20150711 Toronto Trip: Wedding and Bubble Tea

My cousin, JS, got married back in July. It was a gorgeous wedding! The morning began with the traditional Chinese ceremonies at the bride's family home. After the Chinese ceremony, we all had a quick lunch in the garage. My aunt had decided to get it catered by one of their favourite restaurants. There was rice noodles with beef, stir-fried Singaporean curry noodle, salt and pepper shrimp, and other dishes. We all had a quick bite to eat and then drove to the chapel. Once that was finished, we took a bunch of photos outside and inside.


At that point, the cousins and I were getting a bit hungry so we thought about going somewhere for bubble tea and a snack. The two choices were either go to a place called Destiny or go to Chatime and then head back to the house. KG chose Destiny since they made savoury food.








I was floored. Look at their extensive menu! It actually didn't take too long to order. Everyone already knew what they wanted.






Among the food that we ordered, the star had to be the plate of Popcorn Chicken ($6.99).


Oh, did I forget about all the bubble tea?

~*~
Destiny
165 York Blvd,
Richmond Hill
905-889-7899

Kid's Night: Central Bierhaus

Thinking back, I don't think we've ever had just a kid's night out. One of us was usually in another city or even in another country, so it made it tough to organize one. Now that we're all in Ottawa, we found time and got together for dinner and the Sens game.

Since the Canadian Tire Centre is in Kanata, we were trying to decide where to go for some good food. Richard suggested Central Bierhaus that's located in Kanata Centrum, right by the Landmark Theatre. It was coincidence that Chris Neil, a current Sens player, actually owns the establishment.


When we arrived for dinner, we were promptly seated and took a look at both the beer and food menu. The Central Bierhaus has an impressive selection of beers from around the world (Belgium, German, Ireland, and Japan to name a few).


To quench our thirst, we went with the Pilsner Urquell (Czech) for Richard, Erdinger dunkel (German) for Andrew, and Kronenburg Blanc 1664 (France) for Lucy and myself.


To fill our stomachs, we started with the traditional sausage flight (platter) which was served with bacon saurkraut and three mustards from McGarrigles. Then we got the giant soft pretzel, confit maple pork belly, and lobster poutine.






It was too much food. The confit maple pork belly was curiously dry. The lobster poutine was alright. The stars were definitely the sausage flight and the pretzel. When I had a piece of the pretzel, it was like an epiphany. "Ah, so this is what pretzels are supposed to taste like." I'm definitely coming back for more pretzels. No question about it. When I asked Richard how authentic they were, he surprisingly remarked that he never had any pretzels in Germany. When it came to snacks, he preferred the currywurst over pretzels.


As for the sausage flight, we got one each of a German bratwurst, Oktoberfest, German frankfurter, smoked italian, hot italian, and honey garlic sausage. It seemed like they ran out of the weisswurst. I didn't like the two italian sausages or the bratwurst. The latter seemed to be overcooked and became dry. The bacon saurkraut did its job of being the palate cleanser between each bite. I know others would disagree with me, but I enjoyed how subtle the bacon was.


Once dinner was over, we headed over to watch the Lightning against the Sens game. This pic was from the first intermission when the Sens were still up 1-0. The team couldn't keep up with the Lightnings and lost by a final score of 4-2. Despite the loss, it was still a great night with all the siblings!

~

Hintonburger and SuzyQ

I would like to buy a hamburger.

I would like to buy a ambuger.

I would like to buy a hamburger.

Eyould like to buy a am-berger.

I would like to buy a hamburger.

I would like to buy a damnbuger.

I would like to buy a hamburger.

I would like to buy de hambeduh!

I would like to buy a hamburger.

I would like to buy umburger!

I would like to buy a hamburger.

DEM  BURGUH!

Brunch at Pacific Mall, ChaTime

On the Friday of my trip to Toronto, JT (our cousin) and I went to Pacific Mall (aka P-Mall) for lunch.  JT was really hungry so we snaked through the top floor in search of something to eat. It was a tough decision. On one hand, JT wanted noodles with soup but also something stir-fried. I wanted almost everything! There were so many options and so little stomach space. We split up and decided to meet back up at a table by Beard Papa's.


JT returned with Singaporean curry noodles. It was slightly spicy with a hint of smokiness from the wok. JT inhaled the first half and then hit a wall. I can't remember what the restaurant is called, but it's from the place on the right side of the noodle-pulling place. You know, that place.


Since we both like beef cheung fun, I got an order for us to share from Good Taste Garden, a place in the same area as Beard Papa's. We both found the noodles were underdone and the filling was lacking in both the taste and quantity. I do remember that their cheung fun was solid a few years back.


Despite knowing that shrimp wonton noodle soup would be better if we go elsewhere in the Markham area, I gave it a try. The shrimp wontons were juicy and plump, however, they didn't have that sweet freshness taste.

We were beyond full and had to bring the Singaporean noodles back home. We waddled back down through the mall and visited a few candy shops. I was hoping to find the elusive green tea KitKat that I've heard so much about. There are green tea Pocky in Ottawa but not the KitKat bars, I suspect it's because the KitKat bars are a Japanese product. Through the interwebs, I found out that they usually do carry the sweet treats in the mall.


I spy, with my little eyes... Yaaaa! There it iiiiiis!

We left P-Mall with a few goods and headed to Chatime nearby to decide what else to do with our day. At this point, our little tummies were still full but we fought on. I'm not sure if I ever talked about Chatime, but their milk tea is freaking remarkable! I'm was elated when I heard that they were expanding around the GTA. And now apparently they have one at P-Mall? What the what?


Large pearl milk tea with less ice and pudding pour moi. I actually only wanted pearls. The pudding was accidental. The convo between me and the guy, who manned the cash, went something like this:

Me: "Hi, can we get a regular taro milk tea with pearls?"
Him: "Regular milk tea with pearls."
Me: "Can we also get a large pearl milk tea, but can you put in less ice?"
Him: "Huh? Pu*indiscernible audio* less ice?"
Me: Uh... *smile and nod*
Him: "Okay. No problem."

Yeah, so I failed. "Can you put in less ice?" Gah! "Less ice" would've been fine. Lesson learned. It's actually a similar lesson to the "mo' sauce" thing. Anyway, we grabbed our drinks and sat at one of the empty tables. For a few minutes, we just stared at the drinks while cooling off in the AC. I didn't mentioned it before, but that day was hot and sunny!

The pudding was like a softer version of grass jelly. It was odd. I don't think I'd get it again. The milk tea on the other hand, I wanted to order another one after I finished it. Greed. Pure greed. But the way I saw it was that Ottawa bubble tea places pale in comparison to this amazing worldwide bubble tea giant. JT didn't enjoy her taro milk tea because they blended up taro which resulted in a grainy texture. She preferred the powdered taro version.


Here's one of the treasures that we left P-Mall with. Aw yeah!

We headed back to JT's place for the night and ended up watching stuff like Kings of Pastry on Netflix. Man, is Netflix ever addictive!

~*~

Addresses:

Sunday Picnic Lunch at Trinity Bellwoods Park

Today was a much-needed sunny and warm day. Although I was in Toronto for the past week, I had to get out and do something earlier today. I needed to keep busy.

Lunch was found at Clafouti Patisserie et Café. We: DG, VN, and myself, picked up some things at Clafouti and crossed the street to the busy Trinity Bellwoods Park. I really enjoyed the atmosphere there. The sakura trees still had some flowers, birds were singing away, dogs were having a blast, and people were just relaxing at the park -- it was a great atmosphere.

We found a spot in the park and ate lunch. I went with the Lana Del Rey panini. It was really exciting. There were so many flavours that complimented one another with every bite; the creaminess of the garlic lemon aioli, the burst of fried onion flavour, thinly sliced pork, and sweet bun. It was so good that I wanted another one after I devoured it. VN had a nice pulled pork panini (sans the cheese). DG had a surprisingly tasty grilled veg croissantwhich. The only complaint was that we didn't want the sandwiches to finish.


We also picked up a butter croissant and almond croissant from Clafouti. We liked that the croissants were sturdier and flakier than Le Moulin de Provence's rendition.


DG said that we had to get macarons from Nadège Patisserie since we were in the area. That was perfectly fine with me.

Side notes: We heard so many comments like, "these macaroons look amazing,"and "they have the best macaroons here!" Please. They're called macarons. Macaroons are the coconut things.

Also, why is it that everyone seems to know how to make macarons? The trend bugs me. Partially cause I can't make them.

These are my trio: mint chocolate chip (in the red), pistachio, and matcha macaron. I enjoyed the latter two. DG and VN both went with the salted caramel. Wise choices. I'll be getting the salted caramel next time. We happily soaked in the warm sun before I had to catch the train back home. Thanks for the lunch date ladies! It really meant a lot to me.

~*~

Rice Noodles Two Ways

Whether it's homemade or at a restaurant, Grandpa really loves his lobster with ginger and onion sauce.

Last week, Mom and I happened to have the same day off. We did some grocery shopping and went over to visit Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa bought some lobsters that were on sale. Mom decided to make rice noodles with chinese broccoli and beef with a side of lobster. I requested rice noodles with lobster with the ginger onion sauce.










Mom and I started with some of the prep for both dishes. They're actually both easy to make.

Side note: do you keep the green onion stems like we do? We let them re-grow their roots and then add them into our herb garden or indoor pots.

Since most of the prep was finished, the only thing that really needed to be made before cooking the rice noodles with beef and chinese broccoli was to make a slurry for the sauce. It was made of water, cornstarch, oyster sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and salt. Oh and the sliced beef was seasoned with some soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and cornstarch.


Mom and Dad cooked while I helped out in the kitchen. The chinese broccoli was blanched and then rinsed off in cold water to stop the cooking process. Then in a smoking hot pan containing vegetable oil, the minced garlic and sliced onions were added into the pan to cook for about 30 seconds. Some of the stalks of the broccoli were tossed in for a few seconds before the rice noodles were added in and stirred together. Some water, dark soy sauce, sugar, and salt joined in the mix to season the noodles. After another five minutes, the noodles were transfered onto a plate.




The sauce started off the same way as the noodles -- a smoking hot pan with vegetable oil, garlic, and onions. The rest of the blanched broccoli was added in. After a few seconds,  the marinated beef was added in and cooked for about 30 seconds before the slurry was added.

Whenever we (the kids) help out in the kitchen, we're usually good about knowing what our parents need next. That's what happens when you're involved at a young age, I guess. But that evening, I was a little slow and Mom had to ask for the slurry.

Yeah chep! -- From the South Korean drama, Pasta. See the clip here.

We adjusted the sauce to taste with some sesame oil and then added some eggs. The eggs were broken and were gently stirred into the sauce after being allowed to cook for a minute. That's it.






The chunks of lobster pieces were tossed in some cornstarch and then deep-fried. They were taken out when fully cooked, drained of oil, and then placed in a paper towel-lined plate. One batch was left in for too long and the pieces of lobsters shrunk like overcooked shrimps. Sad.

The ginger and green onion sauce for the lobster was stupidly simple. Unlike the other sauce, the sliced ginger was added into the smoking hot pan with vegetable oil. Once the aroma came out, the garlic was put in and stirred until it started to change colour. The onions went in and then the rest of the slurry joined the party. Dad added eggs to the sauce, which is optional.




We tasted and adjusted the flavour before the green onions and fried lobsters were tossed in.


There wasn't enough sauce for some reason. But with the little sauce that there was, the rice noodles tasted amazing. Fancy, huh? I have no idea why we've never done rice noodles with lobsters before. It was definitely luxurious. We'll definitely be making this again -- and I can't wait!

Birthday Brunch at Art Is In

We were going to head over to Benny's Bistro for brunch last Sunday. There were six of us though. KG suggested that we head over to Art Is In as a Plan B. At first, I thought we might be able to wait to get a table together and if we weren't able to get one, then we'd just walk to Le Moulin de Provence or something. But after a couple of busy days at work, I just wanted to keep things simple so I changed the plans the night before. Sorry guys!

We arrived around quarter after ten. The outdoor tables were full and there weren't many tables available inside. I was unfamiliar with how it worked. It looked like people at their tables had numbers, so I assumed we had to order and pay up at the front and then find a table. There was quite a bit of a line but the line kept moving. We didn't have much time to look at the brunch menu.




I was thinking of either the french toast stack or the benny.

Luckily, the people at the table by the open garage door looked like they were just finishing. They were very friendly and had a random conversation. Apparently it was national coffee day. Good thing I had ordered a cappuccino.

While waiting, I scanned the tables to see what everyone else was eating. I had actually forgot what I had ordered once I sat down. A small table, off in the two o'clock direction, had ordered the french toast stack and I thought to myself, "Oh that looks good. Why didn't I order that?"


The egg wobbled when the plate was placed on the table. Awesome. So I had ordered the french toast stack after all! It was gorgeous to look at and was very tasty. In hindsight, I could've just opened up my wallet and checked my receipt.


VN asked for their Crispy Winniped Style Cinnamon Apple Jack. It was described to her, by the cashier, that it was a crêpe with apples. That's one hefty crêpe. 

I didn't get a decent photo of KG's pancakes or J's sandwich. VN and KG both had maple butter and loved it. They were surprised how good it tasted. It definitely was not healthy. Maybe that's why it was so addictive.


G and JL both ordered the eggs benny with bacon.


Silly me. I got an almond croissant to share with VN. We didn't have any space in our stomachs to eat this during brunch.

We learned a very important lesson during our brunch. Maple butter is godly!

~*~