Holiday Meals 2012

Over the holidays, we visited quite a few new restaurants in the GTA.  Here are the ones we went to.
Ursa was listed as Canada's 3rd best new restaurant according to enRoute Magazine.  We wanted to order the duck egg appetizer but they didn't have it, so we just go the beet salad with chicken liver.  The dish was just ok.  It was definitely not the best beet salad I've had and I thought it could've used more liver pate.  For mains, we got a halibut with sea urchin foam sauce and a beef tenderloin.  The fish and meat tasted pretty good, but the veggies were really bitter, and the portions were way too small.  We were left still unsatisfied after our meal, so we ended up having to go grab a bowl of ramen!

So, we ended up going to the new Santouka Ramen and had ourselves a trusty bowl of chashu ramen!

The County General was another restaurant that I had been wanting to try ever since I walked by it back in the summer.  This is a cute little restaurant and they had a pretty cool bar with different kinds of bourbons and rums.  We ordered the chicken thigh sandwich and the Croque Madame.  They were both very tasty.  The only complaint was that the fries and ketchup were a bit too salty, but I would definitely return to this one.

Wedding Shopping in Hong Kong and a Side Trip to Macau

Spent part of November and December 2012 in Hong Kong doing a lot of wedding shopping.  I managed to get a Chinese dress in Shenzhen and an evening gown in Prince Edward.  I also got my wedding invitations printed and bought a whole bunch of little things needed for the wedding.  Of course, I always save time for good food and also took a side trip to Macau.  Speaking of weddings, look at this teddy bear themed wedding that I ran into at the Intercontinental Hotel during my trip.

Here are some highlights of the food I had in Hong Kong.

BDay Celebration at Cafe Boulud

We celebrated our friend Henrick's birthday at Cafe Boulud inside the Four Seasons Hotel today.  Considering this is Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud's first restaurant in Canada, we had high hopes, perhaps a little too high.  Our server was great, knowledgeable and attentive, and we were off to a great start with great appetizers.  I ordered the crispy duck egg with wild mushrooms.  The duck egg was crispy on the outside and runny on the inside.

Our meal broke down a bit during the main course.  Our friend had ordered the veal but then she was brought the lamb.  The waiter let us keep the lamb while she waited for her veal dish.  The veal dish came within 5min, but it turned out to be a little under-cooked, so she had to send it back.  By the time they brought back the veal loin, it was a bit over-cooked.  The waiter and manager were very apologetic by this time.  Meanwhile, I dug into my halibut and it's not as moist as I would've liked and it wasn't seared to the crispiness that I would've liked.  2hung got the beef duo of strip loin and short rib.  The short rib was a little dry.  We were kind of disappointed with how the main courses turned out and the manager made sure that we didn't get charged for the lamb and veal.

Dessert turned out to be much better. We ordered the caramelized gala apple and chocolate mousse cake.  The waiter also made sure that we weren't charged for the dessert either.  It was a shame because we really liked the appetizers and the service was great at this restaurant, but the main courses were just ok.

Working lunch at Canoe

Had a working lunch with a coworker at Canoe the other day. Hadn't been to Canoe in years and the food was great! We shared a buffalo mozzarella that was so refreshing and autumn flavoured.

Then, I had the lobster club sandwich with a cucumber salad. I wish the lobster were in bigger chunks!

Canoe is a great Canadian restaurant.  We need more of these around.

Vancouver Style

This year we missed Thanksgiving at home because 2hung and I took a weekend trip to Vancouver.  The main objective of the trip was to get our engagement photos taken by our wedding photographer Sandy Tam because she happened to be in Vancouver that weekend.  We had the perfect weather those four days and besides the photo shoot, we were able to fit in lots of outdoor activities and of course, lots of food!

Satisfying my sweet tooth at The Cupcake Shoppe

I was driving by the plaza at Bathurst and Rutherford on my way back from Vaughan Mills when I saw that The Cupcake Shoppe has opened a new location there.  I decided to pull in and grab myself a couple of cupcakes.  I got the Pretty N' Pink which was a raspberry buttercream on a raspberry cupcake and a Red Velvet.  They were pretty yummy.  The cake was very spongey and frosty was quite smooth.  I do think that their red velvet is a little too chocolatey though.  Nonetheless, I like the idea of having a yummy cupcake place relatively nearby without having to drive too far when I need a cupcake fix!

Stella and Dot Jewelry!

My Stella and Dot jewelry order came in the mail yesterday.  The pieces are so lovely and the prices are quite affordable.  I can't wait to wear them!  If you are interested in Stella and Dot jewelry too, you can buy it through my friend Ellen's link.