Italian Food

I have no idea where this is from since someone else did the ordering online. 

Pappardelle alla trattoria

Very well seasoned and cooked. I was surprised at the amount they gave each of us for take-out. I enjoyed the abundant amount of cherry tomatoes in my aluminium foil container. I was also pleased that the food was still warm when it was delivered. 

Felicia's gnocchi was exceptionally good. It had the right amount of density to it, and was also massively proportioned. It probably could have been four meals for her easily.

Would I get it again? Sure, if I ever figure out what the name of the place is.

Total damage: $8.90-something + tax + tip.

Kyu Shou

Kyu Shou Japanese Noodle House (4733 Steeles Avenue East, Scarborough, Ontario)

416-609-1819

Another trip to Kyu Shou in Scarborough.

I got the pork neck in pork bone soup ramen. 

I still think the bak choy in ramen is a bit odd. The meat was pretty awesome. It was so tender and so crispy on the outside. As for the broth, there wasn't much pork bone flavour this time. 

According to Renée and Simon, they always play Korean concert videos on the TV screen. It's entertaining to make comments about their styles and watch the Korean pop stars dance.

Would I return? That meat was pretty good. And I could afford the meal on a budget of $9 in my wallet.

Total damage: $5.99 + tax + tip.

Cafeteria breakfast

Bacon egg McMuffin imitator, one order of sausages, and an apple juice.

The sausages had a weird casing that felt like I was trying to bite my way through wax paper. They didn't have the added honey, nor were they extremely salty. Though the bacon was acceptably crispy, I prefer sausage egg McMuffins from McDevil to the  imitation sandwich I had because the cylindrical egg makes it fit so much better in the English muffin and gives it more height at McD's. That's even considering the fact that the imitation sandwich had better cheese. 

Would I get it again? I'd more likely just go to McDonald's because it's comfort breakfast food. 

Total damage: approximately $5. 

Waterloo Wheat

I was a fan of Waterloo Dark, so I thought I'd give Waterloo Wheat a try.

I definitely tasted the wheat, and the drink wasn't bad in general. There was a good flavour that wasn't too overbearing. 

Would I get it again? I might, but my local liquor store doesn't always have them in stock. Also, I kind of like the warthog logo. 

McDonald's Coffee

McDonald's coffee is free until November 28.

It actually tastes okay, but it did nothing for me in terms of keeping me awake. The minute I finished the coffee, I passed out. They might water it down for the promotion. Or maybe it was decaf! :o

Good Taste Shanghai

Good Taste Shanghai (505 Highway 7 East, Markham, Ontario)
905-370-6868

Some sort of soup noodles

Xiao long bao - steamed pork dumplings with soup inside.

I really enjoy the amount of soup in each of the dumplings. The skin was pretty thin, too. 

Deep fried bun

The outside was so deliciously crispy. For this type of bun, the inside will have strand-like pieces that you can play with if you wanted to. It's like of like the bun form of cheesestrings. The translucency from the oil that seeped a bit into the inside dough was a bit scary though. 

Fried potsticker dumplings

These were very good. No complaints. Crispy underside and juicy, meaty interior can do no wrong.

Sesame-filled glutinous rice balls in rice wine broth.

I think this is our favourite dish from this restaurant. We get it every time and make sure we don't over-order just so that we leave room for it. The broth is a nice combination of sour from the rice wine and sweetness. The owner commented that we really know how to order. 

Would I return? Yes. They make some of our favourite dishes, when the owner is there he jokes around with us, and they gave us a coupon for a free order of steamed dumplings the next time we go so we can't not use it. The place looks nice, and the prices are reasonable, too.

Total damage: approximately $10 per person. (There were three of us.)

Tofurky

Saw this in the frozen section of Metro:

Me: Tofurky??!

Jess: Sounds like a swear word.

Ha ha! Yes, it does. I might just use it as such. I just thought the name was amusing so I took a picture. I didn't actually buy it.

Ehwa

Ehwa Pear Blossom (5182 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)
416-229-6719‎

Another trip to Ehwa. Secret Korean menu alcohol special is a must for our group. 

This time, we started with the Jinro soju with our secret Korean alcohol special.

Matching shot glass completes the look.

Complimentary appetizers include mashed potato chunk that looks like a scoop of ice cream, fries, and fish cakes in broth. 

Complimentary corn

 The chicken cutlet that we chose as the food to come with our alcohol.

There were more pieces before the picture was taken. The cutlet was crispy and pretty okay tasting.

For the next Korean special, we decided to go for the five domestic beers...

... and chicken skewers.

Pretty decent. The mushrooms were nice and turgid.

Would I return? Yes. The atmosphere is comfortable, the decor is nice, and it's fun to watch (and sometimes make fun of) the Korean music videos playing on the multiple flat screen TVs on the walls. The food isn't bad, the Korean alcohol specials are fun, and there are a lot of complimentary dishes that are different from other nearby Korean restaurants. 

Total damage: again, I can't remember... $30-$40 for my halves of the Korean secret menu specials?

Breakfast Burrito

Breakfast Burrito

Andrew had this great idea of breakfast burritos, and since the vegetables were already cut up from when he made them, I had to make them as well.

Sausages, scrambled eggs, red peppers, onions, spinach, and salsa!

I was too lazy to remove the sausage casings. 

I had to toast the wrap too, just for kicks. 

Result: satisfying and filling breakfast. My only issue was with the salsa. It was a bit watery, and made my perfectly crafted burrito leak. Andrew solved this problem the next day by straining the salsa before adding it in. 

Much thanks to Andrew for supplying the pre-cut vegetables and kitchen! 

Baldwin Palace

Baldwin Palace (1 Baldwin Street, Toronto)
416-593-4788

This place offers cheap Chinese lunch meals near Chinatown.

Ma po tofu rice

Can't really complain. The portion is large, the price is student, and the food is decent enough. 

Would I return? Sure. It wasn't particularly busy during lunchtime on a weekday, and it's probably one of the cheaper options in the immediate vicinity.

Total damage: $5.50 + tax + tip. 

Twister

Twister (5586 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)
416-225-2465
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 2 p.m. - 4 a.m.
Fri, Sat, and holidays 2 p.m. - 6 a.m.

We didn't really eat here. We mostly just drank beer and sang. Beers were all $5 (domestic and imported). 

The people here are super friendly. The beer orders came within seconds of ordering them. It's useful to know that the last call for alcohol is 2 a.m. 

Would I return? Yes. The room and drinks aren't super rip-off, and the people who work there were extremely friendly. Oh, and I was pretty amused when a staff member exclaimed, "See you tomorrow!" as we left.

Total damage: For the four of us, the room on a Friday was $25/hr. I don't know how many hours we spent, or how many beers we drank, but the total came up to $220 or so. 

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's pie

By Andrew

I liked the golden brown potato top. Cheers to pies with meat and potatoes!

Phoenix

Phoenix Restaurant (8190 Bayview Avenue, Thornhill, Ontario)

905-886-1113

Jess's thick toast.

I think this is number 1 on the afternoon tea menu.

It was okay. Definitely filling. 

Would I return? Probably. The Jess and Josie like the strong milk tea that they have there. 

Total damage: I can't remember.

Jos Louis Bar

Jos Louis bars

I'm not a fan of the packaging that tries to be cool. 

 Who's that guy? 

 Tastes like a regular Jos Louis... but without the thicker chocolate aggregations at the sides. 

It also has some chocolate filling in addition to the trademark white cream inside. It made it a bit too sweet for me. I think I prefer the original ones better, or at least the half-sized moons when I'm on a diet. 

Hosu

Hosu (254 Queen Street West, Toronto)
416-848-9456

Complimentary appetizers.

Spider roll: soft shell crab roll.

The deep-fried crab was super crispy. Renée and I were actually only expecting 6-8 pieces, and not the 10 that we received.

140. Teriyaki chicken and shrimp tempura bento box.

The batter on the shrimp tempura was super thick and crunchy. The tempura sauce was actually served to our table warm. There were two layers of chicken that I thought was cooked pretty well. The bed of raw bean sprouts under it wasn't that appealing though. Neither me nor Renée could finish our bento boxes. We both ate less than half the box and only two pieces each of the spider roll. We weren't expecting the monstrous proportions that we were given. 

Would I return? Yes, when I'm very hungry. The prices are decent, and the quality isn't bad. The place isn't super fancy, and it was comfortable enough for me to bring my backpack into. 

Total damage: $17-something. 

Ramune Drink

Ramune

A trip to Galleria, the Korean grocery store, resulted in the purchase of some fun drinks. There's a glass ball inside it!!!

Ramune drink in orange and melon flavours

It's sort of exciting having to work for your carbonated drink.

The glass ball is so random, but pretty exciting. You actually have to push it down from the top with the plunger-type thing before you can see it in the bottle. The drink itself tastes like carbonated melon. Sweet!

Total damage: free for me thanks to Simon (and Renée)!

Sausage and Beans

Made by Andrew.

The sausage was very salty - even for me. But it was super juicy. 

Nak Won

Nak Won (5594 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)
416-590-1435

This place was pretty busy on the Friday night that we went. The bench at the front was lined with people waiting for tables. Luckily, the line moved pretty quickly. 

Domestic beer: $3.50 each.

Complimentary appetizers

The dressing on the salad tasted a bit like tartar sauce.

Beef broth soup.

This tasted like water. There was absolutely no flavour in it. When Jo tried it, she thought it tasted like they had forgotten to add the msg. 

The beef chunks in the soup weren't any better.

The meat was incredibly difficult to chew. It was like trying to eat rubber. It didn't taste like much either.

Would I return? I'm not sure. The soup that I ordered really was almost uneatable, and I felt pretty ripped off. Jess said that's what the authentic ones taste like... like nothing. I might go again and try the pork bone soup since Jess thought that was okay.

Total damage: $13.50 for a beer and the beef soup.

Etsu

Etsu (45 Baldwin Street, Toronto)
416-850-4200

I forgot what I ordered and thought this stone bowl was mine, but it wasn't.

My spicy pork meal

The spicy pork wasn't bad. It had good texture. The noodles and tofu were tasty. 

Melon

The warm sake they had there was quite nice. 

Would I return? Sure. It was good enough, and the place is nicely decorated. The large tables makes it feel like speed dating.

Total damage: $10-$15 for my spicy pork meal.