Homecookwil's Profile
Where to buy skirt steak
St. James Town Steak and Chop and Norfoods are great. If not, try Whole Foods. (how can St. Lawrence not have it?!)
Soma on Queen East
Oops. I thought you mean SOMA Chocolatier.in the Distillery district. (anyways, if you like, check it out. It's worth the ride)
Soma on Queen East
Great to hear someone is venturing into the chocolatier gem inside the Distillery District. They make their own chocolate in the little "chocolate factory" inside. Quality is the concern here. Exceptional hot chocolate... with just enough liquid to make the drink "drinkable"...very dark, with a strong hint of chili... smoky and not too sweet.
Truffles/ bonbons are on the pricier side. (compared to JS BonBons) . But again, the variation counts,. Flavors like Extra Virgin Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar may sound odd to you, but you'll fall in love with the chocolate and well, the whole place. (Staff are knowledgable and extremely nice). One more thing... If you want to buy cocoa nibs for cooking/ baking, ask them, they may not have in on shelf, but you ask them, they'll get them for you!
Quick and cheap dinner around Eaton Centre
TERRONI on Victoria and (I believe) Queen East. (southeast corner of Eaton Center on Queen). Careful you may miss it. The place is not always lit up, but once you see the big sign on the door it's hard to miss. Great pizza there. Careful not to order too much food. Portions are pretty big.
best eat in Toronto ?
Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar has a great atmosphere. Terroni (various locations) has pretty good Italian food, especially its thin-crust pizza. Thuet has a wonderful choices on Brunch (so does Hothouse Cafe). Pho Hung (on Spadina) for Rare Beef Vietnamese Pho. Future Bakery (on Spadina and Bloor) has great selections on cakes. And that little joint in the basement of St. Lawrence Market... that sells excellent quality Veal and Eggplant sandwiches. Make sure to ask for the bun instead of focaccia. (and extra sauce)
Thuet - WTF?
It's not about high/low revenue tables. I've been there twice about a year ago, and it remains one of the best in Toronto. Service could be a little slow in peak hours, but like you said, it's not always packed. Brunch could be a little slow as well. But trust me the food is absolutely worth it. (By the way, the guy at the bakery is super-nice. He'll tell you what's good, and in the most honest way, and not so good... )Fantastic service on that part!
Kensington Organic Ice Cream location?
Even though I moved back to Toronto a few months ago. I miss the icecream at Kensington Market Organic Icecream...(well maybe also because I worked there two summers ago). The owner has moved the scoop shop near Queen West and Palmeston. There are probably going to be new flavor additions too, but the favorites-- rose petal vanilla and Lavender Blueberry will stay!
My Favorites in Hong Kong (would like to hear yours too)
I recently celebrated my birthday at INCONTRO in Tsim Sha Tsui. It's an Italian place with great food. We skipped the wine (but later discovered the wine list is a good one). Calamari, Orecchiette (with anchovies) and risotto are great.
Fu Ji Fan Dian offers a twist in Chinese cuisine. Golden prawns are butterflied, deep fried and tossed in the wok with mashed salted duck egg yolks. The golden morsels spell "cholestrol" but they are worth every bite. Steamed crab on glutinous rice and ice chilled eels are also great dishes.
Japanese curry- How to...up a notch?
I agree with coconut milk. But if you can find cream of coconut (comes in a small slab)... it's actually mashed up coconut in a slab. You can cut out a piece and mix it with boiling water and add it to the curry to build up the consistency. I have always done that with my Japanese curry. Otherwise, strained yogurt (if it's not too much work) would do just fine.
