wasabi_girl's Profile
hormone free chickens where to buy?
Thanks for digging up the article...it was a really nice read. They sound like such lovely people. I will pay them a visit very soon. But from the article, it seems they only sell eggs now.
I am a bit confused still... the farmer's name is Clark but their business is called St. Clements? Or are they two different operations? If St. Clements is a different operation, can someone give me their contact info?
hormone free chickens where to buy?
Where exactly is 'Clements Saturday SLM'? And does the proprietor who carry these hormone-free chickens also have other hormone-free, cruelty free meats for sale?
With No Omi what's the best sushi joint?
That would make a great topic for a new thread...Toronto's 'trained' skilled sushi chefs. In Japan, to be a trained sushi chef can take up towards 10 years or more. I honestly don't think there are many of those sushi chefs in this city.
Bangkok Garden .. Thoughts ? Suggestions?
I may be the only one here that actually like the food at Bangkok Garden. I find the food so much better than Golden Thai, which was my 'go to' place in the 90s but it's gone downhill since. It's on the expensive side compared to many cheaper Thai restaurants in Toronto. But I find the food consistent, service is great and the interior beautiful.
With No Omi what's the best sushi joint?
googs - I really don't remember which winter but it definitely wasn't this past winter. I moved back to Toronto in 2005, so either the 05/06 winter or 06/07 winter.
I will consider visiting again once he opens. But I am not sure I can sit through a whole dinner listening to John Lee loudly 'clapping' his hands together EACH time he made nigiri sushi. Both my dinner companion and I found it so annoying.
With No Omi what's the best sushi joint?
T-Long, that's a very good point and may I suggest a third category - AYCE/fast food type. We really can't group the three together as they are all in their own class. Good quality, fresh fish is a limited, perishable commodity and therefore reflected in it's prices.
I saw a TV report on sushi last year. A reporter went into nine or 10 sushi restaurants of varying price points, in one of the larger US cities. His mission was to test how many of these establishments served real tai/red snapper. He took the samples from all these places and had them tested in a lab. If I remember correctly, only three of the 10 served tai, the rest served a cheap 'substitute' in the form of tilapia. When confronted, the waitress brought out her supply of 'tai' in it's frozen vacuum pack like the ones we can find at T&T (made in China). Written on the package, clear as day said 'TILAPIA'. I'm sorry but tilapia is a cheap farmed fish that should only be served fully cooked. We all know vacuum packed fish of any kind is not sushi grade. Sushi grade tai is a relatively expensive fish but many unscrupulous restaurant owners pass along the cheaper, inferior fish to their customers but still charging a premium price. After watching this program, it made me wonder how many of our city's sushi places are doing this. Besides price and deception, what worries me about these places are the customer's health and safety. Sorry about my bias but AYCE patrons, be weary of what you are putting in your mouth.
With No Omi what's the best sushi joint?
Recyclor - I never had a good, firm butterfish (some places refer to this fish as 'white tuna') before. I was never fond of it even before I learned about the digestive problems associated with it. Personally, butterfish is my way to gauge a sushi establishment. I first noticed this fish being served in Toronto perhaps eight to 10 years ago, mostly in Chinese and Korean run sushi restaurants. So far, I have never encountered it at any quality Japanese run place in the city; Zen, Takesushi, Aoyama, Hiro, Kaji to name a few. Now, does that mean something? I am not certain but as one of my Japanese friends told me, her first taste of this mysterious butterfish sushi was in Canada.
Getting back to your question, not sure if there are different grades of butterfish. But with all the articles saying how it gives us stomach problems even when cooked, why would you want to take a risk?
With No Omi what's the best sushi joint?
Thanks for the link. The one and only time I visited Omi was during the winter. And the 'butterfish' he supplied that evening was indeed the inferior, previously frozen type that I described in my above post. I am sure his omakase was great, using high quality items but it's wasn't the case in his a la carte items. Hopefully if he wants to build and maintain his non-omakase customers he will do something about it once he opens shop again.
With No Omi what's the best sushi joint?
I actually agree with skyline; my preference would go to Takesushi. I went to Omi once due to all the great write ups I read on this board. Sadly I was very disappointed. My friend and I wanted to try their a la carte items first and if they were good, would come back for their much talked about omakase. We shared a few dishes from the kitchen which were unmemorable now since we went there a few years ago. However, I do remember we complained at the cost/size ratio. As for sushi, anywhere that serves 'butterfish' (aka as escolar), a fish that gives you gastrointestinal problems isn't a good sign of a quality sushi restaurant. You can find this fish at most AYCE sushi places due to it's low cost. Butterfish is a low quality 'filler' whose flesh absorbs water during the thawing process and releases it like a sponge in your mouth. Quite honestly I don't even think it's a sushi fish in Japan. Anyway, getting back to my Omi experience - what did I find covering 1/3 of my tiny $22 Chirashi sushi box - butterfish! From what I gather, this John Lee only cares about his omakase crowd as that night they all seemed to be enjoying their $75+ meal. If that is the case, I suggest he only concentrate on omakase at his new place because he doesn't seem to care about the quality of his a la carte menu.
matcha green tea powder
No need to apologize, I went to Sanko before reading your message. Thanks for letting me know about Tealish...I will definitely visit them once I finish my supply.
matcha green tea powder
I just went to Sanko two weeks ago and they didn't have matcha powder. They had lots of other green teas and even green tea powder which wasn't the 'matcha' type. T&T also doesn't carry matcha powder at their Cherry Street or Warden/Steeles location. Auberginegal, true matcha is quite expensive even in Japan but it's so concentrated that a little goes a long way. I have still to find it in Toronto and will give some of the listed stores here a try...thanks for the list.
macaron delivery!
Glad to hear you visited the store, it's my favourite cake shop in the city. I personally haven't tried the macarons at La Bamboche because I find macarons in general too sweet. Hope you visit again and try some of their cakes...I recommend the Mont Blanc!
macaron delivery!
Just went on the La Bamboche site and saw lovely macarons being featured. They sell them individually so it just may be something you are looking for. The site also says they just introduced their spring flavours.
www.labamboche.ca
flour cakes and flowers
I agree the store is adorable. But the cupcakes I purchased were getting more and more moist as they were on my counter -- a total of three days. This tells me they use cake mix because cake made from scratch usually forms a dry crust after 24 hours. Also the icing is not real buttercream because it had a gritty texture to it; a sign of icing sugar. But for $2.50 a cupcake, it is 'good value for money' if you don't mind the quality of ingredients.
Best Poutine in Toronto? Anyone?
Took my mom out for Mother's Day at the Rushton. The family shared a bunch of appetizers and the poutine was the first to go. It's not your traditional poutine. The Rushton version is made from home made Yukon gold potatoes, two kinds of melted cheese and topped off with their 'creamy mushrooms'. It has to be the best poutine I have ever tasted. I usually don't like the gravies most restaurants use because they are too salty. But the creamy mushrooms added a delicious earthy flavour which wasn't too 'wet' making the fries all soggy. Also, this dish was made to order; it wasn't sitting around waiting to be ordered.
Cotton candy in Toronto?
How about getting a mini cotton candy making machine for your friend? I saw them used in cake/dessert contests on the Food Network before. They are sold online.
http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=1489&src_t=wnp
I was thinking of buying one for myself because freshly made cotton candy reminds me of my childhood. My mom would take me to this particular department store in Asia where there was a full sized cotton candy machine. I would get up on the stool and spin my own candy 'floss' onto my stick. Great memories! Think I WILL get one!
Mercatto?
Hi Cupcakez, Went to that particular location a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised. The menu choices are limited but all done well. My advice is to not sit too close to the open kitchen as it gets smoky and quite chaotic -- that night the owner was there and kept barking out orders to the kitchen staff. I don't think you need a reservation because we went on a Saturday night and the restaurant was only 70% full. I prefer their food over Terroni any day. Hope this helps.
JS Bonbons is closed!
Thanks for posting that foodyDudey, I didn't have her contact info except for the email address. It might be futile to reach her now since she took the time to shut down her website but not her clients. I understand she closed her business for personal reasons but how difficult was it for her or her shop assistants to send out a mass email and inform us that she will get back to us in the near future to sort things out. Not good for her future business if she does go back into business later on.
JS Bonbons is closed!
Indeed she is...I am finding out the hard way as I registered for one of her classes in June. I tried to contact her via email regarding my class and got no response a few weeks back. And I just went onto her website and it's down. Even though the class was only $60, it would have been the right thing to do and inform us of the business closing and refund our money. But no, she just packed up and ran. How unprofessional!
Chinese Garlic at Loblaws [moved from Ontario board]
I too agree with piggywiggy; tried to look for garlic produced in Canada or the US but couldn't find any at the Loblaws and Super Centers near my home. I find the quality of Chinese garlic very low, they are soft to the touch when in the store and after getting them home they spoil really fast. Usually I use two of the bulbs and throw the rest away because of spoilage. What a waste of money and resources.
50firstdatesguy - congrats on your move back to Japan! You should have no problems finding good local produce in Japan. The farmers there take so much pride in producing the best food they can. I tried to buy local as much as I could when I lived there -- it's expensive but worth it. While in Tokyo, I paid five times the price for Japanese garlic compared to their cheaper Chinese cousins. I found the Japanese garlic stayed fresh longer, in the end it's less expensive because I can use all the bulbs instead of throwing half away.
Birthday cakes from Chinese bakeries [moved from Ontario board]
I think it's 'whipped topping' much like Cool Whip. As you said, those cakes are so cheap so the corners has to be cut somewhere. To make real buttercream is actually quite expensive considering a block of butter is $5 in the GTA.
Cajun Corner Leaving Leslieville
After reading many positive things about the Cajun Corner, it has been on my 'must try' list for over a year. I never made it to their original location due to their early closing hours. But I managed to have dinner at the new location in Leaside this past Saturday.
The positives -- the waiter who looked after the whole restaurant was extremely polite and helpful. The relaxed ambiance, reasonable prices and decent portions.
The negative -- unfortunately was the food. The three of us shared the fried chicken, crawfish, jambalaya, pecan crusted catfish, crawfish etouffee and a side order of corn bread. The fried chicken was sparsely seasoned, bland and dry. It was served with coleslaw which was crisp and had a good balance of acidity. On the same plate as the slaw and chicken were these almost-burnt 'potato chips'. The corn bread was also dry and bland -- didn't taste any corn at all. After Alice Fazooli took their delicious 'crawdads' off their menu, I have been searching for them in the city. Our main draw to CC were their crawfish. The crustaceans were arranged perfectly on a bed of mesclun but again we were disappointed because they very 'fishy' tasting. On the other side of the taste meter was the jambalaya which was extremely salty -- so salty that I had to mention this to the waiter when he came to ask how our dinner was. The etouffee was tasty enough but it was basically a thick sauce sprinkled with a few pieces of green pepper and crawfish served over rice. The only dish we enjoyed was the catfish which was cooked well, the pecan crust was crunchy and the flesh was moist.
Inaho: a pleasant surprise!
I do believe Shogun was referring to fish that is FISHED out of Tokyo Bay. And I agree with Shogun because I was a resident of Tokyo for many years myself. Tsukiji Market is just that, a fish 'market' -- a market that sells fish caught from all over the world. The 'local' fish at Tsukiji are usually caught in the cleaner waters of Hokkaido, Kyushu and not Tokyo Bay.
Shogun said nothing about Inaho being good value for money. So why are you plugging Cafe Michi for it's good deals? And regarding the '5 star authenticity', Shogun was referring to the great Izakaya atmosphere of how the patrons feel welcomed by the proprietors in a cozy atmosphere with feel-good food.
Skyline, you totally misinterpreted Shogun's write up and attacked everything he had to say about Inaho. Why can't everyone on this board give their opinions in a civilized manner?
Best pulled pork?
By sheer coincidence I had the pulled pork sandwich this weekend at Beer Bistro. It was wonderful! The pork was tender and juicy, the coleslaw was tahgy, the bun had good texture and the gouda was sliced thick. All these flavours were making my taste buds happy. The only thing I would change is melting the cheese and having some wet naps on hand since the sandwich is messy to eat.
Midi Bistro (March 08) - A pleasant find!
Hi Ben, I hope you and your wife will give Midi another try. I have been going to this restaurant for many years now and am satisfied with each dining experience. Each time I bring along a new dinner companion they are always impressed with the quality of the food. My most recent visit was last month. I had the spinach and beet salad, moules frites and tarte tartin. My friend also had the mussels and we both commented on how 'plump' and perfectly cooked they were. Through the years the only thing that has gone down is the service. Perhaps they should hire new wait staff?
Guilty Pleasures?
I really miss the fresh hot Krispy Kreme donuts we use to get in the city. When they first opened in Missisauga, I was silly enough to wait in line for three and a half hours during winter to get my KK donut. Now I have to drive all the way to Buffalo to get my fix.
As for my savoury guilty pleasure, it has to be New York fries with lots of salt, hot gravy and mayo...YUM!
Pape/Danforth
Went to the Auld Spot tonight with a friend. I was first made aware of this pub on this board. After looking at their menu and seeing many of my fav pub fare, I wanted to visit and try for myself.
Unfortunately my dinner companion and I were both disappointed with our meal. I started with the soup of the day which was apple and pumpkin. The size was surprisingly generous but was TOO sweet. I am quite certain the chef added sugar to the soup. I was really looking forward my main, the crab mac & cheese. The m&c was really dry but the side salad had a tasty dressing. My friend had a side of onion rings which were quite good and large for $5. He also had the lamb bangers and mash - the bangers were also really dry.
Our conclusion - the service was friendly and attentive, the atmosphere was cozy, the sides were good but the mains were 'nothing to write home about'. Did we catch them on an 'off' night and give them another try?
Best Banana Cream Pie?
The best banana cream pie I tasted in Toronto was at Jump but this was about a year or two ago. Not sure if it's on their menu anymore. But if it is, do give them a try.
Seven Numbers?
My five friends and I were also at the Danforth location last night. I made the reservation before reading these comments and was worried about the 'mediocre' food since I was the one who chose the restaurant.
We all had the 'Family Service' prix fixe dinner. Each person had to pay $27 for this menu which consisted of about five appetizers, three pastas and one main of our choice plus two veggie sides. The portions were quite generous and my friends and I agreed the food was tasty and not bad for a family-style Italian restaurant. I had the 'Sexy Duck' which was a white wine braised duck leg seasoned with rosemary. My other friend had the same and we were both pleasantly surprised, very flavourful and moist. There were five hungry men and myself sharing all the plates and by the end of the night we were stuffed.
Yes, the restaurant was NOISY and the place was packed to the brim. The service was attentive, our waiter was very busy but always checked on us during our meal. I agree with Lazar and will go back again but on a less busy night. It's not a bad place for a casual gathering with descent food and prices.
A pick-up dessert in the Hw7+Leslie area?
Just an FYI - the woman who makes the cakes at Le Papillon took some classes with a French pasty chef, she, herself did not train in France.
The cakes are impressive for Chinese-run patisseries in the GTA. They actually use kirsch cherries in their Black Forest Cake instead of the red-coloured-jello-cherry-substitute that most Chinese cake shops use. What is jello doing in the center of a cake?!
I find their cakes French-inspired featuring 90% mousse-based and tweaked for the Asian palate. Not truly 'French' pastries made with rich creams, flaky-buttery cake bases.
