Village By the Grange Food

Village By the Grange (Dundas Street West and St. Patrick Street, Toronto)

At the corner of Dundas West and St. Patrick to about McCaul, there's a small food court that has a pretty good variety of food. It may look a little old, but it definitely has character and some family run options that you wouldn't find in other food courts.

Monique got this hearty breakfast meal for lunch from Karine's.

There was fruit, there was meat and eggs, there were potatoes, and there was toast. All for about $6. She would've saved $1 if she had eaten there instead of getting take-out. I think they're green or something. They advertise various vegan options as well. 

Amanda got her spinach pie and salad from the Greek place for under $10.

I went to Red Red Noodles where the guy had great customer service. I like this place because they sometimes give you a large chunk of dragon fruit. It seems random though, as they don't always have it.

I got the one with BBQ pork and chicken, and a spring roll. You can get it on noodles too. The optional spicy sauce was no joke. You can see the pepper flakes and seeds in the picture, and I thought my mouth was going to explode. Bianca tried some, thinking I was being a wuss, and she had to cool her tongue with peanut butter and crackers. She looked like she was in pain. The food was decent. I like their chicken and their sauce is on fire!!! The meal was about $7. 

Chicken katsu from Sakura ($6.75)

That sauce is awesome. Always say yes to the sauce. I like their salad dressing, and I also like that I got two large pieces of chicken katsu. 

Would I return? To Village by the Grange? Sure. There's no reason not to. It has many options, from Greek to Chinese to vegan to Japanese, and it also has a McDonald's for familiar fast food convenience. Also, it's just too easy to find a filling meal there for under $10 - great for students. 

Warning: The simply titled Tasty Chinese Food joint at the corner may have cheap food, but it gave two people diarrhoea. 

Manpuku

Manpuku (105 McCaul Street, Toronto)

416-979-6763

info@manpuku.ca

Hours: 

Mon - Wed 11:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Thurs - Fri 11:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Sat 12 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Weird. I thought I posted about Manpuku before, but I guess not. 

Hidden away in a corner of the Village by the Grange food court, there's a small Japanese restaurant with actual Japanese-speaking staff. This place isn't all about sushi or teriyaki. Instead, you might find more commonplace Japanese cuisine, including a succinct selection of rice and noodle dishes.

I wanted Asahi black at the time, but they didn't have any so I tried some Takara Can Chu-Hi grapefruit flavoured. It tasted like grapefruit cooler. Yum!

It wasn't cheap though at about $8.

Takoyaki ($4.99)

They make it fresh so it takes a little while. I wasn't crazy about it as the batter seemed a little thick,  the octopus bits a little small, and it didn't have a crunchy outside.

Cake ($3.99)!

It was a simple cake, drizzled in honey with green tea powder sprinkled on top. Dana asked if the green tea powder was what made it Asian, and we haven't stopped making fun of her since.

Black sesame ice cream

Would I return?
I already have a few times. They have reasonable prices for food, and most of the food is full of umami.

Thanks to Derek and Bianca for supplying most of the pics!

CAKE!

I can't count how many times a week I have random cake cravings. 

Amanda was nice enough to share her birthday cake with me.

If I remember correctly, it was some sort of chocolate hazelnut concoction with some phyllo pastry layers. It satisfied my cake cravings for that week.

Another one of my cake cravings got me to buy this cake from Loblaws.

It didn't look as nice as the LaRocca cakes, but it was cheaper by about $2. It says that it's made with cream, which makes me wonder what other cakes are made with... 

The cake pretty much looks like it does on the cover picture.

The inside looks a bit more mauled, possibly because of my rushed cutting.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this cake. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much, but it was chocolatey and not diabetically sweet. The chocolate cream layers were a nice offset to the cakey layers, which could have been slightly more moist. But you know... CAKE! 

Total damage: $13.99 + tax for my whole cake.

Cheers to Amanda for sharing! 

Anoush Shawarma & Falafel

Anoush Shawarma & Falafel (250 Dundas Street West, Toronto)

416-204-1680

I haven't stopped eating; I've just been too busy to post. So here's a quick wrap!

Chicken shawarma, complete with bright pink, pickled vegetables inside. It was filling, no doubt about that. It would've come with a free drink had I gone with my student card, but I had Monique pick it up for me so I lose. There was a good amount of chicken and sauce in there. Tasted good overall, despite the fact that by the time I got to it, it was cold.

Would I return? Sure! It's cheap, filling, and quick. Tastes alright too. 

Total damage: $5.