Casa Manila (Toronto)

Just a quick photo roundup of my visit to Casa Manila in Toronto with my family. This was my first Filipino food experience and though for the most part the dishes were similar to other southeast Asian cuisine, I enjoyed it tremendously. I particularly liked the desserts, particularly the Halo Halo and the Buko Pandan, which were uniquely Filipino and absolutely delicious.

Mango Salad

Peanut Beef and Vegetable Stew

Garlic Chicken

Crispy Pork Belly

Coconut and Ginger Shrimp

Boneless Milk Fish

Halo Halo EspesyalFruits and beans, custard with shaved ice, topped with ube ice cream 

Buko Pandan
Young coconut meat mixed with pandan gelatin, cream 

Torta Trina
Cake topped with creamy egg custard

Restaurant info:
Casa Manila
879 York Mills Rd, Toronto, ON M3B1Y5
(416) 443-9654
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Kekou (Toronto)

My friend Lisa has never given me a bad recommendation, so when she raved about Kekou, a relatively new gelato place in Toronto, I already knew it would be solid. What's different about Kekou is that the flavors are unique and Asian-inspired, like Jasmine Tea, Peanut Sesame, Strawberry Lychee, and even Durian! Customers are free to sample any flavor they wish. In addition, everything is made fresh in house, with natural ingredients and is completely free of preservatives and additives.

Menu at Kekou (changes daily)

Kekou

On my first visit to Kekou I tried the Peanut Sesame and Ginger Milk flavors. The very next day I brought my sister along and I tried the Black Sesame, Vanilla Lotus, and Green Bean Coconut. Being the snob that I am when it comes to frozen treats, I have to say that I LOVED Kekou, not just for its exotic flavors but also the freshness of the gelato. For someone who has pooh-poohed the majority of ice cream and gelato shops, Kekou undeniably gets two thumbs up from me! The only drawback is that Kekou is closed for the winter season and will reopen in the spring, and I can't wait 'til I can go back there again!

Peanut Sesame and Ginger Milk Gelato

Black Sesame, Vanilla Lotus, and Green Bean Coconut Gelato

Restaurant Info:
Kekou Gelato House
13 Baldwin Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1L1
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Hibiscus Café (Toronto)

While in Toronto this past summer I met up with some friends in the Kensington Market area where we had lunch at Hibicus, a cozy cafe specializing in gluten-free, casual vegetarian fare.

The main feature at Hibicus are the buckwheat crêpes, with several mouthwatering options for savory and sweet crêpes. It wasn't an easy decision to choose just one, and in the end I decided to sample one with pears, pecan, and chutney, with spinach and cheese on the inside. It was as delicious as it sounds.

Buckwheat Crêpe with Pears, Pecan, and Cutney

For dessert, Hibiscus offers cookies, brownies, and an interesting selection of non-diary ice cream with flavors like chai, ginger, and black sesame. Highly recommended!

Restaurant info:
Hibiscus Café
238 Augusta Ave, Toronto, ON
(416)364-6183
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Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant (Toronto)

My trip to Toronto late in the summer coincided with a visit from some relatives from overseas, and one night we all went out to Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant in the suburbs of Toronto, right on the border between Scarborough and Markham. Known for its giant lobsters and king crab, it hadn't dawned on me just how much of a buzz Fishman had generated until I witnessed the line to the restaurant going far out the door on this rainy Wednesday evening—and this was before Andrew Zimmern declared Fishman "the best Hong Kong-style seafood restaurant in North America." (Do check out Zimmern's article—especially the photo of the giant lobster tower!)

The restaurant space is large and its walls are lined with giant aquariums that housed the live giant lobsters, giant king crabs, and giant fish. All dishes are served family-style, of course. We had a lobster tower of our own, though not quite as giant as the one in Zimmern's photo. The lobster was served with tiny, crunchy fried fish. We also had a king crab that was served two different ways—in a fried rice and steamed with egg whites and salted eggs. Each guest is given a pair of disposable plastic gloves so we can annihilate our crustacean feed with a tiny bit of civility. We topped our feast off with a steamed bass and a chicken dish. In all, our meal that was meant for 3-4 people came to about $50 per person for our group of seven, and we took home tons of leftovers and with very satisfied bellies.

Best Hong Kong-style seafood restaurant in North America indeed.

Lobster tower

Lobster

Tiny fish served with lobster

King Crab

Steamed crab with egg whites and salty egg

Crab fried rice

Steamed bass

Chicken

Restaurant info:
Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant
680 Silver Star Boulevard, Toronto, ON M1V 4S5
(416)321-0250
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JaBistro (Toronto)

Late in the summer I took my semi-annual trip to Toronto. As usual, I ate my way around the city like nobody's business. On my very first night back home I had dinner with my family downtown at JaBistro. Although JaBistro is the sister restaurant to Guu Izakaya, Guu Sakabar, and Kinton Ramen, it is decidedly far more upscale in atmosphere.

My brother had been the only one in the group to have visited JaBistro before so he was made responsible for choosing the dishes for our family style feast, and as such I really can't name what all we ate that night, except to say that everything was fantastic. I will just let my copious photos (I did say "feast," didn't I?) do the rest of the talking.

Restaurant Info:
JaBistro
222 Richmond St W, Toronto, ON M5V1W4
(647)748-0222
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Kinton Ramen (Toronto)

There seems to me to be a global ramen craze going on these days.  Ramen, a traditional homemade noodle dish often found in casual settings like izakayas and noodle bars in Japan, is popping up everywhere these days. In just the past few months, Toronto has seen the opening of several restaurants dedicated to ramen, and they are always jam packed.

I visited Kinton Ramen for a late lunch one day. Unlike Momofuku, which I would categorize as Asian-inspired, Kinton Ramen is very authentic. The atmosphere is izakaya-like, where the staff shouts what sounds to me like "irashaimase" ("welcome" in Japanese) any time a new patrons enter. (The same folks own Guu Izakaya.)  The space at Kinton Ramen is long and narrow.  I nabbed a seat overlooking the open kitchen, which is always a fun spot to be.

Ramen chef delivers a bowl from the open kitchen

I decided to try a Miso Ramen, made with soybean paste, bean sprout, scallion, corn, and garlic oil.  It comes with the customer's choice of either pork shoulder or pork belly; I selected the pork shoulder based on the waiter's recommendation.  You can also choose the richness of the broth, from light to regular to rich (rich for me).

For $9.50, this ramen is quite a bit less pricey than Momofuku's.  The pork was juicy and flavorful and the fresh noodles were excellent as well.  I felt the broth was a bit more bland compared to Momofuku's, however.

Miso Ramen with Pork Shoulder ($9.50)

On the whole, it was a pretty decent bowl of ramen for under $10, and now my interest in ramen is officially piqued.  On my next visit to Toronto I will have to check out a couple more of the newest ramen bars in town.

Restaurant info:
Kinton Ramen
51 Baldwin St, Toronto, ON M5T 1Y9
(647)748-8900
On the web: http://kintonramen.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kintonramen
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/KintonRamen


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Harbour Sixty (Toronto)

Harbour Sixty

Harbour Sixty, located at 60 Harbour Street in downtown Toronto, is one of my all-time favorite restaurants.  It must have been about 15 years or so ago that I first discovered it - and I don't remember how - but I do remember it was a time in my life when I was quite a huge fan of steaks, and Harbour Sixty was where I devoured the best steak of my young life.

Over the years, I have been back on occasion while in town - the price point does make it a bit out of reach to visit too frequently - but I have made a point to return when my belly craves a good steak.

I had been thinking I was due for an outing to Harbour Sixty when I heard that the building it is housed in has been sold and the fate of the restaurant is uncertain. It's hard for me to imagine that Harbour Sixty might close...but I sure wasn't going to risk never dining there ever again! So I made immediate plans for dinner at Harbour Sixty.

My last visit had been six years prior, but Harbour Sixty was every bit the same as I remembered.  The atmosphere screams old world extravagance, the service impeccably professional.  At Harbour Sixty, I feel like I'm getting a taste of what it's like to be a rich lady.

And, the place was packed, too.  My two-day advanced reservation got us in at a very late 9:00 pm on a Thursday night.

Although Harbour Sixty serves other items, our party was there for steak, priced at around $51-61 per serving, depending on cut and size. One thing to note about the steaks at Harbour Sixty is that they do not come with sides.  Instead, sharable sides are ordered separately.  The steak is truly all about the steak.

I opted for the Ribeye, cooked to a perfect medium rare.  The slightly charred skin housed a piece of meat that was tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. Every bite was chock full of flavor. The quality of the steak at Harbour Sixty was every bit the same as I remembered.

Ribeye ($58)

My brother and his girlfriend split a Double Porterhouse, which looks and tastes all kinds of amazing.

Double Porterhouse ($125)

Although we are not big eaters, and the steaks were plenty to fill us up, we couldn't resist ordering a side of the Lobster Mashed Potatoes, which taste as incredible as it sounds.  This ended up being a big hit.

Lobster Mashed Potatoes ($15)

I was glad to have the opportunity for my favorite steak again.  Even R., who is not much of a steak eater, enjoyed his meal quite a bit.

I should note that this particular visit to Harbour Sixty took place on December 20, 2012 - the day before the supposed "end of the world." And if the world had truly ended on December 21, I would have been supremely pleased with my choice of Harbour Sixty as my last meal on earth.

Restaurant info:
Harbour Sixty Steak House
60 Harbour St, Toronto, ON M5J 1B7
(416)777-2111
On the web: http://www.harboursixty.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Harbour-Sixty-Steakhouse/421863527876150?fref=ts


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Sukho Thai (Toronto)

We met up with some long time friends during our trip to Toronto. Knowing that I keep a wishlist of Toronto restaurants to try, my friends graciously let me pick the dinner venue.  (Yes, I have very good friends.) Since we all love Thai food, I thought we might check out the new Sukho Thai location on Wellington St.  I had not been to Sukho Thai, but my visit to its sister restaurant, Khao San Road, had been hugely positive, so I was looking forward to some excellent food on this outing.

Sukho Thai had opened its second location here just two weeks prior to our visit, and that may have explained some of the initial chaos we experienced: Despite having a reservation, we had a rather lengthy wait behind patrons who did not have reservations, and the six of us had to squeeze into a table meant for four.

That made eating family-style...interesting.

But all was forgiven when the food arrived, because it was simply superb.  Sukho Thai's menu features a modest selection of classic, authentic Northern Thai dishes that are all specialties of the chef-owner, Nuit Regular, who has been cooking since she was a little girl growing up in Chiang Mai.  Every dish we had was rich, flavorful, and steps ahead of similar dishes at other Thai restaurants. At Sukho Thai, you get the feeling that every dish has been carefully prepared to perfection with TLC.  At Sukho Thai, you get the feeling you're eating in Thailand.

So although space was a bit tight, we all had VERY happy stomachs that night.  Here are the dishes we shared:

Spring Rolls:

Spring Rolls
Crispy vegetarian rolls with glass noodles, mushrooms, carrots and beansprouts. Served
with home-made sweet and sour, garlic sauce

Sukhothai Pad Thai:

Sukhothai Pad Thai
A Northern Thai version of the Pad Thai

Khao Soi:

Khao Soi

Yellow noodles in curry gravy with green onions, coriander, and a light, crispy

noodle topping.  We had it with beef.

Gaeng Panang:

Gaeng Panang

Panang curry with kaffir lime leaves, basil leaves, red and green pepers, and coconut milk.

We had this with chicken.

Gaeng Masaman:

Gaeng Masaman
Masaman curry with peanuts, potatoes, onions, shallots, coconut milk, and tamarind sauce..

Gaeng Garee:

Gaeng Garee
Yellow curry with potatoes and coconut milk. We had shrimp with this.

In the end, a fun evening with good friends and good food is an excellent evening.  If you were to ask me to recommend just one Thai restaurant in Toronto, my recommendation would be Sukho Thai, without a doubt.

Restaurant info:
Sukho Thai
52 Wellington St E, Toronto, ON M5E 1C9
(647)351-4612
On the web: http://www.sukhothaifood.ca/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/sukhoTHAI/144219518954287


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