restaurant review: asian legend

Restaurant: Asian Legend
Location: 4452 Sheppard Ave. E., Scarborough, Ontario
Telephone: 416-298-8081
Website: asianlegend.ca

Meal type: Lunch

Average price per person: $0-$10

What we ordered:
- Pan Fried Green Onion Pancake
- Hot Soy Bean Milk
- Minced Meat with Noodles in Peking sauce
- Sauteed Wheat Gluten (i think)

Ratings:










Comments:
When I first stepped in to Asian Legend I was quite impressed. They had converted an old swiss chalet into a very modern looking asian restaurant. It was very clean and chic looking.

The prices were very good, the portions very generous andthe food looked very tasty, unfortunately all the dishes we tried completely lacked taste. Even the fried onion pancake which looked like it was fried to perfection lacked taste! I felt like I was eathing nothing! Very unappetizing. Don't get me wrong - everything was still edible and wasn't bad, it just wasn't good.

I doubt we'll be going back unless they change their recipes or head chef.

restaurant review: tomo japanese restaurant

Restaurant: Tomo Japanese Restaurant
Location: 9625 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4C 5T2
Telephone: 905-770-2129

Meal type: Lunch

Average price per person: $11-$25

What we ordered:
- Edamame
- Sushi Dinner (34 pieces) with: California roll, spicy tuna roll, cucumber roll, spider roll, eel roll

Ratings:










Comments:
My good friend brought me to their favourite sushi place for lunch today. I love finding out about new sushi gems around the GTA! It's always good to know where the good sushi places around town are in case you're out and about and get that strong sushi craving.

My first impressions of the restaurant was that it was very quaint and cute. It was located in a strip mall and I probably would have never found it on my own. The service was very friendly, attentive and super quick - probably the best service I've had in a while. A waitress would come by every so often in a non-invasive way to ask if everything was okay and our tea was always refilled and warm.

We ordered a dinner sushi plate for our late lunch. They brought us the BEST miso I`ve ever had as a complimentary appetizer. It had noodles in it and bits of tempura batter! Omigosh - so good. The sushi dinner was very plentiful (as the picture above shows) and quite tasty. All in all it wasn`t the best sushi I`ve ever had, but it was definitely somewhere I`d visit again.

I love that sushi is everywhere nowadays.

fake food

My awesome sister Cinnamon Kitten gave me my early Christmas gift! A book on how to make felt food! I'm so excited!

As I mentioned before I really enjoy fake food. And I think this Christmas holiday season when it's a little too chilly to go outside, I'm gonna sit at home and attempt to make me some fake shortcake. =)

Doesn't that picture look incredible? I can't wait until I have my own house! I'm going to fill it with fake food! I hope my future husband doesn't mind! haha.

restaurant review: the host

Restaurant: The Host Fine Indian Cuisine
Location: 33 City Center Dr., Mississauga, Ontario L5B 2N5
Telephone: 905-566-4678
Website: welcometohost.com

Meal type: Buffet Lunch

Average price per person: $11-$25

What I ordered: (Buffet Lunch)
- Buffet Lunch
- Samosas
- Goat Curry
- Cocunt Shrimp Curry
- Nan
- Saffron Rice

Ratings:









Comments:
We decided to eat at the Host for lunch today. I`ve only been there for dinners, but was really looking forward to trying their buffet lunch as my faince always told me it was just as good quality wise as their dinners.

It was pretty busy as there was a party being held in their party room, but there was plenty of food for everyone. I was impressed by the spread as well as the quality of food. It was fresh and just as good as their dinner a la carte! And the nan was flying off the buffet table as it was being cooked fresh.

Unforgunately the fire alarm in the building went off near the end of our lunch which kinda put a damper on things.

The host remains my favorite Indian restaurant. Their buffet lunch is definitely a great deal and the quality amazing! I wish it was close enough to my work to go there during lunchtimes!

an ode to mom's cooking

One of my favorite things in the food realm is dumplings. My mother and me often make home-made dumplings and I love when she fries up a batch for weekend lunch. We stuff them with pork and vegetables and pan fry them. They can also be boiled in water to make soup dumplings which aren't bad either, but I really prefer mine fried so you get that yummy fried crust/taste to them.

ottawa wine & food expo

Event: The 23rd Annual Ottawa Wine & Food Show
Location: Lansdowne Park, 1015 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Date: November 7 - 9, 2008
Website: playerexpo.com
Entrance price per person (general admission): $17

This was my first time at the Ottawa wine & food show & unfortunately I wasn't that impressed. We had to wait about 1.5 hours outside (thank goodness it wasn't that cold - but it was still chilly) only to get crammed into a very very very stuffed venue. It was really insane inside! We tried a couple of good wines, and a couple of bad ones. We also ate a bunch of food, but overall I wish there were more out-of-the-ordinary items and less every day run of the mill items.

Tickets for buying drinks & food were $0.50 each and glasses of wine ranged from 2-6 tickets usually. Food items were usually around 4-8 tickets. Some booths did not accept tickets and only accepted cash.

I remember at the Toronto Wine & Food Expo I was introduced to many interesting drinks and foods. The Toronto event was really more focused on the wine and food, whereas the Ottawa event was more based on a bunch of socialites getting sloshed and out to mingle/pick up.

I did enjoy the following booths:
- A Culinary Conspiracy (catering company): Bershire Pork Belly and carmelized onions on a peppered sage scone with ferme floralpe chevre and a port reduction; Chocolate and sundried cherry shortbread with lavender scented mascarpone and ginger confit
- California Wine Institute:
- Foster's Wine Estate: Penfolds' Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet
- Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company: Cheese sampler (i loved the maple infused cheese)
- Vincor: Jackson-Triggs ' Sauvignon Blanc VQA

I definitely don't think the Ottawa wine & food expo is worth going to again until they at least move it to a bigger venue to accommodate the crowds. But maybe it's just me being a non-Ottawa resident that feels that way.

the 23rd annual ottawa wine & food show

Calling all wine lovers - this weekend is the annual Ottawa Wine & Food Show!
I'm going to be checking it out & I can't wait! I went to the Toronto Wine & Food show a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, so I'm hoping the Ottawa event will live up to my expectations.

Event: The 23rd Annual Ottawa Wine & Food Show
Location: Lansdowne Park, 1015 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Date: November 7 - 9, 2008
Website: playerexpo.com

Entrance price per person (general admission): $17



General admission includes:
- access to 200 booths that offer award winning wines, wine seminars, tips for wine storage, access to over 1400 wines, spirits and beers
- access to the Wines of France bar
- free kitchen demonstrations every day
- a souvenir sampling glass upon entrance
- access the the wine "crush" course - learning the basics of wine tasting in 20 minutes

avocados

As I've mentioned one of my latest obsessions lately is making Vietnamese fresh spring rolls. That means I'm going through an obscene amount of avocados in a week. At first I was using half an avocado and saving the other half for the next day, but even when I left the stored half with the seed it'd get all yucky and brown, so I've been forced to eat a whole avocado each time I make the spring rolls! Which means I sometimes have been going through about 4 avocados a week! That's insane!

look at me - i'm a winemaker!

I recently went to a really fun and unique event at Hillebrand Wineries in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The event cost $25 per person and I went with my husband and another couple who are really good friends of ours.

The one-hour event is called "The Art of Red" and focus' on Hillebrand's award-winning Trius Red wine, one of my husband's favourites. Each year, the Trius Red wine is made up of various percentages of 3 red wines (hence the name, Trius). The reds used in the mix are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Each year's mixture is different, making it unique.


To start the "lesson", got to taste each red wine so that we could figure out which ones we liked better. Then we got to mix and match our own version of Trius - yes, you have access to many, many bottles of wine! After several trials (and LOTS of taste testing), you get to bottle up your own mixture, cork it and put a special label and take it home with you!

It was a lot of fun and my own bottle of Trius is on our wine rack "aging". :)

fake food

So if you haven't already noticed, I've been completely addicted to etsy lately. Today I came across this fake stuffed turkey! made by Midnightsnack.

I love it! haha. it's wonderful and really appeals to my crazy love for fake food. I am totally going to buy this for my child (when and if I have a child). Instead of stuffed animals my child is going to get stuffed food! haha. How funny would that look?

For more of Midnightsnack's items check out their etsy shop: midnightsnack.etsy.com

coffee corsets

After posting about those fashionable coffee cuffs on Saturday I started to search around on etsy for an affordable alternative, but so far no luck. I did however find (and fall in love with) these cute looking coffee corsets on etsy ~


This one is my favorite (so far) - it's so simple and sweet. Although I don't think they are supposed to be used as bracelets, they're still super cute and way more affordable. And the attention to detail is very impressive. With Christmas looming around the corner would these not make the perfect stocking stuffer for the coffee lovers in your life?

Check out Jenn's awesome etsy page for more coffee corsets: jenngee.etsy.com

cute coffee cuffs

I think I 1st spotted these in a high fashion magazine while waiting for my massage at the spa. What a great idea - a great example of combining function and fashion. Too bad they're so expensive (approximagely $68 CAD).

What sucks is that you'd always have to get the same sized coffee!

I've got to check out etsy & see if there are any alternatives.

Check out the webpage: http://contexture.ca/bentwood/cuff.php