Egg Salad Bread

I had some leftover fried onions and garlic, and put them in my egg salad mix. 

It looked kind of gross, but Jo said that it tasted gourmet. To be honest, I just didn't want to have two bowls of things in the fridge. Worked for me, haha! The onions added a sweet yet savoury flavour to the tangy egg salad.

Chinese Dumpling House

Chinese Dumpling House (505 Highway 7 East, Thornhill, Ontario)

905-881-1238

Hot and sour soup

Some sort of choy

Fried green onion pancake

I think I remember it being very disgustingly oily. The one I had at the Metro Square location was better.

Pan-fried dumplings. Click on the picture to see if you can find a black hair on one of the dumplings.

I haven't had noticeable hair in my food for a looooooong time. I kind of like how they all stick together and have to be separated like perforated stamps. It's different than the pan-fried dumplings at the Chinese Dumpling House at Metro Square.

Beef noodles in soup.

Steamed dumplings.

Would I return? Honestly, this visit was from so long ago that I don't really remember how the food quality was (outside of the visible hair in my dumpling). I'd probably sooner go to the Metro Square location though.

Ichiban

Ichiban Sushi House (5095 Yonge Street, Empress Walk, North York, Ontario)

416-222-4646

Hours:

11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m. daily

They validate parking for 2 hours (underground Hillcrest Avenue entrance). 

Salad and miso soup.

I like that salad dressing they use. Good miso flavour in the soup.

Salmon sushi tower ($9.95)

This was pretty good. Jo said the edamame beans threw her off. I liked the combination of flavours, but agreed with her on the edamame. The differently coloured tobiko was cool, and both Jo and I found the non-orange ones more exciting. The rice was a bit dry.

Hae dup bap ($11.95).

When the description said "vegetables", I didn't realize it meant salad. I really didn't know what to do with rice and salad and spicy sauce. Jo used the spicy sauce on her California rolls and seemed to like that. The salad had some oil in it so it wasn't plain raw salad. There was one weed-like vegetable in the farm mix of leaves that tasted scratchy and bitter. There was honestly way too much salad. The fish was okay and came in a good amount. The rice was dry and kind of gross.  Jo noted that the rice was dry in her sushi as well, so maybe it was just a bad day for rice all around at this place.

Would I return? Sure. The place was pretty lively when we got there on Friday night, and the food is okay. 

Random

Jo urged me to try this cracker combo.

It's PC Blue Menu Ancient Grains crackers with Miracle Whip and shredded dried pork. Works for me! The shredded meat adds the salty meaty flavour, and the fake mayonnaise adds the slightly sour tang and acts as glue to the cracker. Good combination.

She also offered me some PC sparkling apple juice, which tasted pretty good.

Cheers to Jo for food sharing!

Tsuki Izakaya

Izakaya Tsuki (5182 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

416-229-6719

Tsuki don.

This was way huger than I expected. It's most likely meant to be shared, but I had it all to myself. I mean, I tried to eat it all myself. There's a good amount of sashimi and plenty of avacado in it. I appreciated the pink roe on top. My one gripe was that some of the sashimi pieces were rather tough to chew in an unpleasant way. I finished everything but the last bite because I was just too full. 

Would I return? Sure. I'm starting to find out what's worth ordering, and what isn't. The Tsuki don is good if you just want something to fill up on, as some of the other items can be rather cute in size. Service is good and polite. 

Total damage: $30 for my Tsuki don and half a pitcher of Sapporo. 

Chipotle's

Chipotle Mexican Grill (3232 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario)

Chicken burrito.

The sour cream got all melty. The burrito was so packed and filling that I couldn't finish it. I should have ordered a fajita, even though they're no longer on the overhead menus.

Would I return? Sure, but I'd probably skip the sour cream that made everything melty. It's filling, but pales in comparison to the Chipotle's burritos that I've had in the States. The line is monstrous and can extend past the front doors during lunch time on weekdays, but it moves quickly. 

Total damage: $11.26 for my burrito and soft drink.

Sushi Bong

Sushi Bong (5 Northtown Way, North York, Ontario)

416-227-0022

Dynamite roll and rainbow roll.

The dynamite roll is way more exciting than the rainbow roll. It's giant, has good crunchy shrimp tempura in it, and it's very filling. Casey noted that the salmon on the rainbow roll was cooked as if it were smoked salmon or something of the like. The fish doesn't seem super high quality.

Would I return? Yeah. The prices have gone up a bit since the last time I was there, but the dynamite roll is still a pretty good deal. And at the rare times where there aren't people lining up for take-out, you can get your food pretty quickly. Their name is pretty novel. too.

Total damage: a bit under $20.

Koala Cookies

Cheesecake flavoured koala cookies

Same cute prints as the chocolate version with a different filling. Jo said that the inside tasted like white chocolate with a weird aftertaste. I have to agree with her. Casey thought that they tasted like cheesecake, until he hit the aftertaste as well. 

Cheers to Jo for sharing!

All Star Wings

All Star Wings and Ribs (10520 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario)

905-737-4917

Hours:

Mon - Thurs 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Fri 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

Sat 4 p.m. - 2 a.m.

Sun 12 p.m. - 1 a .m.

Spicy lemon wings

Picture by Andrea.

It had a pretty strong flavour, more spicy than it was lemon. The wings weren't bad; they had a good amount of meat on 'em.

This place has a ridiculous number of TVs hanging all around. In fact, the face of the person facing me was framed by TVs. It's good for watching sports games or being distracted. 

The annoying thing about the menu is that it lists all of the wing flavours without providing descriptions. Some are self-explanatory, but some are so unguessable that you'd have to ask the server what's in them. 

Would I return? Sure.

Total damage: $13 for my wings.

Drinks Drinks

I think the Brut is my favourite from Korbel. It's got that champagne fizziness, and it's sweet, but not tooth-achingly so. 

It's also fairly cheap and tasty for fizzy wine.

Steam Whistle has a bitterness to it that might take some getting used to. It's light, and has a bit of an earthy taste to it. As I sit here drinking it (after a couple screwdrivers), it's not bad. I can see how it can be refreshing on a hot summer day. I'm still a fan of darker ales, but it isn't bad. 

Total damage: free for me thanks to Casey (for sharing the Korbel) and Jess (for sharing the Steam Whistle)! Cheers!