Category Archives: Reviews

Ryoji: Ramen is so hot right now

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ryoji

In the last six months, Toronto has seen a surge of new ramen establishments open their doors. For me, it’s been a welcome occurrence since I adore noodle soups of all kinds with ramen being no exception. My hubby and I haven’t completed the full circuit and visited them all yet, but so far, Ryoji Ramen & Izakaya has taken its place as one of our favourite restaurants in the city… and has become a staple place we go to on a regular basis. The establishment itself is a part of the larger Japanese-based Okinawa business founded by Ryoji Kinjo in 1988. Toronto is the first to have a location outside of Japan.

So why do we love it so much. Three main reasons:

  1. The atmosphere is fantastic. Fun, eclectic, well-designed, and spacious. There is a dining nook to suit every preference – communal harvest table dining, smaller two or four tops, bar-side under a swath of colourful ryuku glass lights, or comfy lounge-style by a wall of lamps. What’s also great is that compared to many of its ramen counterparts, it’s relatively large and doesn’t require the same kind of lining-up and waiting that many of the other ones do. Not to say I wouldn’t wait in line, I would and do, but sometimes, I like being able to walk in and get seated relatively quickly.
  2. One word: Ai. Our favourite server… and so far, the only server we’ve ever had (by our request). We love her. She’s an absolute darling – attentive, helpful, knowledgeable, and sweet. She’s my favourite. I’ve told her so.
  3. The food. It’s Okinawa-style ramen and food and it’s delicious.

This last time we went, we ordered a couple of starters: takoyaki (a snack that wraps minced or diced octopus in deep fried wheat flour), the daily sashimi, and sea bass miso yaki (grilled sea bass).

The takoyaki is a no brainer for us. Topped with takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, seaweed, pickled daikon strips, and bonito shavings – the ball-shaped snacks are delicious. Careful when taking your first bite. They’re hot.

takoyaki

The daily sashimi this time was salmon, tuna, and mackerel. It always comes with three dipping options: a soy mousse, cracked pepper and salt, and a sweet miso sauce. Combined with the fresh daikon and watercress, the bite-sized morsels of fish have incredible flavour. Continue reading →

Best home-cooked Caribbean in Southwestern Ontario

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This weekend, my man and I had the surprising opportunity to have one of the best, if not the best, Caribbean meal we’ve ever had. We were on our way out of the city for the weekend and decided to stop over in Guelph, Ontario for lunch. We had mad cravings for Caribbean doubles, and so, I decided to run a quick online search for a good Caribbean restaurant in the area.

Caribbean Cuisine

The first option that came up was “Guelph’s Caribbean Cuisine”, a small local restaurant in the heart of Guelph that had great ratings on TripAdvisor. The fabulous voice on the other end of my follow-up call confirmed that although they normally weren’t open on weekends, the jazz festival going on in the city meant that they would be open that afternoon. What luck!

We and our rumbling bellies arrived less than an hour later to a hearty welcome by the owners. After scouring the menu board, we both decided on a roti each, and for me (after a frantic search for my double until my fiancé kindly pointed it out: “double ——– $1.95″), I ordered one of those too.

Continue reading →

Japadog: A different kind of streetmeat

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We were in Vancouver last week, and one of the places we had heard a lot about that we were excited to try was JAPADOG. Japadog was originally started by Japanese businessman, Noriki Tamura (田村　徳樹), in 2005 as a way to get around Vancouver’s strict street meat regulations that only allow hot dogs to be sold as street food. Tamura had wanted to introduce a unique variety of Japanese street food to Vancouver, and so created Japadog: Japanese-inspired street meat using a variety of ingredients including seaweed, bonito flakes, edamame, fried cabbage and more.

Each location features a different menu. Below is a portion of the menu from the original cart at Burrard and Smithe Street: Continue reading →

Golden Regency Restaurant

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My girlfriend and I recently stopped by the Golden Regency Restaurant at Pacific Mall for dim sum. The restaurant was bustling with people when we and our growling bellies arrived – which is always a good sign.

We were immediately seated, and quickly got our order in of many of our favorite dim sum dishes. Before long, the dishes started to arrive and soon our small two-person table was overflowing with food: pan-fried turnip cakes, steamed beef balls, an assortment of dumplings, steamed sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, Chinese donuts wrapped in rice noodles, egg tarts, and mango pudding. Everything was fantastic.

Then came another dim sum cart. The kindly lady offered us a selection of other delicious looking desserts. Despite our full bellies and the food laden table, we agreed to try a new dish we’d never heard of before: a green tea pancake.

This pancake is the reason I decided to write this post. It is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten – and almost rivals the incredible cat fish that once took my breath away in Reykjavik, Iceland. At first, the flavour is moderately sweet, with a subtle hint of green tea in a bean filling. All of this encased in a sesame-covered, pan-fried glutinous rice cake. However, a few moments after your first bite, the fuller aroma hits you. A beautiful, floral flavouring that lingers in your mouth. Delicate, aromatic, and delicious.

If you have the chance to visit The Golden Regency Restaurant, I highly recommend you try this dessert. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever eaten.

The Golden Regency Restaurant is located at:
4300 Steeles Ave E
Markham, ON L3R 0Y5
(905) 948-8811

Dumpling House

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The Dumpling House (Photo credits: Vivian Chan)

The Dumpling House is an unassuming little establishment on the main drag of Chinatown in Toronto on Spadina Avenue. In the restaurant-front window, there are always 3 or 4 men and women making the dumplings: one manning the stove, another mixing the different fillings, and another one or two kneading the dough and rolling out perfectly circular dumpling skins. It’s probably for this reason that from the first time I walked past The Dumpling House, I’ve wanted to go in. There’s nothing like seeing what you’re going to eat made fresh before your eyes… and I suppose it helps that I love dumplings.

Recently, my fiancé and I paid The Dumpling House a visit. I was immediately surprised by how clean and vibrant the interior was. The service was also fantastic. Within seconds, we were seated with menus and steaming tea before us. Being newbies with empty stomachs, we naively ordered two steaming hot bowls of hot and sour soup (as you may know, an old favorite of mine) as well as two plates of dumplings – one pan fried, and the other steamed. Being in an adventuresome mood, we opted for 3 different types of dumplings for each plate (pork and chive, lamb meat, seafood, minced beef, mushroom and vegetables, and I believe the shrimp & pork). Continue reading →

Parts & Labour: Parkdale’s hottest new spot

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Photo credit: © Vivian Chan

(Originally posted on reKalibrate.com)

Last night was the grand opening of Parkdale’s highly anticipated new restaurant, Parts & Labour. Just down the street from Cowbell, Mitzi’s Sister, and the ever delightful Local Kitchen. The restaurant was renovated from an old hardware store, and a lot of the decor keeps that legacy in mind. An entryway that is lined with old car windshields, bar stools that look like huge springs, lights reminiscent of old fire extinguishers, and bar shelving that is styled like those that would be found in a garage. I love that. And it’s something the owners have a knack for doing very well, as we’ve seen in the other hot spots they’ve created: The Social, Oddfellows, and who could forget their flagship industrial design studio, Castor Design.

Continue reading →

Bæjarins bestu pylsur: Best hot dogs in Iceland… possibly the world?

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(Originally posted on reKalibrate.com)

Despite its beautiful waterfalls, powerful geysurs, clear glacial water, and delectable local cuisine – one of the most popular stops for locals to visit in around Reykjavik is Bæjarins bestu pylsur: a hot dog stand close to the harbour.

We biked past the stand on our bike tour of Reykjavik, and I couldn’t help but notice the ever-growing long line-up of people at this quaint little red and white stand on the edge of what looked like a parking lot. “What’s going on there?”, I asked our guide. Turned out she was stopping already to talk to us about the stand… Iceland’s best hot dogs, hailed by some as being also the best in Europe. She encouraged us to try it later in our stay.

For my boyfriend and I – myself being an avid street meat adorer – “later” meant the moment the bike tour was over 15 minutes later. We slipped into line, observing the flip-flopped feet of the young man standing infront of us. The temperature outside was probably around 5C, but it was a sunny day. Practically summer! It was just like my hometown in Alberta after a long winter, we commented. Within minutes, the line behind us had already doubled. Definitely a popular place.

The hot dogs come with fried onions, regular onions, ketchup, mustard, and bearnaise sauce (a special Icelandic version of mayonnaise, but with a lot more kick and flavour). Apparantly, on a visit by then-President, Bill Clinton, he had come and had a hot dog with just mustard. Today, you can get a “Clinton” with the same – just mustard. We asked for everything on our hot dogs.

First bite: incredible. In my opinion, it’s all in the crunch of the deep-fried onions and the flavor of the bearnaise sauce. I devoured my hot dog and wanted a second. A part of me immediately wished we had a Bæjarins bestu in Canada… but then again, it’s likely better we didn’t. Knowing myself, I wouldn’t hesitate in going daily. I was too young to suffer a heart attack. Then again, at least I’d die a happy woman.

Terrible. But if you’re ever in Iceland, definitely take the time to pay a visit to Bæjarins bestu. The hot dogs are fantastic. Just don’t have too many.