Sam Woo Barbeque

We decided to take a trip down memory lane and revisit a place we hadn’t been to in quite some time.  Sam Woo Barbeque, a place that has been in existence for almost 30 years, is a popular restaurant located in the heart of Scarborough.  While everything else has been changing around them, this place has held steadfast throughout the years, providing quick service and decent food amongst reasonable prices. 

Ping Poon

We got there on a Friday night just around dinnertime and were giving a seat right away.  We use to come here quite often as their duck noodle soup with a nice cold drink in the afternoon were quite filling and reasonably priced.  Tonight  we went with something a little bit more complex just to try something different from this place.  Scanning their menus and picking the waiter’s brain, we decided to go with their “Ping Poon” Appetizer, Pea Shoots with Garlic, Seafood Vegetable, Meat Special dish, and Tofu, Mushroom and Fish dish. 

Pea Shoot with Garlic

Their “ping poon” or appetizer dish consisted half a plate of duck and half a plate of barbeque pork.  For those who have never been to this place, their pork, duck and roasted pig are some of the best in the business.  Yes it would cost one or two dollars more, but all of their meat is excellent and of high quality.  The duck and BBQ pork that night was no exception.  Both were nicely marinated and both were half fatty and half lean.  If you are a meat lover, this dish would definitely be a good starter dish and it would go very well with your bowl of white rice. 

Tofu, Mushroom and Fish

Next to arrive was the ever popular Pea Shoot with Garlic dish.  I have ordered this dish many times and those who have followed my blog know that it is simply one of my favorite dishes of all time.  The dark green leaves were very fresh and the stalk nice and soft. Sometimes you get the bottom of the barrel pea shoots or pea shoots that have aged way beyond its expiry date which makes the dish very difficult to eat.  There were no such problems tonight as the dish was perfectly made.  The added garlic was good, not too little and not too strong. 

Seafood Vegetables

The Seafood Vegetables dish was quite delicious.  The shrimps were peeled nicely and all the seafood present were fresh and tender.  The seafood consisted mostly of squid and shrimp while the vegetables were a mixture of carrots, asparagus, and mushrooms.  With a touch of salt added, this dish was an excellent complementary dish to the rest of the meaty dishes that evening and had a great variability to it.

Meat Special

The vegetarian dish of the evening was this Tofu, Mushroom and Fish dish.  It was okay but for some reason, I found the dish to be slightly bitter.  I’m not too sure where it was coming from although I suspect that it might have been originating from the juices of the mushrooms.  The fish itself were a little bony so one had to be diligent when consuming this dish.  One dish I found a little disappointing was probably their Meat Special that evening.  There was some sort of a promotion deal on it and since there were the five of us, we figured the extra dish might come in handy.  Oddly, after we ordered it, it took almost 35 minutes for it to arrive.  We were almost done with all of our other food and after the long wait, we actually had to flag down a waiter to remind him of our missing dish before this dish finally arrived and when it did, some of us were disappointed that it was just simply pork chop meat mixed with some sort of BBQ sauce and sesame. The meat was thick and rather chewy and the sauce was so-so.  After such a long wait, it sure was a little disappointing to receive such a mediocre dish. 

Price wise each dish was just under ten dollars.  There were plenty of waiters and waitresses available that kept our tea pot full and tend to our needs.  Of note of importance is that finding a parking spot in this plaza could be somewhat of a nightmare as patrons in the adjacent supermarket and McDonald’s restaurant tend to occupy the majority of the parking spots in this plaza.  The food was satisfactory however I must admit it tasted better back in the days.  Overall, I give it a 3.25 out of 5. 

Sam Woo

375 Bamburgh Circle

Toronto Ontario

416-491-3034

Main Sushi

It’s been a long time since I had been to Main Sushi.  How long? Well, last time I was there, these guys were still at their old building and since then, they had moved up the street to their new location which was like over a year ago.  So yes it had been that long.  This place served some pretty good unique dishes back in the day.  Since it had been a while and we hadn’t been to their new location, we thought it would be a great idea to give a go once again. 

When we got there, the first thing we noticed was that there was a free parking lot at the side and in the back.  At the older place, it was harder to find parking as there really wasn’t a parking lot present and at times, the side streets were about as good as got. 

Dragon Roll

We got in and were given our seats right away.  The manager, who was the same manager as before, gave us our menus and served us our hot teas.  We looked at their menus and it had a lot of interesting dishes however the one we thought was worth while the most was this lobster sashimi feast menu which was on a side board. It was a 8-course meal and made to serve four people.   

First to arrive was the Dragon Roll.  It consisted of 8 pieces of avocado sushi and 8 pieces of crab roll. The crab roll had some mayonnaise mixed with what appeared to be small pieces of red peppers in them. I say crab although there was a slight chance that it could have been a salmon mix instead.  The mixture was unclear and I didn't get a chance to check the menu for this one. The following four pieces that came were spicy salmon pieces which I was almost pretty certain on which was why I believed the 8-pieces ones were crab. Either way, I'm not complaining in either one as I loved all of these rolls because they were all freshly rolled and the pieces were quite big.  It certainly was quite filling, almost a tad too filling to start off with.

Spicy Salmon Roll?

Next to arrive was the Sashimi Boat.  This consisted mostly of salmon, tuna, snapper, white tuna, and of course the lobster sashimi.  Large slabs of the fish were cut and presented on the boat.  What we came for however was the lobster and it sure did not disappoint. The meat had been removed carefully from its shell and although it looked “wrinkly”, it actually had this beautiful seawater lobster taste to it.  Again, the meat was very fresh and contained no signs of mushiness to it.  The only problem I had was that the lobster sashimi meat pieces was rather small compared to the rest of the fish that was present. 

Sashimi Boat

The Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura arrived next and the shrimp tempura was “wild” looking.  However by doing so, it actually enhanced both the taste and appearance of the entire tempura.  By having strands of batter rather than caking the whole batter around the shrimp, it gave it a very unique feel and texture to it.  It was more crunchier and the flavors exploded in one’s mouth.  It actually felt like eating hickory sticks with the shrimp tempura.  One had to give them props for coming up with something quite unique yet maintaining the great overall taste of a tempura.

Shrimp Tempura

Next to arrive was the Grilled Salmon Belly.  We were forewarned to eat this while it was hot because it was extremely oily and very fat tasting.  The meat was nice and crispy on the outside and as announced juiced with oil on the inside.  Served on a dark pan, this dish was still bubbly hot when it was set on our table.  One actually had to eat this dish very carefully so that one did not squirt out hot oil as you bit into the salmon.  There weren’t a whole lot of ingredients added to it as the salmon itself carried most of the flavor. 

Grilled Salmon Belly

The waiter soon brought out our next dish which was the Teppanyaki Beef Tenderloin.    The beef was moderately hot when it arrived and the meat itself was almost well done.  The problem with this dish was that because of the way it arrived, it made the meat extra chewy.  Taste wise the meat was satisfactory however the meat was a little bit more chewier than what we would have liked which made it less desirable.  The meat in my mind was over cooked, hence the toughness in the meat.  Of all the dishes that arrived that evening, this one unfortunately was the worse.

Tappanyaki Beef Tenderloin

Mushroom Noodles

Next to arrive was the mushroom noodles.  Sprinkled with some seaweed strips on top of the noodles, this was actually just the perfect complementary dish.  It was not heavy on MSG and tasted just about right.  The lack of meat in this dish made it a very good vegetarian dish for those who don’t like or eat meat at all.  The only problem was that there were just so many other good dishes preceding this that it was difficult to finish the entire dish. 

Lobster Congee

As with Asians, nothing goes to waste so while we were busy gobbling up the lobster sashimi, the rest of the lobster was thrown into a congee and made into a lobster congee soup.  This dish was very, very good in that it was the last to arrive and it was great way of washing down the rest of the food we had tonight.  Again, it was not overly salty as the lobster alone carried the overall taste. Strands of seaweed or parsley were added to the overall dish to enhance the overall taste but that was pretty much it.  The meat in the lobster claw was amazing and once you could pry the meat out of it, it was just an added bonus to this dish.

One definitely got their money’s worth with this set menu.  We also got an extra ten percent discount off on the overall price and when it was all said and done, the overall price was just a shade over a hundred bucks for the four of us which I thought was an outrageously great price.  You should give it a try too and ask for their lobster menu special.  I don’t think you will be too disappointed.  If it wasn’t for their beef, I think they could have gotten higher marks.  However, despite it, I still give this place a strong 4.25 out of 5. 

Main Sushi

144 Main Street North Suite 2

Markham, Ontario

905-201-6218

Gourmet Malaysia HALAL Family Restaurant

First of all I just want to say 20,000 hits and counting for 18 months of blogging is not too shabby.  Thank you to all of my readers for taking some time out of your busy schedules to read my food blog.  Well now that I am done London and Barcelona it’s time to get back to some local food.  When we got back, we decided to head out and try some real authentic curry.  We decided to give the Gourmet Malaysia HALAL Family restaurant a try.  They specialized in a lot of authentic curry dishes from Malaysia and Singapore.  It was a good thing we got reservations to the place as it was lined up all the way outside the door on a Saturday evening. 

Roti Cannai

 There were about 5 of us so we decided to order a bunch of dishes.  This evening we went with their Curry Chicken, Tong Choi Vegetables, Penang Char Kwei Teow, Roti Cannai, Assam Fish Head, Nonya King Prawns, and their Special Gourmet Malaysia Platter. 

Special Gourmet Malaysia Platter

First to arrive was the Curry Chicken and the Roti Cannai, which was basically Roti with Curry Chicken.  Since there were five of us, one serving of Curry Chicken was not going to do the trick so we figured we get the Roti Cannai to help get us a few extra pieces of chicken.  The curry sauce was very good.  It was not overly spicy but just enough to get your tongue curled up as you taste it.  The chicken was soft and absorbed most of the curry sauce.  The standout however was the roti.  I’ve tasted quite a bit of roti during my time but this was one of the best rotis ever. The bread was extra fluff however it was strong enough to hold all the curry juices.  It was freshly baked and the aroma of it was amazing. We actually ordered an extra couple of roti orders because it was just that good and it was amazing to use to soak up all the curry. 

Penang Char Kwei Teow

The Penang Char Kwei Teow arrived soon afterwards and it was basically in my mind a “gong chow ngau hor” or “Chinese Beef Chow Fun” except the different between the two was that in their dish they would use seafood including shrimp to use as an ingredient as opposed to using beef.  The taste of the noodles was exactly the same as a beef chow fun.  There was no difference at all in my mind.  If you were a huge fan of the Chinese “gong chow ngau hor” then give this one a try as well.  You might like the seafood edition of it. 

Nonya King Prawns

 The Assam Fish head came next.  The curry had a bit of sweet taste to it so I suspect that they might have used a bit of mango in their curry sauce for this dish.  The fish head itself was good and in this instance, they went with a salmon fish head.  Although the entire dish was nicely made, I wasn’t too sure if it was well worth the overall price.  When you think about it, it’s the head of a fish so there really wasn’t a whole lot of meat to it. However I do know some people could just eat fish heads all day so it really depends on what your likes and dislikes are.  For me, for the small amount of meat available and that there was only one head served I thought the price of this dish might have been slightly overvalued. 

Tong Choi Vegetables

The Nonya King Prawns arrived next and this dish was delicious.  The prawns were cooked in a sour and spicy type of.  The shells were still on the shrimp but they were nicely fried.  The sauce itself was a little thick and gooey but the spiciness of it and the taste of it made you wanting for more.  It was actually quite spicy. It doesn’t hit you right away but it’s one of those delayed spiciness.  The prawns themselves were quite fresh and tender.  My suggestion is to lick the sauce off the prawns, peel away the shell and then re-dip the shrimp into the sauce. You certainly won’t be disappointed with this dish at all.

Last but not least was the Special Malaysian Gourmet platter.  It had some skewers with beef on it, some spring rolls, mango and pepper slices, and battered shrimp.  There were about 3-4 pieces to each one and although each one tasted up to standards, it was to me another dish that I thought was slight overvalued.  For the amount of food one is getting and for the price one was paying ($19.99 for this platter), I thought there wasn’t enough substance in it to warrant the price.  It was not entirely filling and to me it was more of a sampler, albeit an expensive sampler.

Assam Fish Head

Despite having a couple of dishes being slightly more overvalued than what I thought they were worth, the restaurant still boasted some exceptional cuisine.  Most dishes were under ten dollars with the platter being more.  All the dishes however tasted great so I can’t complain there.  Parking was a little bit of a pain as one might have to park at a supermarket in the back in order to get to the space.  Service was fairly decent although some of the food took a while to arrive.  This could have been due to the large number of people there although our first dishes really didn’t arrive until 30 minutes into service time and overall time was like two hours.  What I would suggest is trying going there for lunch where it might be less busy and try out one of their lunch courses.  It’s more or less the same stuff and it will give you a preview of what could be a much bigger selection in the dinner selection.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Gourmet Malaysian Restaurant

4466 Sheppard East E101

Scarborough Ontario

647-764-1188

Montiel Restaurant

Well as they always say, save the best for last.  Barcelona was a blast even if it was my second go around.  This final posting of a Barcelona restaurant was by far one of the best restaurants I had ever been to.  Oddly, this restaurant has no Michelin stars next to its name however its décor, its presentation, its staff and its food were all comparable to the 3-star Michelin restaurant of Gordon Ramsay’s.  Equally as odd, one of the waiters actually came from Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant and he was actually one of the people who served us for the evening. 

Raw Oyster

Vegetable Chips, Olives and Sticks

Warm Fine Cream of Grilled Leaks

We had reservations for this wonderful restaurant and upon arrival we were led upstairs to our table.  They offered us water, gave us our menu, showed us the washrooms and proceeded to explain in great detail of both their a la carte menus and set menus.  Looking at all their great foods and being our last night in Barcelona we decided to go with two orders of each of their set menu.  The differences between the two were the prices and the number of courses served which was 8 and 10. One was called the Tasting Menu while the other was G Astronomic Menu. On their set menus, there was no need to choose.  They gave you a little bit of everything on the menu so all we had to do was sit back and eat.

Assorted Lettuce with Crayfish

Scallops Carpaccio

Tuna Tartar

I will try to go through each meal.  I apologize in advance as some of the pictures were slightly darkened or blurred.  We avoided using our flashes that evening, as there would have been a lot of flashing going on so we kept it to a bare minimum.   Even though there was a different number of dishes served for each menu, the waiter did give us a warning on it but since we were planning to share all of our foods anyways, it didn’t really matter. 

Foie Gras Mi Cuit and Duck

Glazed Peats Raviolis

First to arrive were the Vegetable Chips, Olives and Sticks.  Olives were in huge quantity in Spain and the ones served tonight were nice and fresh.  I’m not a huge fan of olives however my wife said they were perfect.  The G Astronomic menu also came with Iberian Ham and Oysters.  The ham was thin and tasty while each person also got a large oyster to eat.  The oyster was chucked nicely and it was served on its own individual bowl covered in ice.  It was a delightful way to start the evening. 

Suckling Pig

Beef Filet

The Starters Menu is where things start to divert quite a bit.  For the Tasting Menu, one would get the Warm Fine Cream of Grilled Leaks, Scallops Carpaccio and Poached Egg.  My favorite had to have been the perfectly done scallops and the poached egg.  The scallops were done with some apples and vinaigrette sauce which gave the dish a certain tang to it.  It was not sour but it gave the entire dish a different pizzazz to it. On a separate plate, the poached egg was equally as good.  With a small pieces of asparagus, bacon and mushrooms on the bottom, the combination of all of those ingredients provided a great mixture in one whole bite. 

Catch of the Day

Catch of the Day with Shrimp

Poached Egg

The G Astronomic Menu had Assorted Lettuce with Crayfish, Tuna Tartar, Foie Gras Mi Cuit and Duck and Glazed Peats Raviolis.  All of them were equally well made and just seeing on paper made my mouth salivate.  The crayfish tasted as if it was dancing in your mouth.  The mixture of mangos, mushrooms and other herbs provided a sweet, sour and salty taste all at once.  The crayfish was fresh and meaty and nicely de-shelled. The tuna tarter also tasted as if it was dancing in one’s mouth.  Not only was it nicely seared on the outside but the mixture of mustard ice cream, soya sauce and pine nuts also gave it that “craziness” when one was chewing on it.  The home made fois gras came with quince jelly and pistachios and it was amazing!! Some foie gras can be a little bit greasy or dry but this one was nice and moist and so tasty.  Last but not least was the ravioli. Truthfully I’m not a huge fan of ravioli but they made it so that it is not filling but more like craving.  It’s a small piece and with the duck mixed with mushrooms and port reduction sauce, it left one wanting for more. 

Each menus consisted of two different types of Entrees.  The Tasting Menu had the Fish of the Day and the Beef Filet.  The fish came with quail eggs which made tastier.  The beef filet however was truly a standout on this side of the menu.  The meat was seasoned with truffle oil and was still sizzling hot when it was presented to us .  The meat sliced well and the insides were of the medium rare variety.  It was delicious and it was able to retain all the meat juices enabling the meat to be moist and highly favorable. The G Astronomic Menu contained a Catch of the Day as well and a Suckling Pig from Segovia.  The fish was beautifully seasoned and beautifully cooked.  The fish was placed inside peas stew that was mixed with sage and mint leaves and a large shrimp.  The combination inside the soup alone was extraordinary.  The suckling pig was nicely done with its crispy skin and thick piece of meat.  However, coming from a country that has lots of suckling pig everywhere, I didn’t find it to be remarkably fascinating having just one piece of suckling pig.  Still it was worth mentioning that it was still prepared in the most qualitative way. 

Catalan Cheese

Strawberries Caipitinha

Bonus Desert

The Tasting Menu came with 2 desserts while the G Astronomic Menu had 3 although that will be debated later on.  The Tasting Menu came with the Strawberries Caipitinha and Cream Caramel while the other menu had the Raspberries Caipitinha and Cream Cheese Coulant.  All the dishes were ultra sweet and beautifully done.  Three of the dishes contained caramel in it which contributed to the ultra sweet taste while the cream cheese coulant had a small portion of apple jam ice cream in it which in itself was radical yet delicious tasting.  The cream caramel actually hit you even more as it was a mixture of orange sorbet and ice cream mixed together.  The extra dessert on the Astronomic Menu was the Catalan Cheese which was more or less the same type of smelly, wet-sock tasting cheese as the one we had at Gordon Ramsay’s.  It’s a delicacy as the waiter would say although I have to admit whoever thought of that must have been crazy.  Oddly the four of us were able to consume almost a quarter of it which make one wonder whether we were starting to get use to the taste of it?

Cream Caramel

Cream Cheese Coulant

In the end, it was simply a fantastic restaurant to go to.  There were almost 10,000 reviews on Trip Advisor alone and the greater majority were positive.  Why this restaurant doesn’t have any Michelin stars is beyond me.  Service was great and if you were thinking this was an ultra expensive place, think again.  The Tasting Menu was only 50 Euros per person while the G Astronomic Menu was 65 Euros.  This place is a definitely a must-go and definite 5 out of 5 in my books. Go give it a try, I’m sure you will enjoy because we sure did.

Montiel Restaurant

c/ Flassanders 19, Born

08003

+34 932 683 729