Old Country Inn

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

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

Black Angus Prime Rib

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

Apple Strudel

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

Old County Inn
198 Main Street.,
Markham, Ontario

905-477-2715
www.oldcountryinn.ca

Kaka All You Can Eat

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

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

Chef's Special Assorted Sushi

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

Assorted sushi rolls

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

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

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

905-604-5023

Kiu Japanese Restaurant

So what's so"Kiu" about this brand new Kiu Japanese Restaurant?? Many of my friends have eaten there, some once, some twice and others almost on a daily basis.  They kept telling me that I must go and check it out because I was totally missing out.  So finally after weeks of procrastination, a few of us finally made the choice of going out to Kiu Japanese Restaurant to try out their wonderful food.  Although, they boast some of the fresh high end sushi and sashimi, along with fresh lobster and lamb chops, for today anyways, I was actually more interested in some of their ramens and Nigri Chef's choice. 

We didn't have reservations for the evening but because the restaurant was half empty and we were actually in a rush to go see a movie, we darted in, convinced the waitress that we would be gone in a half hour's time and as a result found nice cushy seats in the back somewhere.

Nigri Chef's Choice 11pc plus Egg Castella

My friend had the nigri chef's choice and he said it was very good.  There were 11 very fresh pieces of sushi which included shrimp, scallop, tuna, salmon and geoduck.  Although it did not look like there was a lot of food on his plate, he said that it was still pretty filling.  In the end, he was quite pleased with the quality and with the price of the food. 

Black Sesame Tan Tan Noodle

I personally ordered the Black Sesame Tan Tan Noodle Ramen.  The waitress warned me twice that this was actually one of the more spicier ramens that they had. Hearing that made me nervous however I was in quite the adventurous mood that day.  Whenthe bowl arrived, it came with pieces of pork, lots of green onions and a bowl of sesame with a pestle beside it so that I could grind the sesame into a fine powder form.  I took a sip of the soup base and it was extremely rich in spices and meat juice.  There was a small portion of noodles and about three pieces of pork.  The noodles were quite tender and when you mixed all the ingredients together, it tasted fabulous.  What I loved the most was the soup base.  It was so well seasoned and not too spicy at all  despite the waitress' warnings and when one mixed all the ingredients together, it actually tasted very, very good.  It was hands down one of the most delicious ramens I have ever had.  The only disappointing factor I had was that the amount of the noodles in the bowl was just a tad bit on the low side.  If there was one more handful of noodles inside the bowl, I think I would have given this a perfect 10!!

Spicy Red Miso Ramen

The last bowl that was ordered was the Spicy Red Miso Ramen.  Once again the waitress gave us the heads up saying that this was one of the more spicier ramens in their menu.  The person who had this noodle soup said it too was very, very good.  It was well seasoned, filled with ingredients but again the main complaint was that there just wasn't enough noodles in the bowl.  Although it looked like there was a mountain of food in the bowl, appearance sometimes could be deceiving.

In the end it was a very good night even though it was a rather quick evening in the restaurant.  Many of my friends who have tried this place have gone all in by trying their lobster, their omakase and their pork chops and all have said that the quality had been unbelievable.  I must admit I do concur with their overall assessments and highly recommend going to this restaurant.  Also when finished, you can simply go catch a movie in the VIP theatre as they are all in the same building.  If you are there, give Kiu Japanese restaurant a try.  I don't think you will be disappointed.  Overall I give it a 4.75 out of 5.  

Kiu Japanese Restaurant
169 Enterprise Blvd
Markham, Ontario

905-513-6368

Chez Cora

There are many Cora or Chez Cora restaurants located throughout the Toronto and greater Toronto area.  A friend and I decided to stop into one and give it a try as we were literally in between breakfast and lunch during a weekday.  Naturally during that time of the day, it was reasonably quiet as most people had gone to work.  We went in and saw that only 2 or 3 tables had been occupied throughout the restaurant.  Their menu consisted of only a single page laminated paper filled with various breakfast offers and fruit dishes.We were pretty famished so we decided to try a couple of their more filling dishes in their menu. 

The first thing we ordered was the Jo Construction in which the number 3 was the key to this dish.  There were 3 strips of bacon, 3 pieces of sausages, 3 sunny side up eggs, 3 pieces of fruit and a load of sliced up roasted potatoes.  It also came with a couple of slices of toasted buttered bread.  Taste wise, the food tasted exactly what was advertised.  I think my only issue was the overall appearance and the variety of foods present.  Although there was plenty of food quantity wise, the whole presentation and appearance seemed rather boring.  Perhaps more pieces of fruit could have enlightened the dish as it certainly would have provided more balance to the plate.  It just looked it was very hastily put together and if you ever go on their website and see what their version of the Jo construction would  look like, you will see that what was served that morning was vastly different that was presented on their menu. 

Jo Construction

If one was hungry still, then the Bluebery Field Pancake may have been a better choice to fill the empty stomach.  This triple layer pancake with blueberries sprinkled on top had a good dousing of English cream to make it look very grand.  It was sweet tasting like good old fashion pancakes would but it seemed to lack maple syrup or taste "throughout" the pancakes.  The top pancake had all the cream, the blueberries and the syrup but once you got to the second and third pancak at the bottom, there was really nothing left other than the pancake itself .  It might have been possibly better if "each" layer got its own layer of English cream and blueberries.  Now that would have a Blueberry Fields Pancake to die for.  The pancakes were good but it just wasn't consistent from top to bottom.

Blueberry Fields Pancake

Overall, it was a fair brunch meal to have although I have always wondered whether these all day breakfast places can really take it up a notch and really make it mouth savory and present it in a method so that one would really, really want to come back again.  I have truthfully yet to step into any restaurant, let alone this one whether it be in Toronto or North America for that matter.  The breakfast was simple with no uniqueness or creativity to them and for that matter lacked the old saying "I really want to come back for that again." If I am to pay $10 per plate for each meal, I would expect it to be a little bit more extravangent or dressed up to make me want more.  Don't get me wrong, Chez Cora will fill the stomach, however it doesn't give you a lasting impression that would make you want to come back again.  Overall I give it a 3 out of 5.

Chez Cora
16 Vogell Road
Richmond Hill, Ontario

905-508-1755

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