Lei Yue Mun Steam Hot Pot

Lei Yue Mun Steam Hot Pot is a somewhat specialized steam hot pot place that gives one the opportunity of using herbal soups as a base for an amazing night of hot pot.  We ordered the 7 people special and due to the size of our group, we were given 2 different tables.  By giving us 2 tables, we opted for a soup base which we went with a simple pork and tomato and potato soup as our base and a congee on the other end.

Condiments

One thing this restaurant specializes is that the staff actually prepares the hot pot dinner for you and before your eyes.  You will hear timers and bell chiming throughout the night as waiters and waitresses are running from table to table assisting customers with their food.  We had ordered the seafood steam pot menu which included oysters, shrimp, abalone, clams and one whole lobster. 

Vegetables

There were also plenty of vegetables including mushrooms, greens, zucchinis and corn.  The staff cooked the meals in all preset times and would remove them off the platter when they were ready to be eaten.  There were also 6 different types of spices and condiments in addition to the soya sauce that could be used to your food. 

Seafood

Tomato Soup

I have to admit that most of the seafood was pretty fresh.  The abalone was maybe the only disappointment of the night where it might have been slightly overcooked as the meat was a bit chewy on our end.  Otherwise, for about $40 per person, the rest of the night was pretty filling and satisfying. 

Lobster, Abalone, Oysters

Dessert

The really satisfying part of the evening was the end where the soup that had been used to steam the food was richly mixed together and really washed the rest of the food down.  It was very simple yet so good.  Although the price may have been slightly on the higher end, it was in the end somewhat reasonable given the types of food that we had.  One table beside us did order the herbal soup base where we could tell that it too was quite satisfying and enlightening to that table. In the end, it was a pretty satisfying night.  We also had a 10% discount card from one of our friends which made it more enjoyable.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.  

Lei Yue Mun Steam Hot Pot

240 Alton Towers Circle #110

Scarborough, Ontario

(416) 412-1688

El Catrin

Inside the heart of Toronto’s Distillery District is a restaurant that boasts one of the best guacamole dishes in the world.  Hearing that we decided to pay El Catrin a visit to see what it was all about. 

My family of three including myself ventured down there during the Christmas time to check out Santa and of course this restaurant out.  We got there just before noon hour and we were very happy that we had done so.  We had no troubles getting a table however just minutes after the noon hour, the place was lined up all the way outside the door. 

Guacamole En La Mesa

We decided to get a little bit of everything which included at least a regular portion of the Guacamole En La Mesa to share, my young daughter had the Pescaditos ($9) off the kids menu, the wife had the Comida Corrada combo ($16.95) which she chose the Baja Tacos as the entrée and yours truly went with the Pastor Tacos. ($15.95)

Pescaditos

For starters, the Guacamole En La Mesa lived up to its name.  The waiter would come right to your table and mix a large bowl of avocado, chili, onions, cilantro and tomatoes right before your eyes. The mixture had a big of zangy taste to it and tingled on your mouth like no other guacamole sauce I have ever tasted before and if you ever run out of chips, they will bring you extra free of charge. 

Baja Tacos

Our entrees came next and personally I enjoyed the Pastor Tacos more so that than the Baja Tacos.  The baja tacos consisted mostly of battered cod mixed with coleslaw. The interior of the tacos was cold and for me it just didn’t have enough taste to it.  The whole taco was somewhat dry and there was little to no sauce in it.  Truthfully it tasted quite bland.  There was lots of coleslaw in it, maybe too much which totally overwhelmed the taco.  My Pastor fared better where the marinated pork, pineapples and red onions provided a unique zing to the taco and made the taco more juicer and more savory.  It was warm to hot and in my mind much more enjoyable.

Pastor Tacos

We were pretty full when we were finished even with the disappointment of the baja tacos.  It’s possible that the cod baja tacos were not as enjoyable since it was a cold December afternoon and eating cold food was  just not as appealing.  Not sure.  However, if one wanted to come down for happy hour and just have chips and guacamole, the price is reasonable and you surely won’t be disappointed.  Looking around, every, and I mean every table had ordered at least one regular size guacamole dip which showed how much this one appetizer was adored around there.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5. 

El Catrin

18 Tank House Lane/55 Mill Street

Toronto, Ontario

 416-203-2121

Royale Fine DIning Banquet

Royale Fine Dining Banquet is one of the newer banquet restaurants that have opened up in Scarborough.  The restaurant occupies a space that once housed a buffet restaurant and is grand enough to host many large parties including weddings and birthday parties.

We were there for a birthday party and decided to go with their 10-course $640.00 meal.  It’s a course that is similar to many of the typical 10 courses meals which often includes roasted pork, lobster, chicken, rice, fish, and crab claws. 

Shark Fin Soup

Crab Claws with Roasted Almonds

 Rather than go through each dish one by one, I will just comment on a couple of my more favorite dishes of the evening and make comment on one dish where I thought it could have used some improvements. 

My favorite dish of the evening had to have been the Crab Claw sprinkled with Roasted Almonds.  The almonds were roasted with a definitive aroma and covered the entire crab claw.  The presentation itself was interesting in that a large piece of ginger was placed in the centre of the dish.  What made this dish so good was that the almond had enhanced the flavor of the crab claws even more.  It gave the crab meat texture and taste as opposed to many of their competitors where it is just crab meat and nothing more.  That “crunchiness” made it that much more unique and made this dish a more desirable dish to have.

Scallops with Vegetables

Steamed Fish

Another dish I really enjoyed was actually the last meals of the night which were the rice and noodles.  I know one would say what a silly thing to say but despite the slight increase in oiliness in both the rice and the noodles, they both tasted pretty good and far better than some of their competitors.  The noodles were actually immersed in some sort of soup base while the rice had contained green onions, seeds, mango strips and Chinese sausages.  Both were uniquely made and although these two dishes are often left as an after thought after a ten course meal, both these dishes actually stood out for me to the point where seconds and thirds were attempted.

Stir Fried Lobster

Chicken

The one dish that I thought could have used a bit more creativity was the Roasted Chicken.  This dish in my mind was poorly presented where the chicken only occupied half the plate, the meat was quite dry, and there were no sauces to dip the meat in.  I actually found it difficult to meat as the pieces and the meat was at a minimal and in some cases, some pieces contained more bone than meat.  It did not provide much taste and in my mind was probably the worse dish of the evening. 

Rice

Noodles

Dessert

Overall the rest of the dishes were decent and acceptable.  There were no spectacular dishes other than the two that I had mentioned earlier.  The price was acceptable as it covered ten people per table and included gratuity.  The price also included pop and drinks.  It would be a good place to host a wedding although it was a little troubling to see it somewhat quiet on a Saturday evening.  Overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5. 

Royale Fine Dining Banquet

648 Silver Star Blvd

Scarborough, Ontario

416-299-0928

Elegance Chinese Cuisine

When one sees the name Elegance Chinese Cuisine, one expects to walk into a restaurant full of elegance, otherwise why own a name like that?  We went there on a weeknight and naturally it was probably a little bit more quiet than usual.  There were only ten tables that I could see that were occupied so finding a seat that evening wasn’t a problem at all.

Peking Duck

We wanted to try some of their more delicate dishes so we went with their Peking Duck skin and wrap, A Stir Fried Lobster with Ginger, Steamed Baby Bok Choys and Shrimp Mixed with Tofu and Egg White Sauce.

Diced Peking Duck with Wraps

 Traditionally the Peking Duck will always arrive first as they will skin the duck in front of you and that it is often used as an appetizer  The duck skin was crispy and the duck meat was marinated well and had just the right amount of fat in it.  The wraps were hot and plentiful as no extra wraps were needed.

Stir Fried Lobster

The rest of the duck meat was diced and brought back out so that it could be used as the main ingredient for the wraps.  The tradition use of hoisin sauce and green onions along with their cabbage wraps made this a much more enjoyable dish to have.    

Shrimp Mixed with Tofu and Egg White Sauce

The lobster was comparable to its competitors.  The meat was tender and the sauce was able to penetrate into the meat making all the lobster meat succulent and delicious. 

The two vegetable and fungi dishes were simple, tasty and were a good compliment with all the meat dishes that we had ordered that evening.  Despite the amount of egg white sauce in the latter dish, the shrimp remained tender and fresh.     

Baby Bok Choy

Overall, the dishes were all pretty good.  The dishes were fresh, colorful and plentiful to go all the way around.  Staff was always by our side although that could have been the fact that it was a quiet weeknight at the restaurant.   Prices were reasonable for the quality of the food that was presented. Dim sum I’m told is pretty good here so the next time I visit, we will try some dim sum at this place and report back to you.  Dinner overall was satisfactory with plenty of smiles all around the table. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.

Elegance Chinese Cuisine

20 Gibson Drive

Markham, Ontario

Jacob's Steakhouse

So what is the big deal about Jacob's Steakhouse.  Well to coin a phrase from the Toronto soccer team a while back, it's a bloody big deal.  This clubhouse boasts some of the best international steaks from all around the world.  Although the price is often out of the range of the average person, it is certainly worth a once in a lifetime adventure to eat at this restaurant.

Beef Tartar

We made reservations for 4 for a Saturday evening and were given our seats right away.  The waitress who attended to us took the time to explain to us all the different types of international steaks and even took some of the raw meat to our table to show us what was the difference between a regular steak all the way to a Japanese A5 steak.

VanGroningen Farm Ribeye

After scanning the menu, we wanted to order a couple of North American steaks, 1 Australian steak and 1 Japanese steak.  We went with an 18oz US Prime Black Angus Bone in Striploin, a 12oz Van Groningen Farms Ribeye, a 10oz AAco Westholme from Australia Tenderloin and a 4oz A5 Black Tajima-Kagoshima California Cut Striploin from Japan.  We also got a Caesar salad and a Beef Tartar to round out the selection.

USDA Prime Black Angus Bone in Striploin

The Caesar salad was freshly made before us.  A waitress would make the salad in a teak bowl standing by your table.  The salad was given some punch with the addition of a couple pieces of anchovies to spice up the flavor.

AAco Westholme Wagyu Tenderloin

The Beef Tartar was outstanding.  If nothing else was ordered for the evening, just the one serving alone of beef tartar for one person would have been enough.  The taste was amazing.  It had a certain tangy taste to it and the meat was super fresh.

A5 Black Tajima-KagoshimaCalifornia Cut Striploin

The steaks all arrived at the same time.  Although it would not have been foolish to start from the cheapest steak and work one's way to the more expensive one, we were concerned that by the time we got to the most expensive Japanese steak, that one we would be full or two, the steak would have gotten cold.  The Japanese steak was by far our favorite. Made to medium rare, the meat was so fatty and juicy that like the waitress said, the meat would just melted in one's mouth.  Surprisingly, the Australian steak was equally as good.  It didn't melt as much as the Japanese cut, but there was still a certain aura to it.  The 2 North American steaks were good but were typical and comparable to many of the other North American steaks I have had in the past.

We ordered a bottle of wine to enjoy this meal with.  For 4 people, it was $750 tax and tip included.  Not cheap but certain well worth it!!!

Jacob's Co and Steakhouse
12 Brant Street
Toronto, Ontario

416-366-0200

Old Country Inn

Long before Pokemon Go showed up on Main Street in Markham, Ontario, there was the Old Country Inn that was delivering top notch service and food in that neighbourhood.  We headed out on a Friday night and made reservations to this popular diner located along the popular strip.  There were six of us and oddly enough, when we all flipped open the menu, the first and only thing we all noticed was their $25.95 Friday night only Black Angus Prime Rib Dinner.  This deal not only included a nice piece of prime rib but also included a Caesar salad and their own version of a sweet apple strudel to go along as dessert. 

We all wanted our prime ribs to be medium rare and I can surely attest that the chefs in the back of the kitchen hit it spot on.  As for the prime rib, the meat was absolutely delicious with the perfect gravy seasoning poured on top of it.  There were plenty of vegetables included as well on the plate.  But back to the meat.  Everyone at the table concurred that it was one of the most softest piece of meat they had ever cut into. The meat was also able to absorb all the juices really well which made it super tasty.  We were all very happy with the cut.  Strangely it was only 7pm when we ordered the prime ribs however we overheard the waitress tell another table that our 5 prime ribs were the last prime ribs available for the evening.

Black Angus Prime Rib

The apple strudel sure was different than an apple pie and truthfully I would have preferred an original apple pie.  Nothing wrong witht he apple strudel but it comes with less apples and tend to be more flakes and bread than apple.  Having said that, it still tasted fine. Again not as sweet as some of the more traditional apple pies but I would consider it to be acceptable quality.

Apple Strudel

Overall, we were all very surprised at the quality of the Black Angus Prime Rib.  We all agreed that $25 was an amazing price.  For such quality, some places could have easily sold it two to three times that amount.  Now that we have discovered it, we may have also found a new hangout place on a Friday night.  And of course, once one is done, one can join the hundreds of people outside chasing Pokemons all around.  This place was fantastic and the staff was also super nice.  Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Old County Inn
198 Main Street.,
Markham, Ontario

905-477-2715
www.oldcountryinn.ca

Kaka All You Can Eat

A restaurant that has a long waiting list for reservations? A restaurant that has a long wait to just to get in? What kind of place is this??  For starters, this is Kaka, an all you can eat Japanese sushi restaurant located in the GTA area.  This establishment has one of the best all you can eat sushi places north of Toronto.  If one has ever tried to call in and make reservations, the service will tell you that they are booked weeks in advanced and even if you try to walk in, you might be waiting for an hour or two just to get a table.  So how did we do it?  First of all prime time hour for dinner is 6pm so obviously one would have to get there before 6.  Second, make sure your entire party is there.  We got there around quarter to 6 and our party of 5 were all there standing at the podium.  There were 5-6 empty tables and we were told that they were supposedly all reserved.  After about three minutes of waiting and sitting there, with constant reminders to the hostess that we were all there, the waitress decided to bring us in and give us our table. We were told that we would need to however vacate the table by 7:30.  Having agreed to their terms, our night was set.

When we sat down, we were given an Ipad that had all the special plates for the evening.  There were plenty of rolls, sushi and sashimi to choose from as well as noodles and cooked food. There were no drinks other than water and tea included in the set price. When I eat at one of these places, I always look for accuracy, freshness and uniqueness of the food that was being served. 

Chef's Special Assorted Sushi

On Friday evenings, the price is somewhat higher than the regular week and that's because of their chef's assoreted sushi special and on that particular evening, special sushi rolls of scallops, eel, salmon and hamachi were introduced to us. Displayed to perfection, I can honestly say all four pieces were soft, warm and very fresh.  This could be attributed to the high turnover in their food.  None of the fish eaten appeared to have been frozen and the rice was perfect.  It was about as perfect as a piece of sushi one could have gotten. 

Assorted sushi rolls

The rest of the evening was dotted with a variety of sushi rolls, sashimi and cooked foods and they were all absolutely delicious.  Every item was fresh as there were no bad pieces to be found.  The tempuras were all very crispy and even the eggplant and spicy hand rolls hit their mark.  Their blow-torched sushi was also pretty good as those were some dishes usually not served at any other all you can eat sushi places. With respect to accuracy, I have to say that I still have not encountered a restaurant that has gotten our order correctly, even with these tablets. Our first order of miso soup and edamane went AWOL and did not appear until the second order was placed.

Despite this it was a very delightful evening. At the end, they did rush us out as there were plenty of people waiting at the door.  We left right at 7:30, however they were already clearing our table 15 minutes before that.  One special mention is that their slushy mango dessert is also something to get.  It was purely awesome, especially on a hot summer night.  The table beside us had ordered like 8 of them between 2 girls.  Cost was about $40 per person and that was tax and tip included.  Was it worth it?  I can definitely say yes and with no reservations and being able to get a table within five minutes of entering the restaurant was certainly a bonus.  I would definitely go again as it was an amazing experience.  If they got our first order correctly, they would have gotten full marks.  Overall, I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Kaka All You Can Eat
3235 Highway 7 #19A
Markham, Ontario

905-604-5023