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I can't believe it's been a year since I last posted.  I mean to post more, and I have posts that are saved as drafts, but I just never got around to actually posting them.  Last year I didn't get to check out many places locally, but I did get to visit some pretty awesome places in Australia.  Since it was a while ago, I'm not sure what the best way of posting would actually be. Anyways, locally, yesterday I took a friend out to lunch for a super belated birthday.  Due to her strict one hour lunch break, we had to stay super close to work.  The restaurant that we had both wanted to go to and was craving turned out to be closed Tuesday and Wednesdays.  So we went next door to Arirang.  Arirang is a well known Korean BBQ restaurant in Mississauga (from what I hear at least).  Since it was lunch time, we didn't go for the Korean BBQ option and ordered just a bulgogi bibimbap, and a soontofu with pork.  The first thing that arrived was a small, ...

This has to be THE place to go to now.  Everyone's been talking about it for the last month or two.  Whats the big deal you ask?  Konjiki Ramen has been on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for the last few years.  What does that mean?  Usually when you hear of Michelin, its number of stars.  In Toronto, there's no restaurants with any stars.  Why?  I'm not sure why Toronto doesn't use the Michelin system.  There's only a few cities in the world that have the Michelin star rating.  Back to the Bib Gourmand (after doing some Googling), means a list of restaurants that are deemed as having good food with moderate prices. I finally got the chance to check out Konjiki Ramen. I thought I planned it well too, going for a weekday early dinner.  Well life happens, and my early diner (planned to arrive for 5pm as people say there is usually no lineup then), ended up with us arriving at 6pm, with a line pretty much out the door.  So for th...

As I've mentioned before, York region is in desperate need of a good coffee shop.  So imagine my surprise when I saw Platform Espresso Bar while driving along Highway 7.  Since that day, I have been meaning to stop by.  So last night, after doing some research on where to meet our friends for breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised that they not only serve coffee, but they also serve brunch!  So our meet up location was determined. They open at 900a, and we were the first ones to arrive.  And good thing at that, while there is seating, it is quite minimal.  There are 4 small booths that seats 2 comfortably (4 adults would be very squished), and a larger booth that would seat 6 adults comfortably.  On the coffee front, there is quite a bit of selection.  For espresso based drinks, you get a choice of two beans.  If you want a pour over, there's a selection of 4 to 5 different kind of beans.  If you just want a regular coffee, look elsewhere...

A small restaurant located in a small strip plaza, that if you weren't specifically looking for it, you would never know they existed.  The reason why we chose this place for lunch was because it was near my friend's home, and because I'm always on the hunt for good Hakka food.  When I go to Hakka places, I always order chilli chicken.  I made the mistake or ordering chilli chicken wet (with gravy) once before at another restaurant, dislike.  So I made sure to order it dry this time.  So good!  Had good garlic, onion, and of course green chilli flavour.  Perfect when eaten with plain white rice. Chilli Chicken Friend ordered Manchurian chicken.  She didn't like it so much.  She ordered it wet (with gravy).  We were trying to figure out what the difference between chilli chicken and Manchurian chicken was, because both dishes tasted so similar.  In the end we couldn't' figure it out. Manchurian Chicken Since we went for lunch on a we...

Get your mind out of the gutter people!  This is about pizza, Chicago deep dish style pizza!  We attempted to do dine in for this pizza, but holy moly it was way too busy.  So that day we ditched the idea altogether, and ate something else.  But this time we planned ahead and decided to order takeout.  I know that it's not the same as dining in when it's fresh.  But there's no way I'm waiting 2 hours for a table and then another 30+ minutes for a pizza.  We called ahead and ordered a small Chicago Classic which has pepperoni, sausage and tons of cheese.  The small size could easily feed 3 hungry adults I think, it's so heavy.  We had this for dinner, and reheated it in the oven.  The crust is nothing like the ones from Chicago.  This is more bready/cracker like, whereas I remember the ones from Chicago being a bit more buttery/cookie/tart like.  Filling wise, there was tons of it.  Lots of meats and cheese.  In m...

Every year, we take an annual vacation (farther and longer) usually end of April or beginning of May.  Reason for this timing is we try to get some nice weather, but also have it early enough so that we are still paying low season pricing.  The last few years, we've been venturing around Europe.  And then during the summer, we'll do a shorter getaway either within Canada, or to the nearby United States.  This year, we decided to do it differently.  This May, we decided to take a short vacation in Alberta. We flew into Calgary, and drove towards Banff.  To avoid the high costs of accommodation, we stayed in the hamlet of Harvie Heights.  Compared to Toronto, food seems to cost a bit more in Alberta.  But because taxes are less there, it seems to even out a bit in the end that way.  We did a bit of 'home cooking' just because it was more convenient for some breakfasts, and dinners.  Here's a list of where we ate. Canmore: Rave Coffee Le Fo...

One of my favourite places to eat at in Calgary.  Everything was delicious.  We went for brunch on the weekend, and it was packed in there.  There's a few tables for people that want to eat in, and a few tables on the patio if it's warm enough to eat out.  The lineup to order and pay was out the door!  Lineups are usually good signs. That particular morning I just wanted something simple, I ordered bread, butter and a fried egg.  The bread was fresh sourdough bread that they bake.  Crispy crust and chewy sour inside, topped with butter, delicious! Hubby ordered a breakfast sandwich.  That came with fried egg, bacon, avocado and arugula all on a brioche type bun.  Great combination ingredients, but super messy to eat with the sunny side up egg. Brunch  After enjoying breakfast, we grabbed a scone (chocolate pear), and fruit topped danish (theres a better name for it, I just don't remember) to go.  So glad I was feeling like a glutton...

Interesting name for a coffee shop.  And even more interesting how it's spelled.  I hate to label this place, but it's definitely hipster.  I can't put my finger on it as to why....but it just totally screamed hipster when I walked into it.  I ordered a latte, and holy geez it was expensive.  I forgot to take a picture of the latte itself, but I did snap a picture of the menu because I was in shock as to how expensive my drink was.  Deep down I was telling myself, it's this expensive because it must be a good latte.  And while it wasn't bad, it wasn't good either.  In my opinion, definitely not worth the hefty price tag considering theres other coffee shops nearby that serve delicious coffee. Menu at Philosafy Philosophy Coffee 632 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2S 0B4 Hours:  Monday - Friday 700a -1100p              Saturday - Sunday 800a - 1100p https://www.philosafy.com

I wanted to find a restaurant where would could sit and chat since we were meeting with my husband's cousins for dinner.  After doing some Googling for a place nearby the apartment, I found Mercato (Mission location).  My friend also mentioned Mercato, saying they make the best pasta.  So I knew I wanted to try this place.  But of course, due to me not doing enough homework before the trip, I never made a reservation.  In the end it worked out due to Calgary being 2 hours later than Toronto, means for an early dinner, we lucked out and got a table during the first seating. It was so busy there, even though we walked in at 530pm, which is when they open.  We snagged a table because there just so happened to be a last minute cancellation, otherwise we would have had to sit at the bar.  I hate sitting at bars, because it's hard to have actual conversation, and plus i'm short, so getting up and down on the stools is quite a pain.  We quickly ordered b...

I was looking for something close to the apartment we rented for a somewhat quick meal, but have it hearty enough because it was going to be a late lunch after driving from Canmore.  I found Naina's Kitchen after doing some Googling, and Yelping.  And no I didn't decide to come here because it was on an episode of You Gotta Eat Here.  To be honest, I have gone to some of the restaurants that have been on the show, but I found that it wasn't really worth it.  Makes me wonder if some of the restaurants just pay the show so they can be featured. We arrived at Naina's kitchen on a Friday, while it wasn't filled, it was quite busy.  We ordered a mac and cheese grilled cheese and a ramen stuffed burger.  If you know my hubby, if there's fried chicken or any sort of ramen, he will order that.  I realized after we placed our order this was not going to be a quick meal.  Here, they specialize in stuffed burgers.  Stuffed anything takes longer to cook ...

I'm a sucker for markets.  At home, I buy my produce from local farmers markets whenever possible. Yes, this doesn't mean that I am necessarily getting the best price possible, but I believe that it's important to support local.  Supporting local would mean keeping smaller farms alive, and also your produce would be more likely to ripen on the vine/plant (more flavour!), versus on a truck somewhere.  But when you shop at local farmers markets, you still have to be careful what you're buying.  I have been to some markets, where I noticed produce had stickers on them saying product of the USA.  So sneaky! When I'm about to go on vacation, I spend all my planning energy, in this particular order, restaurants, accommodations, markets, and tourist attractions.  I always try and book my accommodations through AirBnB so I have a kitchen to cook some meals with the fresh produce I pick up while browsing the markets.  I was surprised to find Calgary to have so ...

Banff, there's so much talk about it.  I thought it would be some beautiful glamorous place.  But maybe because I didn't get a chance to hike that much, I didn't feel it. If anything the town of Banff actually felt more like a tourist trap than anything.  Yes, the scenery there was beautiful, because theres the mountains wherever you look, but I don't know if it's because I went to Iceland first, it can't compare to the beauty of Iceland.  It also didn't feel like any locals live there, I felt like I walked the streets with tourists surrounding me.  The people that work in the retail shops, most of them had Australian accents!  It just felt weird. Embarrassing story time.  Because I knew we would be hiking on this trip, I wore my running shoes, and brought along my hiking boots.  Now I've had my hiking boots for many many years, probably since undergrad.  And i'll pull them out to wear to shovel the snow, or go snowboarding.  About 5 min...

Whats there to do at Lake Louise when the trails are too slushy, and icy for hiking?  Sit back and admire the beautiful view of the lake while sipping afternoon tea inside the Fairmont!  I guess I could have tried to hike the trails, but I'm not sure I want to sit in the car in wet socks and shoes for the drive back to the apartment.  Plus, since my hiking shoes quit on me in Banff, I was left to wearing my winter runners......so we decided to take the option of enjoying the view. We arrived at the Fairmont about 15 minutes before afternoon tea service was to begin so we had to wait a bit before we could be seated.  Lucky for us, because we didn't have a reservation, they still had a table by the window available.  And because our table was the first window table people walk by, I'm pretty sure we were in a lot of people's pictures.  I guess that's what it feels like to be a celeb hahaha. While the view was beautiful, I found the service to be not as great ...

Popped into this little bakery to grab some dessert.  By the time I got there, there was maybe an hour left to close, and selection was starting to run a bit thin.  Breads were practically non existent, there were a few croissants, and a few individual cake slices available.  I picked up a butter croissant, and a slice of carrot cake.  No picture of the croissant because I inhaled it in the car because I was hungry.  It was nice and flakey on the outside (I was covered in croissant crumbs), inside was a bit bready for my liking, and also it missing that rich buttery fatty taste.  I think missing the buttery taste is probably because the milk/butter in Alberta isn't the greatest from what I've discovered. The carrot cake was done well, could have had more cinnamon in my opinion.  But that's probably because I love cinnamon.  But it was nice and moist, with lots of carrot shreds it in, and had a nice cream cheese frosting on top. Carrot Cake Pricing...

After a long-ish flight, and a drive from Calgary to Canmore, plus a time difference.  I needed some coffee.  And as always, I try and avoid Starbucks unless I have no other choice.  So I'm super glad I found Rave Coffee.  Finding Rave was a bit difficult.  It's tucked in a corner of a small plaza.  If you weren't looking for them, you really wouldn't know they exist. Rave not only makes coffee, they also roast their own beans.  Kinda surprised to find that in a small town like Canmore.  But glad that they do do it!  I ordered a latte and a flat white.  It was nice and smooth, but I found my latte a bit weak, drowned out by the milk.  The hubby's flat white was better, probably because there was less milk.  And because I was tired and in a rush, I forgot to take a picture. Side note, milk in Alberta doesn't taste very good.  Not rich and creamy at all.  Of course, I bought only regular milk, didn't try the organic mil...

I'm not that familiar to the south east end of toronto, or more specifically the Leslieville/Beaches area.  I honestly don't remember how I stumbled across the Green Wood.  But I was so glad I did.  We went for a very late brunch, technically it could have been considered a late lunch if anything.  Surprisingly, even though it was so late, the restaurant was full, no lineup but full.  We got the last table that was available.  But there was still bar seating. We ordered, a fried chicken sandwich with fries, and the classic shakshuka.  The fried chicken sandwich of course was the hubby's order.  The chicken had a crispy outside and juicy inside, topped with a lightly dressed creamy coleslaw, all sitting on a brioche type bun.  I found the bun to be a bit too light to hold up to such a dense filling, but taste wise it worked.  Fries were great, thicker cut than normal, but not thick to the point of it being wedges.  House made ketchup...

We decided to go grab a bite to eat on the Danforth one weekend, happened to be on of the hottest days EVER.  And yes, I'm catching up on my blogging, so this is a late post.  Life happens right? Souv Like I read that Souvlike has great authentic Greek gyros, at a good price, means I must go since theres one, no good Greek places uptown, and two good price!!!  When I got there, I was kinda surprised, it was a tiny place right across from Pape station.  My friend who used to frequent that location, said she's never even noticed it before but its been there a while.  We ordered a pork gyro and a chicken gyro.  Finally a place that puts french fries in the gyros, just like in Greece!  The gyro meats were seasoned well, and huge portions stuffed into that fresh fluffy pita bread.  I could eat this stuff for days!  This is the kind of place I like, a hole in the wall that makes AMAZING food.  No need for fancy restaurants for me...... well mo...

A very intriguing name.  I'm sure it's not pronounced the way I'm thinking it's supposed to be pronounced, or else it would be a very inappropriate name. So I'm sure I'm wrong.  Usually when I want to eat Indian food, I like going for lunch because most Indian restaurants serve lunch buffet style.  Although I love Indian food, I feel like I never know what to order, so being surrounded by many options always works out better for me.  But this time, because my friend and I had no idea what we wanted for dinner, and time was running out, we decided to grab some takeout from Dum Phukt.  We ordered my favorite saag paneer, butter chicken, chicken biriyani, and some naan (regular and garlic).  The saag paneer was super bland.  Definitely would not reorder again.  Butter chicken was really good I thought.  It had some spices in it that I'm not used to tasting in butter chicken.  I have some friends that have tried the butter chicken from here ...

Popped into Moji for a super late lunch on a Sunday.  We were getting kind of sick of normal Chinese food for a quick bite.  I can't remember how we ended up in this area because I HATE this plaza.  Hate the drivers and hate the parking here, especially the strip of parking that faces Kennedy Road because there's never any spots! Because we arrived so late, they had their happy hour pricing available between 230p - 500p.  For $5.99, you get to choose an appetizer, main, and drink.  With my bad memory, I wish I took a picture of that menu.  In any case, based on my pictures, I ordered chilled tofu, gyu rice, and a strawberry green tea.  The hubby wanted ramen, so he ordered the toroniku ramen off the regular menu.  When our food items arrived, we thought the portions were a bit small.  I don't know if my portions were small due to my food being for its happy hour pricing.  The tofu was good, smooth, with some soy sauce, and nori on top. ...