Review: Dinner @ Sik Korea, Toronto

Sik Korea is a new restaurant that recently opened up on Spring Garden near Yonge and Sheppard. One of my good  childhood friends, who now lives in NYC, came back to Toronto for a weekend and was craving Korean food, so we decided to give this place a try.

We asked the server for recommendation, and he recommended pork bone soup, dolsot bipbimbap  and this Korean spicy sausage hot pot dish.  The last appeared to be very popular, with tables surrounding us ordering the same dish. We figured there must be safety in numbers, so ordered the spicy sausage hot pot as well as the dolsot bipbimbap.

I wasn't overly impressed with the hot pot.  For $30, all we got were instant noodles, rice cakes, and a few varieties of sausages.  It is honestly what I would make at home when we ran out of fresh groceries and needed something quick and cheap.  it's like a giant pot of preservatives, and so while the taste is decent, I could not recommend this.

The dolsot bipbimbap, on the other hand, was delicious.  The stone pot was sizzling hot, and so we were able to create a delightful sear on the rice.  This I would recommend.

Gamjatang - aka pork bone soup, is also pretty decent. However, at a price tag of $9.95, I think it is slightly overpriced.  Still, if you have a craving for gamjatang (which happens quite often for me), go for it.

I should also mention that their side dishes is some of the better ones with a nice variety being presented.  I especially liked the white dish, but I have no idea what that it.  Maybe it's made from turnip?

Dishes

• 4/5 good
• Dolsot bipbimbap
• Gamjatang
• 2/5 didn't' really like it
• Budae jjigae (spicy sausage stew)

Summary

• The Bottom Line: Skip the popular spicy sausage hot pot stew and opt for the dolsot bipbimbap instead.
• Score: 3/5
• Address: 7 Spring Garden Avenue (Yonge & Sheppard), Toronto.

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Spicy Sausage Hot Pot Stew

Spicy Sausage Hot Pot Stew

Dolsot bipbimbap - recommended

Gamjatang - pork bone soup

Review: Dinner at Chi Star House 華星餐廳, Richmond Hill

Chi Star House (華星餐廳) is one of those small Chinese mom and pop shop that somehow is always packed with patrons.  We ate here on a Saturday night, and had to make a reservation beforehand, or  else there won't be a table for us.

When we arrived, the first thing that struck me was the number of "extensions" they have for most tables.  Add a small table and 2 chairs to a 4 person booth, and now you can seat 6!  I sure hope they haven't gone against any sorts of fire code regulations.

Anyways.  For the 6 of us we ordered 6 dishes. The general feel for me was that it was simply way too oily.  I can feel the oil oozing out of my face, which mustn't be good for my arteries!

I can't give a recommendation for this place because of the greasiness and because I don't like how they added extra capacity to the point where seating wasn't comfortable.

Dishes

• shredded salt baked chicken - recommended
• diced beef tenderloin with black pepper sauce
• steamed ground meat pancake with salted egg
• fish fillet with green beans
• fish with black bean sauce
• steamed egg tofu with shrimp

Summary

• The bottom line: mom and pop Chinese diner decent for a quick casual family dinner.  I would recommend this place only if the kitchen cuts back on their over generous use of oil.
• Score: 3.5/5
• Address: 9021 Leslie Street (Leslie & Hwy 7), Richmond Hill

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shredded salt baked chicken - recommended

fish fillet

beef tenderloin

fish

steamed egg tofu with shrimp

shredded pork pancake

Review: Drinks @ Coffee Hound, Bar Harbor

Coffee Hound has received some good reviews on TripAdvisor.  Conveniently located within steps from the cruise terminal, it is one of the few coffee spots within a walking distance from the port.  So in that regard, there isn't really much competition there.

We ordered the Cadillac Cooler and a mango flavoured Iced Tea.  Both were delicious and hits the spot on a warm sunny day.  Personally I like the Iced Tea more but the Cadillac Cooler was also delicious, better than Starbucks Frappacinos, which is a huge compliment seeing how I am a Starbucks fan.  What made the Cooler stand out was the addition of the lemon sorbet - it added a touch of "tanginess" to an otherwise sweet drink.

The only negative thing I can say is that the cafe is very very small, and that there are no washrooms there so you'll have to go across the street to the park for the washroom. It's not far, but still a minor inconvenience in my opinion.

Summary

• The Bottom Line: Good small cafe for take out cold drinks.  
• Score: 8.4/10
• 4.5/5 for drink quality
• 4/5 for value
• 2/3 for ambience
• 3/3 for service

Review: Peggy's Point Lighthouse, Nova Scotia

After our lobster lunch at Ryers Lobster Retail, we drove over to Peggy's Point Lighthouse.  It was already 1:30pm by the time we got there, and the sun is brightly beating down, but with the light breeze it was a beautiful and comfortable day.

Peggy's Point Lighthouse is one of the most photographed places in the maritimes, and resides majestically on top of rocks with neighbouring waves crashing in, creating a beautiful picture perfect scene.

There is a free parking lot at the top, extremely close to the lighthouse, so don't park too early at the base of the cliff.  I would also recommend getting there as early as possible, as it tends to get busier throughout the day. The only thing is that, personally, I'm not sure that I would do this route again on a port day.  To get the rental car, drive to the lighthouse and back in time before the cruise ship closes the gate, AND return the rental car was a bit stressful.  We were so pressed for time that we didn't end up enjoying the scenery as much as we could have.  I think next time we'll choose to stay in town and visit the Maritime Museum instead and hit the lighthouse on a road trip when we actually have more time.

• Score: 8/10
• 3/4 for enjoyment
• 4/4 for value (it's free!)
• 1/2 for location (1 hour drive from Halifax)

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• Peggy's Cove: Lunch @ Ryers Lobster Retail (8/10)
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Review: Escape Room @ AT Escape: Library Lockup

If you have been following my blog, you would have probably noticed a sudden influx of posts related to escape rooms.  That's because I'm somewhat addicted to them.  They are incredibly entertaining and fun to do, especially with friends.

Library Lockup @ AT Escape is my 4th escape adventure in the past few weeks.  We were at AT Escape a week ago when we tried out "BioLab Extraction", which was pretty fun and of which I would recommend.  You can read my review of BioLab Extraction here.

Maybe because my expectations were high, once we enter into Library Room, I was a little disappointed.  This is a 1 room escape with very limited decor.  By limited I meant that other than a desk, a few bookshelves, and a few other items there really isn't much else. I wish they could have thrown in an armchair or something to make it a bit more pleasant.  The room is also a bit smaller than I anticipated, being a 8 person max game.  As we are a group of 3 it was not an issue.  Still, I would not recommend more than 6.  Ideal size would probably be 4.

After getting over the initial disappointment, we delved straight to the puzzles.  There are more puzzles to solve compared to BioLab, and while they are no as "techy" and "cool", the puzzles were logical and enjoyable, and that was really the redeeming quality of the game.  The puzzles were fairly well thought out, and did go well with a library theme.  We did use the one free clue at 30mins into the game.  Did we escape in the end?  Yes we did!  With 5 mins to spare too.  Good job team!

Summary

• The Bottom Line: I still prefer BioLab Extraction but the Library Lockup room is none-the-less a fun and an enjoyable experience.
• Score: 4/5

Related Posts

• Review: Escape Room @ Omescape: Kingdom of Cats (9.5/10)
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Review: Lunch @ Ryers Lobster Retail, Halifax

On our port day at Halifax, we rented a mini-van and decided to visit the famous Peggy's Cove.

Peggy's Cove is about an hour's drive from Halifax, and by the time we got there (we visited Province House in Halifax first), we were all kinda hungry.  Again, since TripAdvisor is now my new thing to figure out where to eat when away from home, I saw that there is a fairly highly rated lobster place just beside Peggy's Cove, so we headed that way.

So Ryer's Retail Lobster is not a restaurant, and it's technically not in Halifax either.  It is a retail lobster place where you can buy lobster, and they will throw it in their special giant stainless steel gas fired water bath and cook it for you.

Adjacent to the shop is a small shaded area with 3 picnic tables.  By the time we arrived, there is already a family sitting there eating. We chatted with them briefly (they were visitors from HK and was a on road trip to the maritimes - pretty brave!), and the dad pretty much insisted that 1-1.5 lbs lobsters are the best.  He also highly recommended the mussels.

Armed with this information, we headed back to the shop and proceeded to order 1 lb of mussels and SEVEN 1 lb lobster (which were about $20 a pound).  My dad, who is a seafood lover, was beside himself with glee.  

We waited for about 15 mins, and out came the mussels, followed by the lobster.  The mussels were crazy amazingly large and juicy, and it was so good that we went and ordered another pound.

The lobster themselves, to my slight disappointment, were all overcooked.  I think they left it in the boiler a tad too long.  But I suppose they are retailers, not chefs, so maybe we shouldn't expect too much?  I guess we should've gone to restaurants, but then again, if we did, we wouldn't have experienced the "rawness" of the place.  You are literally at a fisherman's shack, right by the waters where they catch fresh live lobsters.  Sitting in the picnic tables with paper plates and napkins feels kinda nice too, and a nice change from our daily "fancy" dinner on the cruise.

Still, I'm not entirely sure if I would recommend this place.  It has its charms, and the mussels were delicious.  But for the fact that they overcooked all our lobsters, I can't honestly in my heart give a two thumbs up.  Maybe two claws up?

Summary

• Rating: 8/10 
• 3.5/5 for food quality
• 3/3 for value
• 1.5/2 for ambience
• Time to spend: 1-1.5h
• The Bottom Line: charming lobster shack for a no-frills lobster meal.  Don't expect service - expect paper plates, picnic tables, and port-a-potties.  Still, the lobsters couldn't be any fresher…

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Review: Province House, Halifax

Overview

When we stopped for  a day at the Halifax port, I haven't planned on visiting Province House.  To be honest, I'm not that interested in politics or history, so to see the place where all Nova Scotia's laws have been made is not that appealing to me.

We end up visiting this place because my sister slipped out to meet with her friend for a coffee nearby, and the rest of us end up waiting for her.  We decided to find a "free" place to chill for an hour or so.  We happened to drive by Province House, and on a spur of the moment decision, decided to go in and check out the place.  I read on the guide book that it is "free admission", so other than paying a few bucks for parking, seems like a reasonable way to spend an hour.

There is a security check at the front door with X-Rays and such, but the guards were all very nice and courteous, and after we all went through screening, we were told that there is a free tour the is about to start.  COOL!!!  There was one lady already with him, and I sense that she immediately breathed a sigh of relief when we said we would join.  I suppose it's not that fun having a 1:1 private tour, better to have a few others coming along.

Anyways, the tour took about 30 mins or so, and our friendly guide (I'm guessing he is an intern?) took us to the library, a grand hall, and the assembly area where the politicians meet.  We were able to go inside because it was the summer and sessions were on break.  

I was even able to pose in front of the podium!  Here I am, in apparent deep thought.

All in all, I learned a few interesting bits of history (all of which I have already forgotten by now, except that Sydney Crosby is from the Maritimes!  But that has nothing to do with this…). 

Summary

• Rating: 7/10
• The bottom line: considering that admission is free, it's not a bad place for a quick stop to learn a bit about Nova Scotia's history.
• Time to spend: 30 - 60 mins
• Address: 1726 Hollis Street (near Prince Street)

Related Posts

• Halifax: Lunch @ Ryers Lobster Retail (8/10)
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Review: Jost House, Sydney

We visited Jost House after our visit to Crossit House.  Jost House has a modest $3 person admission fee.  Once we entered the house, we were greeted by a very friendly guide.  Her counterpart took us downstairs to the basement, where he spoke about the different tools that were used back in the days, as well as what life was like living in Colonial Sydney.  Did you know that back in the day, the settlers only bathe once a year?! That's just gross!

In any case, the house is pretty interesting.  There is a pharmacy on the second floor, and it's cool to see the types of medicine they used to give out back in the days.  

Summary

One of the more interesting places to see in Sydney.  If you have only have time to see one sight, I recommend going to Jost House.

Rating: 8/10

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Review: Lunch @ Genji Sushi

The Restaurant

I have been to Genji Sushi several times before this review, and I have always liked them from both a service and a food quality perspective.

The restaurant is small, so if you can, make a reservation ahead of time.  Once we arrived, we were promptly seated at our table.  I ordered the lunch sashimi tempura box, and it came pretty quickly.  The tempura has been fried just right (light crisp), and the sashimi is fresh.

What we ordered

• Sashimi Tempura box - recommended

The Bottom Line

• Rating: 4.5/5
• Address: 2899 Steeles Avenue West, Toronto

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Review Escape Room @ Omescape: Kingdom of Cats

My Escape Mission #1.

There are no spoilers in this review.  However, if you prefer to know absolutely nothing about this room, just know that I do recommend Kingdom of Cats.  Now stop reading and make the reservation!

Update (Nov 2015)

I have now played all the room at Omescape Markham, and here's how I would rank them (based on my personal experience).

From Best to Worst (but honestly, there are no "bad" rooms at Omescape):

1. Mysterious Study
2. Penitentiary
3. Joker's Asylum
4. Kingdom of Cats
5. Dark Altar

Click here for a list of other escape rooms I have tried.


Original Review

The Kingdom of Cats is a multi-room challenge.  I also love that there are no element of gruesome or scariness to the storyline - you're trying to escape from a land of cute cat stuffed animals, how can you not love it? 

There really isn't much of a storyline other than cats.  The puzzles are interesting, with a combination of puzzles that are more than just combination locks.  The puzzles were designed to challenge all your senses, and I appreciated that.  Did we manage to escape?  Nope, but we were close!  Just needed 5 more minutes.  

Summary

• Overall Score: 4.5/5
• Address: Unit 7, 7501 Woodbine Ave (Woodbine & Esna Park, same plaza as Boss Club and Gold Mark Cuisine)
• Max Players: 3-8 (I recommend 4-6)
• Time: 60 mins
• Cost: $22-$30 p.p. with Facebook check-in discounts

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