Phoenix Restaurant

Phoenix Restaurant (8190 Bayview Avenue, Thornhill, Ontario)

905-886-1113

Satay beef sandwich

I just wanted a light snack instead of a full second dinner. Jo and Renée laughed at me when I ordered it. Jo said it sounded like something I would make. Maybe that's why I liked it. It tastes like... meat that belongs on rice but is stuck between two pieces of white bread. Works for me! Beef was flavourful (not necessarily very satay) and not overcooked.

Jo ordered a way fancier course meal:

It started with a warm, toasted, buttered to the max mini croissant and spinach soup. Jo pointed out the fancy sprinkling of herbs that we wouldn't have expected from a place like this.

Next was the escargots that came on puffs of mashed potato. I'm pretty sure they were from a can, but at least they were full of garlic flavour. 

Jo's main course was fried chicken Japanese style.

That chicken was good. And there was so much. Jo kept cutting pieces and shoving it at my plate. 

Dessert was also more than expected. The presentation was nice, and Jo and I both thought she'd simply get a bowl of ice cream. The middle ball is a frozen cream puff. The cube on the right is frozen cheesecake. It was a little too frozen to eat immediately.

Would I return? Sure. Where else can I get things like satay beef sandwich? Their milk tea is also decent. Their thick toasts also look pretty exciting as I saw one go by us.

Total damage: $7 for my milk tea and sandwich. Jo's meal was something like $16 + tax + tip.

Cheesecake

Me and Amanda's joint birthday cake! (Because we both have sucky birth dates!)

Made by Bianca because she is awesome. It was a marble cheesecake (so fancy!), I believe, with dark chocolate. The bottom was made of graham cracker. It was very impressive and professional looking!

There were two waffle As on top, but I forgot to take a picture before Amanda and I both took them.

Yay for yummy cake and friends to eat it with! Major props to Bianca for crafting it!

Lead Free Eggs

Kuang Yu preserved duck eggs...

Note that it says "lead free" in the top right hand corner. Does this mean that the other brands have lead in them? I didn't buy this, but I guess if I were looking for preserved duck eggs, I would get the lead free kind.

Leslie Cafe

Leslie Cafe (140 Ravel Road, Toronto, Ontario)
416-493-4933

Renée wanted some cheapo morning congee. Before 11:30 a.m. (I think... can't remember if it was 11:30 or 12:30) on a weekday, this place has some pretty cheap combos. 

Combos come with a drink, and I almost always get milk tea nowadays.

Rice noodle rolls and fried dough sticks.

Renée's meal.

Would I return? Yes. Food is super cheap and student friendly. It's not gourmet, but you get what you pay for. Congee is super plain (I don't even think there was msg), fried dough sticks aren't super fresh, and rice noodle rolls could've used some sauce. But you know... cheap and filling. It can be satisfying in the morning, and it was good enough for me. I'm pretty sure Renée and I could've split one combo as neither of us could finish our meals. That would have been ridiculously cheap.

Total damage: $4.50

12 o'lunch

12 o'lunch (177 Dundas Street West, Toronto)

416-913-0200

Normally, you go up to the front to order before you take a seat; however, we were a large group that made reservations and they were kind enough to accommodate us and take our orders from the table.

The decor has got the inside looking like outside thing going on.

I got the Buffalo Grilled ($8.41).

Chicken was spicy and very flavourful. It wasn't dried out, which is always a good thing. There was a small mound of jap chae. Looking over at someone else's bulgogi beef order, I felt slightly better about my serving of chicken. Rice could have been fluffier, but it was acceptable.

Would I return? I wouldn't mind. Nothing really blew me away, but nothing was terribly off. I'd say it's a good place for relatively quick Korean food outside of Koreatown. Portions are a little smaller than what I'm used to, but that might've been because it was lunch time. Lunch prices are about average. Service is accommodating. 

Ichiban

Ichiban Sushi (262 Queens Quay West, Toronto)
416-204-1799

Kirin beer

This visit was back when I was still trying to find Asahi Black again. The server did not know such a beer existed (sad face). So then I went with Kirin. I wanted to try it since the last Kirin I had was skunky and gross. It wasn't bad. I'm going to have to have a day where I sample all the popular Japanese beers in a row so I know which one I like best. 

Random mini noodle soup thing!

Tastes like umami. 

No tomatoes in salad, but they do have the dressing I've come to expect and like in sushi restaurants.

The tempura that came with my tempura udon was crispy and quite flaky.

Udon noodles were very filling. That was a pretty big bowl, even for me.

Would I return? I don't have a reason not to. Can't really complain about the food, but it's hard to mess up udon and shrimp tempura. Heck, it's hard to mess up anything deep-fried. Was a little disappointed that our server didn't know that Asahi Black existed, but at least she knows now. There are many other locations that would make this a convenient place for sushi/udon cravings. Price is about average.

Total damage: approximately $20 for Kirin + tempura udon.

Beer Bottles

Wow, this blog has been sort of World of Neglect recently... food stuffs to come!

Pastel

Pastel Creperie and Dessert House (5417 Yonge Street, Willowdale, Ontario)

I could have sworn that I posted about this place before (and how its parking looks complicated and how Jo thought the apple tart looked awesome), but I can't seem to find the post... [Edit: found it.]

Pistachio cheesecake ($4.99)

It's simply decorated with chocolate sauce. It wasn't as pistachio-y as I thought it'd be, but the cheesecake was good consistency. Jo and Renée couldn't taste the pistachio at all, but they thought it was a good cheesecake.

Hazelnut mousse cake ($4.99)

This cake was way more exciting. The candied nutty sides were fancy and delicious. The mousse wasn't too heavy or sweet. There were two layers inside. The little chocolate slice on top has the name Rahier.

Would I return? Yes. This place feels very clean and comfortable with high ceilings. The staff is super polite. Most of the cakes look really fancy. The only thing is that Jo found their coffee tasteless. I can't remember which cake I had on my last visit, but I remember liking that one too.