Review: Summerlicious Lunch at NAMI, Toronto

The Restaurant

What a beautiful week it has been for us Canadians!  Because Canada Day (July 1st) falls on a Wednesday this year, it has been a rather unproductive week for some (dare I say most?) of us.  In any case, I got the Friday off instead of the Wednesday, so decided to head downtown and try out some of the summerlicious menu this year.

We picked Japanese restaurant NAMI for lunch, primarily because of past good reviews from friends.  We arrived at about 12:30pm (height of the lunch rush), and was seated promptly in a somewhat busy restaurant.

Our server, dressed in a cute kimono, presented us with the summerlicious menu.  For those of you unfamiliar with summerlicious, it is essentially a special prix-fix menu consisting of 3 courses - appetizer, entree and dessert.  Summerlicious lunch at Nami is $25.

I decided to order from the Summerlicious menu, while my husband opted for the regular menu (he is a big fan of the black cod combo there).  For the appetizer I selected the tempura, which included 2 shrimp tempura pieces along with other veggie pieces.  

Entre was the sushi platter, which included 6 pieces of sushi and 3 pieces of roll.  It was decent, the sushi rice was good, although the portion was a bit small. Could use a few more pieces of rolls.

Dessert was the vanilla ice cream mochi, which was absolutely delicious. I was so blown away by the mochi that I wished there was a second piece!

My husband, whom opted to go with the regular menu, ordered a black cod combo.  I have to say, the black cod was waaay better than my sushi.  It also came with a veggie rice that was infused with flavour.  If I were to come back, I would order the black cod combo, and finish off with the mochi ice cream.

What we ordered

• Black cod combo (5/5)- recommended
• Mochi dessert (5/5)- recommended
• Assorted Tempura (3/5)
• Sushi (3/5)

The Bottom Line

• Great atmosphere and service.  Although a bit on the pricey side, it is a good place to grab a lunch with a colleague.
• Rating: 7.3/10
• 4/5 for food
• 3/5 for value
• 2/2 for environment
• 2/2 for service
• 0/1 for experience
• Address: 55 Adelaide St E, Toronto, ON.  M5C 1K6
• Time to Spend: budget 1.5 hours

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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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Review: Afternoon Tea @ DEQ Terrace Ritz Carlton, Toronto

The Bottom Line

Great for celebrating a special event with your favourite person. A very elegant affair with plenty of food to satisfy all ages.

Overall rating

• Overall rating: 5/5

Time to Spend

• Budget: 2 - 2.5 hours

Recommended Set

• The regular tea set is sufficient in my opinion.  I'm not sure if paying the extra money for a glass of champaign is worth it (unless it's for a special occasion of course!)

DEQ Terrace

We headed downtown to the Ritz Carlton for high tea one windy Sunday afternoon. Never one for valet parking (or valet anything really, never liked the idea of people serving me other than bringing me food at restaurants), I opted to park at self-park lot across the street at Metro Center. It was Sunday, so the flat $10 flat was pretty good for downtown indoor parking.

DEQ Terrace is located at the back end of the hotel, past the reception area. Our reservation was for 3:15pm, and when we arrived, the place was somewhat full. As this was a special occasion, for my mom's birthday, we had a special table away from the rest of the guests. Guests celebrating an event also have a pair of balloons tied to their chairs, which was a nice touch.

We were presented with the tea set menu, which was really just for choosing the option of bubblies. $40 for the regular tea set, $50 with a glass of sparking wine, $56 for blush sparking wine, and I presume $69 is for an even more expensive glass of bubblies. I wanted to treat my parents, so we opted for the $56 menu for my mom, and the $50 menu for my dad. I had the regular tea set.

After taking our orders, we settled in and had a chance to look around. The tea area is clean and well structured, with a bar in the middle.

Our very elegantly dressed server came, dressed in a black dress and a string of pearls, just like in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and presented us with a tea box with 12 different kinds of tea leaves, and proceeded to explain to us the selection as well as her recommendation.

After spending some time playing around with the various tea boxes and opening them up and sniffing each  of the samplers, we decided on Oolong and a fruity Celebration medley for me.

Our first dish was a warm bacon and cheese soufflé. It was warm, fluffy, and oh so delicious. I probably devoured it in two large un-ladylike bites. The fact that I woke up late and skipped breakfast might have something to do with my hunger. 

Next we were presented with a beautiful oriental-style round rack with various savoury pastries on them. There was a curry mini burger, an egg salad sandwich, tomato bruschetta, cucumber slice open top sandwich, and a salmon croissant. 

I found most of the bread to be a bit on the dry side, but loved the salmon croissant. They were pretty to look at, and I suppose decent enough in taste.

Next we were presented with a dessert tray, again with all sorts of petite goodies on them. Red velvet cupcake, lemon meringue tart, profiteroles, tiramisu, raspberry macarons, and raisin scones.

I had so eagerly devoured my savoury treats that by this time, I was getting full, and I could tell the same with my family. We all just sat there and stared at these beautiful treats in front of us, each silently wondering if we could possibly finish them all.

Tried as we might, we just couldn't touch them. Not wanting them to go to waste, we had more than half of them doggy-bagged, and the result was that I could thoroughly enjoy them at the comfort of my home, when I was actually hungry and could enjoy them. I must say, those raison scones were delicious.

Our total bill with tax and tip came to about $250 for 4. It's a bit on the steep end, but considering the elegant environment and the exquisite care that had obviously gone into making these treats, it was money well spent. Most precious of all, seeing my mom from ear to ear the entire time.  

Tips

• Make a reservation in advance. You will need to complete a form (with your credit card information) to confirm. Cancellations within 72 hours will be subjected to a penalty.
• If you're there to celebrate an event, let them know in advance and there will be balloons waiting for you when you arrive.  :)
• Don't be embarrassed to ask for your treats to-go if you can't finish them. They will pack it up for you, no problem.

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