Rodney's Oyster House

After a fun time at Ripley's Aquarium, we ventured to Rodney's for oysters around 9pm :D I forgot how much I love oysters until I had my first bite~ We started off with two dozen oysters for four people. The variety the server got us was great. My favorite was the PEI Boughton Bay Prince - perfect size, not too meaty, not too flat, and good flavor that's not too salty. The server also recommended a fantastic dark beer - Neustadt 10w30 ale - dark, roasty, not bitter, smooth. I am a Corona drinker and tend to stay away from dark beer but this was the best I've had! So tasty!

Macaron Diaries: Chocolate Macarons

Attempt #2 – Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

 

Piping into circles - batter is smooth and shiny; good size and flat courtesy of B. The key to piping is squeeze from the top with right hand, and point straight down.

Macaron Diaries: Green Tea Macarons

In search of the perfect macaron recipe... experimenting with different methods and learning from mistakes.

First attempt: Green Tea Macarons with Green Tea Buttercream



Piping into circles - batter appears thick and grainy, shells look large

Banh Mi Boys

392 Queen West

I finally tried Banh Mi Boys last week! I don't even like banh mi, but Banh Mi Boys definitely takes the meaning of the cold Vietnamese sandwich to a whole other level, throwing in other Asian influences as well.

By recommendation, we got the Kalbi Banh Mi - the kalbi was so good, I love the flavor, texture and cut of the beef. It went well with the baguette, cold toppings and medium hot sauce.

Pork Belly Bao (left) - I love this soft bun with a touch of sweetness! While the pork belly was not as soft or fatty/melt-in-you-mouth as I imagined, the flavor of the pork was good (a bit burnt on the edges) and paired with the cucumber, carrots, radish(?) and cilantro.

Beef Cheek Bao (right) - the beef cheek is sort of like Taiwanese beef brisket. It was good but definitely I like pork belly was better in terms of overall flavor and how it tied together with other ingredients as a whole.

Hong Kong | Sen-ryo 千兩

Truffle Making @ Chocolate Tales

Belgian truffle prep

Final products - After decorating Belgian & North American truffles - messy but fun

Last Tuesday, I attended the Truffle Making 101 Workshop courtesy of Chocolate Tales. We made three types of truffles - Belgian, French and North American. It was fun! We started with Belgian truffle - first filled the chocolate molds with white chocolate then put in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. Then we capped it with dark chocolate, refrigerate again, and then roll two layers of chocolate and decorate white white and pink drizzle. These were surprisingly good and not too sweet - liquid smooth chocolate inside with hard dark chocolate coating.

LA

Coastal Drive - Monterey & Carmel

San Francisco Day 4: City Tour & Tommy's Joynt

Leisure last day in SF. Walked around the Japanese tea garden and saw these two neat displays outside de Young Museum before hopping back on the bus to Palace of Fine Arts and across the bridge again. Recommended by the tour guide, we went to Tommy's Joynt for dinner - as featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

San Francisco Day 3: Biked the Bridge & Fisherman's Wharf

Another beautiful sunny day for biking! We joined a bike tour by Blazing Saddles, which began at the Fisherman's Wharf area, biking past signature colorful SF houses, the waterfront, Palace of Fine Arts, and finally across the Golden Gate Bridge to the small town of Sausaulito, where we then took the ferry back (total about 3 hours). It was so much fun and the highlight of my trip - highly recommended to rent a bike! The views were amazing - the waterfront is quite like Vancouver - and for someone who does not exercise regularly, it was definitely an accomplishment.

Souffles Cafe (San Francisco)

Souffles Cafe is a Chinese-run dessert place with a large selection of desserts and teas. All the souffle flavors were so appealing! Takes 30 mins to make souffle and you can call ahead to reserve (just found out after we arrived)

Coffee Souffle

The souffles are really big. Very strong coffee taste

Almond Souffle

Very nice almond flavor but just personally didn't like too many slivered almonds inside 'cause I
prefer just the soft/moistness.

R&G Lounge 嶺南小館 (San Francisco)

R&G Lounge is a Michelin nominated Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. Super packed but food is good. 

 Delicious chicken soup!

Smooth silky steamed egg with clams

Their famous salt & pepper deep fried crab - it wasn't oily but I also didn't taste much salt or pepper.

San Francisco Day 1 & 2: Union Square, Winery Tour, Chinatown

 

Oct 12-15, 2013. 

Day 1: It was sunny but extremely chilly when we arrived Saturday afternoon. Took a quick walk around Union Square and Westfield mall. No Superdry for me but bought a Uniqlo Ultra Light Down jacket to wear throughout the trip. Craving hot pot for the cold evening and stumbled upon a shabu shabu place near the hotel.. I was already very exhausted!

Day 2: Winery tour & Chinatown - R&G Lounge and Souffles Cafe

 

I was looking forward to visiting Napa Valley after hearing about the gorgeous views... but the winery tour actually comprised of two Sonoma Valley wineries and only one in Napa (Chandon) and even there I could not witness the views... -_-"  The wine wasn't that great either... but nonetheless an interesting experience learning about the whole winemaking process and touring the cellars, and I purchased a mini cheese board :D

Walking around the oldest/largest(?) Chinatown was like stepping back in time to 1960s... Everything was just so old.

We had dinner at R&G Lounge and then dessert at Souffles Cafe.

JaBistro

Birthday dinner #3 at JaBistro. It was definitely well worth it :) When I first walked in I was a bit taken aback - it was quiet and modern, like a cozy cave/underground exclusive bar... Food, ambiance, presentation and service were all great at this upscale Japanese restaurant by Guu owners.

Yukke - angus beef tartar, gochujang, quail egg, nori seaweed

Started off with beef tartare. (Of course I love wood serving boards!) This was a bit spicy with some Korean flavor, served with sprouts and seaweed. M & B loved it.

Next came the sashimi platter - love the artistic presentation on this slate(?) serving plate. Good variety of fish - my favorite was the amberjack. The tuna was very fatty & melty too. Some unique items - fish jerky (bottom right), deep fried fish bone (long piece holding up the amberjack and fish roe) and fish scales.

If I remember correctly: Blue Fin Tuna, Amberjack, Yellowtail, some Tuna, Pike fish (milder version mackerel), another part of Amberjack, Kobe Beef, Flounder, Tuna Otoro, Octopus, Squid, Uni

Now for some bright pictures taken with Canon by B...  I tried the pike and amberjack. All look super fresh and delicious! Server was very nice in introducing all the fish names; I tried my best to note it all down!

Diana's Oyster Bar & Grill

Calamari / Clockwise: Cherrystone Clam, Kumamoto, Shigoku oysters (I think? ><) / Swordfish / Tuna tartare

I don't always celebrate my birthday, but when I do, I eat eat eat all week. After Moxie's dinner with K & M on the Tuesday, I had Dinner #2 at Diana's 'cause I wanted to try raw Cherrystone clams. They were pretty large and chewy, not bad but I prefer my at-home BBQ version which brings out the sea water flavor. 

For oysters, we got Kumamoto, Shigoku (small yet meaty with a bite, not salty) and Lucky Lime (salty, flat). (Actually I have a suspicion that they may have mixed up the kumamoto and shigoku 'cause kumamoto are the really tiny ones..) The server was really nice and explained all the different types of oysters (East vs. West coast.. too bad I forgot everything!)

The calamari was soft inside and perfectly cooked with a really light, crisp coating. We even asked what they used and the server told us it's just flour... Tuna tartare wasn't that great. 

For the main, I had a bit of Swordfish which is a thick white fish. The salty coating really added flavor and it was nicely cooked. I also liked the cold rice pilaf with a mix of quinoa, lentils and other healthy seeds/grains.  Tempted by my friend's main, I added a side of three shrimp and three scallops 'cause they looked really big, but looking back def way overpriced at $24.

The Works

Three Ring Binder - 3 onion rings, gouda, mushrooms

love the die cut chips

Burgers & biking day for my last half day of the summer :)  I pretty much wanted to try this place because of the glass measuring cup cups and the onion ring tower. Burgers were thick which I like, but not much flavor.. I like the grilled charred juicy burgers like Harvey's back in the day. Also not much cheese or mushrooms taste, but the onion rings on its own were good - crispy and hot. The best thing was the die cut chips!

Raijin Ramen

love the menu design~

Kakuni Ramen

Tried Raijin a while back in the summer.. overall it was not bad. Tonkotsu broth was buttery.  The pork was overcooked and tough and had an interesting sour/Chinese vingear flavor.. not bad in itself but didn't quite fit the tonkotsu ramen. The standout item was the Gyoza! - thin skin, perfectly fried, juicy inside.

Richmond Station



details in the glassware/plating / decor / can't go wrong w raw oysters & raw beef

I’ve been wanting to try Richmond Station ever since I saw polenta fries on the menu.. too bad it was no longer on the menu when I went a few weeks ago but nonetheless it was a great dining experience.

 

I had imagined a very dim lit place but when I walked in it was brighter than expected (natural light from the glass entrance), yet still cozy. White walls, dark tables and chairs, with more seating at the back. We sat at the bar with a view of the wine selection. Absolutely love the style of this restaurant – simple, trendy, sophisticated. I adore the glass water bottles, the beautiful wood serving plates and small white plates which the servers change after each dish. Service was excellent. The two servers were so friendly and attentive, always filled our water and introduced the dishes, not pretentious and not always pestering.

 

We started with oysters, pretty good, forgot the name. Didn’t really like the deep fried scallop, couldn’t taste the scallop. I’m a fan of raw beef and usually order carpaccio but beef tartar was the special that night. It was good, mixed with egg, arugula and homemade hickory sticks. Halibut was thick white fish, a bit overcooked.

 

Overall food was okay but definitely love the ambiance and service!



Hong Kong | 新斗記 ~ 米芝蓮1星

The first Michelin I tried in HK was 新斗記 - Cantonese cuisine, one star - and it was actually pretty good!

My must-eat in Hong Kong - 聖子. with garlic, vermicelli and soy sauce...

Magnum Pleasure Store

Summerlicious @ Luma

350 King St W, TIFF Bell Lightbox

Canadian/Contemporary

O&B

Lunch $20

July 19 2013

ALBACORE TUNA SASHIMI wasabi oil, melon, cucumber and shiso

Luma was my only Summerlicious this year 'cause all the other ones I wanted were full and this one seemed close to work for lunch. Definitely a lot more casual and louder than the other O&B ones I've been to.  Tuna sashimi was soft but warm. 

Hong Kong | WIRED CAFE

I love cafes. After checking out all the restaurants at Hysan Place (so much variety! They all look so nice!) we finally decided on Wired Cafe on the top floor. What caught my attention was the menu at the front showcasing Dutch Baby Oven Pancake (sold on the name already!) and the 'retro'? decor. There's also a nice view of Sogo/CWB.

I love the theme of this cafe!! WIRED CAFE is a place to wire things like a cafeteria, work place, a hang out lounge, and various lifestyle. A real community rooted in city lifestyle, discovering new values, crossing cultures.. food-music-fashion-art-culture, all together.

Pretty long wait for this Dutch Baby Oven Pancake but it was pretty good. Don't really remember what it tastes like (over a month ago), but it's essentially an egg-y pancake with apples and icecream, not too keen on the biscuits. They also have salty versions of this, plus pastas, salads, etc.