George

Tonight I had a chance to go to George which is a high class restaurant located in downtown Toronto.  We were given a special menu to choose in which we were allowed one appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 desert.  We got there around 6pm and they gave us bread and wine to keep our stomachs filled before the main course was to arrive.

George Salad

Quail Breast White Lasagna Candied Garlic

Tonight I decided to go with their signature George Salad, Sea Scallops Pea Pastina and Cantonese Relish, Pacific Halibut Lobster Sofrito and Smoke Apricot and Roobios Brulee Ginger Cookies and Pomegranate for desert.  I will also be showing pictures of the other food on the menu however I did not taste the other menu's food. 

Sea Scallops Pea Pastina and Cantonese Relish

Pacific Halibut Lobster Sofrito and Smoke Apricot

The George Salad arrived first and it was amazing.  It contained a perfectly made vinegarette, an avalcado, and quinoa.  The vegetable leaves were mostly escarole.  This salad was very very good.  The vinegarette covered some of the bitterness of the escarole leaves.  It was absolutely delicious. 

Veal Tenderloin, Tomato Tempura Goat Cheese

Next to arrive was the scallops. The two pieces of scallops were perfectly made and acted as "support beams" on top of what appeared to be cole slaw or cantonese relish.  On the bottom "flowed" the pea pastina.  This entire dish when eaten together was so delicious I actually almost asked for seconds.  The entire meal was so rich and tasty I must admit it was one of the best tasting scallops I have ever tasted.  I would highly recommend this to anyone who is stopping by and wondering what to order for the night. 

Coconut Cherry Pie, Cherry Tempura Red Currant Relish

The other entree was the halibut. It was mixed with lobster sofrito sauce which was not overly creamy and not overly fat.  The halibut was so soft that it almost melted in my mouth,.  What a wonderful combination.  The entire meal was juicy and light.  It seemed small in portions but when I was finished I was absolutely full...and there was still desert to go!!

The desert was amazing.  The roobions brulee was basically a creme brulee but mixed with ginger cookie and pomegranate it was absolutely a perfect desert to end the evening.  

Roobios Brulee Ginger Cookies and Pomegranate

I have to admit this was one of the best restaurants I have been to.  I probably have passed by the area a hundred times and never knew such a wonderful restaurant had existed.  Kudos go to Executive Chef Lorenzo Loseto and Sous Chef Mark Simpson.  No doubt one of the best.  Forget the price because although it was probably more than your average meal, it was all worth the money.  Tonight I give it a 5 out of 5!

George
111 Queen Street East
Toronto Ontario

416 863 6006

Artisano Bakery Cafe

The other day we decided to stop by Artisano Bakery which is located in North York along the south west side of York Mills and Don Mills Rd.  This place is located inside a somewhat newer mall which also has a Korean supermarket in the back and multiple restaurants throughout the entire plaza.  The place has plenty of parking along the sides, in the back and indoors as well.

I was there to sit and chat and meet up with some old friends of mine.  Inside there were some high tables, low tables, couches and a television for people just to put their feet up and relax.  Their menu consisted of coffee, cakes, pastas, sandwiches and salads.  

Chicken Caesar Salad

Although most of us had lunch already that day, I was in the mood for a light meal to munch on.  Scanning their menu, they actually had a good mixture of meals to munch on.  I decided to go with a chicken caesar salad that day as I thought it was just the perfect light meal to have on a mid Sunday afternoon.

After placing our order, they gave us a puck so we could go back to our tables and wait.  After about ten minutes, our food was ready.  The chicken was cut up in rectangular blocks and some mild black pepper seasoning was added to them.  The caesar salad was a typical salad.  It wasn't overly creamy and had plenty of crutons in it as well.  For those who are health conscious, I think this salad would be good for them because one can tell that the salad dressing they used was not the fattening type. We were there for three hours and nobody kicked us out.  It is pretty relaxing atmosphere in there and it's a place I wouldn't mind visiting again to check out some of the other foods they have on their menu.  The only gripe I would have was that the chicken ceasar salad was amost ten bucks which to me was a tad high but then again I did sit in their restaurant for 3 hours so I guess it is justifiable.  Overall I would give my experience a 4 out of 5.

Artisano Bakery Cafe
865 York Mills Road
North York Ontario

647-352-1555

Boston Pizza

The other night a group of us decided to head over to Boston Pizza to have some pasta, some nachos and of course some pizza.  The one we went to was located in Markham on the northwest corner of Steeles Avenue and Warden Avenue. 

Mixture of Vegetarian and Meat Lover Pizza

We got there on a Sunday and the place was quite empty.  However by night's end the bar was half full and the restaurant part was 3/4 full.  We ordered a vegetarian pizza, a meat lover pizza, chicken wings, nachos and penne pasta for the evening.  Despite the number of patrons in the restaurant it appeared that there was only one maybe two servers for the entire restaurant as service was a little slow in terms of getting extra plates, taking our order and get utensils. 

Penne

When the pizzas arrived both of them were steaming hot and looked quite good.  For one of the pizzas we decided to split the toppings.  On one half we went with the meat lover with ham, sausage and pepperoni.  This side of the pizza was pretty spicy as the sausage itself was spicy.  As a meat lover, this pizza was not bad at all.  The other half was the cheese, green peppers, tomatoes and onions.  This side of the pizza was also very good. The onions gave the pizza a little bit of a zing just like how the sausage gave a bit of zing to the meat loving side.The other pizza was again mostly a vegetarian with toppings including slices of tomatoes, green peppers and mushrooms.  Overall all three pizzas were decent however I will say that I am also a crust lover and the crust itself was not the best one I had.  Having Pizza Nova in the past and knowing that they make nice thin crunchy crusts, the Boston Pizza was "puffy" and soft.  This is slightly better than Pizza Pizza but not all that much better. 

Chicken Wings

The chicken wings were mildly hot however although most pieces were mostly consisting of wings, there were two or three pieces that were like "chunks" of meat.  They appeared to be either a thigh or parts of a drumstick but they were certainly not "wings".  Not too sure what that was all about but I was expecting all of the pieces to be of the wing type since we did order chicken wings. 

Our other Vegetarian Pizza

The nachos were not overly remarkable.  With the usual guacamole, olives and sour cream as the dressings, it was a typical nacho with all its natural flavors.  The chips were crunchy and the cheese was melted nicely so certainly no complaints here.

Finally the penne pasta was okay.  I'm not a hundred percent but I believe it was the Baked Taco Beef Penne that was ordered.  Having said that there weren't a whole lot of beef in the penne.  The penne however was laced with Bolongnese sauce.  There was meat in the penne but they were very tiny and minced to small pieces.  There was quite a cheesy taste to it so if you like cheesy pastas, this pasta is for you.

Overall it was an okay night.  The slow service was a little annoying, the crust wasn't the best and the wings were odd.  Can't say you would have a spectacular night however at least they had two different sporting events on the three TVs that were on.  Overall I would give this a 3 out of 5. 

Boston Pizza
7020 Warden Avenue
Markham Ontario

905 305 6446

Akina Japanese Cuisine

The other night I had a chance to take a friend out for some sushi up at Akina Japanese Cuisine.  This place is located in a mall on the southwest corner of Denison Rd and Kennedy Avenue in Markham Ontario. 

Miso Soup

When we got in, the waitress got us to a table near the back of the restaurant.  There were a couple of televisions inside the restaurant where one can watch television and eat at the same time. 

We picked about twenty items off the menu which ranged from various plates of sushi, sashimi and meat. After placing our orders, the first dish arrived within two minutes and oddly enough I was surprised out of all the items we ordered, this was the first to arrive.  The first item to arrive was shrimp tempura.  I guess when with all the frying that needs to be done, it is possible that this was done ahead of time.  I don't think it is possible to fry shrimp tempura within 2 minutes and have it served to us.  It was hot, it was crispy but nothing out of the ordinary other than the quickness of delivery. 

Spider Rolls

As from my previous blogs, it is hard to really go through every order so I will rhyme of the best and not so best of the night.  In the not so best category, a couple of the sushi dishes were a little more soggier to eat.  The spider sushi and the avacado sushi rolls were mushy as the rice was "damp". The spider rolls appeared to have been rolled up rather quickly as they appeared lopsided and not very good in appearance.  The sushi was cold and damp and just had this slight turn off feeling. 

Cooked Beef

Spicy Salmon Hand Rolls

On the high side, the spicy salmon hand rolls and spicy tuna maki were quite good.  Each one were spicy and the rice in the maki was a lot better.  The fish tasted fresh and didn't give off that feeling that it had been sitting in their storage for quite some time. 

Avacado Rolls

Overall, it was an average evening.  I know in previous posts on other websites, there had been complaints about the staff however we certainly were not treated badly at all.  The staff kept coming by every 5 minutes or so to clear our table or to make sure our drinks were always full.  Some food was good however if their sushi was only up to par, that would be great.  The all you can eat was $18.99 which included drinks as well.  Overall I give this place a 3 out of 5. 

Akina Japanese Cuisine
1661 Denison Road
Markham Ontario
L3R 6E5(905) 513-7831

Lee Garden Restaurant

The other night we decided to head downtown to have some good authentic food.  We went over to Lee Garden Restaurant on Spadina Avenue which is in the heart of Chinatown.  We have been to this place a few times in the past however this is the first time we have been there since their renovations.  We got there early so we didn't really have to wait for a spot.  It was a weeknight and it was just shortly after six.    However we noticed that about half an hour after we got there, the place got pretty packed to the point where people were lined right outside the door.

Tonight we decided to go with a Steam Chicken with Green Onions, A Vegetable Seafood, and 1 Steamed Grean Bass.  The Steamed Bass was pretty pricey but it was fresh from the tank. .  It was over dollars for the fish.  The Seafood was about $23.00 and the chicken was $14.00. 

Complimentary Soup

Seafood Vegetable

We were all given a complimentary soup as an appetizer to start off the night.  This was mostly a melon and meat soup and it was very tasty.  I think I had like three bowls of soups before the first dish arrived.  

The food arrived rather quickly as we also ordered 3 bowls of rice to go with our food.  The steamed chicken was slightly different than compared to the other chicken we have had in the past.  The garlic and green onion sauce was steamed with the chicken.  This provided a nice warm juicy taste and flavor to the chicken.  It was certainly something different and something I wouldn't mind even try replicating at home.

Steam Chicken with Green Onions

The Vegetable Seafood was pretty good.  There were snow peas mixed with squid, shrimp, scallops and slices of carrots.This dish was rather delicious in that it was not thick and greasy.  The entire dish was actually rather light.  The seafood were all fresh and tender.  It is a dish that I highly recommend to any seafood lovers.

Steamed Bass

The bass was the last to arrive and it was delicious as well.  I have to admit I was a little taken aback about the price but mind you, you are paying for quality.  The meat on the fish was very slippery yet very juicy.  One can definitely taste the freshness of the fish.  There was no real added ingredients to this dish other than soya sauce and green onions.  Some people might opt for the cheaper version of this dish by going with a dead bass.  If you are a fish lover like myself, you will certainly notice the difference in the texture of the fish meat.

Overall, it was pretty good.  The three dishes were all consumed with no leftovers and split among five people.  The staff was great and kept our tea and drinks full at all time.  We were all very happy after the meals.  Although it was downtown Toronto, we were able to find free parking in one of the back streets.  Overall I give this a 4.5 out of 5.

Lee Garden Restaurant
331 Spadina Avenue
Toronto Ontario
416 593 9524

Lucky Season Hot Pot

I guess the hardest part of writing a food blog is how to really evaluate a hot pot place like the one I went to the other night.  For those who don't know, hot pot is where one ends up cooking their own food in a couple of pots of boiling soup or water.  This way one can control the variety of foods being cooked and the degree of how far one should cook their meals. 

Raw Lobster

We went into this place on a weeknight and this place was half full.  From what I know, this place also serves dim sum in the morning.  They have television screens everywhere so that one can eat and watch their favorite TV programs while hot potting. They gave us a checklist menu where where we can check off all the foods that we want.  We wanted the more deluxe menu which included 2 raw lobsters, a seafood platter and of course the food from the basic menus.  The basic menu still had plenty of raw meats, fishballs and vegetables including tofu to choose from..

Seafood Platter on the left

The food appeared to be quite fresh.  We ordered two different types of soups, miso and satay.  The lobster was still moving even though it was already split in half for us. Personally this and the wine chicken were 2 of my favorite dishes.  The raw chicken was marinated well as it was rich in wine.  The lobsters were fresh and tender.  The salmon and the squid were also quite good.  For the rest of the foods, there were no issues at all as it was the standard raw beef, chicken, lamb and vegetables.  Also provided were 9 different types of sauces including chili, hot sauce and soya sauces.

The sauces

Overall, I actually enjoyed the atmosphere.  The TV, the food and the staff and of course our friends all made it a wonderful night.  We were there for over three hours yet we all had a good time. The establishment was clean and freshly squeezed orange juice was only one dollar!!  I would recommended this place to anyone looking for some hot pot.  Overall I give this place a 4.25 out of 5. 

Lucky Season Hot Pot

550 Highway 7 East
Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1B9

(905) 709-8983

Watami

I decided to spend my anniversary over at Watami Sushi and Grill at Market Village.  I personally have been here many times but this is the first time I decided to blog this place.  The restaurant has been here for quite some time and hopefully it will be here for many more years to come. 

We got there on a weekend evening and the place was half full.  It was however later in the evening and well past the usual dinner time.  We were given a table right away and several menus to choose our food from.  If one knows Chinese, one can also look at their special menu up on a chalkboard that usually serves special dishes including toro fish and kobe beef. 

Tonight we decided to go with a dinner for two menu known as the Watami Dinner in the menu and toro fish.  The Watami Dinner Menu is designed for two people and comes with miso soup, salad, 12 pieces of sashimi, 10 pieces of sushi, 12 pieces of maki, shrimp and vegetable tempura, beef or chicken or salmon teriyaki, spider hand rolls and a chef's special. 

Toro Fish

Sushi, Sashimi and Maki Platter

Shrimp Tempura

 The miso soup and salad arrived first and it was a good appetizer.  The food was tasty however it was really not any different than any of the other places we have been to.  The sushi, sashimi and maki plate came next and it looked pretty good.  With one quick glance, one can see that there was a lot of tuna, salmon and either salmon skin sushi or avacodo vegetable sushi.  Again nothing spectacular.  The fish were all fresh as was all the sushi. 

Seafood Avacado

The chef's special of the day was the seafood avacado and beef on a skewer.  The seafood avacado was a little thick as it contained cheese, butter, garlic, shrimp and mini scallops.  For those who are blood pressure and cholesterol conscious, you may only want to eat a small sample of this dish.  This dish is quite heavy and you may not want to try consuming the entire bowl.  Otherwise it is something one definitely should try.  The top of the seafood avacado has fish roe on it to give it slight tangy taste to it as well.

The tempura was descent.  There was nothing out of the ordinary.  The shrimp and the vegetables tempura were fresh.  They were all served hot and with sweet soya sauce.  No complaints here. 

The beef teriyaki arrived however we had to pack it in and take it home with us.  There was just way too much food on the table for the two of us.  Not letting it go to waste, even the manager of the restaurant noticed that we were reaching our limit so what he did was that he asked the chef to cook it only to 40% cooked so that when we recooked it at home, it would not go completely dry. That was mighty nice of teh manager.

The spider hand roll was next and it was delicious.  There was no way that we could pack this home.  Truthfully one should always try to eat as much of the sushi and raw food as quickly as possible to maintain that freshness.  I will say this, the spider roll was amazing.  The soft shell fried crab, the avacado and cucumber were all very fresh.  One can taste the sweetness of the crab.  It was quite delicious and depsite being quite full, there was no way I was going to pass this one up. 

We saved the best for last.  For twenty dollars we order 3 pieces of toro.  Yes it is not for the faint of heart when it comes to money however to eat quality fish, one needs to pay the heavier price.  The fish literally melted in your mouth however the only problem was that the "cut" of the fish was not the best so while the fish melted, the spines and tendons of the fish remained.  Still the fish was very fresh, served slightly cool and had every bit of sweetness in it. 

Overall, it was a great night with great food.  The total was over a hundred dollars however it was worth it.  The taro could have been better or they could have given us a better cut but that was really the only blemish all night.  One should give it a try at this place.  I am sure you would not disappoint.  If one does not read Chinese make sure you get the waitress or manager to read you the specials on the chalkboard.  You would not be disappointed.  In closing, I give this place a 4 out of 5.

Watami Sushi and Grill
4372 Steeles Avenue East  Toronto, ON M1V 4S5

905 477-4567