Brownies still tasty!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Lola Rosas Round 2 (Montreal)
Nachos are moderately tasty with lots of black beans, salsa and avocado. Could use more cheese & less sogginess.
Brownies still tasty!
Brownies still tasty!
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
3 Amigos (Montreal)
While in Montreal, we headed over to 3 Amigos one day for lunch. We had heard good things and had previously considered going when we ended up at an Indian place on the St Denis strip. Anyway, after a full morning of touristing we headed in around 2. The place wasn't that crowded which wasn't terribly surprising given the time.
The chips and salsa were a great opener since the chips were warm. Ideal after walking around on a blustery day. Unfortunately that was the highlight.
For the main course, Janice had a the veggie and beef taco platter. A quote from her, "The beef was greasy and the veggie had no flavour and was gross.". I had the chicken "burrito". I think everyone knows I love burritos but this was no burrito I've ever had. It was chicken in a tortilla covered in cheese. All of the usual burrito stuffing items were missing. That said it was a sizable amount of chicken and it had been marinated/cooked to have a good flavour. The sides were ok but they certainly did not make up for my disappointing burrito.
All this for $22.91 all in. The verdict, we probably won't be back for quite a while.
The chips and salsa were a great opener since the chips were warm. Ideal after walking around on a blustery day. Unfortunately that was the highlight.
For the main course, Janice had a the veggie and beef taco platter. A quote from her, "The beef was greasy and the veggie had no flavour and was gross.". I had the chicken "burrito". I think everyone knows I love burritos but this was no burrito I've ever had. It was chicken in a tortilla covered in cheese. All of the usual burrito stuffing items were missing. That said it was a sizable amount of chicken and it had been marinated/cooked to have a good flavour. The sides were ok but they certainly did not make up for my disappointing burrito.
All this for $22.91 all in. The verdict, we probably won't be back for quite a while.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Made in Japan A Teriyaki Experience
When it's cold, we head over to the Cumberland food court where I hit up the Made in Japan A Teriyaki Experience place. The special every day is steak and chicken teriyaki for $6.44 all in. The first time I went, like a fool I just got chicken even though it's the same price as the special. Since then I've never made that mistake again.
The food is reasonably tasty. I stick to one small scoop of sauce to ensure I'm having a stir fry with rice not a soup as other people do. My main complain is the small serving. The meat serving is actually reasonably generous for the price (Although I still fondly remember Edo's Sukyiyaki beef for 3.99 that allowed you to double the beef for only 99 cents more). The rice however is a little stingy. I'm left hungry by 4 and I have to dip into my reserve of chips.
And with the lack of choice in that food court, I'll definitely be back.
The food is reasonably tasty. I stick to one small scoop of sauce to ensure I'm having a stir fry with rice not a soup as other people do. My main complain is the small serving. The meat serving is actually reasonably generous for the price (Although I still fondly remember Edo's Sukyiyaki beef for 3.99 that allowed you to double the beef for only 99 cents more). The rice however is a little stingy. I'm left hungry by 4 and I have to dip into my reserve of chips.
And with the lack of choice in that food court, I'll definitely be back.
PC Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade
Moderately tasty and contrary to most PC appetizer products, not very detrimental to your health.
Internet people don't have a heck of a lot to say, but so far 2 reviewers on the PC website give it 5/5. I would rate is more like a 4.
Here's Ian enjoying on a crostini (whole wheat sour dough baguette toasted with some olive oil).
Internet people don't have a heck of a lot to say, but so far 2 reviewers on the PC website give it 5/5. I would rate is more like a 4.
Here's Ian enjoying on a crostini (whole wheat sour dough baguette toasted with some olive oil).
Sunday, December 07, 2008
5th Elementt Christmas Party
Ian thought of a brilliant opening line for this blog, but on further wikipedia research by me, the line seems to have fallen apart.
Here it is:
"The 5th elementt supplements the usual 4 elements - earth, water, wind and fire with mediocrity"
But it does appear that people besides the classic greeks (namely Asian people), consider additional elements for a total of 5.
Regardless, we will ignore fact and stick with the mediocrity theme.
Ian finally has a job and with any job, this means Christmas Party! The company has enough people and guests to rent the restaurant out & require supplemental plastic chairs.
Drinks started somewhat poorly, with $7 a hit for a rum and coke and $3 for my cranberry juice. If we had known juice was not free, Ian could have hooked me up with free beverage from work.
Appetizers were yummy with plentiful chicken korma chunks on toothpicks. Ian had about 5 of these and at one time remarked "it's looks like a whole chicken per appetizer platter". Too bad chicken korma at local Indian buffets does not have chicken chunks this big floating around in the sauce. A+
Then came bruschetta with chicken. The chicken did not add anything and in fact detracted from an otherwise decent appetizer. Wikipedia does not recommend chicken and we all know this website is an authority on food... C+
In short supply were decent, although greasy, spring rolls, veggie/sun dried tomato pinwheel pasty and a goat cheese pasty. B
Then came the wait...from sitting down to bread & wine we waited about 40 minutes. Clearly this party overwhelmed the kitchen & wait staff. But I guess what restaurant owner in their right mind would turn down a packed house and lots of liquor sales on a weeknight.
When bread finally arrived, it was a nice herb bread with olive oil & balsamic. Perhaps not enough for our table of 8 though. No refills arrived.
House wine was poured - Jackson Triggs cabernet sauvignon. Our table were non-drinkers, so Ian and I enjoyed for the rest of the table.
Plated appetizers were the star of the night. Ian enjoyed some pan sauteed black cod with white beet. This was an incredibly large appetizer with a whole large fillet of fish on the plate. A bit bland, but pleasant overall. My salad of lettuce, Asian pear and mango was delightful & light. Others as the table enjoyed pork something...again a dinner sized portion. B-.
Main courses started a sharp decline. Huge chunks of pesto coated Chilean sea bass suffered from a rubbery texture and lack of flavor. The luke-warm (at best) temperature of the meal really was a detriment to the fish & sides (mashed potato & spinach). I could not stomach about more than 1/3 of the fish. D+.
Not very many positive comments on lamb. Chicken with rice seemed to be the best choice of the night.
Dessert was a bit of a fiasco. We were unfortunately one of the last tables served, so this meant no chocolate mousse for Ian. It seems as though the waiters let people change their mind at the event thus resulting in not enough mousse by the time they got to us. If they were that tight on dessert, why let people switch from their original order they made a few weeks in advance?
In the end, we both ended up with gateaux mango & lychee. Fairly pleasent, but Ian was still a bit grouchy about the whole experience. C+.
Here it is:
"The 5th elementt supplements the usual 4 elements - earth, water, wind and fire with mediocrity"
But it does appear that people besides the classic greeks (namely Asian people), consider additional elements for a total of 5.
Regardless, we will ignore fact and stick with the mediocrity theme.
Ian finally has a job and with any job, this means Christmas Party! The company has enough people and guests to rent the restaurant out & require supplemental plastic chairs.
Drinks started somewhat poorly, with $7 a hit for a rum and coke and $3 for my cranberry juice. If we had known juice was not free, Ian could have hooked me up with free beverage from work.
Appetizers were yummy with plentiful chicken korma chunks on toothpicks. Ian had about 5 of these and at one time remarked "it's looks like a whole chicken per appetizer platter". Too bad chicken korma at local Indian buffets does not have chicken chunks this big floating around in the sauce. A+
Then came bruschetta with chicken. The chicken did not add anything and in fact detracted from an otherwise decent appetizer. Wikipedia does not recommend chicken and we all know this website is an authority on food... C+
In short supply were decent, although greasy, spring rolls, veggie/sun dried tomato pinwheel pasty and a goat cheese pasty. B
Then came the wait...from sitting down to bread & wine we waited about 40 minutes. Clearly this party overwhelmed the kitchen & wait staff. But I guess what restaurant owner in their right mind would turn down a packed house and lots of liquor sales on a weeknight.
When bread finally arrived, it was a nice herb bread with olive oil & balsamic. Perhaps not enough for our table of 8 though. No refills arrived.
House wine was poured - Jackson Triggs cabernet sauvignon. Our table were non-drinkers, so Ian and I enjoyed for the rest of the table.
Plated appetizers were the star of the night. Ian enjoyed some pan sauteed black cod with white beet. This was an incredibly large appetizer with a whole large fillet of fish on the plate. A bit bland, but pleasant overall. My salad of lettuce, Asian pear and mango was delightful & light. Others as the table enjoyed pork something...again a dinner sized portion. B-.
Main courses started a sharp decline. Huge chunks of pesto coated Chilean sea bass suffered from a rubbery texture and lack of flavor. The luke-warm (at best) temperature of the meal really was a detriment to the fish & sides (mashed potato & spinach). I could not stomach about more than 1/3 of the fish. D+.
Not very many positive comments on lamb. Chicken with rice seemed to be the best choice of the night.
Dessert was a bit of a fiasco. We were unfortunately one of the last tables served, so this meant no chocolate mousse for Ian. It seems as though the waiters let people change their mind at the event thus resulting in not enough mousse by the time they got to us. If they were that tight on dessert, why let people switch from their original order they made a few weeks in advance?
In the end, we both ended up with gateaux mango & lychee. Fairly pleasent, but Ian was still a bit grouchy about the whole experience. C+.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Head to Head Market Showdown. Jean Talon vs St. Lawrence
The best of the Toronto & Montreal markets compared....
Location
Let's face it, as down-towners, St. Lawrence is rather convenient for us on all but the laziest or coldest of days. Door to door in less than 30 minutes.
Marche Jean Talon is not quite so handy. It is in Montreal where I occasionally live. But even from my place in Montreal it's still a solid hour to get there and is not exactly downtown.
Public transit options about equal to both markets.
Edge St. Lawrence
Layout/Size
St. Lawrence is probably physically bigger, but Jean-Talon felt a lot more spaced out and not so overwhelmingly busy. I liked the mix of indoor & outdoor at Jean-Talon vs the two buildings at St. Lawrence.
Edge: Jean Talon
Fish & Seafood
Definite edge to St. Lawrence. Not a heck of a lot of seafood at Jean-Talon.
St. Lawrence
Meat
St. Lawrence - lots of regular steaks, ribs & poultry.
Jean-Talon - smoked meat and charcuterie in general seemed superior.
Edge: Equal
Quebecois Specialty Food
Toronto really doesn't have a distinct food genre, instead we seem to have stolen good stuff from other cultures. The only moderately good thing in Toronto is the peameal bacon sandwich.
Jean Talon - good stuff like crepes, smoked meat, meat pies, sugar pies, maple syrup etc available.
Edge: Jean Talon
Produce
Perhaps about the same variety & pricing, but Jean-Talon had lots of nice looking displays and vendors seemed to spend more time on presentation.
Edge: Jean-Talon
Flowers
Are there flowers at St. Lawrence? Only a meager amount as part of a produce store.
St. Lawrence
Edge: Jean-Talon
Dry Goods
St Lawrence has a super cool store downstairs with lots of bulk & specialty dry goods downstairs. Add in a rice & bean store and it's an easy choice.
Edge: St Lawrence
Criminal Element
St Lawrence has cops for helping people cross the street, Jean-Talon had cruisers driving through presumably looking for criminals.
Edge: St Lawrence.
Pasta
Whole stores dedicated to the making of fresh pasta at Jean-Talon. At St. Lawrence, merely a small table.
Cheese
Surprisingly, St Lawrence appears to be superior with a couple huge cheese shops. Nothing too major at Jean Talon.
Edge: St. Lawrence
Bakery
Future Bakery vs sugar pies. Who can really make a call between these two.
St Lawrence
Edge: neutral
Housewares
Location
Let's face it, as down-towners, St. Lawrence is rather convenient for us on all but the laziest or coldest of days. Door to door in less than 30 minutes.
Marche Jean Talon is not quite so handy. It is in Montreal where I occasionally live. But even from my place in Montreal it's still a solid hour to get there and is not exactly downtown.
Public transit options about equal to both markets.
Edge St. Lawrence
Layout/Size
St. Lawrence is probably physically bigger, but Jean-Talon felt a lot more spaced out and not so overwhelmingly busy. I liked the mix of indoor & outdoor at Jean-Talon vs the two buildings at St. Lawrence.
Edge: Jean Talon
Fish & Seafood
Definite edge to St. Lawrence. Not a heck of a lot of seafood at Jean-Talon.
St Lawrence
St. Lawrence
Fresh fish on the way to St Lawrence
Edge: St. Lawrence
Meat
St. Lawrence - lots of regular steaks, ribs & poultry.
Jean-Talon - smoked meat and charcuterie in general seemed superior.
Jean Talon
St Lawrence
St Lawrence
St Lawrence
Edge: Equal
Quebecois Specialty Food
Toronto really doesn't have a distinct food genre, instead we seem to have stolen good stuff from other cultures. The only moderately good thing in Toronto is the peameal bacon sandwich.
Jean Talon - good stuff like crepes, smoked meat, meat pies, sugar pies, maple syrup etc available.
Jean Talon
St Lawrence
Edge: Jean Talon
Produce
Perhaps about the same variety & pricing, but Jean-Talon had lots of nice looking displays and vendors seemed to spend more time on presentation.
Jean Talon
Edge: Jean-Talon
Flowers
Are there flowers at St. Lawrence? Only a meager amount as part of a produce store.
Jean Talon
St. Lawrence
Edge: Jean-Talon
Dry Goods
St Lawrence has a super cool store downstairs with lots of bulk & specialty dry goods downstairs. Add in a rice & bean store and it's an easy choice.
Edge: St Lawrence
Criminal Element
St Lawrence has cops for helping people cross the street, Jean-Talon had cruisers driving through presumably looking for criminals.
Jean Talon
Edge: St Lawrence.
Pasta
Whole stores dedicated to the making of fresh pasta at Jean-Talon. At St. Lawrence, merely a small table.
Jean Talon
St Lawrence
Edge: Jean-Talon
Cheese
Surprisingly, St Lawrence appears to be superior with a couple huge cheese shops. Nothing too major at Jean Talon.
St. Lawrence
Edge: St. Lawrence
Bakery
Future Bakery vs sugar pies. Who can really make a call between these two.
St Lawrence
Edge: neutral
Housewares
One extremely cramped store at St. Lawrence and a few other little guys. Jean-Talon has a few places, just as well equipped but a lot nicer & spaced out.
Jean Talon
St Lawrence
Beer
St. Lawrence has the LCBO down the street, Jean-Talon has specialty wine shops & local beer by the bottle.
Edge: Jean-Talon
Final Count - 2 up Jean Talon, but really they are about equal.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Chez Cora
Ian and I have partaken in the T., but this was the first time going authentic to the home of Cora.
Ian wanted to stick with the familiar and got what I got last time, the cinnamon brioche roll with an egg, bacon and fruit salad on top. With a bit of syrup, the tastiness level was high.
My breakfast came with a scrambled egg, about 6 strips of bacon, two blueberry pancakes and some fruit. Overall very delightful.
Perhaps not a good deal for 2 meals + an OJ for $27.46 including tax and tip.
Ian wanted to stick with the familiar and got what I got last time, the cinnamon brioche roll with an egg, bacon and fruit salad on top. With a bit of syrup, the tastiness level was high.
My breakfast came with a scrambled egg, about 6 strips of bacon, two blueberry pancakes and some fruit. Overall very delightful.
Perhaps not a good deal for 2 meals + an OJ for $27.46 including tax and tip.
Monday, December 01, 2008
The Host
With American thanksgiving last week, a calm settled over the office on Thursday and Friday so there was enough time to head over to the Host for their Indian buffet on Friday. I'd been years ago a la carte but I hadn't ever had their lunch buffet (available Thursday through Sunday).
The buffet is in a back little room which is sort of a step up from the normal restaurant set up where the buffet dominates the whole room. I picked up my plate and immediately bypassed the salads. (For the interested, there seemed to be a number of them. They looked alright and were generally green in colour.) The first items that I picked up were some papadum and a pakora. Both were good but offered no real surprises. They also had spring rolls whose presence I did find surprising so I skipped them.
I moved on to the rice which was tasty. They had 3 or so vegetarian dishes but I was very displeased that there was no daal. I tried to make do with the chana masala but nothing can compete with good daal. I don't have the same love for butter chicken that most people harbour but I did find their butter chicken reasonably tasty with decent sized chunks of meat. You certainly didn't have to dig around the dish to get the meat as you sometimes have to on Queen St. I also had the beef and some tandoor chicken. The beef was reasonably tender and the tandoor I quite liked as again the chicken pieces were large.
I ate and then repeated the process again placing the most emphasis on the butter chicken.
I went onto dessert after that. They had a fruit salad (with pineapple!), kheer/rice pudding, carrot cake and gulab jamon. I of course tried them all more than once. The gulab which is usually my favorite were only alright. The balls looked terrific. They were slightly smaller than the typical gulab I've encountered. However, I really prefer the gulab warm so it was disappointing when they weren't. Other than that the taste was great. Janice would have loved the carrot cake with its delightfully sweet icing. I had no problems with the rice pudding and as noted previously the pineapple in the fruit salad made my day (well it made the fruit salad if not my day).
As with every sit down place in Yorkville, nothing comes cheap. It was 15 dollars all in although if you're willing to wait for awkward amounts of change you could get by with 14.25 problem.
The buffet is in a back little room which is sort of a step up from the normal restaurant set up where the buffet dominates the whole room. I picked up my plate and immediately bypassed the salads. (For the interested, there seemed to be a number of them. They looked alright and were generally green in colour.) The first items that I picked up were some papadum and a pakora. Both were good but offered no real surprises. They also had spring rolls whose presence I did find surprising so I skipped them.
I moved on to the rice which was tasty. They had 3 or so vegetarian dishes but I was very displeased that there was no daal. I tried to make do with the chana masala but nothing can compete with good daal. I don't have the same love for butter chicken that most people harbour but I did find their butter chicken reasonably tasty with decent sized chunks of meat. You certainly didn't have to dig around the dish to get the meat as you sometimes have to on Queen St. I also had the beef and some tandoor chicken. The beef was reasonably tender and the tandoor I quite liked as again the chicken pieces were large.
I ate and then repeated the process again placing the most emphasis on the butter chicken.
I went onto dessert after that. They had a fruit salad (with pineapple!), kheer/rice pudding, carrot cake and gulab jamon. I of course tried them all more than once. The gulab which is usually my favorite were only alright. The balls looked terrific. They were slightly smaller than the typical gulab I've encountered. However, I really prefer the gulab warm so it was disappointing when they weren't. Other than that the taste was great. Janice would have loved the carrot cake with its delightfully sweet icing. I had no problems with the rice pudding and as noted previously the pineapple in the fruit salad made my day (well it made the fruit salad if not my day).
As with every sit down place in Yorkville, nothing comes cheap. It was 15 dollars all in although if you're willing to wait for awkward amounts of change you could get by with 14.25 problem.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Guido & Angelina (Montreal)
Last night, I went out for dinner with R&S in downtown Montreal to Guido & Angelina's.
The price was right, but the food not spectacular. Calamari was a touch rubbery but definitely plentiful for the price.
My main course of mushroom risotto was delicious and too much for one person to eat. Lasagna and cannelloni were ok, but not great.
So overall a decent place and a good place for a party or a big crowd.
The price was right, but the food not spectacular. Calamari was a touch rubbery but definitely plentiful for the price.
My main course of mushroom risotto was delicious and too much for one person to eat. Lasagna and cannelloni were ok, but not great.
So overall a decent place and a good place for a party or a big crowd.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Les 3 Brasseurs (Montreal)
Montreal pub at it's best or perhaps busiest, this place is nearly impossible to get in on Fridays after work, or even late evening.
Ian and I enjoyed a moderately priced pint each with some free peanuts for me. Total cost was $12.
The blonde & amber are probably the tastiest among the brew made on site, but of course grouchy Ian thought his tastest like pipe cleaners? Like what the heck is that flavor and how would he even know that???? Has he been munching on pipe cleaner lately??
Ian and I enjoyed a moderately priced pint each with some free peanuts for me. Total cost was $12.
The blonde & amber are probably the tastiest among the brew made on site, but of course grouchy Ian thought his tastest like pipe cleaners? Like what the heck is that flavor and how would he even know that???? Has he been munching on pipe cleaner lately??
Friday, November 28, 2008
Lola Rosas (Montreal)
Time in Montreal is possibly winding down a bit, but on the plus side this means more Toronto postings for our faithful blog readers!
My coworker & I went to Lola Rosas in the heart of the McGill student ghetto. It is vegetarian that leans toward Mexican, although there were a few others cultures represented. The garage that houses Lola's was well renovated and the tables were especially cute & antique-like! Check out the notes in the drawers for some wisdom from past customers.
My black bean burrito was alright, nothing special, but the included side salad had a delightful peanut/orange flavored dressing. My coworker enjoyed her hemp burger with salad, chickpea salad & side of beets. Both dishes about $10. Big eaters will leave hungry. Next time I will try the nachos- they looked awesome with big hunks of avocado thrown on top!
Dessert was a highlight - a warm brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream for the very moderate price of $3.50.
My coworker & I went to Lola Rosas in the heart of the McGill student ghetto. It is vegetarian that leans toward Mexican, although there were a few others cultures represented. The garage that houses Lola's was well renovated and the tables were especially cute & antique-like! Check out the notes in the drawers for some wisdom from past customers.
My black bean burrito was alright, nothing special, but the included side salad had a delightful peanut/orange flavored dressing. My coworker enjoyed her hemp burger with salad, chickpea salad & side of beets. Both dishes about $10. Big eaters will leave hungry. Next time I will try the nachos- they looked awesome with big hunks of avocado thrown on top!
Dessert was a highlight - a warm brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream for the very moderate price of $3.50.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Biryani House
Tuesday is Butter Chicken day at the Biryani House on Hayden and Yonge and from the line that was practically out the door this is a popular day and/or place. The chef's special (there's one for every day of the week) comes with the special plus two veggies. The rice is then topped with some daal. Everything was tasty and it even stayed warm on the long walk back to the office. Next time though I think I will try to swap a veggie for more daal.
Dessert was a little rice pudding. The emphasis is certainly on the little. No complaints about the quality of it but it almost didn't seem worth having a spoon for the quantity of pudding provided.
All this food rang in at $6.77 (but they gave a quarter back in change from 7 bucks). I'll definitely be back but it's a painful walk since it requires walking by the empty restaurant that used to be the Green Mango take out place. I don't think I'm over that loss yet.
Dessert was a little rice pudding. The emphasis is certainly on the little. No complaints about the quality of it but it almost didn't seem worth having a spoon for the quantity of pudding provided.
All this food rang in at $6.77 (but they gave a quarter back in change from 7 bucks). I'll definitely be back but it's a painful walk since it requires walking by the empty restaurant that used to be the Green Mango take out place. I don't think I'm over that loss yet.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
And More Korea....Andong Chicken
On our Andong heritage village adventure, we went to a house in the village for the local speciatly chicken. This had a good amount of tasty sauce, lots of chicken, some noodles, potatoes, onions, carrots and greens. Add rice & side dishes and it was way too much for 3 people to eat. A good deal for $22 all in!
It was the only chicken we ate on the entire 2.5 week trip.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Hero Burger
Today for lunch, I went to Hero Burger in Hazelton Lanes. I hadn't been to this location in quite a few years but the menu was basically unchanged. I decided to be healthy and only had a 6 oz Hero Burger. The toppings are the "star of the show" as Janice would say. I, of course, stick with the free toppings. Today, I went with their BBQ sauce that was a Maple Chipotle BBQ sauce which Janice would have been all over. Aside from that I had the normal mustard, pickle, tomato and onion. I've had moister burgers but overall, the Hero version of the Ian Burger was pretty tasty.
Combo's were priced at 2.20 more than a burger alone. Since fries by themselves were $2.40, it's a pretty good deal even with the free pop back at work so I had a combo.
My only complaint (I have to have one) is that the place no longer seemed to have the same upscale burger joint it used to have. Sure it's still in Hazelton Lanes but it felt a lot more production and McD like than it used to feel like. Perhaps it was just an off day for the crew.
Combo's were priced at 2.20 more than a burger alone. Since fries by themselves were $2.40, it's a pretty good deal even with the free pop back at work so I had a combo.
My only complaint (I have to have one) is that the place no longer seemed to have the same upscale burger joint it used to have. Sure it's still in Hazelton Lanes but it felt a lot more production and McD like than it used to feel like. Perhaps it was just an off day for the crew.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Korea Again - Pancake this Time!
This is the same place as the tasty dumpling joint in Insadong Seoul. Seafood pancake seemed to be a speciality in Korea, particularly with squid. It is somewhat misleading for the veggie or non seafood fan, as these squid pancakes often showed up in the English translation as "green onion" or "vegetable" pancake!
This one was legitimately veg, making me happy (although I don't look it from the picture)! The waitress wasn't shy about going at it with scissors, thus saving me the hassle of slicing into bite size pieces with my chopsticks!
To the left of the picture, you can see an almost empty bowl of glass noodle salad..mmm. To the right is full kim-chee...ewwwww.
This one was legitimately veg, making me happy (although I don't look it from the picture)! The waitress wasn't shy about going at it with scissors, thus saving me the hassle of slicing into bite size pieces with my chopsticks!
To the left of the picture, you can see an almost empty bowl of glass noodle salad..mmm. To the right is full kim-chee...ewwwww.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Top 10 Healthy Foods
Janice vs Ian showdown on which person eats more healthy food. I've collected top 10 lists from 3 reputable and not so reputable sources for the comparison. J stands for Janice, I for Ian.
And the results....
Total score is Janice 22. Ian 21. So fairly decent scores out of 30.
Scroll down for the details...
Mayo Clinic Top 10
And the results....
Total score is Janice 22. Ian 21. So fairly decent scores out of 30.
Scroll down for the details...
Mayo Clinic Top 10
- Almond (J)
- Apples (J + I)
- Blueberries (I)
- Broccoli (J+ I)
- Red Beans (J + I beans in general)
- Salmon (J + I)
- Spinach (J + I greens in general)
- Sweet Potatoes (J + I)
- Veggie Juice (I)
- Wheat Germ (nope)
- Berries (J+I)
- Legumes (J + I)
- Citrus fruit (J + I)
- Lean Meat (J+ I)
- Olive Oil (J + I)
- Nuts & Seeds (J)
- Salmon (J + I)
- Tea (Nope)
- Veggies (J + I)
- Whole Grains (J)
- Wholegrain bread (J)
- Blueberries (I)
- Yogurt (J)
- Sweet potatoes (J + I)
- Nut butters (J)
- Beans (J + I)
- Broccoli (J + I)
- Omega 3 eggs (nope)
- Avocados (I more than J)
- Organic chicken (I regular chicken)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
One More Korea - Beef Cartilage Stew
One more post...or at least the last one till I look through my Korea pictures again!
This was a small restaurant near my sisters place outside Cheonan. Their specialty is beef cartilage stew. Once it cooks down, meat gets infused with broth tastiness and starts to fall off the bones. Until this point, it's a bit tough to eat. The broth was delicious and there were lots of tasty mushrooms, greens and a few potatoes. Add a couple of baps on the side and a few side dishes and it's a pretty filling meal for about $6/person.
Here's my sister enjoying the stew:
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Mikasa (Montreal)
From the looks of the website, this is a Montreal area mini-chain. We ventured out to the downtown peel location.
This seems to be quite a popular place and it was starting to get busy about 5:30 on Wednesday night. By the time we left, it was starting to fill up.
The meal started well with some yasai tempura (veggie). Light and crispy topping with great vegiges including mushroom, squash, eggplant and zuchini. Others seemed to enjoy seaweed salad with grilled octopus.
Main course was a fantastic custom veggie sushi platter including mini avocado, squash tempura rolls and a rather expensive fruit sushi ($13 I think for 4 pieces). The other sushi was a bit more reasonable at $4 to $6 I think.
This seems to be quite a popular place and it was starting to get busy about 5:30 on Wednesday night. By the time we left, it was starting to fill up.
The meal started well with some yasai tempura (veggie). Light and crispy topping with great vegiges including mushroom, squash, eggplant and zuchini. Others seemed to enjoy seaweed salad with grilled octopus.
Main course was a fantastic custom veggie sushi platter including mini avocado, squash tempura rolls and a rather expensive fruit sushi ($13 I think for 4 pieces). The other sushi was a bit more reasonable at $4 to $6 I think.
Others liked salmon sushi & grilled seafood platter. I would definately go back, but not too often due to price!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Trattoria Trestevere (Montreal)
This place appears to be among the more traditional/less trendy places on Crescent.
Dinner started well with some tomato-cheese crostini on the house. The co-workers arugula salads & tomato-bococcini salads were all delightful and fairly large servings.
The main courses were fun to order. Many of the pastas were names I did not recognize, so I was asking the waiter for translation. He gave up on that and started designing pastas around my choice of sauce, rose. The first few selections were meaty, but I chose the last one with fungi.
My veggie coworker went with my pasta, one guy had another custom pasta - penne arribiatta with spicy sausage. The carnivorous food guru had a massive veal chop with potato & veg.
The pastas and veal were all fantastic. Large bowls with great sauce. The rose was interesting - it was more like Alfredo with their tomato sauce ladled on top. Price was pretty decent too...about $18 or so I think for the pastas.
Dinner started well with some tomato-cheese crostini on the house. The co-workers arugula salads & tomato-bococcini salads were all delightful and fairly large servings.
The main courses were fun to order. Many of the pastas were names I did not recognize, so I was asking the waiter for translation. He gave up on that and started designing pastas around my choice of sauce, rose. The first few selections were meaty, but I chose the last one with fungi.
My veggie coworker went with my pasta, one guy had another custom pasta - penne arribiatta with spicy sausage. The carnivorous food guru had a massive veal chop with potato & veg.
The pastas and veal were all fantastic. Large bowls with great sauce. The rose was interesting - it was more like Alfredo with their tomato sauce ladled on top. Price was pretty decent too...about $18 or so I think for the pastas.
Where Rice Comes From...Korea!
In particular, these rice fields are near Andong at the Hahoe folk village.
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