Review: Afternoon Tea @ Phoenix Restaurant (金鳳), Thornhill

Updated visit

I visited Phoenix again, this time for their breakfast menu.  Breakfast service ends at 11am, so you will see a big influx of customers around 10:45am.  If possible, get a table by 10:30am, or you will risk having to wait in line and missing out on the morning special.

I ordered the Satay Beef Macaroni breakfast, and for under $5, it also came with toast and a drink.  The price certainly couldn't be beat!

Original Post

Great food for great value. That pretty much sums up Phoenix. It's one of my favourite hang out spots for a quick satisfying Chinese meal.

Phoenix restaurant remains one of my favourite go-to places for meals. For the price, quality of food, and speed of service, it's arguably much better than fast food. 


I often visit this location for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. I cannot say enough good place about this diner. Every dish I've tried I would order again. The only downside is that I'm not the only one that has found this place to be amazing, there is often a line-up. Still, it's worth the wait (you won't be waiting for long as table turn around times are fast), and your wallet and taste buds would both thank you for a delicious and satisfying meal.

What was ordered

• 5/5 Excellent
• Japanese style chicken fried rice (日式汁煎雞扒)
• Fish and chips (吉列魚柳薯條)
• Hainanese Chicken Rice (海南雞飯)

• 4/5 Great
• Baked Pork Chop (焗豬扒飯)

• 3/5 Average
• Breakfast Satay Beef Macaroni (沙爹牛肉湯通粉)
• Baked Seafood Macaroni with Cream Sauce & Cheese (焗芝士白汁三鮮通粉) 

Summary

• Bottom Line: Busy HK style diner for incredible value. 
• Score: 4.5/5

Fish & Chips

Breakfast Satay Beef Macaroni

Baked Seafood Macaroni with Cream Sauce & Cheese (焗芝士白汁三鮮通粉) 

Related Posts

• Guide to Greater Toronto Area
• Congee Queen (皇后), North York
• Congee Time, North York
• Liu Yang Steamed Dishes (浏阳蒸菜), North York
• Richlane Chinese Cuisine (百福名廚), Richmond Hill

Review: Dinner @ Abruzzo Pizza, Richmond Hill

The Bottom Line

Decent busy family Italian diner in Richmond Hill with generous portions. Great for a casual family night out.

What to Order

• Excellent: Pizza, Pasta
• Average: Garlic Bread

The Restaurant

We decided to dine at Abruzzo Pizza on a Sunday evening as we had some errands to run in the area beforehand. Abruzzo is highly ranked on TripAdvisor, so we're curious to see if the buzz lives up to the name.

When we first pulled into the parking lot, the sign made it look like a pizza take-out place (much like Pizza Pizza or Mama's). The parking lot also has limited spacing, and since it was raining that evening, we were lucky to get a spot.

The somewhat in-your-face red sign exterior does not give enough credit to the beautiful interior. Once inside, you're greeted by a scene of packed happy loud customers. 

After scoring a seat (we had to wait for about 5 minutes), we ordered the garlic bread, pizza, and the pasta.

The garlic bread came first, and although it was tasty and flavourful, I thought it was a tad pricey at for the amount that was given. However, that was made up by the generous portions of the pasta and pizza. The amount of toppings on the pizza was amazing.

All in all, it was a very satisfying meal.

Summary

• Score: 3.5/5

Related Posts

• Afternoon Tea at DEQ Terrace Ritz Carlton
• Dinner at Han Ba Tang (Korean Fusion)
• Dinner at Kinyo Izakaya (Japanese)
• Dinner at Skyview Fusion Restaurant (Chinese)
• Other things to do and eat in the GTA

Review: Breakfast at Sebastian Cafe, Toronto

The Bottom Line

Fantastic little French bakery. Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. Order the warm croissant + coffee and enjoy!

What to Order

• Croissant with ham and cheese
• Coffee

The Restaurant

I first heard about this bakery during my MBA days, when we  had weekly Sunday morning group meetings. One of my fellow students showed up to one such session and declared that he's brought with him fresh croissants from the best bakery in town. Since that day, I was sold to Sebastian Cafe.

Fast forward a year, and I was driving along Yonge street one fine weekend morning and came across the actual store. I just had to go in. I saw someone at the cafe ordering a croissant with ham and cheese (I'm sure there is a real "french" name for this, but I don't know), and since it looked pretty amazing, I ordered one too.

It was divine. Warm gooey deliciousness. It went well with my croissant as well. In 5 happy delicious minutes, my whole meal was devoured. Compared to other (more) expensive brunch places, Sebastian Cafe satisfies my cravings without thinning my wallet!

Overall rating

• Overall rating: 9/10
• Ambiance: decent open space bakery 
• Food: fantastic breakfast croissants! 
• Value: slightly pricey for a bakery, but considering the quality of food, it's worth it. 

Time to Spend

• Budget 0.5 - 1 hour

Related Posts

• Afternoon Tea at DEQ Terrace Ritz Carlton
• Dinner at Han Ba Tang (Korean Fusion)
• Dinner at Kinyo Izakaya (Japanese)
• Dinner at Skyview Fusion Restaurant (Chinese)
• Other things to do and eat in the GTA

Review: Dinner @ Emperor Fine Chinese Cuisine banquet dinner, Richmond Hill

The Bottom Line

Decent restaurant for a family dinner, try the deep fried shrimp balls.

Overall rating

• Overall rating: 3.5/5

Time to Spend

• Budget 2 - 2.5 hours

Emperor Fine Chinese Cuisine

Located on Bayview and 16th, Emperor Fine is in the midst of the Chinese population in Richmond Hill. I came here one night for a dinner event. It's a decent enough place for dinner, and the value is good, so if you're in the neighbourhood and is looking for a place to grab a bite, why not give Emperor a try.

Related Posts

• Kingyo Izakaya (10/10)
• Other things to do and see in the GTA

Review: Dinner @ Han Ba Tang, North York

The Bottom Line

Great "happening" place in North York with fusion Korean American comfort food and delicious soju infused fruit cocktails. Come early, restaurant fills up fast.

Overall rating

• Overall rating: 4.5/5

Time to Spend

• Budget 2 - 2.5 hours

Recommended Dishes

• Kalbi dish
• Kimchi bulgogi poutine
• Spicy pork taco
• Fruity soju cocktails (I got the pineapple soju)
• Ask the server for recommendations and you won't go wrong by choosing from that list.

OK dishes

• Bacon spoon pizza
• Cutlet combo

Han Ba Tang

It was an cold spring evening when I visited Korean restaurant Han Ba Tang near Yonge and Sheppard to met up with a few of my old school colleagues. The restaurant entrance was cryptic, with no English signs at the entrance indicating its location. As I sat at the empty restaurant waiting, I saw my friends one by one walk past the restaurant entrance several times, back and forth, in confusion, until I waved frantically at them through the glass. It was actually pretty funny watching them pace in frustration.

As I sat there cruising my fingers up and down the menu, trying to decide what to order and waiting for our remaining friends to arrive, the restaurant rather quickly filled up. It almost magically transformed from a quiet quaint diner to a busy hustling restaurant for get-togethers.

I was exhausted from a day full of meetings, so I didn't really want to have to "think" about what to order for the group. So I waved at the server and asked him recommend a few dishes for us. Without hesitation, he named several of the most popular dishes, and I proceeded to order all of them.

The first dish that came was the Kalbi dish. I wish I remember the name, because it was so succulent and delicious. Well, here's a picture of the dish - let me know if you figured out what it is!

Next came the chili shrimp. I couldn't really comment much on it since it was devoured by my group before I could even sample one. I take that it must be good, otherwise it wouldn't have been all gone within a minute.  :)

Next came the famous Korean style tacos. I love them more than the regular tacos, since the marinade was waaaay better than any taco sauce I ever had. We ordered 2 sets of 3, and all 6 were gone in a matter of minutes. I wish we had ordered even more!

The kimchi poutine with bulgogi is another one of their specialty, and it was, of course, delicious and one of the "must orders". At this point, I'm starting to wonder why no one has thought of combing Korean with American comfort food before, because the results were obviously delightful. Hmmm, what other cuisines can we combine? 

The spicy chicken fondue was only so-so, although it *could* be due to me feeling completely stuffed at this point. I thought the "cheese" was a bit on the clunky side, and it didn't really go well with the chicken.

Our final dish was the cutlet trio. Again, maybe I was full and therefore not as enthusiastic, but I thought they were in general on the dry side.

What I was a big fan of was their soju cocktail menu. There are many different types to choose from, and I selected the Pineapple soju concoction. It was sweet and delicious, although I couldn't really taste the soju (is that a good or a bad thing?).

As we leave the restaurant on our way out, I noticed several jars with different types of fruits in them. I thought initially that they were flavoured water, until something in my mind clicked and I realized they are the soju infused fruits that formed the basis of the soju cocktails. Both functional and pretty to look at.

All in all, I'd say Han Ba Tang is a great place to meet up with friends for a fun relaxing evening of adventurous Korean cuisine. 

My tip is to arrive early. Word gets around and this restaurant fills up rather quickly!

Related Posts

• Afternoon Tea at DEQ Terrace Ritz Carlton
• Dinner at Kinyo Izakaya
• Dinner at Skyview Fusion Restaurant
• Things to do and see in Toronto

Review: Dinner @ Hub Sushi, Vaughan

Prior to Hub is another Japanese restaurant called Akki, of which I was a frequent customer. I was sad the day when Akki closed its doors, but was excited when a new restaurant, Hub, took its place some time after.

Hub is located at the street level of a condo/ retail complex, and it's not the easiest store to locate, unless you have the address on GPS. Parking is also not the best, with limited parking spaces at the plaza.

The restaurant is cozy - with about 10 tables, and it sure fills up fast on the Friday evening. We were lucky we made a reservation in advance, otherwise we would have to wait for  table.

My first experience at Hub was fantastic. I ordered my favourite sashimi dish - Chirashi (sashimi on top of a bed of rice), which was perfect. See the perfect thick slices of salmon? You can tell that it's fresh just by looking at it.

The rolls are done very nicely as well. I can't remember exactly what roll this is, but it's one of their specialty rolls and it was delicious!

The best deal on the menu was the set menu for 2 - set at $39, it offers plenty of food. My friend and her husband ordered that, and asked for all salmon, and boy were the salmon fresh! Look at the beautiful fat layers, it was delicious good-ness.

The set menu also came with tempura.
Next, we ordered the Fantasia roll, a cooked roll made for those that avoids the "raw". It was thoughtfully served in a hot plate to keep the roll warm.

The regular Chef special includes a selection of fresh sashimi, and if you add $2, you get a small tempura shrimp basket.

The spicy chirashi, which is healthier given the mass of salad, was not as good as the regular chirashi. The sashimi was from the bits of tails ends of other sashimi (or maybe they just cut it into long thing strips), so I wasn't too fond of it. You do get a separate hot sauce to adjust the level of hotness to your individual taste which I appreciate.

All in all, we had a pretty satisfying meal. The sashimi is definitely fresh, but go early or make a reservation to avoid line-ups.

What we ordered

• 5/5 Heavenly Delicious
• Chirashi
• Donburi with Pork Katsu
• Tempura side dish
• Fantasia Roll
• 4/5 Good
• Dinner for 2
• 3/5 Average
• Spicy Chirashi

Summary

• The Bottom Line: great service, fresh ingredients at a cozy restaurant.
• Score: 5/5
• Address: 7398 Yonge Street, Thornhill (Yonge & Clark)

Chirashi

Tempura side - recommended

Chirashi - recommended

Donburi - Pork Katsu - Recommended

Review: Dinner @ Skyview Fusion Cuisine (乙龍天), Markham

The Bottom Line

With a large Asian population, GTA has an abundance of great Chinese food choices. Skyview Fusion Restaurant remains one of the better places for a satisfying Asian feast.

Overall rating

• Overall rating: 4.5/5

Time to Spend

• Budget 2 - 2.5 hours

Recommended Dishes

• Honey BBQ pork
• Roasted suckling pig & jelly fish
• Diced seafood in pumpkin soup
• Pan-fried fillet of steak in sweet & sour sauce
• Garlic lobster stir fry

Skyview Fusion Restaurant

For my mom's birthday, after an elegant classic afternoon tea affair at the Ritz Carlton, we zoomed from one food appointment to another. We headed straight to Skyview Fusion Restaurant for an evening of delightful Chinese food.

Skyview has also been one of my parents' favourite restaurants. After closing down for a little bit to renovate, we were eager to go back and see what the renovated space looks like. 

With the renovation, it was much spacious than before, making for a better venue for weddings and events. 

We skimmed our fingers up and down the menu and ended up with a "family set dinner", with a few modifications and an addition of their famous honey BBQ pork, in which my 5-year old nephew can devour a whole plate by himself.

Our menu consist of:

• BBQ pork with beans
• Roasted suckling pig & jelly fish
• Diced seafood in pumpkin soup
• Pan-fried fillet of steak in sweet & sour sauce
• Braised vegetable with fish maw
• Steamed chicken 
• Steamed scallop on silken tofu in black bean & garlic sauce
• Steamed fish in soy sauce
• Lobster stir fry
• Dessert

The roasted suckling pig was crunchy, and albeit a tad salty, delicious. I've had plenty of suckling pig in the past, and I've always judged them by their crunchiness, and the fat to meat ratio.

Next, came the seafood pumpkin soup, which I've never tried before. I'm not even sure if it's traditional Chinese food, but it doesn't matter because it was creamy deliciousness with the perfect balance of flavour.

Next, came a flurry of dishes - chicken, scallops, beef, etc. The kitchen was so efficient, too efficient really, that we had all our 10 courses within 30 mins. Our tables were overflowing, and we had to send back the chicken for later. It was a bit annoying, and I wish they would pace the courses better.

That being said, I couldn't find fault with the food. It was all in all, a very satisfying meal.

Related Posts

• Afternoon Tea at Ritz Carlton
• Kingyo Izakaya 
• Other things to do in Toronto and the GTA