The wine selection was all-French, categorized by region, and I was very happy that we settled on the Gewurtzraminer.

To start, we had oysters and foie gras. It was my first time trying oyster, and I have to say, I did not like the experience. My companions told me that oysters were an acquired taste. I suspected it was a taste I would never acquire.

The foie gras was unexceptional, perhaps because I had had the best foie gras of my life at Stella. Their superiority remained unchallenged.

I asked for a traditional duck confit, although I had read rave reviews online about their alternative duck confit (shredded duck meat under a layer of mashed potato), which I had had before at Sen5es in Toronto and likened to lasagna. Not my style. The traditional duck confit here was among the best I have ever had. The meat was savoury and falling off the bones, the skin was fried to crisp perfection, and all of it swimming in the juices… oh the juices! The French really know their way around duck (and the rest of the world doesn’t eat nearly enough of it, in my opinion). The mashed potato was also exquisite, so smooth and creamy you could forget it was potato.

The rack of lamb and steak were also a hit with my companions.

For dessert, we had a delicious hazelnut mousse cake and a sweet dessert wine.

I confess, I want to go back immediately and try their other entrees, like the pork neck or beef cheeks. The only obstacle? The price. Oh, and the fact that the washroom is outside the restaurant and down the hall, which is shared by the McDonald’s next door. Classy.

Rating:

Lunch at a Chinese restaurant near work.

I didn’t get pictures of our first dinner, which was at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant and included such memorable dishes as the jumbo chili crab, deep-fried beancurd, steamed fish, liang ban jellyfish, prawns with cabbage, and seafood fried rice.

Dinner at Otto, an upscale Italian restaurant, the next night.

Dinner at an Italian pizza joint.

Dinner at Stella, a fine-dining establishment on the 62 floor of a building downtown. One floor up is the world’s highest al-fresco bar, with stunning views of downtown Singapore.

I’ve never enjoyed foie gras, but these were quite good, and the pastry was unbelievably light.

These were the best maki rolls I have ever had. The combination of flavours and textures was almost overwhelming.

The scallops unfortunately tasted a bit funny to me, probably because they’re not fresh enough. The prawns in the risotto was overcooked, while the risotto itself (the rice grains) were undercooked. The cream base was quite good though.

The desserts were to die for. The creme brulee was just perfect, with bits of macadamia on top. My favourite was the hazelnut mousse, although the toffee cake and pistachio tart were both surprisingly good – both were a little bit different than the norm. I was impressed by the creative use of ingredients.

My friend celebrated her birthday by giving us all an excuse to pig out on pub food and chocolate cake.

I love La Rocca cakes, and the Nut Buster is one of my favourites, but I also had a chance to try their Strawberry Shortcake, which was amazing and inspired me to make my own.

More birthday celebrations at The Old Spaghetti Factory, followed by a late night preview of Star Trek.

Another birthday celebration, this time at my favourite upscale restaurant in Yorkville: Sassafraz.

Lunch in Korea town (North York) at the much-loved Owl of Minerva, followed by bowling to work off all those delicious panchan and entrees.

Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries halfway through the month, so I have no pictures from:
Lettieri Espresso + Bar – their almond biscotti was good, but definitely not made in-house
Panorama Restaurant and Lounge – a disappointing coffee creme brulee
Northern Dumpling Kitchen – review coming soon
Mengrai Gourmet Thai – decent pad thai (not very flavourful, although heaped with toppings), excellent service, and a very interesting green tea creme brulee

The waffles are made to order (which also makes me wonder about the half-waffle thing. I mean, what do they do with the other half?), topped with a scoop of their famous yogurt ice cream and covered with fruits. The waffle itself had a rather ordinary taste (regular waffle batter, not particularly fluffy) and rather on the hard side, but the yogurt ice cream was to die for. It was smooth and creamy, and tasted even better than some real ice cream I’ve had! The fruits were a little bit too sour (out of season?), but I was impressed with the presentation.


There were only two people working behind the counter, and I suspect on slower nights only one. They were both Korean, although they didn’t seem to have any trouble understanding English. Most of the clientele spoke Korean, but there was a table of Cantonese-speakers next to us. They make their own cakes and desserts in the room to the left of the counter. This place had the vibe of an elegant cafe. Their cakes were simple and unpretentious, yet the taste was delicious. Next time I go, I will definitely be trying their signature yogurt ice cream bingsu that I saw many of the people at the other tables order.

Rating:

Yogoberri
6070 Yonge Street, Toronto
Tel: 416-512-0488
Open: 10:30am – 11:00pm

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As soon as we sat down, we were introduced to the “wish list,” which was filled with imaginative cocktails and mouth-watering desserts. My friend and I immediately knew what we wanted for dessert, and decided to order our entree with that in mind. I had the recommended Milestones Original Bellini, which was a colourful mix of premium white rum, peach liqueur and sparkling white wine, topped with Boone’s sangria. The peach liqueur with sparkling white wine was what drew me to this drink, but the sangria was the real topping on the cake.

I ordered Thai chicken tacos, which were a huge platter of three Indian flatbreads with slaw, three skewers of chicken, and two dipping sauces. One dipping sauce was a mango vinaigrette, which was refreshing and only slightly sour. The other was a peanut satay sauce, which was not very peanut-y at all and not viscous enough. The satays were grilled to perfection, but were not marinaded in the traditional Asian style. The slaw was filled with coriander, which I detest, so I could not have very much, but what I did have was crunchy and fresh. The Indian flatbreads were warm and fluffy, but quite tasteless. I had very little of my entree because everything was covered in coriander, so the platter was still as full when it left as when it arrived.

My friend and I each ordered a dessert and split it (though I’ve now forgotten the names and it’s not on their website). One was a chocolate cake with vanilla gelato and whipped cream on top (I think it was called Ibana), covered in caramel. The caramel tasted in-house, in a good sort of way, and the vanilla gelato tasted amazing with the rich chocolate cake. The other was a dark chocolate pie with a pecan crust. The dark chocolate was an interesting experience, since it was still rather creamy and milky, but it was less sweet with subtle bitter undertones. The pecan crust was the real masterpiece. I’m not a huge fan of pecan but this was quite a treat. Unfortunately, the dessert is not made in-house, so I can’t give Milestones credit for that.

Overall, the experience was relaxing and enjoyable. The entree was memorable only because I could not eat most of it due to the coriander, but the dessert and the bellini more than made up for it.

Rating:

Until I had a mango mousse cake in a French cafe in Montreal last year.

The second slice of cake I had was a year later, in a Coffee Culture in London, Ontario.

I was there with a friend, who ordered the New York Cheesecake. Being lactose intolerant, I’ve never taken to cheesecakes, despite protests from many of my friends that they were heavenly. This time was no different, my friend in question made me try some of her cheesecake. It had the slight sourness of a cheesecake, which toned down the sweetness of the chocolate-y-ness of my cake, but it wasn’t a little piece of heaven by any stretch of the imagination

And then yesterday, I had my first, certifiable, heaven-on-earth cheesecake experience. It was like finding true love. The moment I put it in my mouth, there was a clap of thunder, a gong hit somewhere, and the world froze around me, but all I could feel was the mishmash of heaven on my palate. It was a standard chocolate cheesecake with glazed strawberries on top, but it was the perfect blend of sweet chocolate and cheese, with a smooth consistency and a slight woody finish. Sounds like it could be a wine, doesn’t it? If only.

The photo does not do justice to its heavenly-ness. But actually, this was my friend’s order, which I ended up devouring piece by piece. My original order was something called “Milky Way,” a giant of a chocolate cake, with four layers of mousse, a dark chocolate crust and a thick caramel glaze. It was so rich and sweet that I had to drink a full cup of water with every bite.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my coming of age cake story.