Fisherman Villa

One place that I had not been to in quite some time was Fisherman Villa.  Located on Glen Watford Drive in the heart of Scarborough, this location has been the home of many restaurants for the past 30 years.  After many owner changes, the place is now called Fisherman Villa and on this particular evening, we were invited to join them on a 10 course meal.

Meat Platter

The first thing to arrive was the assorted meat platter.  I have to admit I was impressed with the amount of food that was on the plate as well as the colorfulness of it all.  There were certainly more than 2 pieces of meat per item per person on the plate.  The quality of the food was pretty good as the pork, the sausages and the squid were all very tender and fresh.

Crabmeat Balls 

The crabmeat balls  looked nice and big as they sat at the table. It appeared that the chef also added some small dried fish on the outside of the crab meat ball to give it some extra flavor.  The outer shell was nice and crispy and many and the inside was burning hot.  Unlike some places, the claw was taken out and only the crab ball remained.  

Scallops with Assorted Vegetables

The popular scallops with assorted vegetables dish arrived next and looked just as colorful and artistic on presentation.  Although this is a simple dish to stir fry and make, the chef certainly gave it some extra effort to make it more presentable.  The scallops were again fresh and tender and all the vegetables blended well with the seafood.  The entire dish was too salty and actually provided some of that pureness of what great Chinese food was all about.

Shark Fin Soup

No ten course traditional Chinese meal could be complete without its shark fin soup and in this case it sure did not disappoint.  There was plenty of shark fin inside the soup and the broth tasted very, very good. Again, the amount of saltiness was just perfect although one could simply add some red vinegar to further enhance the taste.  I did not hear a single complain from any of my fellow peers who were enjoying this meal with us.

Chicken

The steamed chicken tasted just as good.  This golden color chicken was steamed to perfection with no traces of rawness in it.  There was also three bowls of ginger onion sauce to go with the chicken.  It tasted great with each piece having plenty of skin, just the right proportion of fat to meat.

Mushrooms with Vegetables

The ten course meal really covers all its bases and for those who don't like meat or seafood then the next dish is for you.  The mushroom and vegetables plate looked juicy and tasty.  With two types of mushrooms and plenty of vegetables immersed in a nicely made broth, this dish was great to have to absorb all the fat that one had been eating up until this point.  The mushrooms were all nice and soft and had absorbed much of the broth which made them even more tastier.  A good dish to have and a good alternative to all the meat and seafood that had been served.

Fish

Two pieces of steamed talapia were next to hit the table.  Again, the chef steamed it to perfection with the meat sliding off the bone and not a trace of rawness was in the fish.  There was plenty of soya sauce to go with the fish.  Again, another great dish to have that was made to near perfection.

Lobster

One of the last things to arrive was the stir fried lobster and this was made like most typical stir fried lobsters. With some ginger and green onions mixed with the lobster, the lobster tasted pretty much like any lobster at any Chinese restaurant.  The only problem I had was that it was pretty much the last major dish to be served for the evening and by the time that it got to here, most people were pretty much done.  The food for dishes 1-7 had done its job as everyone was pretty much waving the white flag by the time the lobster had arrive.  I had a piece of the tail and a piece of the claw and they were fantastic.

Despite all the changes in ownership, this place can still rock out a good meal.  It was pretty quiet even though it was a weekend evening however much of it could be the fact that many have passed through those doors before and many feel that once the past is gone, the past is gone.  I have to admit that the meal was pretty decent and everyone left pretty happily.  There was also the traditional rice and noodles and red bean dessert which most people just nibbled on as everyone was pretty full.  Overall, pretty happy with the meal and with its service.  I give it a 4.25 out of 5.


Fisherman Villa
25 Glen Watford Road
Scarborough, Ontario

416-321-1625

Ming's Cuisine

One could say that Ming's Cuisine is one of those upscale Chinese cuisine restaurants that very few people know about because it is tucked and hidden in a plaza in Richmond Hill.  However, those who have been there before know that once you eat there once, you will definitely want to eat there again.  The restaurant itself serves a number of special Chinese dishes but the area they seem to favor the most is the seafood side of the business.  On this wonderful occasion, we had decided to celebrate my mother in law's birthday at the restaurant.

When we got there, it was good that we had reservations as the place was pretty full when we came in.  The only thing that is very tricky is that the seats and tables are very close to one another.  People with strollers and walkers may have a difficult time navigating through some of their tight quarters.  Their menu was filled with wonderful selections however we decided to go with one of their special packages which had a little bit of everything in it.  In addition, we also order their signature Chicken in Wasabi sauce as we were unsure if we were going to be short one dish or not.

Once the special package was selected, the chefs went straight to work.  However before any of the main courses were served, they first came out with their appetizers which was a Deep Fried Diced Tofu with Fried Fish.  In addition to all of that, there were also some Grilled Taiwanese Sausages and what I will call a Chinese Salad to go with the meal.  The Chinese salad was different in that they used cold black seaweed  as part of the salad. It was certainly the first time I had it this way and remarkably with a bit of sesame oil, the salad was quite tasty.  The deep fried tofu was pretty good in that small fried fish accompanied the tofu on the outside.  That provided that extra bit of taste and saltiness to the tofu which made it extra good.

Deep Fried Diced Tofu and Fried Fish

The appetizers soon arrived and one of the first dishes to arrive was the Deep Fried Spare Pork Ribs.  This dish was presented in a long plate and had simple garnishes sprinkled on top of it.  The ribs themselves were very tender with each bite of the meat nice and soft.  There were no hard to chew pieces and there was virtually no fat visible in any of the pieces.  They were all very delicious to have with one's meal.

Deep Fried Spare Pork Ribs

One of my favorite dishes of the night had to be the Lobster meat fried in Salty Egg Yolk and Pumpkin.  This dish was absolutely fantastic.  For the cholesterol conscious people, this dish might be one to avoid or have only one small piece to have although personally, I had about 3-4 pieces of this dish.  Each piece of lobster meat was covered in large amounts of salty egg yolk and pumpkin.  By doing this,each fried lobster pieces gave one a pop each time you bit into one.  It was very, very delicious as each piece was nice and crispy and was loaded with meat and yolk.

Lobster in Salty Egg Yolk and Pumpkin

The only possible blemish of the night was the Chinese Broccoli with Sun Dried Fish.  Most Chinese people will like this dish because of its purity and that it was more or less the only vegetable to be served for the evening.  The broccoli also had some nuts and carrots sprinkled on top more for presentation although it provide that small bit of diversity in it.  Why I say it was a blemish was because the Chinese broccoli itself was a little bitter and for those who don't like vegetables with bitter taste in it, then this dish might not be best for you.  I personally like snow peas myself for vegetables and I'm sure that if asked, one could possibly substitute it for something else.

Chinese Broccoli with Sun Dried Fish

One of my favorite dishes for the evening was the Chicken marinated in Wasabi sauce.  I have never this combination before and as a chicken lover, I was eager to find out what this dish was all about.  The chicken itself is a simple steamed chicken.  What makes attractive or unattractive is that the skin gives it that bit of juicy flavor.  The amount of wasabi that they used is not that much so that it does not overwhelm the overall taste of the chicken.  Some people might find it spicy but I actually didn't find it spicy at all.  You can definitely taste the wasabi however one could still enjoy the chicken without having to grab a cup of water every two seconds.

Chicken in Wasabi Sauce

Another method for making the lobster was stir frying the lobster and putting vermicelli on top.  Oddly enough we never ordered any rice or noodles on top of the special package so this was our "rice" for the evening.  The lobster tasted very good but the vermicelli tasted extra better.  With just that bit of sauce added to the vermicelli, it provided just enough taste in that it wasn't overly salty and the entire dish had you salivating for more.  Although it didn't seem like a lot of vermicelli, there actually was enough for 7-8 people and for almost everyone to have seconds if they liked.  The lobster was brilliantly made with no complaints from everyone at the table.

Stir Fried Lobster with Maggie Sauce and Vermicelli

Steam fish was as perfect as one could make it.  With loads of soya sauce and oil, the main thing is to make sure that the fish is properly cooked and not raw and the chefs hit it right on the bullseye with this dish. Again there were no complaints with how it was made or how it tasted. Good job all around.

Steamed Fish with Scallion

Overall, a great place to have dinner and a great place to celebrate one's birthday.  The food was not overly salty and much of their deep fried seafood was not caked in batter.  Everything was more or less spot on and had the feeling of royalty when presented to you.  We were all very thoroughly impressed with their meal, and with their overall service.  The total price was $268 with a 10% discount if one paid in cash.   I certainly will go there again and I would recommend this to everyone to give it a try.  Overall, I would give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Ming's Cuisine
1 Spadina Road
Richmond Hill, Ontario

905-883-7688

Moji Japanese Eatery

A small Japanese noodle house located in centre of Markham offers some of the best noodles that one could find in that city.  Moji Japanese Eatery is a restaurant that had opened recently. Its clean and friendly staff made it extra easy for people to sit and have a relaxing time and with photos of their food popping up online looking marvelous, it sure was a no-brainer for one to come and check out this establishment. We got their on a weekend afternoon and the place was half full.  We had gotten a seat right away which was great as we were all quite famished for the day.  Their menu again looked quite appetizing so after scanning the entire menu, he four of us all decided to order something a little different.

Mixed Fruit Ginger Tea

I wasn't feeling too well that afternoon, had lost my voice and was fighting a cold and I was hard pressed to find any good ginger teas in the neighborhood but as luck would have it, Moji's actually had one on their menu.  Normally I don't talk about the teas but this one was exceptionally good.  With steam pouring off the top, this mixed fruit ginger tea was hit all the right spots.  It was not overly sweet and had plenty of ginger extract in it.  The cup was no small cup either so certainly well worth the money one is paying. 

Avocado Don

The Avocado Don was a dish that we had ordered for my daughter.  She loves avocadoes and crab meat so this dish was perfect for her.  Presentation wise it looked like a piece of art.  There were plenty of crab meat and the avocado was yellow and green with not a hint of blackness in it indicating that it was freshly cut and served.  There was again plenty of rice underneath all those ingredients and it was so yummy that my daughter actually finished the entire bowl herself.  For those who are not interested in rice noodles and would like a refreshing rice and salad, I think this bowl would certainly do the trick. 

Unagi Don

I could best describe this item as this was my main dish for the day and it was absolutely tasty and delicious.  The eel was beautifully done with the perfect texture and seasoning and with fresh seaweed, beans melons, ginger and eggs, this dish was an absolute delight to have.  The eel was not mushy or stale and one could tell it was quite fresh when it was served.  There were plenty of rice along the bottom and the bowl, even though it is difficult to see from the photos, was rather large.  I would highly recommend this dish to anyone who loves Unagi Don as this one in my mind was made to perfection. 

Gyu Donburi

I didn't really get a chance to taste this dish but I did have a taste of the soup base and it tingled on the right senses when I had it.  It was seasoned perfectly and according to my friend, the beef was very thinly sliced and it too tasted as advertised. 

Seafood Tempura Donburi

My wife ordered the Seafood Tempura Donburi and pretty much gave it a thumbs on this dish.  The soup base could have been a touch more seasoned as it was slightly bland but otherwise she was happy with her order.  The shrimp tempura was crispy and hot when served and the shrimp was not soggy and mushy indicating that it too was pretty fresh.  There was also some squid inside her bowl of noodle soup, about a half dozen pieces or so.  The squid was tender and with some corn, eggs, beans and mushrooms it was a near perfect dish for her to have.  

Overall, everything tasted amazing.  I was able to take a sample of each of the items that were ordered and I can tell you that everything was fresh and tasty and the soup bases were spot on where it was not too salty or loaded with MSG.  I would definitely come back again although parking could be crazy there on the weekends however if you get a chance to go visit New Kennedy Square at Highway 7 and Kennedy Road be sure to pay a visit to Moji Japanese Eatery.  I am sure you would not be disappointed.  Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5.


Moji Japanese Eatery
8362 Kennedy Road
Markham, Ontario

905-479-6654

Tak Fu Seafood Restaurant

Tak Fu Seafood Restaurant is a long standing restaurant located in the north part of Scarborough that serves dim sums in the morning and traditional dinner dishes in the evening.  I personally have been to both although on this particular day we were there for their morning dim sum.  The place is not that big with probably about 3 or 4 larger tables and about a dozen medium to small size tables along the side of the front and side of the restaurant.  Being such a small restaurant, all of their dim sum could be selected with pen and paper on the sheet of paper. 

Ha Gow

As most dim sum places, it is hard to really go through every dish that ones order.  The more traditional Chinese Ha Gows and Siu Meis are of course a staple at any dim sum restaurant.  We also ordered some fried turnip cake, some sesame buns, and beef steam rice noodles in addition to other items on the menu.  Most of it arrived within ten minutes.  I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the overall quality of much of their dim sum as much of it lacked flavor, seasoning or even color for that matter.  I know that most dim sums are what they are but the dim sums presented were about as plain as day.  All the dishes looked rather boring.  I don't know if it was the size of the restaurant but if you don't put your effort to make good solid dim sums then maybe it is best not to serve it at all and that focus should be more on their more dominant and core business which would be their dinner menu.

Assorted Dim Sums

 

Steamed Pork with Shrimp

Overall Tak Fu was satisfactory but really lacked any extraordinary features amongst their dim sums.  The place has been there for quite some time and I can honestly say their dinner was better than their breakfast menu.  They didn't have many special unique signature items and much of their dim sums lacked any specialty or ingenuity that would make them stand out from the rest of the pack.  There was no line up and truthfully it was eerily quiet even for a Saturday morning.  Again as mentioned before, the restaurant itself is not that big and it just seemed like the dim sum menu to me was more of a "filler" rather a core part of their business.  However, doing something like this sometimes can kill your better part of the business as well so maybe it would be better not to do it all.  Overall I would give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Tak Fu Seafood Restaurant
633 Silver Star Blvd
Scarborough, Ontario

416-230-7061

Captain's Boil

Captain's Boil opened up about 5 months ago but a few nights ago was the first time I had a chance to venture into the restaurant.  The restaurant is located in the heart of North York on Toronto's most popular and Canada's longest street Yonge Street and located just south of Finch Avenue.  The restaurant specializes in seafood served in some of the most amazing sauces imagined.  From cajun sauce, lemon pepper sauce, garlic sauce to their signature Captain's Boil sauce, each one of those sauces can also be topped off anywhere from mild to super spicy to the liking of the eaters that evening.

We made reservations for the evening however in order to do so, they need a minimum party of eight and that every member must be present to be allowed into their restaurant.  The rules are strict and there are no exemptions.  Failure to do so will mean forfeiture of your table.  Punctuality is a must and there is about a 2 hour eating limit.  Prior to placing our order, the waiter explained to us that lobster was about $36 a pound, the crab was about $23 per pound and the crawfish was about $16 per pound for the evening.  We ordered a little bit of everything and tried every sauce possible to get the full experience of Captain's Boil.

First thing hitting our table was the Mussels mixed with Garlic Sauce.  Before I go any further, one must know that most of their food is served in plastic bags.  They provide gloves and bibs for you to eat and you will need it because it will get super messy.  The seafood was all marinated thoroughly inside these plastic bags according to the sauce that you had ordered.  We went with the garlic sauce with the mussels and believe me when I say they didn't hold back on the ingredients.   There was a ton of garlic inside the bag and the mussels themselves were pretty big as well.  Each mussel was caked with garlic and every mussel was steaming hot.  Everything tasted wonderful and the combination of the garlic and the mussels were absolutely perfect match.

Mussels with Garlic Sauce

The next one to hit the table was the Crawfish with Mild Captain's Boil Sauce.  The sauce was delicious but the crawfish had a slightly bitter taste within it.  I haven't had crawfish for quite some time but I remembered the taste could be a little funky with or without any sauces.  It was either a hit or miss with each one.  Some of the crawfish tasted fine, some were a little bitter.  If I had to do a redo, I might have gone with a cajun spicy sauce to try to repel some of that funky taste or just skip the crawfish altogether.

Crawfish with Captain's Boil Sauce

The Fish Teriyaki with Rice was next and they were one of two dishes that we had ordered that was not served inside a plastic bag.  For the non-spicy loving people, this dish was for you.  The fish was nicely cooked and the rice was moist and tasty.  I actually enjoyed the rice as there were also some green onions and corn inside the rice to give it that extra flavor.  A hidden secret but the rice tasted even better if you mix the rice with some of their Captain's Boil sauce because when you do so, the entire dish actually comes to life even more.  Try it next time if you haven't done so the  next time you are at this restaurant. 

Fish Teriyaki with Rice

The clams were also eaten with their signature Captain's Boil sauce.  It was a good thing that the seafood was mixed inside a bag because without it, the clams would not have been completely marinated.  The clams themselves were tiny so having them inside the bag really made sure that every clam was drenched in its sauce.  We also had the sausage tossed in there with the clams as well.  The sausage themselves tasted a little cheesy which led me to believe that there were stuff with a little bit of cheese inside them as well.  Not sure if that was the case or whether it too had just absorbed large amounts of Captain Boil's sauce but it was the sausages were saturated with taste.

Sausage and Clams with Captain's Boil Sauce

The other non seafood dish we ordered that evening was the Chicken Tender with Fries.  This dish was actually more for the kids as they really can't dig spicy foods.  However, it looked really tasty and it came with about four rather large pieces of chicken tender so a couple of us actually tried the chicken as well.  The breaded part was nice and crispy and the meat inside was well cooked and tender.  The fries were a tiny bit spicy although one could also request it to be made without the cajun sauce if one really wants non-spicy fries to go with their chicken tenders.  

The last two dishes were my favorites for the evening.  We ordered two different types of shrimp.  The first one was the Shrimp mixed with Cajun Sauce while the second bag was Shrimp mixed with Lemon Pepper Sauce.  Both were equally good. The Lemon Pepper was more pure and less gunky while the shrimp that was mixed with cajun sauce was much more savory in its taste.  I enjoyed both of them and the shrimp themselves were medium in size.  You really couldn't go wrong with either ingredient.  

Shrimp in Cajun Sauce

The last dish to arrive and the best dish of the evening in my mind was the Crab mixed with Captain's Boil Sauce.  This dish was fantastic in that by doing it the way they did it, the entire crab was perfectly steam and had sauce covered in every nook and cranny of the crab.  For those who love to eat tomalley, they actually even took the time to remove the membrane and tomalley part under the crab head shell for you, have the that entire part cooked and marinated and have the entire portion served inside the crab head.  I love eating that part of the crab, more so than the arms and legs as it was incredible.  Kudos to the boys and girls in the back for getting that part right. 

Crab mixed with Captain Boil Sauce

Overall, it was a fantastic night with fantastic food eating with fantastic people.  The table next to us ordered a king size crab and I can tell you it was absolutely huge.  For that dish, I didn't see it being served in plastic bags although they would have needed garbage bags to get the entire legs marinated.  Despite being on Yonge street, sneak into the 24 hour Metro store to get two hours of free parking. Everything tasted great and a head's up, the cajun sauce is super spicy so watch out.  All of the seafood tasted great with the exception of the crawfish.  As mentioned it was a hit or miss.  If you were to avoid one seafood, that would have been the one.  We didn't go with the lobster as we thought $36 a pound was a bit much plus we had plenty of other seafood to go around.  We will certainly go again in the near future.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5. 

Captain's Boil
5331 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario

647-348-7808

Sansotei Ramen

A brand new plaza opened up very recently in the newly developed downtown Markham area and up popped up a Sansotei Restaurant which specializes in hand made rice noodles with very tasty additions and ingredients in every bowl of noodles one orders.  Their sister restaurant is located in the heart of downtown Toronto and I have had the chance to have been there a few times and have loved every minute of it.  People who know and have been to the downtown location know how busy that restaurant was and how crazy lineups were.  Unfortunately, even though this place just opened recently, this restaurant was humming with people lined up outside the door at five-o-clock on a weekend evening.  After about a twenty minute wait, we were finally crammed into the back somewhere where three of my friends and I finally sat down a table.

With so many great noodles to choose from, many of my friends and I each finally settled on their Tonkotsu Black ($9.45) while others took up the Tomato Seafood ($9.45). I also decided get a side order of Spicy Slow Cooked Chicken Wings ($6.00) to feed our empty stomachs.

The chicken wings themselves appeared to have been marinated with sweet soya sauce and then once the wings were fully cooked, they were sprinkled with chili oil.  The wings themselves were rather of the small variety and each wing was spicy, but not overly spicy.  There were five of them served in a wooden bowl. 

Spicy Slow Cooked Chicken Wings

The Black Tonkotsu arrived and it looked wild.  The black pepper sauce mixed with the green onions and pork belly soup made this dish look radical.  There was also one soft bowl egg, some corn, thick noodles and several pieces of pork belly in the bowl.  Of note, one gets to choose between thin, thick or vermicelli as their choice for noodles.  The entire bowl tasted absolutely amazing.  The pork belly was half lean and half fat and had plenty of taste to it.  The pork belly soup base really brought out the entire pork taste to this dish. Unlike its sister restaurant in the downtown area, the pork and pork belly soup base was not overwhelming and not as salty.  This time around it was just absolutely perfect.  Everything tasted just about right!!

Black Tonkotsu

The Tomato Seafood combination also tasted pretty good from all accounts.  Although not as wild looking as the Black Tonkotsu, the Tomato Seafood I was told was equally tasty.  I mainly tried the soup base and found it to be very strong and condense with the sense tomato truly captured within the base itself.  It was certainly not watered down and one could also sense a bit of seafood in it.  There was also a small piece of scallop and I believe there was also some corn in the bottom of the bowl. 

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and for sure I would go back for round 2 and round 3.  The noodles were fantastic, service was fast, and as I looked up, the lineup never seemed to have wanted to end.  If you really love ramen, then this is definitely one of the better stops in Markham.  Overall, I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Sansotei Ramen
3987 Highway 7
Markham, Ontario

905-604-7118

Primary Taste Yunnan Rice Noodle

On a cold winter night and unsure of where to go to get some nice warm comfort food, one should look no further than Primary Taste Yunnan Rice Noodle Restaurant located in North York.  The restaurant has been in existence for quite some time and focuses on a few of their signature rice noodle dishes.  It was like minus 20 degrees outside and my friend and I were in high demand for some good old fashion hot rice noodles.  Looking at their menu, they had about 10 bowls of rice noodles and about a dozen appetizers as well.  I decided to go with the Tomato Sauce Rice Noodle with Specialized Meatballs while my friend went with the Spicy Sauce Rice Noodles with Seafood.  We also ordered a side dish of Vinegar Peanuts as an appetizer to share.

The Vinegar Peanuts ($3.99) were the first to arrive and there were certainly plenty of peanuts on the plate.  Despite the price, the peanuts were carefully roasted and marinated with onions and a sweet vinegar sauce.  I love peanuts and have never had it in this manner before so this was quite delightful and a pretty good appetizer to have.  The price might have been a little steep but if you love peanuts then this was well worth the price. 

Peanuts with Vinegar

My friend's spicy rice noodle bowl looked very delightful to have.  The soup base was red with spiciness and there were 2 rather large pieces of shrimp within it  There were also some mussels as well to give it that seafood manner.  There were ten extra small bowls of condiments that one could add to the rice noodle bowl and the noodles themselves came in a separate bowl.  There were also 2 extra raw pieces of pork that came with the condiment tray.  The soup was still boiling as it was still bubbling when served.  Since her dish was same as mine, I only gave the soup base a try.  It was spicy, tasted pretty good but not as spicy as one would think. 

Spicy Sauce Rice Noodles with Seafood

The Tomato Sauce Rice Noodle with Specialized Meatballs looked great.  Just like my friend's noodle bowl, the noodles and raw meat came separate from the bowl of meatballs.  The noodles and the raw pork were as is but what made this bowl so interesting were their "specialized" meatballs.  Each meatball was not the regular meatball  but instead each one were individually stuffed with a mixture of what I believe to be a green onion/pork stuffing.  It actually made the meatball taste better however for a couple of them (the white ones), it made the meatball more oily and starchy like.  The soup base was meat base but lacked the really strong flavor that would make it a standout. I actually like my friend's spicy soup base as there was flavor and zest to it 

Tomato Sauce Rice Noodle with Specialized Meatballs

Still it was a pretty decent meal and on a cold winter night, this was certainly good noodles to have.  The extra condiments and their do it yourself style of creating your own hot rice noodle bowl certainly made it more enjoyable although as mention I wished a couple of the meatballs tasted better and that there was more flavor to my soup base.  Still I would go back again as the place was packed on this cold weeknight.  Overall I give a 3.75 out of 5.

Primary Taste Yunnan Rice Noodle
109 Ravel Road,
North York, Ontario

416-499-3836