Uoshiki Sushi

There were so many new restaurants that opened up at the northwest side of Midland and Finch Avenue that it making it hard to keep up with all of them.  One of the ones that caught my eye ever since it opened up was Uoshiki Sushi.  Having eaten at so many all you can eat Japanese sushi restaurants in the past few years, this one sure had its work cut out for them.

As usual, prior to going to the place, I placed a reservation with the restaurant.  There were the five of us including my little one and we decided to go on a Friday evening.  We got there right at 7:00 pm that evening and were given our table immediately.  The place was nicely decorated with bold black and red colors encompassing the restaurant.  Their menu was on an Ipad where one could easily click and select the foods they want.  Since it was a Friday evening, the price they charged us was about $29.99 per adult. 

Seared Scallops on Cold Tofu

With the extra price one pays for being there on the weekend, they give you a choice of four special items in which you could two of them as part of your extra value items.  All of the extra special items were available which was comforting to hear.  That evening I chose to go with their Seared Scallops on Cold Tofu and Uni Shoots.  Both the uni shoots and the scallops were an excellent choice.  The uni shoots came with a quail egg in it which made the shoot extra tasty.  The scallops were nicely decorated with a cold piece of tofu on the bottom and some red roe on top.  Appearance wise, both dishes would have easily passed as a delicate dish in a high class restaurant.

Sashimi Platter

The sashimi was satisfactory.  There was an extra "bounce" in some of the sashimi that we had order which led us to believe that the sashimi had been kept in the fridge for more than a couple of days.  The good thing was that any sashimi we had ordered was available.  The portions were decent and much of the pieces were thinly sliced. 

Uoshiki Special Sushi Rolls

One of the more interesting items that we had ordered was their signature Uoshiki Special.  A combination of barbeque eel, tempura shrimp, mango, avocado and cucumbers were wrapped with rice paper.  Then a couple of them were squirted with what I think was mango sauce and maybe a cherry sauce.  Both sauces were rather sweet.  The pieces were large and two of them came with four pieces while the other one had eight pieces each.  The rolls were decent in that they were very filling.  The sweetness of the rolls were certainly different as I certainly was not use to it.  The pieces were cold and because of the sweetness of them all, it almost tasted more of a desert than as an actual sushi roll.  The other problem with such a large filling dish was that it left little space for some of their other items.  My advice would be they should reduce the quantity to just one piece of roll per person or reduce the size of each of the pieces given. 

We tried many of their items on their menu including noodles, tempuras, sushi rolls, and vegetables .  We had three solid refills that evening and we all came out pretty full.  One of the things I really appreciated was that I think it was the first time an all you can eat restaurant had given us everything that we had ordered.  The food was decent although to be honest with you, there wasn't anything spectacular outside of their specialty extra dishes.  If you look at their menu online, they tend to use the more common fish for most of their sashimi dishes.  The staff was pretty courteous although they did at one point encourage us to finish more of our food as too much was still left on the table upon checkout.  It wouldn't have been a problem had the Uoshiki Special not be given to us as those portions were just huge and almost kept from finishing most of our other dishes.  Having said that, they really never gave one a reason to never go back, so chances are, a re-visit is probably in the offering.  Overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5. 

Uoshiki Sushi
3250 Midland Avenue
Scarborough, Ontario

http://www.cgi-solutions.net/uoshikiSushi/?page_id=7
416-901-8865

Red Wine Tavern

Looking for a great place to sit, chat and have a great dinner after a long day at the office then look no further than Red Wine Tavern located right in the heart of downtown Toronto.  This two story restaurant provides a great atmosphere for any occasion and with plenty of space and tables, one could stand at the bar to have a drink or two or sit down at one of their many tables and enjoy an amazing meal. 

We had a company function during the day and decided to have dinner at this restaurant.  We were given a set menu where we were allowed to choose one appetizer, one entree and one dinner from a list of three of four dishes per section.  On that particular evening, I went with the Baby Kale and Quinoa Salad, Crispy Roasted Chicken and Flourless Chocolate Cake. 

Prior to our meal, we were given five, yes five, different types of finger foods including prosciutto, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheeses, meat skewers with yogurt sauce and some sort of seafood sandwiches. We were amazed at the quality and the amount of finger foods just prior to dinner time.  The finger foods were absolutely amazing and to be honest with you, they could have fed us this all night and many of us would have been completely satisfied.   

My salad arrived shortly afterwards.  Upon first glance I was really surprised as to the size of the salad.  I didn't think I was going to be able to finish it especially after being fed so much already.  The salad however was super tasty.  Mixed with a little bit of lemon juice and a bit of mustard sauce, it provided the perfect pizazz to this salad.  There was plenty of quinoa and the greens were just lightly but perfectly dressed so that it provided a perfect balance with each bite and yet not be completely overwhelmed by it all.  The salad also contained small bits of cheese which really provided even more flavor to the salad.

Baby Kale and Quinoa Salad

The Crispy Roasted Chicken came next and at first glance, it too was rather large.  I knew for sure I was not going to be able to finish it no matter how good it was.  The chicken was roasted to perfection on the outside where the skin was nice and crispy.  The meat on the inside was tender and juicy and mixed with the sage and onion jus on the outside, the chicken sure did not disappoint.  I actually had struggled between the steak, the fish and the chicken and when the waiter came around, he highly recommended the chicken.  There were also some wild mushrooms and asparagus on the bottom of the chicken to provide the ideal compliment to the chicken. 

Crispy Roasted Chicken

 The showstopper for the evening however had to have been the dessert and for that evening I went with the Flourless Chocolate Cake.  I am not a huge fan of dessert but I have never ever tasted a more amazing dark chocolate cake in my life.  The chocolate cake itself was like chocolate pudding except it was thick, so unbelievably rich and amazingly sweet.  The only problem was that it was hard to eat more than a third of it.  It was shared amongst my peers because there was no way, no matter how good it was, that I could finish it on my own.  The slices of the banana were also unforgettable.  They were coated with a little bit of sugar and hardened on top just like a creme brulee and made this banana more desirable than any other bananas that I have ever tried before.  A definite must have to share if you do come by and have desert at this place. 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

It was a spectacular night with all the food and the atmosphere was buzzing all night.  They even had a live DJ spinning tunes on the ground floor to keep the party moving.  There were many people on hand that evening and making reservations is a must if you were to attend this restaurant.  I will not forget the night and would not hesitate one second to invite some friends down to this restaurant to share a drink or dinner.  The food was great, the waiters and waitresses were efficient and the atmosphere was perfect.  With such a great night, this to me was a no-brainer as it was a solid 5 out of 5 in my mind.

Red Wine Tavern
77 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario

416-862-7337

Globe Bistro

A recent search on the internet revealed a coupon to Globe Bistro which is considered one of the most highly recommended restaurants in Toronto.  With its 5 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor.ca, the restaurant boasts some of the best meals in the city.  The coupon that we found online allowed us to take part in their tasting menu for about 25% off.  It included a six course meal which ranged from sirloin steak to fish to a couple of appetizers.  A few of my friends had been here before and forewarned us that as good as their food, the amount of time spent at the restaurant could take upwards to three hours.  I said if the food was good then extra time spent waiting for the meal would be well worth the price.

We made reservations for the evening and were given a seat in the back of the restaurant since there were about eight of us. Looking around, the interior of the restaurant was nicely decorated with beautifully lit dim lighting giving it a modern romantic feel to it.  Since it was tasting meal, there really was no need to look at their menu as their meals were set.  With the coupon this evening, each individual was charged $45.00 per person.  We also got a bottle of red wine to go with our dinner as most of their wines are half price off on Sunday evenings.

The first meal to arrive was this Crouton Pate Spread on a small piece of toast.  There were eight pieces, one for each person at the table.  The portions were quite small and unfortunately many of us were pretty hungry.   The bite size appetizer was good however a bigger portion of it would have been better.

Crouton Pate Spread on Toast

Next to arrive was the Celery and SunChoke Puree Soup.  The soup was presented nicely with a simple and clean look to it.  The soup itself was very smooth which many people at the table were able to take notice of it.  The taste was unfortunately a little bit heavy on the salty side. Although I am personally immune to such saltiness, many of the people were saying that the soup was too salty for them.  The taste was however not all salty all the way to the end.  As one got to the bottom of the bowl, the soup actually became sweeter so that it actually ended up being a sweet and salty soup.  An interesting combination of tastes giving it a very unique flavor however the majority of the people at the table found the soup to be too salty for them.

Celery and SunChoke Puree Soup

The Greens arrived next which basically consisted of cauliflower, raisins, quinoa and frisee all mixed into one. The salad was a little dry as there was little to no salad dressing in it.  Eating quinoa dry is sometimes a little bit rough for the throat.  With little to no dressing in it, the only moisture coming from this salad were from the raisins. 

The waitress then came back and told us the next dish was "a break dish" in that it was to give us a break prior to the entree meal.  I wasn't too sure what that meant when all that was served up to that point were the soup and the salad.  As many of us were pretty hungry up to that point, the last thing we wanted was a break.  The dish they brought out to us was a small scoop of  Niagara Cherry Sorbet Ice Cream.The ice cream was good but real food would have been greatly appreciated. 

Niagara Cherry Sorbet Ice Cream

The entrees finally arrived.  First to arrive was a Lake Erie Pickerel which was a piece of pickerel immersed into a crab chili broth.  The fish itself was very fresh and tasty.  The soup itself was very similar to a tom yom soup in that it had the sourness of the vinegar in the soup mixed with a bit of chili spice gave it a spicy and sour taste to it.  Personally, I would have separated the two in that the soup practically overwhelmed the great sweet taste of the fish. Others around the table mentioned that the two went well together.  Either way, this was probably one of the better dishes of the night no matter how it was served.

The meat entree of the evening was the Foie Gras Puree mixed with Sirloin Steak.  The foie gras puree sauce I have to admit was very good however it was more or less a substitute for the lack of gravy or sauce for the dish.  My steak was made to well done even though it would have been better if was served medium rare or rare for that matter.  The pieces were rather small and there were only four pieces available.  What made it more difficult in addition to chewiness well done of the meat was that the meat was lukewarm at best.  I thought it was just my dish but none of my colleagues steaks were hot.  A little disappointed in that it sure looked good when it came out and considering it took almost half an hour for it to arrive after the last dish, I was expecting the quality to be better.

Foie Gras Puree mixed with Sirloin Steak

The next two to arrive were desserts. The first one to arrive was Cheese Mixed with Fresh Honey and Nuts.  The cheese was pretty decent however what really made this dish stand out was the fresh sweet honey.  The honey was pure, very sweet and had everyone lick their spoons clean.  The rest of the dish I found was unremarkable.  There were some nuts, a few slices of apple and that was about it.  If they had just served the honey, I think most people would have been satisfied with it.

Cheese Mixed with Fresh Honey and Nuts

Last was the White Chocolate Lavendar Mousse in Dry Meringue with Saskatchewan Berries Sauce.  This dessert was pretty decent in that the sweetness of the berries sauce mixed with the dry meringue and white chocolate lavendar mousse really had a bit of a wow factor to it.  This dessert was probably my favorite dish of the evening.  My only complaint was that all the dishes were somewhat disporportionate.  Some had bigger pieces of meringue, some had more pieces, some had way more berries sauce and some had considerably less. 

The problem I had with the entire meal was that the portions were extremely small and for the amount of money paid person, some felt that it was hard to get equal value for the amount of food tasted.  It was not overly filling and I'm sure some of my friends went out for late evening snacks afterwards.  The portions were all quite small and yet it still took two and half hours from start to finish for the 6 courses to arrive at the table.  Pictures of their actual meal look stunning on their website and I could only hope that the food is much better there and have bigger proportions.  I loved the second dessert and that was about it.  I was a little disappointed partly because I had high expectations.  Thank goodness for the Groupon discount coupon.  It would have been harder to stomach if we had paid full price for it.  For me, I would give my experience a 3.25 out of 5.

Globe Bistro

124 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, ON M4K 1N1 (416) 466-2000

Firefly Seafood & Steak House

Tucked in the corner of First Markham Place is a well known restaurant known as Fire Fly Seafood and Steak House.  When one hears about the name, one thinks that it will cost one an arm and a leg in order to eat there.  That however is far from it.  The restaurant is quite affordable, very tasty and each plate is filled to the top.

A friend and I went to go visit the place a few weeks ago for afternoon lunch.  I personally have been there many times before but have never had a chance to talk about it.  I especially like their menu because one can get anything from a $5 dollar noodle to $30 dollar lobsters.  Since it was lunch I decided to go with something lighter and went with their Pork Chop in Onion Sauce ($7.49) while my friend went with the Parmesan Pork Neck ($8.99).  Both items were located on their one page laminated lunch menu.

Pork Chop in Onion Sauce

Both meals took about 15 minutes to arrive and both of them arrived at the same time.  The plates were blazing hot as were both meals.  My meal was rather large in the sense that I was given two large pieces of pork chops, a good spoonful of corn and roughly about a bowl and a half of rice.  There was a large quantity of onion sauce as well that covered the entire plate of food.  The pork chops were nicely cooked and seasoned with black pepper.  The meat itself was not lean but not overly fat either.  Overall the meal was absolutely what I wanted and with a dollar more, I had a nice cold ice tea to go with my meal.

I really don't have any complaints about this place.  Every time I go there, there is a table ready for me.  The place is pretty big and has about thirty tables or so to accommodate all their guests.  There was plenty of staff on hand and they know how to treat their customers right.  Their food comes out fast so that we're not left sitting there for long periods wondering if our food will ever arrive.  Completely satisfy with everything. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.


Fire Fly Seafood and Steak House

3229 Highway 7 East, Markham, ON L3R 3P3 (905) 479-6188

Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine (Bridlewood Mall)

Normally I don’t write about sister restaurants where we have eaten before however this was a brand new restaurant that had opened up very recently in Scarborough.  Yamamoto All You Can Eat restaurant opened up at Bridlewood Mall sometime last month and from what I could tell, it was slowly becoming one of the main attractions in the mall.  

The menu itself looked pretty thorough where each person on the weekend was charged $25.99 and kids under 5 were charged $6.00.  The extra cost on the weekend was due to their specials on the weekend which for this weekend was half a lobster.  One could actually take the deal or opt out for $2.00 less if they didn’t want the lobster.  The other special they had was one could order 10 pieces of sea urchin sashimi for  $15.00

Sashimi Combination Platter

As with all my all you can eats, it would be completely impossible to go through every dish that we had ordered.  One of the dishes that impressed me a lot was the sashimi combination plate.   With the traditional  salmon and tuna fish in the center, it also included our sea urchin request and scallops sashimi.  The scallops were my favorite as they were very fresh, nice and cold and tasted very, very good.  The other thing that impressed me the most was that the entire sashimi dish was set on top of a bowl full of ice which kept the entire plate of sashimi nice and cool.

Other things that impressed me were the Beef Ribs and also their special Kansai Unagi Sushi rolls. I ordered the special rolls because they were under Chef's Recommendation and that it would take about 15 minutes to make.  The rolls were presumably wrapped up with tin foil as it was warm to touch.  There were about 12 large pieces of rolls in it and each one was sprinkled with some sesame, hot eel sauce and pickled radish.  It was quite good and the fact that one did not have to put extra money for it made it pretty decent to have. 

Grilled Mackerel

Another dish that arrived that impressed me the most was the Grilled Mackerel.  They added some sort of special soya sauce on top of the mackerel which may it super tasty and beautifully seasoned.  It was very different compared to some of the other places I have had before.  The mackerel was so good that my daughter alone ate one mackerel all to herself.  Interestingly enough they had mistakenly put three plates of mackerel on our table when we actually had only ordered one plate however it was so good that we ended up keeping all three of them. 

If there was one thing I didn’t like it was the size of the Udon or noodles that had arrived.  The noodles themselves were excellent.  Immersed in miso or onion soup and with a couple of pieces of beef in it, the Beef Udon was a welcome dish to have on a cold winter night.  The bowl was rather big however there was only enough for about three mouthfuls full of noodles.  I guess they were worried about wasting considering most people would be pretty full or would have other things to eat.  I guess it was just the inconvenience of having to keep ordering one noodle bowl after another to satisfy our stomachs.  

Overall, it was a pretty decent night.  The many servers on staff kept a good eye on our table and cleared our any empty plates on a consistent basis.  Another great thing was that my liking their page on Facebook and by giving your name and phone number on the spot, they would give you a VIP card that will give you 10% off every time you eat at this location or the one at Market Village and it was also applied to the meal that evening.  The food was pretty good and everyone went home full and happy.  Overall I would give it a 4.25 out of 5. 

Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine

2900 Warden Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

416-492-1234

Raku Ramen & Izakaya

My dad’s birthday was on the weekend and shockingly and surprisingly he wanted to have uni sashimi for his birthday dinner.  My father has always been weary of us consuming raw foods which was why we were all kind of shocked that he wanted to Japanese sashimi for his birthday.  At the same time, some friends and acquaintances of mine had visited Raku Ramen & Izakaya recently and said it was one of the better places for izakaya in Markham.  So after booking reservations for a Friday evening there, we made the trek up there to give this place a try. We got there right on time and we could see that our table was ready.  After checking out their menu, we decided to go with a little bit of everything from stone pot rice to sushi and sashimi, to lamb chops and fish.  There were six of us and we were quite the hungry bunch that evening.  

Not knowing which rolls we wanted, we decided to go with their signature Raku Rolls ($13.00).  These rolls looked amazing.  The rolls were all heavily smothered with avocado, cucumber strips and tobiko.  They were then covered with a fairly spicy sauce on top.  I don't know whether it was because this was the first food on the table or the fact that all of us were super hungry but these rolls actually tasted extra good.  The spicy sauce eliminated the need for any wasabi or soya sauce for that matter as the rolls alone tasted amazing.  It was a great first dish to have and pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening. 

Raku Rolls

Next to arrive was the Grilled Mackerel ($7.00). The mackerel was neither gutted nor de-boned although for those who have never had mackerel before it is next to impossible to do because the fish contains many, many small bones.  The meat itself was pretty good and the outer part was gently grilled so that it was not burnt at all.  The only bad part about it was that I accidentally ate either the stomach or the gall bladder of the fish which for those who don't know, could certainly clear one's sinuses in a heartbeat.  Still it was as advertised but watch out for those organs. 

Grilled Mackerel

When the Stone Pot Pork Shogayaki ($10.50) arrived, I could see everyone's attention suddenly shifting towards this dish.  It was the first hot meal of the evening, it smelled good and everyone wanted what was inside the hot stone pot.  The pork was nice and lean and the meat was perfectly seasoned.  The only thing I would like to have seen with this dish was just a little bit more sauce to go with the rice.  There was just enough sauce for the pork but it left the rice a little dry.  I personally think that if there was just a little bit more sauce, one could have mixed it really good with the rice and make this dish even more better.

Stone Pot Pork Shogayaki

The Lamb Chops ($11.00) looked equally impressive.  Three pieces of nicely seared lamb chops placed beside two pieces of baked potato and yam put together.  The meat on the lamb chops were very juicy, soft and perfectly seasoned.  The sauce blended with the meat very well, not overwhelming it too much so that one could still taste the sweet taste of the lamb as one was chewing through the meat. The proportions were a little small but the taste sure made up for it.

Lamb Chops

If there was one dish that I had to say was pretty funky, it was probably the Black Cod ($12.00).  There was nothing wrong with the fish itself nor was there anything wrong with how dark the skin was after searing it.  What made this fish funky and interesting was the mango like sauce they had used for this dish.  It gave the fish a sweet and sour taste to it which was totally not what I was expecting.  One could say it was something different and would provide more of unique taste with its tangy taste but personally  I would prefer a more traditional taste to my fish.

Black Cod

The highlight of the night was of course the Sea Urchin Uni Sashimi ($10.00).  This dish mind you is not always present in restaurants as sea urchin is very seasonal.  We went with a couple of orders for this dish as one order only contained three pieces of sea urchin uni sashimi. There are many ways of eating this but for this night, we recommended placing the sea urchin inside a piece of seaweed and adding a couple of pieces of cucumbers with it.  Truthfully, I only had a tiny spoonful of the sea urchin as we had bought a couple of boxes earlier in the day of this stuff and since my father had never had it before and it was his birthday, both my brother and I gave up our pieces for him.  From the spoonful of sea urchin that I had, i could tell it was very good, very fresh and had just a slight tinge of that fishy ocean taste to it. 

Sea Urchin Uni Sashimi

Sashimi Set B ($12.00) was a mixture of the more common sashimi out in the market.  Each fish was nice and vibrant and very fresh.  The only issue I had with the fish was that slices were quite thick.  Again it's probably more of a personal preference but I usually like to eat my fish nice and thin.  However having said that, there was nothing wrong with the fish itself and it came as advertised. 

Sashimi Set B

The next two to arrive were the Chicken Soft Bone ($5.00) and the Beef Tongue ($7.00).  We just wanting something different and these two were both the perfect dishes to do that.  The Chicken Soft Bone was a little chewy and even though it looked like it was well marinated, the overall taste was just slightly lacking.  It is difficult for the soft bone to absorb all the juices as the soft bone itself is somewhat "non absorbing".  The Beef Tongue on the other hand was the complete opposite. It was a little bit more juicy as the meat was able to absorb much of the surrounding juices. 

Chicken Soft Bone and Beef Tongue

What really made the Grilled Duck Breast ($8.00) really unique and interesting was that the restaurant decided to use "Wax Duck" as the meat for duck breast.  This made the duck meat much more saltier and gave it that really unique taste to it.  I personally have never had duck breast like this before and it was certainly unique and quite tasty.  The chefs certainly deserve top marks for ingenuity in taking a specialty dish and make it even more special. 

Grilled Duck Breast

After all those dishes up there, surprisingly a couple of us were still very hungry so we ordered an additional Tonkotsu Ramen noodle soup ($9.00).  I have to comment in that I was actually shocked at how quickly this dish arrived after I had ordered it.  It actually took the waiter two minutes for him to bring the dish over.  When I asked him about it, he said more or less the noodles were already pre-made and all they had to do was just pour the hot soup over it.  What was equally impressive was how tasty these noodles were.  It was absolutely delicious and even though there were people who were "very full", they too asked for a portion of it as it smelled great and it certainly tasted great.  For those who do not like traditional sushi, sashimi and izakaya foods, this was certainly an amazing alternative to have.

Tonkotsu Ramen

Overall, we all had a great time at Raku Ramen and Izakaya.  All of the food that was brought out were ate cleaned off their plates.  The staff was very friendly and cost wise it was very reasonable. Total price was about $150.00 tax and tip included.  Looking for parking at Peachtree Mall however could be adventurous but it was certainly worth the walk.  If you are up in Markham and are looking for a good combination of ramen and izakaya up there, I would certainly recommend this place to you.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Raku Ramen & Izakaya
8360 Kennedy Road
Unit 87-90
Markham, Ontario

905 477-3828

Cha Me Cha

A newer Hong Kong Tea Restaurant had opened up recently in Markham and because of its proximity to a TNT supermarket, we decided to give it a try after visiting the supermarket.  We chose a Saturday afternoon to visit the place for lunch as we had just finished shopping and thought it was a great time to give this place a try.  A once around the place showed the restaurant was nicely decorated throughout the interior.  There were plenty of tables and booths all around where about three-quarters of them were occupied and had many hungry patrons eating there. 

I quickly scanned the menu and decided that I was going to go with their Curry Chicken with Rice. ($9.99).  I also order an Apple Green Tea ($4.49) as no drink came with the meal.  Since their menu also came with a kid's meal, we decided to order a Sausage and Minced Pork Kids Meal ($4.99)

The Sausage and Minced Pork Kids Meal came rather quickly.  The guys at the restaurant even made it appealing for the kids by placing the food inside a bowl that resembled a car.  There was one hard boiled eggs, 6-8 pieces of sliced sausages, sliced cucumbers, a bowl of egg custard and a rather large amount of white rice buried under the sausage.  For a kids meal, I have to admit that there was certainly a huge amount of food in the bowl.  So much so, my little one could only finish half of it.  There wasn't really anything wrong with the meal itself as everything tasted satisfactory but the quantity of food for a little one was just a bit overwhelming.  My only recommendation would be to serve maybe half the amount of rice and cut the pork and sausage quantity by a half as well.  No one will ever complain for the amount of food they got for the price, but if the food is not taken home, then unfortunately much of it will go to waste.

Sausage and Minced Pork Kids Mea

I went with the Curry Chicken with Rice and it took a long time for it to arrive.  I was a little surprised at the length of time since it was largely promoted on one of their menus.  The curry chicken did take about 28 minutes to arrive from the time that I had ordered it which for a Hong Kong Tea restaurant would be an extraordinary amount of time.  When it did arrive, everything seemed like it had its own "section".  The curry chicken was inside its own bowl,  the rice was on the other side,  the corn mixed with peas and carrots were on the left and there was a hard boiled egg on the final quarter panel. The curry itself was a tiny bit spicy and had a strong aroma of curry.  I would have to almost lean on it being a Japanese style curry as that was what it had closely resembled itself as.  There were about three to four pieces of chicken, three large pieces of carrots and one large piece of potato inside the bowl of curry.  The whole meal was delicious and filing since there was a rather large quantity of food on the plate.  As for the drink, the Green Apple Tea was equally good however I could see how the price might scare off some people in ordering it.

Curry Chicken and Rice

Overall, I thought the meal was decent.  There were no lineups which was good as sometimes when one is hungry, the last thing one wants to see as they approach a restaurant, especially a HK Tea restaurant is a huge lineup outside the door.  I wasn't really too sure as to why my lunch took so long to arrive.  My wife actually had to ask a waitress to follow up on it.  One thing I noticed was that there were a long of young adults in the restaurant which was a good sign.  I also noticed that in some places they had outlets where people could actually plug in their laptops and eat and work at the same time.  I like the place and I certainly would not hesitate in going again.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.

Cha Me Cha
8333 Kennedy Road Unit 1078
Markham, Ontario

905-470-8836

Fraticelli's

Looking for a good Italian restaurant in Richmond Hill sometimes requires a bit of sleuthing however this restaurant really required no research as many of my friends had eaten there before and had a really good time over there.  This restaurant is Fraticelli's which is located just off of Highway 404 in the Richmond Hill area, just north of Toronto area.

We had made reservations and were promptly given our seats upon entering the restaurant.  There were four of us including a friend, my daughter and my wife at the restaurant that evening.  We decided to share about two appetizers and three entrees for the evening so that we could taste a little bit of everything.  For this evening, we decided to go with 2 Zuppa Del Giorno (for this evening it was the Mushroom Soup) ($6.25), 1 Meatballs al Forno ($9.00), 1 Spaghetti Del Pescatore ($19.50), 1 Veal Picata ($23.25) and 1 Short Ribs Stracotto ($29.75).

The Zuppa Del Giorno (Mushroom Soup for this evening) arrived first and looked quite yummy.  The rich brown greenish color looked marvelous under the dimly lit lights.  The texture of the soup was nice and smooth and perfectly pureed.  I took one sip of this soup and I was taken aback by the quality and texture of the soup.  The mushroom taste was very strong with each sip and it hit one's senses right on the nose.  There may have been a touch of coconut milk in it as well although I'm not entirely sure about that.  It was just rich in flavor and was one of the best starter soups I had in quite some time.  This starter was a no-doubter and was well worth the price.

Mushroom Soup

The other appetizer we had that evening was the Meatballs Al Forno.  As the title states, this was basically three rather large sizes of meatballs immersed in a rich and cheesy pasta sauce.  One could tell that the meatballs were all hand rolled as the meat inside the meatball was "fluffy" and the meat separated rather easily when biting into it.  Personally I actually loved the pasta sauce more so than the meatballs.  The sauce was absolutely amazing and it's no wonder the pastas in this restaurant had always scored high ratings.  Either way, the dish came with three rather large meatballs, one for each person at the table.

Meatballs Al Forno

Once we were done with the fabulous appetizers, the three entrees all arrived at the same time.  The Short Ribs Stracotto came with about two beautifully seasoned ribs surrounded by its chianti sauce and mashed potatoes.  The ribs had absorbed the sauces really well however although the meat did fall off the bones eventually, the meat was just a tad bit tougher that evening as it did take a bit of muscle to cut the meat into its various pieces.  The sauce was delicious and the mashed potatoes were nice and creamy and soft and was a perfect side with the short ribs.

Short Ribs Stracotto

The next dish I tried was the Veal Picata.  The first thing one notices when the dish was placed on the table was the size of the basil pesto orzo that came with the veal.  It was a good thing that there were about four of us because there was no way one of us could have been able to finish the orzo alone.  The veal was interesting.  Truthfully it didn't looked like the greatest piece of meat despite being served with lemon herb piccata sauce however once again this was where looks could be deceiving.  The meat actually absorbed the sauce very well and was actually soft and juicy. One could taste the veal despite the creaminess of the sauce but overall it was a nice dish to have.  Oh and the orzo, that was about as perfect of a rice as one could ever have.  It was nicely seasoned and moist to perfection. 

Veal Picata

The last thing I tried was the Spaghetti Del Pescatore.  Translated, this was basically your seafood spaghetti where hand made spaghetti was stirred and mixed with mussels, calamari and large tiger shrimps.  The spaghetti was mixed with a spicy tomato white wine sauce which was absolutely perfect for this pasta.  The reason was that the seafood in this dish was fresh and tasty and any stronger sauce would have potentially overwhelmed the seafood's taste.  By going with a lighter white wine sauce with a touch of not so spicy tomato sauce, it was perfect blend for the spaghetti and not to steal the overall taste of the seafood.  It was ingenuity at its best and made this a wonderful spaghetti dish to have.

Spaghetti Del Pescatore

Overall, we all had a great time.  With a couple of Ceasar's to go with our dishes, the total price was just around $150.00 CDN tax and tip included.  The server was around our table all night and kept our drinks full throughout the evening.  The meats were not perfect however they were still both above average while the mushroom soup and the spaghetti received full marks all the way.  Another visit to this place will definitely be the case in the future.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Fraticelli's
10 Vogell Road
Richmond Hill, Ontario

905-883-6841

Green Tea Lounge

My wife and I were cruising though J-Town in Markham when we noticed a brand new restaurant that had opened up in that area.  Seeing that it was fairly new and it was a little quiet on a Friday afternoon, my wife and I decided to go have a look and have lunch at that restaurant.

We got there around one o'clock in the afternoon and I'm guessing most people had already had their lunch and had already gone back to their offices. When we went in, we noticed that it had a deck of cards theme where there cards taped to the walls and suits of cards scattered all over the floor.  Seeing that it was Halloween, the staff was even all dressed up for the occasion which I thought was pretty cool.

They had a special lunch menu which had a couple of interesting combinations so we decided to give it a go.  I went with the Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice ($10.80) while my wife went with the Tempura Udon.  ($10.80)

Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice

After ten minutes or so, our meals arrived.  The Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice looked pretty good in value in that there were two rather large bowls of items.  The Curry Chicken covered half my plate while the other half was a solid bowl of rice.  The Soba on the other hand was immersed in a bowl of  soup where a large piece of mushroom and a couple of fish slices were also present in it.  The curry was nice and thick and had a good curry coconut taste and spice to it.  There were about three pieces of chicken and plenty of potatoes.  I really liked the fact that it was very filling which almost had me in trouble in finishing the soba.  The curry was delicious and one that I had thoroughly enjoyed.  The Soba was also very good however my only drawback was that the soup was a tiny bit bland despite the dark color of the soup.  A tad bit more salt, chicken stock or miso soup flavoring would have helped.  It was still however was a great compliment to the curry chicken rice and a meal that I liked as a whole.  There was also a small bowl of garnish that appeared to be turnips that unfortunately I did not get around to but was also included in the meal.

Tempura Udon

My wife had the Tempura Udon and in comparison, hers was not as large as mine in size.  The udon, according to my wife, was delicious as the noodles were smooth and thick and blended well with the miso soup base.  The two pieces of shrimp tempura was served on a separate dish so that it was not soggy when it arrived at the table.Also present were what appeared to be a couple of pieces of croquette.  The mashed potatoes and meat mixture taste good and had a smooth texture on the inside and was thinly fried on the outside.

Overall for ten dollars  I thought the Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice was good bang for the buck.  I think if my wife's Tempura Udon had a couple more extra pieces of tempura in it then I think it too would have been worth the money.  If I didn't have my own meal to compare, then I would not have had any issues at all however seeing how big my dishes were and that how much smaller my wife's were, I thought mine was probably better value wise.  Taste wise, both meals were pretty good and as I said, the dishes satisfied all of our hungry spots.  As I said, the soup base was just a tad bland and that was pretty much my only complain of the day.  Neither meals came with a drink so drinks were extra.  I certainly would give it a try again one day and would like to give some of their other meals a go.  Overall I give my experience a 4 out of 5. 


Green Tea Lounge
3160 Steeles Avenue East Unit 118
Markham, Ontario

905.470.0758

Ora Tapas and Lounge

Ora Tapas and Lounge is a fairly new tapas style restaurant tucked upstairs on the second floor of a commercial building located in the heart of Markham Ontario.  This very stylish and sleek restaurant is located in the back of a darts and pool hall where it had about 10 tables and a mini bar on its side.  Although there were not that many tables present, we noticed that only one other table was occupied on that Friday evening. 

Renkon Chips

Their menu consisted of a 3 set course meal ($35.00) and an a la carte style type menu and since we had about 8 people there that evening, we decided to go with a 3 of the set course meals and about a dozen a la carte selections.  After ordering, there was a bit of a wait before the first meals arrived despite the quiet evening.  There were no bread given but they did offer some lotus root or renkon chips for us to munch on which we waited for appetizers and entrees to arrive.  

Avocado Salad

Caesar Salad

The first two dishes to arrive were the Avocado ($9.00) and Caesar Salads ($8.00).  Both were well prepared and quite delicious to munch on.  The Caesar Salad had a bit of a twist to it in that there was an edible shell that held the salad together.  Both salads had just enough condiments and neither salads were over dressed.  There was plenty of avocado in the Avocado Salad but truthfully both salads came in as advertised.

Valentine Oysters

Cherry Stone Oysters

Raw oysters immersed in ice were next to arrive.  We went with two types of raw oysters that evening which were the Cherry Stone Oysters ($2.50 each) and the Valentine Oysters ($3.00).  Both were well prepared, well shucked and nice and cold when served.  Personally I liked the Valentine Oysters more as it was more solid, more creamier and had much more meat to it.  Either way, one could not have gone wrong with either one as they were both very good.  One of us did have a very bad tasting oyster. It appeared that it had gone completely bad.  Most places probably would have said too bad so said but not these guys.  They brought the bad oyster back and brought out a new raw oyster.  That was good customer service where the staff certainly earned some admiration points for it.

Mushroom Mix Soup

There were only two soups offered on this evening which were the Potato Leek Soup ($7.00) and the Mushroom Mix Soup ($7.00).  I hate to say it but one was amazing while the other was so-so.  The Mushroom Mix Soup was hands down one of the best soups I have ever had.  One could taste the mushroom aroma running through one's nose as one was slurping the soup.  It hit all the taste buds in all the right way.  The Potato Leek soup was rather disappointing.  There was no taste to it at all.  It was rather bland and paled in comparison to its Mix Mushroom counterpart.  I suggest one add some table salt to it to bring the Potato Leek some life.

Potato Leek Soup

The Beef Carpaccio ($10.00) was next to arrive.  There was some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of it and it was served with some greens.  The meat was a little dry, lacked any significant taste and just didn't seemed right.  After eating a couple of pieces, we figured that the problem was a lack of olive or truffle oil in the beer carpaccio.  Although there was truffle oil served on top of it, there might not have been enough of it to really draw the flavor out. Even a touch of olive oil to it might it have been all one needed to bring it altogether.  It just seemed like it was lacking something.

Beef Carpaccio

I'm not a 100% as to the name of the next dish but I will call them the Lamb and Duck Skewers.  The duck skewers were actually immersed in a berry sauce.  Both skewers were actually very good.  The meats on both of them were very juicy.  The lamb really had a good lamb taste to it and stood out on its own.  Both dishes were very good and well worth the price.

Lamb and Duck Skewers

The Salmon Tartar Guacamole ($9.00) presentation alone garnered some high marks.  A mixture of cilantro, tomatoes, and fried shallots along with the salmon were placed in pieces of fried wonton wrappers.  The entire dish gave one many different angles and flavors and nailed many of the different taste buds all at once.  I was very satisfied with this dish as it was well prepared, well presented and tasted fabulous.

Salmon Tartar Guacamole

The Pan Seared Scallops ($22.00) arrived next.  The scallops were perfectly done and what impressed me the most was the presentation of it in that although there were only three scallops per dish, they were able to find a small, medium and large scallop and present it in a desirable fashion.  The scallops all had the perfect bounce to them and the outer part was perfectly seared.  The only draw back was that there was only three per dish and at $22.00 per dish, it might deter some from ordering it.

Pan Seared Scallops

My favorite of the evening was the Bone Marrow ($7.00).   The Bone Marrow was pureed with some garlic and thyme and it was done to the point where the combination was very smooth and very fine.  What really made it the whole dish better was that when one placed the bone marrow mix on top of the garlic toast that came with the dish, it actually made the dish completely into a masterpiece.  Everything came together and despite the dish being a little bit on the fatty side, it was certainly well worth the price and one of the best dishes of the night.

Bone Marrow

Mushroom Phylo

The Pork Belly Sliders ($7.00) came afterwards and they looked pretty good.  Each piece of pork belly was placed between two pieces of bun and served like a hamburger.  Although the pieces were a little fattening, the meat was soft and juicy and was absolutely fulfilling.  The buns came in handy in that one probably would not have enjoyed the pork sliders if they were eaten alone, however the buns absorbed some of the fat and made the overall dish much more desirable.  The fries were also very good and blended well with the Pork Belly Sliders.

Pork Belly Sliders

The Mixed Seafood Linguini ($21.00) came in next and it came in as advertised.  The linguini was not too creamy and the shrimps were huge.  The scallops again were not very chewy and again had the perfect bounce and texture to them.  Again the price once again may deter some people from trying this dish.  At $21.00, the overall bowl was not that big despite the rather large scallops, mussels and shrimps that came with it.

Mixed Seafood Linguini

The Ribeye Steak ($16.00) came next.  Again like the Potato Leek soup it lacked some seasoning to it.  The meat itself was a little fatty despite having it prepared medium to medium rare.  A recommendation, when one added table salt to the steak, the piece of meat literally came to life.  It tasted very good after the salt was added to it and brought the whole dish together.

Ribeye Steak

The Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp($13.00) caught my attention right from the beginning even though it was not something that we had ordered from the beginning.  Since a couple of us were still hungry, I made an executive decision and made the order and I was certainly not wrong.  The best way to describe the taste was that it was like having a bruschetta type mixture placed on top of some buttered grilled shrimp.  At first I was a little hesitant as to what it was going to taste like, but after having a piece, this was probably my second favorite dish of the evening.  This mouth savoring dish did not disappoint at all.  Again, the mixture of all the ingredients initiated all the taste buds all at the same time giving one a taste of sourness, sweetness and saltiness all at once.  I was purely amazed by this dish where my only regret was that I didn't order it the first time around but luckily our still emptied stomachs allowed us to get to into it the second time around.

Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp

The second last dish to arrive was the Rack of Lamb ($21.00).  As one could see from the pictures, the meat was perfectly done.  It was cooked to medium rare and was nice and red on the inside and perfectly seared on the outside.  Just like the piece of lamb on the skewers, this piece of lamb had the perfect lamb taste to it.  Oddly enough, no salt was needed to bring the taste out as the lamb as it was perfectly seasoned from top to bottom. 

Rack of Lamb

The night started slow and a couple of dishes appeared to lack taste but as the night grew longer, it seemed like the dishes got better and better.  Tapas style type foods are small in substance and high in prices which may deter some of my readers from ever trying it however if you do want to try this style of food, then this place was definitely a place that one should not pass up on.  The waitresses were all very good and as I mentioned, there were definitely a couple of dishes that really opened my eyes.  I would take some points off for the blandness in the Beef Carpaccio and Steak but that's about it.  Everything else was spot on and perfect in many ways.  Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Ora Tapas and Lounge
7850 Woodbine Ave. Unit 228
Markham, ON

905-604-6672