Eskimo Ice Fruit House

Eskimo Ice Fruit House
It's around here on Dundas Street West, Toronto.

Braised beef and rice

Approximately $8. The beef was a rather dried out, and the rice seemed undercooked. It was mildly spicy. I think the fried chicken that other people had might have been a better choice. Yay to cucumber slices though. It came with a milk tea that tasted rather watered down to me. 

The first time I walked in, I noticed their desserts.

So I got the pistachio crunch business.

And I liked it. There was a special that offered a cake and a plain milk tea that totalled about $6.

It's a decent deal. The milk tea was again weak for my liking. 

Amanda really enjoyed her cookie crunch cake.

Bianca got the caramel latte mini cake.

Would I return? Maybe... the food wasn't great, but their cakes are okay - as they should be since they're La Rocca. It's a relatively quiet place to hang out, and it has some board games you can play - though we did not play them.

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! 

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!

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. 

Cake

Sheila was kind enough to save me some of her giant cupcake from the wedding. Unlike the smaller cupcakes which were lemon and taro flavoured, this one was of the black sesame variety.

The cake was really soft and moist, and spotted with black sesame. I also tasted a bit of coconut in there. 

Cheers to friends that share cake! 

Capriccio Café

Capriccio Café (5379 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

647-351-5550

info@capricciocafe.ca

Hours: 

Mon - Sat: 10 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sundays and holidays: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Chocolate cheesecake, cappuccino cheesecake, cappuccino daquoise (Dufflet), vanilla cheesecake, passion fruit something (Dufflet), red velvet cheesecake.

Casey originally wanted to get 4 cheesecakes, one of each of the varieties available. He changed his mind when he was told that there was no tax (tax included) if he purchased any six mini cakes. Unfortunately, they didn't have larger versions of those particular cheesecakes. Simon and Renée preferred the Dufflet cakes over the other ones and were least impressed with the red velvet cheesecake. Out of the cheesecakes, the chocolate one was most intense. The order of cake eating from lightest tasting to strongest tasting (after Simon had tried them all first) was like so: red velvet cheesecake, vanilla cheesecake, cappuccino daquoise, passon fruit something (?), cappuccino cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake. 

The passion fruit cake had very fruity flavours coming off the outer layer. I quite liked the intensity of the cappuccino and chocolate cheesecakes. The meringue part of the cappuccino daquoise was quite nice as well. I found the vanilla cheesecake to be softer than the others. It was more creamy, but I kind of liked that. Actually, I'm suddenly reminded of the cheese pies I had in Montreal at Rockaberry... great, now I'm craving something I can't get in Toronto. 

Would I return? Sure. The mini cakes are cool, and I'm still a fan of the cheesecakes. I also have random cake cravings that this place would satisfy.

Total damage: free for me thanks to Casey!

Capriccio

Capriccio Café (5379 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

647-351-5550

info@capricciocafe.ca

Hours:

Mon - Sat 10 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sun 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Cappuccino cheesecake ($4.50)

Very dense, and it had an intense coffee taste to it. I liked it, but I think I prefer the chocolate cheesecake.  Most of their cakes are from Dufflet, and I now suspect that the ones that aren't are from Pauline's. I don't know who Pauline is, but from my experience in the past, she makes damn good cheesecakes. That is, if this is the same Pauline that I'm thinking of. Why do I suspect Pauline to be the mystery cake supplier? Well, I saw a truck with her logo parked outside Capriccio one day.

Would I return? Yup. This cafe is comfortable, I like the cheesecakes, and the staff is quite pleasant.

Café Aries

Aries Café (5322 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

416-226-5434

I'm actually not sure whether this place is called Aries Café or if it's called Café Aries. The sign is a bit confusing. 

This Korean-owned cafe is decorated in a fun way with balloons on the ceiling. I kind of like the environment it creates. There are coffee and cake combos, but not with the hazelnut coffee I ordered.

Hazelnut coffee with cappuccino cake.

The coffee didn't really have that super strong hazelnut flavour that I get from the instant kind at the grocery store, but it was maybe a little too subtle. The cake slice was a bit small. The cream was more of a mousse, and the flavour was really light. The top had a clear, shiny, glaze over it. The cake had that not-so-sweet Asian dessert feel to it. Makes sense since this is Koreatown after all. 

Dolo's cheesecake.

It had a homemade taste to it. I thought it was nice, but Dolo prefers denser cheesecake. It also had the clear, shiny glaze over it.

Would I return? I might. It seems like a good, relaxed environment to sit and talk over coffee. The prices aren't ridiculous, and the cakes were okay enough. I actually read that the ginger tea was supposed to be pretty potent, so I might go back to try that.

Total damage: approximately $5-6 for my cake and coffee.

Caffé Demetré

Caffé Demetré (100 York Boulevard, Richmond Hill, Ontario)
905-881-8406
Hours:
Monday-Thursday 2 p.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Friday & Saturday 2 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.
Sunday 2 p.m. - 11:30 p.m



I was craving cake for a week before we finally went and got some. 

Tiramisu cheesecake.

Cheesecake part is nice and dense. Tiramisu part is more like vanilla, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I liked the top cocoa part bit. Jo wasn't a fan of the crunchy outside. 

Chocolate cake.

Warmed up, it was pretty nice. It made it softer and meltier. This cake was also dense, and I liked the crunchy chocolate cookie bits on the bottom outside. It was sweet, but not as sweet as it looks. 

In the end, Jo and I had trouble finishing these two slices of cake. 

Would I return? Yes. When it's not overcrowded, it's a pretty relaxed place to hang out and eat cake. 

Total damage: free for me thanks to Josie!

Check out Professor Crunchy's post.

Capriccio

Capriccio Café (5379 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

647-351-5550

info@capricciocafe.ca

Hours:

Mon - Sat 10 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

Sun 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Red velvet cheesecake and chocolate cheesecake.

Dorothy liked the density of her red velvet cheesecake. I tried a bit of hers and it was delicious. The frosting was also cream cheesy. My chocolate cheesecake was also dense. The top and bottom section blended into one in my mouth. There was a slight tartness to mine as well. 

Would I return? Yes. The gentleman who greeted us was very friendly. Though there were a variety of Dufflet cakes to choose from, we went with the Capriccio marked cakes that seemed better decorated. The environment is very comfortable and clean looking. The walls are decorated with different plates, tea pots, and mugs in a very homestyle yet pretty kind of way. There was a steady stream of mellow pop music playing in the background (e.g. James Blunt, Jason Mraz). There weren't many cake options left at late weekday hour we went at, but there were enough for us to have to think about it. This place also offers gelato and Dorothy mentioned that the chocolate gelato looked very chocolatey. I liked the cake I ordered, but the coffee seemed a little weak. 

Total damage: free for me thanks to Dorothy! Cheers!

L'Opéra

L'Opéra (5291 Yonge Street, North York, Ontario)

416-733-8830

The first thing I thought when I walked into this cafe was "date night". It has that dim lighting, comfortable atmosphere thing going for it and judging by the patrons that night, it works. 

Clockwise from top left: lychee mango cake, tiramisu, cheese pie.

The mango mousse was really light, but flavourful. The tiramisu might have been missing some liquor-soaked biscuits. The cheese pie tasted like creamy cheesecake, but not as creamy as the cheese pie I had in Montreal. (Hm, that reminds me...) It didn't have sauce on display, but the options were some sort of berry sauce or chocolate. I asked to verify that I'd get chocolate but that was the only sauce I was offered anyway. 

Cappuccino

The cappuccino was very fragrant and milky. 

Mocha drink

James's drink looked very pretty. 

Would I return? Yes. The desserts were tasty. I don't know if they were authentically French, but I liked them. They seemed more like French desserts modified for Asian taste buds. It makes sense since the cafe sits in the heart of Koreatown North. I like the effort in the frothy swirls of the warm drinks.

Total damage: approximately $7-something for my cheese pie and cappuccino.

William's Coffee Pub

William's Coffee Pub (10909 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario)
905 780-6338

Oreo cheesecake

It was pretty damn good. It had a nice, creamy texture. I convinced others at my table to want one after letting them try mine.

Total damage: a bit more than $5.

Le Cafe Michi

Le Café Michi (1802 Pharmacy Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario)
416-490-9688

This restaurant was recommended by fellow food bloggers Professor Crunchy and Team Fatty so naturally I was anticipating a good experience at Le Cafe Michi. With that trust in mind, I ordered the omakase ($55). So exciting! No thinking and different dishes of the chef's selection come out one after the other. If I wanted to choose though, there's a small photo album with pictures of most of the set meals.

Green tea.

The other meals on the same page of the menu have either refillable green tea or coffee as a drink option, but the omakase comes with both. I quite like the cute little saucer that the cup sits on. The tea itself was a bit too light for me.

Dish 1.

The plate is cute and reminds me of a painter's palette. The squid on the left is cooked in such a way that it tastes raw. It's pretty cool. I like the sauces that they use for the squid and the vegetables in the centre. The middle bit tastes like Chinese choy. The beans on the right are sweet and can be the giant, tougher cousins to red beans.

Dish 2.

The nut bits are sweet and crunchy. The shrimp is full of awesome savoury flavour. Those are my two favourite parts of the salad.

Dish 3 and 4.

The steamed egg on the left has lots of stuff. There's even eel hidden near the bottom. Josie thought that it could have come in a smaller portion. The fried rectangular prism is crunchy on the outside, and really creamy on the inside. It tastes of seafood filling.

Dish 5.

The sashimi is really fresh. I'm surprised at raw shrimp and scallop. The one thing I don't like is the texture of the tuna. It's weirdly chewy, as if it was cut the wrong way.

Dish 6.

By this time, I'm already pretty full; however, the plate looks so exciting, I don't care. There are no cheap California roll fillers here. There's a three-piece egg and eel maki and three pieces of raw scallop maki. The raw one is more exciting. There's pink tuna belly nigri on the left, and also salmon roe and uni (sea urchin) pieces on the right. The uni is soft and kind of melts in my mouth. It's a lot less grainy than when I had it fresh out of the shell in Las Vegas. Josie said that she would've liked it to taste more like the sea. I live in Toronto, so I know that I don't want any of my food tasting like it came from Lake Ontario. The salmon roe nigri was the most exciting one for me. The little balls burst with salty flavour when I bite into them. 

Coffee.

Goes great with the cake.

Lemon cheesecake.

It's light and has a distinct lemon taste. It has a slight gelatin composition. I'd say it's pretty satisfying after the whole meal.

Total damage for my omakase: $73.

That's it for my meal. Here are what my buddies ate:

Casey's Cafe au lait chirashi.

Under all that raw fish goodness is a bed of rice, and hidden underneath that is some cooked eel.

Renée's cooked eel omelette on rice.

I'm sure that's not what it's called, but that's what it looks like. There seems to be quite a bit of eel in it.

Simon's meal.

I actually do not know what he ordered other than it was a fully cooked dish. 

Renée's green tea crème brûlée.

It sounds like it's fun to crack. The crème part is indeed very creamy. It looked a bit like Ninja Turtle ooze though.

Casey's green tea and red bean cake.

Josie's English trifle. 

Jess had something with too many blueberries on it, so I didn't take a picture.

There was also chocolate mousse sake cake, but I was pretty full. I guess I'll have to save it for next time.

Would I go back? Didn't I just indirectly say I would? The fish is fresh, everything is well presented, and I like how a slice of cake is included in the price as if everyone should always have cake after their meal. (There are à la carte options and other meal options that do not include cake, but the cakes sit tauntingly behind glass right when you walk in the restaurant.) This has been one of the more spectacular places that I've eaten at in a while. I'd definitely go back to try more cake and maybe some plum wine, and to just enjoy well-made and well-prepared food. My bank account will yell at me, but I won't care!

DELICIOUSNESS!

Cupcakes!

Chocolate Cupcakes

A fine summer day last year, I was craving baked goods. Dorothy had been wanting to make cupcakes. Naturally, we teamed up and set a date for cupcake day!

There are recipes aplenty online, but we decided to go with this one for chocolate cupcakes.

Ingredients:

3/4 Cups unsweetened dutch process cocoa powder (or regular cocoa powder)
3/4 Cups hot water
3 Cups all purpose flower
1 tsp baking soda
1 heaping tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
A generous splash of vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Directions:

Preheat your over to 350 degrees. Beat together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and powder, and salt until well combined.
Melt butter and sugar together in a saucepan over low-medium heat until smooth. Once smooth, transfer to mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add cocoa and mix. Add vanilla and mix well. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture. Don't over mix! Now pour cupcakes into the cupcake tins and pop your chocolate cupcakes in the oven. Bake for around 20 minutes, rotating pan at the halfway mark.

So Dorothy came by with her giant bags of baking materials and ingredients. The loot bag also had cupcake liners! What!

The actual carby part was pretty good. It had a soft, cake-like consistency and didn't taste dry. The pre-frosted cupcakes were mildly chocolatey without being cavity-causing sweet.

We also made cream cheese frosting using this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

The first attempt came out a bit odd.

The little dollops seemed cute.

Then Dorothy busted out the sprinkles and decorative candies. 

I wanted to make one with stripes, but it ended up looking like it was Flounder inspired.

Dorothy's take home tray looked pretty.

(A good chunk of the photos were taken by Dolo so thanks to her and her camera. Also a big thanks to her cupcake materials and ingredients, herself and Andrea for making cupcake day possible!)


EDIT: I forgot to note that we completely forgot to add the sour cream. Though it was listed in the ingredients, it wasn't mentioned at all in the directions. Oh well!