Swish By Han

Trying new restaurants is one of my favourite things to do because I love to eat. Since my last review in March, I have been to quite a few restaurants like Luma, Campagnolo, La Société, Sidecar, Jules Bistro Cafe, Lee Lounge, just to name a few. The food was great, but I was not excited to sit down and write a review.

I had dinner at Swish By Han tonight and it was one of best meals I've had in a very long time in Toronto. The restaurant had really nice decor, service was great and the food was delicious. I was especially blown away by their steamed pork belly bun. It was sweet from the hoisin sauce, spicy from the chilis and smoky from the charred pork belly. Party in my mouth.

Steamed Pork Belly Bun. Hands down , the most delicious dish I have eaten in a very long time. I could eat four of these.

Silken Tofu. According to The Grid , they make their tofu from scratch every Sunday. When I read about this, I knew I had to order this dish. The tofu was incredibly fresh and silky and the tempura batter was the perfect coating to contrast the different textures. Order this dish and you will not be disappointed.

Soo Yook: 48 Hour Braised Beef.

I give Swish By Han a solid 8/10. If you happen to go with three or four other friends for dinner, make sure to pre-order the pork shoulder a day before. It's not listed on the menu, so it's a secret.

xoxO

Khao San Road

Last week, I had dinner at Khao San Road with a couple of friends. As I was impatiently waiting for my friends to arrive, I read the National Post's review of the restaurant because a friend told me that they gave mixed reviews. I definitely started to feel skeptical about the food, but decided to order a few dishes that Gina Mallet recommended to see for myself. We ordered the Pad Thai, Gaeng Massaman and Khao Soi.



We had high expectations for the Pad Thai and we were very disappointed. It was definitely too sweet and needed more chili spice to balance out the dish.



The Gaeng Massaman was also a disappointment. The flavours were all too familiar and it tasted like most Thai curries.



The Khao Soi was highly recommended by Mallet, so we had to order it. This dish was the highlight of our evening and it definitely made up for the disappointing Pad Thai. The coconut curry soup was so delicious we drank every last drop. I highly recommend this dish.



For our appetizer, we ordered Tao Hoo Taud Samoon Prai (fried garlic tofu). This was very delicious and unique because they used a firm tofu instead of the conventional soft tofu. I loved the meaty texture of the firm tofu and the spicy dipping sauce.

My rating: ***

xoxO

Guu Izakaya

Over the holidays, I finally got the chance to try Guu with a few friends. When I told them that I have never eaten at Guu, their response was "You haven't been to Guu and you call yourself a foodie?" I guess they are right because there is nothing quite like it in Toronto. I mean people are still willing to line up for hours to eat at this place. It is kind of amazing.

Now onto the food. The Salmon Natto Yukke (chopped salmon sashimi with “seven friends”) was the star of the evening and it blew my mind. The dish is made with natto (Japanese product made with fermented soy beans), green onions and raw egg yolks that are mixed and wrapped in nori (Japanese seaweed). This dish has so many different layers of flavours and textures, there was definitely a party in my mouth.

We hope to try Japango next time. If you know of any good Japanese restaurants, please leave me a comment!

xoxO

Ame

I went to Ame with a couple foodies last night for dinner and I am STILL thinking about the Wagyu Beef Short Ribs.

Look at this beauty. Mouthwatering, falling off the bone deliciousness.



Another favourite dish of the evening was the Miso Black Cod. Whenever I try a new restaurant and cod is on the menu, I always feel the need to give it a try. This was sweet and buttery, so delish!



The next stop will most likely be Ruby Watchco, Lynn Crawford's new restaurant. Stay tuned for more eating adventures.

xoxO

Kultura + Blowfish

Kultura



Starters from l-r: Sushi Pizza, Palak Paneer Naan and Chicken Samosas



European Sea Bass with Snow Peas



Highlight of the night. Trio of fruit sorbets, from l-r, guava, fig and blackberry and pineapple.

Blowfish



Makimonos and Kobe Beef Rolls



Miso Blackened Cod. DELICIOUS.



Dessert for the birthday girl. Green Tea and Ginger Creme Brulee and Tempura Mangoes. The butterscotch and curry sauce on the Tempura Mangoes was nothing that I have tasted before. The hint of curry gave the butterscotch a spicy kick. The perfect combination of sweet and savory in my opinion!

More eating adventures to come!

xoxO

Dakgalbee at Joon's

Last week, my brother took me to Joon's at Yonge and Sheppard for some Dakgalbee. It's Korean tabletop cooking. This was completely new to me because unlike my brother, I do not watch Korean shows/dramas. Apparently this is quite popular in Korea and most people have it as a midnight meal. We ordered the first Dakgalbee on the menu and in minutes the waitress came to our table and began cooking for us. The end result was delicious! The one pan wonder had ramen noodles, rice cakes, vegetables, chicken, spicy Korean hot sauce and mozzarella cheese. Yes, cheese. Interesting mix right? I thought so too, but the combination is pretty amazing. It's spicy and cheesy all at the same time. What's not to like?

Here are some visuals.


Before


Dakgalbee. Nomnomnom.

xoxO

Pure Decadence in a Bowl

Honestly anything with cheese is good for me, but last night's dinner experience at Oliver and Bonacini was on another level. I want to note that I ended up devouring my boyfriend's meal because I did not enjoy my seafood linguine. He ordered the O&B Macaroni and Cheese with slivered chicken, sweet garden peas, Balderson cheddar, and Chevalier goat cheese. Yes cheddar and goat cheese TOGETHER! I thought the combination would be too strong, but it was so delicious. I even resorted to scraping down the bowl with my fork to get every last bit of cheese sauce in my mouth! I know I have no shame and zero table manners, but you would do the same if you tried this dish. I'm no Gail Greene but this mac and cheese deserves five stars.

Sorry no visuals for this post, I was too busy eating!

Mildred's Kitchen Temple promotes sex in its bathrooms.

I am sure the title has caught your attention, as it did for me when I came across the article this morning in the Toronto Star. Apparently, Mildred's Kitchen Temple has always been suggestive and welcomes little trysts in their bathrooms. Click here for the full story.

From a PR and social media standpoint, this story has generated some publicity for the Liberty Village restaurant. According to one reader, he commented that Google searches for “Mildred’s restaurant Toronto" hit 95,400 since the story was posted. So far, the story has been shared on Facebook 390 times and people have been tweeting about it since yesterday. Prior to the release of this story, foodies have been tweeting about their winterlicious dining experience at Mildred's. It's not bad for a small restaurant in Toronto.

There has been some negative comments going around, but to be honest, I have been to Mildred's and never knew of the sex in bathrooms. I don't think that this actually happens in their bathrooms (well, I hope not!), but they are definitely suggesting that there could be room for a bit of romance.

The purpose of the story is to promote the restaurant's "Mildred's Weekend of Big Love" for Valentine's Day, but conveniently Winterlicious is going on at the moment. They definitely chose a good time to run this story because they may even get a few last minute Winterlicious reservations booked before February 11th.

As for the negative comments, I say brush it off. At the end of the day the restaurant got tonnes of publicity and hits. Good work Flex PR.

What are your thoughts?
Cheeky or sleezy?