Dim sum (Greater Toronto Area)

Posted on Sunday, October 28, 2012 by
This is the blog where I impart my SME (subject matter expertise) with you on dim sum. There must be hundreds of restaurants in the GTA that serve dim sum so unfortunately I can’t rate them all. Within my article I'm introducing you to just four restaurants.

What is it?

Dim sum or as the Cantonese call it "yum cha" is a favourite amongst Cantonese Chinese families. You often will see large tables of families gathered on the weekends where three generations dine together. Some like to consider it Chinese brunch; but, it's actually served for much longer periods of time - often from 8am to 3pm at most restaurants. Accordingly, you may think of it as breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Dishes are "tapa" style and come in a wide variety of cooking methods - the most popular being steamed in bamboo baskets. They are generally individual portions of about four to a plate and are shared amongst the table. The ingredients are focused around proteins (seafood, pork, beef) so unfortunately there aren't usually that many vegetarian options.  Also, don’t even think of asking about gluten free options – I don’t know if this even exists!

Each restaurant offer different variety of dishes, although they will usually all have the "staples", a sample of some of the most popular:
  • Har gow - steamed shrimp dumpling
  • Siu mai - steamed pork (and usually also contains shrimp and Chinese mushrooms) dumpling
  • Steamed rice noodle rolls - a thin white soft rice roll that have different fillings (shrimp, bbq pork, beef, vegetables)
  • Steamed buns - white bun filled with various fillings (bbq pork, chicken, egg custard, glutinous rice)
  • Deep fried options - shrimp rolls, spring rolls, octopus tentacles
  • Offal options - tripe, pig stomach, chicken feet 

Cart or Menu?

Dim sum is served two ways:
  1. Employees circle the restaurant with carts holding two - five varieties of dishes and announce the options. Patrons will call out the name of the dish that they want when the employee is near them; or
  2. Ordering off a menu and dishes are brought to the table.

I prefer the carts because I find there are often a larger variety of dishes to choose from. Restaurants don't need to print everything onto a menu so they can just offer one-time items and switch up the menu more often. Additionally, you don't have to gauge how many dishes to order - you simply keep ordering until you're full.

With that said, if you don't know Cantonese, I suggest you go with the menu option. The employees pushing the carts often don't understand much English and therefore you'll need to stop them to look at the dishes and they may not be able to describe the dishes more than the main ingredient (i.e. beef).

Tips and Things to Note

  • Be prepared to wait - as you enter the restaurant look for a host/hostess (behind a podium) and tell them the number of people in your party. They will give a number and you just wait until your number is called. You'll notice the numbers aren't called numerically (i.e. they will skip around). It really depends on how many people you're trying to seat (a small or large table); so don't be shocked when a number that is after you is called before you - it's likely because they have a different table size than you.

  • Reservations - most restaurants will take reservations but they don't work like normal reservations – a table isn’t placed on hold for you. Rather, when you arrive, the restaurant they will move you up the list and give you a table earlier. This also doesn't mean you will get the next available table, but instead one within the next three customers. Therefore, if you make a reservation for noon, don't expect to be seated at noon.

  • My suggestion is to get there early - aim for shortly after 11am if you don't want to wait more than 20 minutes. If you go after 11:30 be prepared to wait about 30+ minutes to get a table.

  • The optimal party size to go with is four people. Most dishes will have four pieces so going with four people makes it easier to share.

  • Tea charges - almost all restaurants will charge each person a "tea charge", regardless of if you actually drink it. The prices can range from $0.50 - $1.75 per person.

  • The general rule of thumb is three dishes per person. Of course, it will differ depending on the size of the dishes you order (i.e. you don't need three large dishes per person) and how hungry everyone is. But, this should give you an idea of how much you should order for "menu" restaurants.
Some Recommended Locations

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Shomal (North) Restaurant (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, October 21, 2012 by
ocation: Toronto, Canada
Address: 100 Steeles Avenue West, Unit 27
Website: http://www.northrestaurant.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner

You'll be pleasantly surprised when you walk into North with its large space and delightful decor. It feels like you've walked into the middle of an outdoor courtyard in Iran and are dining with the village.

A co-worker recommended this restaurant for good traditional Persian food, so a group of friends and I decided to try it. Ordering "family style" is definitely recommended as the portion sizes are large and dishes are flavourful so you will likely want to try a number of items to get a mix of flavours. We ended up getting four dishes for five people and this was more than enough.

Our first dish was an appetizer called Mirzaghasemi ($10). Warning: do not order this dish if you're on a date or plan to be close to anyone after dinner as it’s filled with garlic! Chunks of roasted garlic are incorporate with roasted eggplant and scrambled eggs to form a warm, thick, delicious spread. I loved the freshly toasted flat bread that accompanies the dish - the thick garlicky spread on ultra-thin, chewy, toasty bread was a great start.

 

Mirzaghasemi (1)


I was a bit disappointed with our mains after such a wonderful appetizer. Overall, everything had a citrus taste to it, so it was a bit repetitive and overpowering. But, if I had known a little Persian this could have been avoided, so hopefully this little lesson will help you in the future. "Torsh" means sour in Persian. Two of the dishes we ordered - Morghe Torsh and Torshi Tareh have the word in it, which should have indicated to us that the dishes are sour.

Half of North's menu is dedicated to kebab style dishes so we had to try the North Special Kebab ($30) which consisted of long skewers of beef tenderloin and chicken. The beef of course was very tender, but, unlike steak the meat is cooked thoroughly so there’s no pink left in it. The chicken was average and covered with a red spice that was slightly lemony. Although we couldn't see this being prepared, based on the menu, I believe it's broiled over charcoal. This left a powerful propane after taste to the meat that I didn't enjoy when eaten by itself. However, once some lemon juice, cilantro and raw onions were added to it, the gassy taste was masked and the kebabs were more enjoyable.
North Special kebab (1)

Morghe Torsh ($14) is a chicken stew with different herbs. It's much waterier than North American stews and resembles a sour lentil soup with a large hunk of chicken breast. The chicken itself was tasteless as it seemed it was just boiled, so may have been better if North chose to use bone-in dark meat instead. The broth of the stew tasted good and went well with the rice.
Morghe torsh (1)


Our last dish was Torshi Tareh ($13) a vegetarian dish consisting of broken down leafy greens (could be spinach?), herbs, what seems to be the juice of two lemons and scrambled eggs. When the dish was first served, it looks similar to the Indian spinach paneer. But, they taste nothing alike. The thick vegetable sauce was extremely tart and very strong. My least favourite and definitely will not order again.

Torshi tareh (1)

Despite the restaurant being very busy, our food arrived quickly. However, the service afterwards was very slow. The employees themselves were friendly; just not very attentive and somewhat forgetful. After all the rich flavours we really needed water. Unfortunately, we had to ask three individuals before someone finally brought us water. Additionally, when inquiring a staff member about dessert options, we were advised there is no menu but there are two items. She quickly listed them off, in Persian, offered no description and left. Given we had no idea what these were; we decided to avoid ordering dessert and just leave.


Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10

I given the restaurant a 6.5 as I normally wouldn't want to return to this restaurant based on the meal above. But, if we had ordered a better selection of flavours it'd likely be more enjoyable. So, I'll likely go back to give it one more try - this time hopefully with more help from the waitress/waiters to avoid another "torsh" experience.


____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html
Photo Sources:
  1. All photos courtesy of Shomal (North's) menu - http://www.northrestaurant.com/

CLOSED: Fare Bistro (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, October 20, 2012 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 1097 Queen St East
Type of Meal: Dinner

The dark, jewel-toned candlelit restaurant certainly resembles a classic bistro and makes a great date location. However, with limited seating, you should make a reservation to avoid disappointment.  On the night of my visit with girlfriends, we found a similar crowd - groups of friends catching up over glasses of wine and traditional French cuisine.

We decided to start with their appetizer of the day, pork belly with tempura shrimp ($14). The shrimp was the better of the two proteins but I wouldn't consider it to be tempura - more like lightly battered. The pork belly, although crispy, was too lean for my taste; a thin layer of fat would have given it more flavour and contrast to the crisp skin.

I ordered the duck confit with a black current glaze ($26). It was refreshing to have a confit that wasn't overly salty so that the taste of duck could still be enjoyed. The meat was very tender and went well with the black current glaze. The skin could be rendered more as most parts of it were slightly soggy. Surprisingly, the crisp green beans accompanying the dish were one of the most enjoyable parts - perfectly cooked and flavoured.

You can't be at a bistro without trying the steak frites ($27) which is what one friend had. The frites were exactly what I like - fresh potatoes fried until they are crisp on the outside but still dense and flavourful in the middle, only lightly salted. The strip loin (?) was a generous portion and tender but lacked the stronger "black Angus" flavour I prefer.
My other companion had and the daily risotto ($25), on this day was with lamb and goat cheese. Keep in mind I'm basing this review on only one bite - I must say it's not what I like. The tangy goat cheese didn't merry well with lamb and risotto in my opinion. Its slightly grainy texture ruined the creaminess of what I enjoy about risottos.
Given I don't have a sweet tooth, I rarely order desserts. But, my friends are very different from me, so we ordered two things to share. If anything, I thought their desserts were the highlight in the meal.
  • The chocolate terrine was a cross between a ganache and mousse and was a melt-in-your-mouth creamy texture. It also went wonderfully well with the raspberry and vanilla custard sauces that decorated the dish.
  • The blackberry upside down cake was my favourite. Cooked in a skillet, the dish was served warm and topped with generous amounts of sweet black berries which baked right into the cake. I thoroughly enjoyed the plump blackberries popping in your mouth and combining with the sweet warm vanilla cake.

Dinner for three with a bottle of wine and three cafe au laits came to $199.
 
Overall mark - 7 out of 10

____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


CLOSED: Frida (Toronto)

Posted on Friday, October 12, 2012 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 999 Eglinton Avenue West
Type of Meal: Dinner

Note: Given the sheer amount of items ordered and shared within this meal, prices are given beside the dish rather than providing an order total


Amongst paintings by Frida Kahlo, as educated by my friend, we dined in a small quaint restaurant. The self-portraits are definitely interesting - a particular bare breasted one of the artist sparked some conversation.


We couldn't go to a place voted by the Toronto Life as "best guacamole in Toronto" without trying it, so we shared an order to start. It was definitely the best guacamole ($11) I've ever tried and love the micro fine pieces of red onions and cilantro laced throughout. Rather than spicing the dip with jalapenos, the chef used chili oil - an interesting twist. But, I'll admit, if some diced jalapenos happened to make their way into the dish, I wouldn’t complain. A bunch of arugula accompanies the dish, which adds a fresh peppery bite when topped on a guacamole tortilla.

We didn't know, but Frida also provides tables with a complementary dish of fried corn tortillas accompanied by two sauces - salsa verde (a mild sauce derived from tomatillos) and salsa morita (a spicier sauce made from dried chipotles). They were a departure from the red tomato salsa we’re normally use to and I enjoyed the salsa morita.

Given I wanted to try a number of items, I opted to order from the "Little Bites" menu. I wish someone would have warned me that what Frida notes as "Little", it really means "One to Two Bites" menu. When the three items were placed in front of me, I was shocked at how small they were:
  • Camaron a la diabla ($3) - my favourite of the three and consisted of a good sized prawn cooked perfectly with a spicy diablo sauce. It was flavourful but wasn't overly spicy, rather had just a slight kick to it.

  • Empanada de champinones ($4) - I found the corn crust of the empanada slightly overdone and bit too hard. The portion that was covered with salsa verde was better, but since it was so crusty, it was a bit difficult to appreciate the delicate mushroom and corn flavours of the empanada.

  • Taco de barbacoa ($3) - a sliver of mediocrely flavour lamb served on a tortilla crisp. I hadn't read the dish’s description in detail and thought it would be a mini taco, but the taco was actually like a pita chip. Definitely the most disappointing of the three.

Restaurant staff should feel comfortable warning patrons about how small these Little Bites portions are.  I would have appreciated if my waitress warned me so I wouldn't have been disappointed on my choice.  The staff doesn't have to complain about it - a simple "have you eaten here before?  Just want to let you know that the Little Bites is meant to compliment a meal and is almost like a hors d'oeuvres would suffice.


Luckily, my friend had also ordered the Little Bites and was more than happy to split the Tacos de carne with Oaxaca cheese ($13) with me. Three soft corn tortillas topped with a generous portion of slice steak arrived at the table. They were good but nothing spectacular. Perhaps it's because I've been too accustomed to westernized Mexican food, but I expected the tacos to be more flavourful. I had to add quite a bit of salsa morita to give it the taste I wanted ... rather than relying on a well-seasoned steak.

I also had a glass of the raspberry sangria ($9) that tasted more like sweet pink lemonade with muddled raspberries. But, it was still refreshing - if you weren't expecting sangria.

Our waitress was friendly and attentive. Perhaps it’s because we ordered five types of Little Bites, but I found the pace of receiving dishes to be a bit slow. 

Overall mark - 6.5* out of 10

* If the rating was based purely on the items ate I'd rate Frida a 6. However, I now realize we should have ordered dishes off their "entrees" section and tried the churros for dessert. So, if I am ever in the neighbourhood, I may try Frida again - even if it’s just for the guacamole.


____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html

Catalonian Croissants (Barcelona)

Posted on Monday, October 08, 2012 by
After arriving into Barcelona at 8:00 am, or midnight from the destination we flew in from, we were determined to power through the day to reduce jet lag. What we needed was a strong cup of coffee and some breakfast.

Catalonian coffee or European coffee in general, is richer and more flavourful than what we're used to in North America. When you order it with milk, it tastes similar to a North American cappuccino (minus the foam).



Catalonian croissant (1)


Little did I know, but, even croissants taste different - likely as North American versions follow the French recipe.

Instead of looking like a horn, they are crescent shaped. The baking temperature and/or duration are higher/stronger as the tips of the croissant are crispy and resemble croutons. Rather than being somewhat savoury, Catalonian croissants are glazed with a sweet egg wash so that it ends up tasting like sweet challah bread (except with toasty tips). It's not as buttery but still hits the spot!

At less than 4€ for 2 coffees and 2 croissants these are an excellent breakfast options while travelling in Barcelona.

 Photo Sources:
  1. Foods from Spain (http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/cda/controller/pageSGT/0,9459,35868_6863776_6912650_4539865_0,00.html)

Thanksgiving Baked Goods

Posted on Saturday, October 06, 2012 by
This weekend I will be enjoying many great meals; but, not in a restaurant where you can visit.  Therefore, in lieu of reviews, here's a post about the recipes I'm trying this holiday.

 A word of warning, I'm not a professional chef and I generally perfer cooking to baking.  However, since I volunteered to bring desserts, I'm baking today!  Given my limited skills, I've decided to keep it simple and look for recipes with a few staple ingredients and simple instructions.  If I can do it, you certainly can!

 After an afternoon of baking, I made three desserts - the pictures are my actual creations.

 Perfect Pumpkin Pie

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/perfect-pumpkin-pie/detail.aspx

Thoughts on the Recipe:

 It may be my oven, but after baking the pie for only 35 minutes the edges look a little overdone.  Next time I'm going to lower the temperature for the last 10 minutes to see if I can avoid this.

 A lovely classic pumpkin pie that's extremely easy to make.  With a dallop of whipped cream on top it's a great classic.
Baked Apple Crisp

 After reading numerous recipes, I couldn't find one I liked.  I found most of them called for too much sugar. Since I'm planning to eat the Apple Crisp with vanilla ice cream, I wanted something not overly sweet to begin with.  So, after reviewing the recipes for key ingredients, combinations and timing I came up with my own recipe *fingers crossed*:

Ingredients:

 Apple Mixture
  • 6 medium golden delicious apples - cored and diced into sugar cube sized pieces
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Crisp Topping
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  1. Preheat oven to 375F
  2. Toss all the ingredients in the "Apple Mixture" section to combine and place into a baking dish - I used a 2.5 quart dish.
  3. Bake the mixture for 30 minutes.
  4. Mix together first five items in the "Crisp Topping" section.
  5. Add in the cubed butter and mix, break butter into smaller pea sized pieces with pastry cutter, 2 knives or your fingers.
  6. Add in chopped walnuts and stir.
  7. After the "Apple Mixture" has finished baking for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and top with the "Crisp Topping".  The amount to add depends on the size and shape of your dish (rectangle vs. circle). I used a circle container and found there was too much topping so ended up discarding about 1/2 cup of prepared Crisp Topping.
  8. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Thoughts on the Recipe:

It actually tasted good and the reduced sugar was not missed.  In fact, it was still a little overly sweet when served with ice cream.  I would suggest reducing the amount of sugar in the "Crisp Topping" - perhaps to 1/3 cup if planning to serve with ice cream. 

Note to improve presentation: Either combine the "Apple Mixture" in another bowl and then pour into the baking dish or wipe all excess sugar/cinnamon from the sides of the baking dish before placing into the oven.  I didn't do either so the excess sugar/cinnamon ended up browning on the dish and made it look messy.
In order to finish the leftover pumpkin puree and walnuts on hand, I found the recipe below.  Given I only had about 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree left, I halved the recipe and made one large loaf instead.  However, I used 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree instead of 1 cup - as the recipe would call for if halved. 

Delicious Pumpkin Bread

 http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Delicious-Pumpkin-Bread/Detail.aspx?prop24=RD_RelatedRecipes

Thoughts on the Recipe:

 While the recipe is titled "bread", this will not allow you to make sandwiches. Rather, it's similar to banana bread and tastes almost like a cake. 

Since I placed 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree instead of 1 cup, the Pumpkin Bread was dense and moist in the centre.  My husband and I didn't mind this as it also had a stronger flavour. But, if you'd rather it be the banana bread consistency I suggest you follow the recipe. 

Overall, it tasted pretty good and I'll definitely be making again.  The walnuts added a toasty crunch that I really like.  It could use a bit more spice, so next time I may try adding a bit more cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  I could taste the sweetness so it's almost comparable to eating a pie, but it wasn't too sweet.

 It tastes even better the next day after the bread had time to cool down and dry out a bit.  The flavours appear to get stronger and it was much more fragrant, so perhaps doesn't require any additional spices.

 I haven't actually tried this, but if you use this to make French Toast and top with whipped cream, instead of maple syrup, I'd imagine it would taste amazing. If you end up doing this please let me know how it turns out!

 With the exception of the Pumpkin Pie Bread, the others won't be eaten until tomorrow.  I will revise the blog with my thoughts later, so stay tuned! 


7 Portes (Barcelona)

Posted on Wednesday, October 03, 2012 by
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Address: Paseo Isabel II, 14 
Website: http://www.7portes.com/catala/index2.php
Type of Meal: Lunch

 During the morning we were visiting Barcelonetta, the port/harbour area of Barcelona, and went to 7 Portes as I wanted paella and heard they had a long standing reputation in serving it.  I've previously eaten paella in Toronto's Little Spain and in Barcelona (at a budget friendly establishment as a student), so was excited to try something nicer and hopefully more authentic.

The restaurant is large, compared to other Barcelona restaurants, and reminds me of the old Fish Houses we had in Toronto.  

The waiter started us off with a basket of cold rolls and small plate of green olives (as a warning you're charged 7€ for and not given a choice of).  Each table has a selection of 2 or 3 types olive oils which are interesting to try although they taste very similar.

 We each had a salad:
  • A seasonal salad for myself, which consists of different types of lettuce and endives with vegetable garnishs (a piece of carrot, celery, 2 wedges of tomatoes and sprig of green onion).  The salad was undressed but I could easily make a dressing with the oil, balsamic vinegar and salt available at the table.  There was nothing special at all about this dish but portion was large enough to serve 2 as a starter.
  • A rocket salad for my husband made up of spring mix salad and a large portion of baked goat cheese dressed with a raspberry (?) viniagrette.  The rocket salad was definitely the tastier of the two salad selections.
Seasonal salad (1)



We split the parellada "rich man's" paella which contained a mixture of chicken, chorizo, scallop, shrimp, calamari, mussels and lobster. I must admit, I was disappointed. When you look at the menu on 7 Porte's website they showcase large whole prawns and crab legs on their paella. What we received was chopped up pieces of rubbery meat and seafood in rice. 
For a city with such abundant seafood, the amount featured in the dish was extremely disappointing.  The prawns were small shrimps, the scallops & calamari cut into small cubes and the lobster one of the smallest I've ever seen - really a large crawfish at best.  As the meat and seafood was cut into such small pieces they were overcooked and lost all the texture and flavour seafood should have.  For all I know, the seafood could have been frozen as it certainly tasted like that. 


The rice itself was okay - wasn't too soggy from liquid but the actual flavour wasn't for me. Firstly, I expected the rice to be golden yellow (from saffron) and plump and fluffy in texture. The rice we received was light brown and seemed like it was drenched with soy sauce (which I know likely wasn't the case). After some post-trip research, I now realize the paella containing saffron, which is show cased on cooking shows, is the "Valencian" style. Whereas, the Mediterranean mixed paella generally does not contain this rare spice.

The bits scraped from the bottom of the pan tasted good as it had a smoky nutty flavour. So I'm not sure - was the paella just not cooked long enough or perhaps they should have served it in the pan rather than showing us the pan and then plating it?

Parellada paella

Service was good; the staff weren’t overly friendly but attentive. The only problem arose as we had a difficult time getting our bill - it took two attempts asking different waiters and even the second person took a while to get it to us.

I didn't think the meal was worth the 52€ (also had bottle of sparkling water and a beer).  In the end, the meal wasn't horrible, but, I feel like I could have gone to other restaurants and received something of similar quality for much lower prices.

If anyone reading this is Spanish and has tried 7 Portes - can you please comment as to whether the paella served is authentic? If it is, perhaps my palette just doesn't like paella.

 Overall mark - 6 out of 10

____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html
Photo Sources:
  1. Seasonal Salad. Trip Advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187497-d697396-r121336864-7_Portes-Barcelona_Catalonia.html)
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