My Recent Food Discoveries - Winter Edition

Ok, maybe not so recent because I haven't written a post in so long, but here are some new places I've been to that I really enjoyed.

Bar Buca
We really enjoyed our meal at Bar Buca and it would be a great hangout place after work had it been closer to the Financial District.  They server tapas or bar-style food and the prices are quite reasonable, so you could order a bunch of dishes and some drinks, and it would be quite filling.  I really liked the fried smelts.

Eating all around Town

I haven't written a post in a long time, so I'll take this opportunity to talk about all the different restaurants I've been to lately.

The Ace
I learned about The Ace in Roncesvalles from You Gotta Eat Here on the Food Network and have been wanting to try it out since.  It's a pretty small diner and we went in for some Sunday brunch.  We ordered the Ace Benedict and the Huevos Rancheros.  They were delicious.

Summer in Boston and Cape Cod

This summer, I made a short trip to Boston and Cape Cod with my mom.  It was a nice little break from work and we had very nice weather to go along with it.  We stayed right by Copley Square.  On our first day, we walked along the Public Garden, through Boston Common, along the Freedom Trail and visited some of the historic sites.

Omakase Birthday Celebration at Yasu

This year for 2hung's birthday, I took him to Yasu for the ultimate omakase sushi experience.  There aren't that many places that do sushi well in Toronto, so when we read about this place, we thought that it would be a great place to go for special occasions.  The restaurant has 2 seatings and the sushi bar only seats 10, so you're going to have to make a reservation at least a few weeks in advance.  We are happy to report that everything tasted so good.  The fish and other seafood was all very fresh, dressed perfectly so that you do not need wasabi or soy sauce.  Even the dessert was delightful.  Each piece of sushi may seem small at first, but after 18 pieces, I was very full and satisfied.

Here's the list of the pieces we ate plus dessert:

1. Shima aji
2. Fluke
3. Scallop with yuzu kosho
4. Maguro
5. Sardine
6. Sea bass
7. Cuttlefish
8. Chu toro
9. Uni
10. Ikura
11. Seabream
12. Monkfish liver
13. Greater amberjack
14. Snow crab
15. Mackerel
16. O toro
17. Anago
18. Tamago
19. Black sesame ice-cream
20. Green tea panna cotta

A Night of Chocolate Socializing at The Wine Bar

Recently, I was invited once again by Cocoa Kelly of Chocolate Tales to attend a Chocolate Social at The Wine Bar.  I was very excited about this event because we had a great time at the Chocolate Making Workshop that we were invited to the last year.  This time the event was hosted by Diana.  The whole concept of the chocolate social is to bring together the fun of chocolate-making with the social aspect which involves an evening of relaxation and a few drinks.  This is definitely a session that I would recommend for a birthday party or a shower/bachelorette party.

Unfortunately, my husband bailed on me because he had to work late that night, so I attended the event on my own!  Luckily, there was a group of three in that day's session and I was able to join their table.  Thanks to Mike, Lizzy and Matty!

We started out with three chocolate tastings including a real white chocolate, a 32% milk chocolate and a 80% dark chocolate.  Their chocolates are couverture (high quality containing at least 32% cocoa butter), so of course they tasted great and melted quickly and smoothly in our mouths.

Then, we went on to some chocolate truffle making as you can see in my picture below.  There weren't that many truffles left because I ate some along the way.  :)

Lastly, we made some chocolate art with some coloured white chocolate squeeze bottles.  I must say I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

One of the perks of the chocolate social is that you will get to order drinks at a discounted price.  If you are interested in the event, you can get 55% off with this Groupon deal.

Maritime Meal with Great Friends at Hopgood's Foodliner

Last night, we met up with a couple of friends for a nice dinner in the Roncesvalles area.  We made reservations at Hopgood's Foodliner, which is a maritime inspired restaurant.  We ordered a whole bunch of dishes to share, and everything was very tasty.  They also have a great selection of cocktails, although they are not cheap!

We started off with some steamers.  These were actually a little big gritty which the staff warned us about.

Then, we had the crispy pig ears and green beans salad.  I really liked this salad.  The beans were nice and thin and didn't have that nasty raw taste.

We also got the lobster spaghetti which tasted like a lobster mac and cheese.  Plenty of lobster in there.

The fried cauliflower and clams was very good too.  This was slightly on the spicy side and we found these clams to be better than the one in the steamers dish.

I really liked the brioche bread they used for the lobster sammy.  It was crispy, sweet and buttery.

The Halifax donairs were great too and went well with the sweet sauce.

I think the only thing to pay attention to is that the waiter will always try to up-sell you.  We actually ordered less dishes than was recommended, but we left the restaurant feeling very full.  Despite this, the service was quick and friendly.

Short Trip to Victoria, BC, 2014

In the beginning of June, my mom came over to visit me in Vancouver, so I thought it would be nice to take a short trip and ride the ferry over to Victoria.  Victoria really is a very small city.  We arrived around supper time, and checked into the Fairmont Empress Hotel.