Time Gorge Myself with Sushi

So I was wandering around Scarborough looking for a quick bite to eat before I headed out to a movie when my fellow cinephile suggested a sushi restaurant called Ni Ji. This place was quite hard to spot because it was in a small plaza and the sign for the restaurant was a little hard to spot. Parking was not that ample but the restaurant and the surrounding establishments were not that big either.

Once you walk into the restaurant you are greeted with a familiar environment. The decor is prototypical of your standard japanese restaurant and is small and clean. I was little surprise about how crowded this restaurant became while we were dining (I would soon find out the reason for the crowd.)

Our meal at this eatery came with a lot of freebies (YAY FREE); glass noodles, congee, and seaweed salad. These side dishes were really good and were a nice start for our meal. For some odd reason I decided to order a monster sized bento.

Special Bento

This ginormous bento had so much food packed into it that I'm fairly certain that it could have fed a family of four or apparently just me (a very rollie-polly me). This bento had 6 maki rolls, a mound of tempura vegetables, tempura shrimp, 6 pieces of nigiri, 12-16 pieces of sashimi, and finally a seafood salad. Oh, I forgot to mention that all bentos come with an additional salad, miso soup, and green tea ice cream (yes i did consume all this). 

Tempura was neither great nor bad but was satisfactory, it was crispy and crunchy but it just left me wanting more. The seafood salad was really tasty and had a lot different texture. There was the shrimp, the seaweed, and daikon which provided soft, chewy and crunchy textures to the palette. The greatest part of this bento was the sashimi and nigiri. The fish was fresh and full of flavour and made want to keep cramming more fish into my mouth. The fish was soft as silk and almost felt like it was melting in my mouth as I chewed. The rice from the nigiri complimented the fish very well and just made this bento very complete.

This was a great meal and I was very happy with the service and the food at Ni Ji. The sushi was fantastic, which explained why there was such a crowd. Whenever I'm back in Scarborough and I'm itching for some sushi I'll definitely remember to keep this place in mind, because they still have a very expansive that I would like to explore.

For More Information:

Ni Ji 

Fine Dining Nightmares

I've always considered myself a very polite person and very forgiving when a restaurant has a few missteps but Centro restaurant and lounge took missteps to whole different level. Centro has been a well known staple in the Yonge and Eglinton part of Toronto, which is surprising given the experience I had at the restaurant. I decided to have a meal there because my trusty side kick had a groupon for Centro that was given to them as a birthday gift.

The building itself is very nice and screams "elegance" from the outside. The inside of the restaurant is decorated with modern touches that makes the whole restaurant feel sophisticated. I thought the restaurant would be more suited for business meetings or fine dining with upper echelon of society. It may just be my personal tastes but the whole environment didn't feel very comfortable to me and came off as pretentious.

The first thing that was brought to my attention within the first ten minutes of sitting down was the service. The groupon stated that I needed  to notify the waiter before ordering my meal, so i tried to politely interrupt our waiter to let him know we had groupon and he promptly told me that I need to let him finish explaining the specials before I could tell him anything. I was a little dumbfounded by this because this was a nice establishment and I expected a higher level service then a TV sitcom snotty waiter.

I tried to put the bad first experience behind me and just enjoy meal. 

Beef Carpaccio

The first dish that came out was a beef carpaccio, which was fresh and looked very vibrant. The meat was tender and silky smooth. The deep fried shredded potatoes used to garnish the dish also provided a nice texture to the dish. The seasoning, texture and sauces in combination made this a very satisfying appetizer.

(Strip Loin)

I always enjoy a good steak and I had high expectation about this steak since the description looked really good and it was listed as a fifty five dollar steak too. This was quite the let down the moment I plunged my knife into the slab of bovine. I usually have my steak cooked medium rare, but this was cooked well done. I was willing to give this steak another chance and hoped that it was only the edges that were overcooked, so I cut into the middle of the steak and was met with a mostly grey colourless meat. This was disappointing because they took a nice piece of meat and turned it to a slab of beef jerky. The steak was so dry that I actually had to return it to get a new one ( This is the first time I have ever sent food back to a kitchen). The second one that came out was marginally better, it came out medium.....

(Lobster)

My trusty side kick had the lobster and it came out looking lovely on its pristine white plate. Too bad the lobster was only eye candy. This turned out to be the same scenario as the steak, disappointment as soon as you plunge the knife into the dish. The lobster tail was beyond overcooked and extremely difficult to cut and chew. This is a staple dish for most fine dining restaurants and you would think that a professional chef would be able to cook a lobster.

After we finished our entrees we waited for 15-20 minutes for someone to come collect our plates and offer us a dessert menu, no one came. Getting a little tired of waiting I decided to wave down our waiter and ask for the desert menu. As soon as I finished my sentence the waiter abruptly told me, "sir you don't need to ask, of course I'll come and bring you the desert menu." again i'm quite taken back by his response. We waited for the menus and the hostess appears and hands us the desert menu, where was our waiter? These were not isolated transgressions by our server; through out the night the waiter kept stepping on my foot while pouring water (no apology either), told a fellow dinner there were no nuts on a dish when the menu clearly stated there were nuts, was rude to another diner because she didn't quite speak english properly, and didn't even apologize for the over cooked steak.

The whole environment and people at this restaurant made the meal not very enjoyable at all. I didn't even want to eat desert because it would mean I would have to continue to suffer longer at this establishment ( don't really want to call this a restaurant, it would be insulting other restaurants). I just paid the bill and left a terrible tip and ran out of this place like my life depended on it. I don't think I will ever go back to this place and I plan to tell as many people as possible to save them a bad experience or tell people I don't like to go dine here. 

For More Information (so you know which building not to go in):

Centro

Home made Creations: Pho

I've decided that I want to try crafting my own creations and wanted to keep a record of my success and failures. I've eaten around the city so much that I decided that I wanted to see how capable I am at making my own cuisine.

The recipe I decided to try was a Pho recipe that I found from a cook book by one of my favourite chefs, Gordon Ramsay. The recipe looked to be fairly straight forward and had a lot easy to follow instructions. The most difficult part of the recipe was finding some of the exotic spices needed for the recipe. The spices are not that difficult to find but they just weren't something I would normally use in my day to day cooking.

When I started making the broth for my pho, I noticed that some of the exotic spices such as star anise and cloves were quite potent. I was very careful not to over spice my broth because it could've easily turned into a big hot mess. I did have to make one substitution to the recipe, I used beef broth instead of beef stock. I made the substitution because it was quite late at night when I started cooking and I didn't have the time to make my own stock from scratch. By making the switch to beef broth the soup for my pho was darker and a little saltier then what I would normally see at restaurants.

One thing I've never tried before was using ginger root to marinate my beef. The ginger root used to marinate the beef broke down a lot of the muscle tissue which really made the beef nice and tender when it was cooked. I had to be very careful not marinate the beef too long in the ginger because if you marinate the beef for too long the texture of the beef could turn into mush.

The Final Results

My attempt at the dish turned out fairly well, the soup had a lot of flavour and paired very well with the noodles and the marinated beef. I still feel my soup could've been better if I made my own stock. I think the next time I decide to make this recipe I will take the time to roast the beef bones and make a delicious base for my soup. If I make my own beef stock next time I think I could even impress a vietnamese mother.

Recipe Information:
Gordon Ramsay's Healthy Appetite.

Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer Beer

On my weekend away from work I decided to visit one of Toronto's newest bars, Bar Hop.  Some might look down on bar food but I often find that you can find a lot hidden gems if you just gave them a chance and I think Bar Hop is a prime example. Bar Hop has a massive selection of craft beers on draft (24 to be exact) and a rotating cask so everyone is bound to find something they will like.

The bar is decorated very simply and has a lot vintage touches around the bar. The space is actually much larger when you walk into the bar then most people would expect it to be. The tables are spaced out and even on days when the bar is completely full you will still feel comfortable and be able to have a conversation with the person sitting across from you.

The food Selection at Bar Hop is about one fifth of the size of the beer menu, which is a good thing for me :P.

Portobello Mushroom Risotto Balls

To start my dining experience I decided to grab myself an order of portobello mushroom risotto balls. These tasty morsels came to my table piping hot and I couldn't wait to dig in. Unfortunately this was a little disappointing, I found the rice inside tasty but the outside was over fried. This is may be my personal preference but the sauce that came with the dish had too much cheese and didn't really taste like a tomato sauce any more.

Chipotle Mussels in Coconut Broth

The mussels at Bar Hop are really interesting because they come in a variety of flavours other then just white wine sauce or a tomato sauce. The mussels came in such flavours as lager & jerk mussels, green curry and thai sauce. My weapon of choice this time was chipotle mussels in coconut broth. The mussels were not very big but had big time flavour. They were spicy, tangy and the broth was a wonder to dip my bread in. I also added a basket of tasty tasty shoe string fries. The fries were very crispy and some of the best fries i've had in Toronto.

I had a great time at Bar Hop on my first visit, which warranted a consecutive visit over the weekend.  Bar Hop has a great selection of beer and a nice atmosphere, which makes this a great place for me to want to come back to. Even better there are beer specials and food specials during the week.

For More Information:
Bar Hop

Sandwich Love

I usually don't like going to chain restaurants or cafe's but there are always exceptions and Artisano Bakery and Cafe on King st is one those exceptions. Artisano is the new kid to the area but they sure know sure to make really tasty sandwich.

Artisano is not your typical bakery or cafe but is combination of a restaurant, bakery and cafe all in one handy dandy location. The space that Artisano occupies is massive and you would definitely be very surprised once you walk into the place. The space is actually cleverly divided into separate areas by decorating each place differently and using different decor elements. Sitting down in one area definitely feels different then if I were to sit an another corner of a restaurant. Someone could feel like they were sitting down in a nice restaurant and having dinner while someone else sitting 10 feet away could feel like they were in a cafe and just sip coffee and read their book.

Artisano has a wide variety of freshly baked breads and pastries readily available for consumption as soon as you walk into the place. Artisano even offers different varieties of coffees and teas to help you wash down your baked treats. if you are not in the mood for baked treats you can also find a variety of sandwiches, pastas, pizza or something else on their big menu.

(Roast Beef on Sourdough)

The sandwich I had on my visit to Artisano was the Roast beef on Sour dough. This bread was toasted nice and crusty and the grilled vegetables with the roast beef worked very well together. The pasta salad on the side was different then what most people think it would be and consisted of vegetables, olive oil and seasoning instead of being mayonnaise based. The new approach to the pasta salad was light and made a perfect compliment to the sandwich.

(Chicken Basil Pesto)

The Chicken basil pesto was the other sandwich that was ordered and like the roast beef, it was nice and crusty. The chicken breast was moist and contained roasted vegetables and a basil pesto which added a delicious italian flavour to the sandwich.

This is a really great place for people to come in and have a nice dinner or for would-be bloggers to sit and sip their coffee while they write. After one visit to this place, it quickly became one of my goto places for a quick coffee or just to work on my projects with a group of friends. If you've never been here before and you are reading this, I highly recommend that you head over.

For More Information:
Artisano Bakery and Cafe 

Garage's should all serve Italian food

I've always wondered why car garages don't serve Italian food, well not really, but after having dinner at Gusto 101, I really considered starting a new business venture. I finally was able to make my way to one of the most hyped up restaurants in Toronto and I have to say that it did not disappoint.

Gusto 101 is an Italian restaurant that serves its fine foods in a converted mechanics garage close to the corner of King and Portland (on Portland). The restaurant itself has a modern and industrial feel because they kept a lot of the original architecture and added modern day conversational pieces around the restaurant. During the day the restaurant is vibrantly lit from the natural sun light from the front of the restaurant since the entire front wall can roll up like a garage door. At night the restaurant does a 180 and becomes a romantically soft lighted environment where one can easily fall head over heels for the person in front of them (This is the romantic in me speaking).

I have to warn you that this restaurant does have a unisex bathroom, which completely confused me when I was searching for the washroom (oh the shock on my face when I walked into the washroom to find a woman washing her hands).  The individual stalls are actually individual rooms themselves and offer complete privacy from the opposite sex. For those shy people, it does take some getting used to but it really isn't that big of a deal.

Once again, my companion and I decided to each choose an appetizer and entree each: Calamari and Rigatoni Lucani for myself, Wild mushroom arancini and Spaghetti Chitarra all’Amatriciana for my companion.

(Calamari)

According to the menu description the calamari appetizer consisted of "jalapeño & cucumber giardiniera, roasted garlic aioli."  The pickled vegetables were interesting and tasty because they were not that tart but had a little bit of a sweet taste to them. The calamari were nice and tender and the accompanying garlic aioli complimented them nicely. The calamari was good but it definitely was not great, don't get my wrong, there was nothing wrong with the calamari it's just that I could recall many other places where i thought they were better. 

(Wild Mushroom Arancini)

Next up was the Arancini (rice balls for those scratching your head wondering what they are).  The arancini was presented very nicely on their tomato sauce and looked very appetizing. When you first break into the rice ball you are welcomed with some gooey fontina cheese. The risotto itself was tasty and had a very earthy taste from the wild mushrooms. Mixing every element on the plate will give you quite the tasty bite.

(Rigatoni Lucani)

The rigatoni lucani is described on their menu as rigatoni pasta with "shredded braised lamb shank, fresh herbs, shaved pecorino, peperoncino".You may not be able to tell from the picture but the rigatoni lucani was a massive dish of pasta. I was actually quite surprised by the portion size because I would have been satisfied with about half the amount. The pasta was cooked al dente (as it should) but i thought the ratio of sauce to lamb shank was a bit off. I never thought I would say this but it was too much lamb shank. 

(Spaghetti Chitarra all’Amatriciana)

The Spaghetti Chitarra all’Amatriciana was another mammoth dish of pasta that consisted of (according to their menu) "tomato, Pingue guanciale, thai chili, pecorino." The spaghetti was quite thick and was more a bucatini type pasta but it was also cooked perfectly al dente like the rigatoni. The sauce was good but it didn't taste like it was seasoned enough, it taste more like seasoned crushed tomatoes then sauce to me.  Maybe some people like that but for me it seemed a bit under seasoned.

The food overall was good, it just wasn't great. Maybe my expectation of this place were a bit too high because of the hype. Don't get me wrong this is still an awesome place to go and I still want to try the other items on their menu. Gusto 101 has a lot of positives like its comforting environment, friendly staff, and most importantly $1 per ounce house wine. I will definitely make my way back to this place, especially when they finish their construction on the heated roof top patio. 

For more information:

Gusto 101

Hello Ramen, my good old friend

Ramen, one of the greatest things ever created. I love noodles and soup, I grew up on this combination and still love it to this day. For those that don't know what ramen is I'll let my good friend wikipedia explain what it is: "ramen consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or (occasionally) fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, dried seaweed, kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn." I like ramen so much that I'll even the instant stuff all day long if it wasn't so bad for my health, however there is still nothing better then a freshly made noodles in a home made broth.

For a good bowl of ambrosia, I ventured all the way to Steeles and Woodbine to eat at Niwatei in J-Town (a Japanese answer to China town). Niwatei is a small ramen shop set up in the area that serves a mean bowl of ramen and udon (after 5 pm). The shop is decorated with a lot of cute picture and Ikea furniture, which kind of made feel like i was walking into an Ikea catalogue.


I didn't come for the decor, I came to satisfy my appetite with some delicious noodles. I was with my favourite dining partner this day and we decided that we would order an appetizer and ramen each: karaage chicken and tonkatsu ramen for me, gyoza and miso ramen for my partner in crime.

Karaage chicken

Karaage chicken, Japanese style fried chicken, was presented to our table with a little bit of cabbage and a lemon wedge. The pieces of fried chicken (or what I like to call, golden nuggets) were lightly battered and seasoned with spices that I couldn't even guess what they were. The pieces of chicken were moist, tender and were a little bit spicy from seasoning, pure perfection once you've placed a freshly cooked piece in your mouth(as you can tell, I like fried chicken). 

Gyzoa, pan fried dumplings, came to our table next to keep our karaage chicken company. These were a little bit of a disappointment for me because I'm a bit of a dumpling connoisseur and these didn't really live up to some of the good ones that I've had before.  The feeling was nice but the problem was that they didn't have a crispy exterior and were kind of mushy.  This may have been an off day and maybe next time they will be better? maybe I'll find out later if I decide to order it again.

Tonkatsu Ramen

Now on to the stars of the show, the ramen. My order of Tonkatsu ramen, ramen with a pork based broth, came to our table piping hot and was ready to be devoured. Once you dove in and sipped your first spoonful of broth you are going to need to restrain yourself from picking up the bowl and chugging the rest of the soup (my dinning mate stopped me). The tonkatsu ramen had a really deep flavour and you could really taste the pork from the broth which really complimented the toppings, especially the chashu (slices of pork).  The noodles were firm and had a great texture that i think all good ramen should have. You may not be able to tell from the picture but the bowl of ramen was large and contained quite a large amount of noodles and was definitely a filling dish.

Miso Ramen

The miso ramen also had perfectly prepared noodles and a different array of toppings. The miso broth was just as tasty as the tonkatsu ramen's broth and I thought the bean sprouts were a nice addition which gave it a crunchy texture. 

For the ramen enthusiasts, I would definitely recommend checking this place out. Niwatei tries to be as authentic as possible down to the wait staff (minus the ikea furniture and utensils) and they seem know seem to know what they are doing in the kitchen. Their ramen was so good that i'm thinking about how to plan an evening trip just so i can see how they tackle udon.

For more information
Niwatei