)
OC and LA cheap eats - MUSTS?
Thanx guys for all the recs! I was looking for places by Newport because I will be visiting friends there and I have no car and alone on the weekdays they go to work. I dont mind walking 20-30 km a day. In the evenings, I can venture out of the neighbourhood to LA and the rest of OC.
Everyone has mentioned Costa Mesa. Sounds great! How accessible is it from Newport? BTW...where do you get frozen bananas? Do they dip them in anything? :)
OC and LA cheap eats - MUSTS?
Hey all. I"ll be in LA and Newport Beach for 10 days. I need to find cheap eats MUST places...Preferably in Newport. Anything from burritos, taco trucks, to cool bakeries, ethnic foods, donuts, junk food...Anything I cant get on the East Coast. No Korean, Chinese, or Japanese, please.
And any good food markets/grocers to wander?
Thanks!
One day in Beijing, going solo, what to eat???
There are street snacks all over the city that are great. Just that they arent situated nice, compact and touristy for most people. I would suggest getting roujiamo, ludagun, lurouhuoxiao, ma tuan, jianbing, etc. etc....
If you are sick of wangujing and want some real chinese street eats, you can explore the alleys just east of oriental plaza and just west of wangfujing. Also, wudaokou at night and the street just south of Beishida south gate at night have a ton of vendors selling street foods.
"Maple Yip" aka "Look Yu" - Worthy Candidate for Best Cantonese Style Cuisine?!
SHHHHH! Dont tell them about our secret, or I'll never find a table during dinner time! I'm selfish and want this place to stay off the radar. It's busy enough as is. =)
What do you do when your BEST recipe is lost?
Okay, so we've all had it happened at least once. You clip a recipe out of the newspaper from 20 odd years ago, wrote down the PERFECT combination of ingredients on the back of an old envelope, or inherited Grandma's recipe stash (or say keep it in your computer). BUT, now you go to find it, it is missing (or deleted). What have you done, other than cry and hid under your blanket sobbing?
Has anyone ever found or perfectly re-created it?
Please share your experiences...
Sushi Star - Yonge and Eg?
I used ot go to this place when it first opened, but have not been back. They sent me a flyer in the mail.
AYCE 15.99 dinner and 10.99 lunch. Has anyone been? What do they offer in variety of sushi/sashimi/rolls?
Their quality of alacarte items used to be quite good, so I'm hoping this will be a new cheap AYCE alternative.
Thanks in advance!
Pho 88 @ Spadina
I noticed the big wood construciton walls. Anyone know whats going on with PHO 88 and when will it open again? Also, I took a peek and it's been totally gutted, so will it become modern and pretty or are they just making more space for the money exchange?
My favorite Mainland Chinese restaurant gems in north Toronto
HOT SPICY SPICY:
so do the people speak mandarin there only, or can they understand cantonese as well?
I'm thinking of going tonight...need that fish soaking in chili oil! mmmmm! I live in North York and never knew we had a sichuan place at leslie. So I dont need to drive out to markham and scarboro anymore.... =)
Baguette mishap - what did I do wrong?
But, this isnt a "true" baguette recipe. It is not suppose to have anything other than yeast, flour, salt, and water. French authorities would close down your shop in Paris =).
Not knocking your recipe though. Just thought others would like to know.
Excess Cheerios?
I tried to give them away, but the boxes are not intact, so it will not be taken by anyone.
Excess Cheerios?
Thanx for all the replies, everyone. But, I was looking for -NOT- trail mixes, rice crispies, etc...
Truly unusual and creative ideas.
King's Garden
Keep in mind that asian legend ONLY serves northern chinese dim sum. Not Catonese dim sum. Hard to compare to Rol San, Lai Wah Heen and King's Garden.
Weird... Great Milestone's Experience!
I haven't had similar experiences. Every time I have ever been to Milestone's it has been a disaster! The last time I went, it was so bad, that Milestone's has been permenantly blacklisted. Both the service and the food were atrocious. I've been to both the John and Richmond one and the Yonge and Empress Walk one 2-3 times each. My experiences ranged from OK to worse to just plain BAD. My last time at Milestone's Yonge, the waitress did her introduction, then disappeared for 45 min (2-3 pm and completely empty). We asked several other waitresses if we could order with them instead, but they insisted that they would go find our waitress for us. At the 45 min mark, we just got up and left. We met our waitress at the doors, she came in smelling of cigarettes. Her reply was, "oh, you're leaving?"
My last time at Milestone's John, the waitress was friendly enough, but she spent all her time with a large table of her friends. She was sitting down with them on the patio. So getting her attention was difficult. Also, she must have forgotten about our orders, because when they arrived at my table, the ribs were STONE cold. And my BF's rare steak, had sat under the lamp so long, it was well done. We asked for a new one. The steak was a new piece (oddly grey coloured rare meat - nasty! serving highly oxidized old meat is NOT acceptable), but they took my original ribs and stuck em in the oven/salanmander for a few minutes (outsides dry and hot, insides cold). My original test bite mark was still in it. New sides would have been a miracle at this point, but they never even bothered reheating the sides. Just plopped the meat right back down on the original plates with cold congealing sides. We have vowed never to return, not even for the tasty bellinis.
Want HK preserved meat!
I've had Royal meats before. They are OK. Too sweet... Also, I find the depth of flavour of the preserved meats from Asia much better. Just like how proscuitto from Italy tastes better than proscuitto from Canada. I believe it's the spores and elements in the local air that make the difference.
Want HK preserved meat!
There used to be a supplier who sneaked in chinese preserved meat and sausages ("lap yook" and "lap cheung") from Hong Kong, in his medicinal shipments. But, he has stopped doing it. Anyone have any special places in Toronto they know of that brings in meat from Hong Kong?
The ones made in North America just do not taste as good.
I can give ya my email if you know of a place...
Tabla - Anyone rec?
I've passed by this new Indian restaurant (On Yonge at Glencairn), between Lawrence and Eglinton) a million times. It seems much pricier than my usual d/t standbys, but very elegant inside.
I've only received one amazing review about it so far. From a drunk women just outside the door of the restaurant. Anyone else have an non-inebriated opinion of this place?
Ambasaddor - W. Beaver Creek & Hwy 7
Just FYI: beef balls arent suppose to served with "lea + perrins". It is actually a chinese version of worchestershire sauce. It is just easier for most places to break out the English version of the sauce, because it is easier to find.
Also, maybe in he future when you're looking for a dim sum place, you should recite the list of foods you are particularly looking for. It seems most Hong Kong people go to dim sum looking for good tea, steamed dumplings and steamed buns. Almost none order spring rolls and bean sprout chow mein. So, others probably based their recommendations on the all the foods you just did not order.
Malted Milk Powder
Every chinese grocer and large supermarket has Milo and Horlicks.
If you are looking for BREAD baking, then you are probably looking for malted barley powder. This is more difficult to find.
Best Abalone/Shark Fin restaurants?
do you know if they have any smaller sets instead of the full tables?
Sam woo, celestial, and that place in times square used to be good, but I've had some "fishy" smelling sharkfin there, which was also hard to find in the bowl. I don't mind paying more if the dish acutally has alot of high-grade ingredients in it.
Also, know of any places that will prepare expensive ingredients that I bring in?
An elegant Christmas Eve dinner?
You might be outta luck. The only places open on Christmas eve and day, are usually hotel restaurants (lai wah heen, truffles?, westin harbour, azure) and Chinatown. All the independent high-class restaurants are closed on those days, because they want to spend it with family too.
Best Abalone/Shark Fin restaurants?
Which places make the best: abalone, buddha's delight, shark fin, etc?
Know of any places that offer smaller menus for 3-4, instead of a table of 8-10?
Chinatown - Let's seperate the winners from the losers
Kom Jug and Hong fatt: sure it's dirty and full of students/cops, but they make amazing barbeque. Hong fatt for roasted pork and Kom Jug for char siu. They've been in business for over 40 years for a reason...
I really miss the old Sam woo.
Kim Moon is great for all the old style chinese bakery products, not so great for the new hong kong style products.
I would put in a word for the old lady who sells the best curry fish balls in the city (she sells beef and fish balls and nothing else), but she seems to have disappeared from Chinatown center.
Asian legend is good for good clean northern food.
I prefer pho88 for pho and spring rolls, but the rice dishes have gone way down hill lately.
I still have yet to find a place which makes congee like congee wong/queen uptown.
Thai food in the area: not so great. Mainly, because there are no restaurants owned by Thais in the area.
WORST - lee garden. See any asians in there? I don't...
Thats all that comes to mind for now.
Where's the best/cheapest Katsudon in Chiba?
Where's the best/cheapest Katsudon in Chiba?
Also, any other "workman" lunch style places. I'm looking for food 800Yen or less. Chiba and Tokyo.
Friends who just don't understand communal dining
My greatest concern isnt "demanding" people dine the way that I want. I have no qualms with people ordering a dish each of their own. We can even order a duplicate if someone really adores a particular dish. I just HATE seeing food go to waste. Most of the time there are duplicates, no more than 30% each plate gets eaten. The rest is NEVER packed up to go, not even to give to a homeless person. Also, since the dish is obviously "theirs", I can't ask for it to be packed up either. Imagine how a person who loves food feels, sitting there starting at mounds of perfectly good food about to be tossed in the garbage. I don't even mind if they just shared amongst themselves. Just dont waste it! Maybe they just don't see the pros of ordering an assortment, and I want to know how I can break this to them.
All hail Death of CHINA GRILL!
Yep, thats the one. At least, I hope so...
It's such a big place. I wonder if they are going to expand their menu or do something different from the one on Bloor?
