Imm Thai Kitchen

Where? Imm Thai Kitchen (Little Italy, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) Map Menu

When? Monday May 9, 2022

Who? Me

Food Style? Thai

My favourite Thai place is currently closed as the family that runs it takes a long deserved vacation back to Thailand. In their absence, I’ve decided to try some other Thai places around the city, starting with this restaurant in Little Italy. I’m exhausted from badminton and I’m starving. Let’s see how this place compares to the big Thai restaurants in Toronto: Pai, Khao San Road and Sabai Sabai.

Thai food in Toronto tends to be overly sweet. It dilutes the intensity of the other famous flavours of Thai food: chili, kaffir lime, Thai basil, tamarind, fish sauce, lemongrass. Things must be in balance of course, I just wish these places would stay truer to their roots instead of catering to the Canadians.

Mains

Massaman Curry: Thai Massaman Paste with coconut milk, white onions and potatoes, topped with fried onion and peanuts
Yeeeeah. I can tell from the look it’s not good. It doesn’t have a strong flavour, like there’s too much coconut. They’ve left the galangal in, which is a little unpleasant because of the texture, and I’ve never seen this curry with carrots before. It really just tastes like flavoured coconut milk and sadness. Not even the right kind of peanutty flavour too.

Oh well. Another one to blacklist.

Posted by Jeremy at 9:09pm on Tuesday June 21, 2022 :: 0 comments ::

Lion City

Where? Lion City (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) Map Menu

When? Friday May 6, 2022

Who? Nancy, Henry, Carmen, Alfie

Food Style? Malaysian and Singaporean

Hands down the best Singaporean restaurant in the Greater Toronto Area, Lion City is proudly run by two expats serving some authentic, delicious dishes. All the Malaysians and Singaporeans flock here for that taste of home and I am no different. It is a little bit out of the way, being in Mississauga, but since we often go hiking around the Hamilton and Niagara area, we have ample opportunity to visit on the way back to Toronto. The restaurant is in a plaza with lots of other great food, as well as Btrust Supermarket that occasionally stocks some delicious Malaysian goodies. Since there's a few of us, we'll order some dishes to share and some steamed rice on the side to soak up all those lovely sauces.

Dish #1

Char Kway Teow: Dry wok fried flat rice noodles, shrimp, Chinese sausage, egg, fish cake
My favourite noodle dish, this is full of that wonderful smokiness - wok hei - that the wok imparts when frying with a very high heat. I love the Chinese sausage and the crunchiness of the bean sprouts. I usually use this dish to judge whether a Malaysian restaurant has any standard or not, and these guys have done it pretty well.

Dish #2

Tamarind Fish: A saucy sweet and tangy stir fry
Tamarind is a wonderful, unique flavour commonly found in several southeast Asian dishes. It's sweet and tart, and pairs well with seafood. This dish has some kick and the sourness really comes through nicely, and the vegetables that come with it help to mellow out that intensity.

Dish #3

Sambal Chicken
I think this one is my favourite. It’s spicy and slightly sour as well, but super juicy. Okra is not really seen in many dishes outside of Malaysia but the nyonyas love using it, especially in curries. It's delicious with the sauce in this dish.

Dish #4

Kang Kong Belacan
This is hard to find due to its seasonal availability. My mother used to make this for us at home, the hollowness of the kang kong helped the chili and shrimp paste permeate all surfaces of the greens. The intensity of the belacan is just right and the vegetable is still nice and crunchy.

Dish #5

Beef Rendang: aromatic, fragrant slow cooked dry curry
Wow this one is spicy. It's a bit wetter than I would normally make it, and it's missing the secret ingredient that makes this go from a good rendang to a great rendang - toasted coconut. In saying that, the coconut flavour from the coconut milk does comes through sufficiently, but I’m almost tempted to say mine is better since I'm able to adjust the intensity and balance of flavours.

We've opted not to have dessert, but on previous occasions we've enjoyed their ice kacang aka ABC (ais batu campur), a perfect treat for a hot day in Malaysia but not so much for a chilly spring day in Toronto. In any case, I do love coming here and it’s so reassuring to hear that accent, though I can definitely hear my own accent starting to dilute.

Posted by Jeremy at 8:47pm on Tuesday June 21, 2022 :: 0 comments ::

Sagradas Tapas

Where? Sagradas Tapas (Eixample, Barcelona, Spain) Map Menu

When? Sunday January 9, 2022

Who? Marc

Food Style? Tapas

My final night in Barcelona is going out with a bang. I’m going to have a mega tapas feast with Sagrada Familia in the background. We’re just outside the tourist zone of the world’s most famous unfinished cathedral, so the food should be excellent and authentic. They've recommended that the two of us share four or five dishes. The problem is how do I decide on just a few dishes? All of them sound so good. Let's get some sangria made from cava, Catalan sparkling wine, to start off.


Holy smokes the cava sangria is massive. It’s delightfully fruity and effervescent, and the glass is so large I can’t even hold it in one hand. Why is this so much, I am going to have a bad time.

Tapa #1

Gambas al Ajillo: garlic prawns
Delicious flavour, really nice, strong garlic taste.

Tapa #2

Pimientos del Padrón: fried padrón peppers
Sweet and smokey, I love having these at tapas meals. Pity they aren't spicy though.

Tapa #3

Escalivada con Queso de Cabra: roasted vegetables with goat cheese
This was not what I was expecting, at all, but I love the pistachio crunch in this dish. The goat's cheese is half melting over the warm vegetables and adds a natural saltiness.

Tapa #4

Abóndigas: homemade meatballs
I think this was my favourite. Hearty and really had that homemade feel. The sauce was delicious. It was piping hot when served to us, and in the cool Barcelona night, it was a welcome source of warmth.

Tapa #5

Tortilla Española: Spanish potato omelette
Really good combination of egg and potato. This is one of Spain's national dishes, and fierce debate rages over whether this should be served with onion or not. This particular one is sin cebolla, without.

Still hungry. We've gone for four more dishes, making our total a whopping nine!

Tapa #6

Dados de Solomillo a la Pimienta: sirloin cubes with black pepper
Tasty but overall a bit disappointing, a little bit under seasoned. It works really well with the meatball sauce. It sounded better on paper.

Tapa #7

Bacalao Gratinado con Alioli: gratin cod with garlic mayonnaise
The fish is cooked absolutely perfectly and flakes away beautifully. The aioli is fantastic.

Tapa #8

Chips de Berenjena: eggplant chips
Delicious. There's a hint of sweetness, they've put sugar in the batter. It's a bit strange at first but after a few, I'm really enjoying it. The texture is perfect - crispy outside, soft inside.

Tapa #9

Huevos Rotos con Chistorra: broken fried egg with small spicy sausage
Wonderful saltiness from sausage and richness from egg with crispy and fluffy potatoes. We've been stretched to the limit by this one, and we can't finish the potatoes.

We also can't finish the sangrias, and I am super done for the night. I have to get up early to go to the airport tomorrow. It's been a wonderful time here, and I'm sad to return to Toronto, which is currently in a mini lockdown where indoor dining is prohibited, and outdoor dining is unfeasible in -20C weather.

Posted by Jeremy at 3:37am on Thursday January 20, 2022 :: 0 comments ::

Montolio Can Maño

Where? Montolio Can Maño (Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain) Map

When? Thursday January 6, 2022

Who? Me

Food Style? Catalan Seafood

I was looking up a place to eat by the beach and I googled the Catalan term for “menu of the day”, menú del día. This is the name given to the prix fixe menu given to workers to ensure they had at least one good meal a day. This place comes up on a list of Barcelona's best for menú del día, and it's on a small side alley that doesn't have a lot of tourists. I don't see the menu of the day though, only a blackboard with various seafood. There's no trace of English and the wait staff kinda can’t communicate with me, but pointing, nodding and Google translate has got me some food. I seem to be the only one in this predicament, even though there’s some French speakers around, they seem to know Catalan and Spanish as well.

Mains #1

Mejillones: mussels
Sweet and juicy with lots of delicious garlic and olive oil flavour. I know these are tiny and don’t have the satisfaction that NZ green lip mussels have, but this is still pretty good.

Mains #2

Pimiento: peppers
They haven’t been seasoned, but after dipping it in the mussel sauce, it’s really good. Love that smoky charred flavour.

Mains #3

Sardinas: sardines
It takes a bit of practice but by the third one I’m able to remove the meat from the main bone pretty efficiently. The flavours are simple but delicious, herbs, olive oil and that natural seafoody saltiness. The small bones are awkward but edible at least.

This was the perfect amount of food for lunch, and there's enough room in my stomach for some ice cream on yet another fine Barcelona day. I feel like some Amorino...

Posted by Jeremy at 3:01am on Thursday January 20, 2022 :: 0 comments ::

Restaurant Malaysia

Where? Restaurant Malaysia (Eixample, Barcelona, Spain) Map Menu

When? Tuesday January 4, 2022

Who? Me

Food Style? Malaysian

Okay yeah I know, why am I eating Malaysian food in Catalonia of all places. Well, I was recommended this place by a former coworker from New Zealand who now lives here and his credibility is on the line. We used to regularly go for Malaysian food back in Wellington so he at least should have an idea of what is good and bad. I’m going to see just how authentic they are and whether they live up to my high standards.

Drink

Teh Tarik
My teh tarik is pretty damn spot on. Chocolatey and creamy, it’s just how I remember it from home. It doesn’t have that frothy milk layer from being "pulled" and it’s probably from a packet, but I don’t care, this has set a good tone and I'm in a good mood.

Entree

Kerabu Tauhu: fried tofu with sliced cucumber, onions, peanuts and sweet chili sauce
The tofu is beautifully crispy and the sweet chili sauce is perfectly spicy. It’s definitely home made and not that weak rubbish you normally get from a supermarket. I’m more used to the cucumber being thinner but it’s not a dealbreaker. The best version I've had of this dish is from KK Malaysian Restaurant in Epsom, Auckland. That’s two out of two, let’s see how the main course stacks up.

Mains

Char Kuay Teow: stir-fried flat rice noodles with prawn, chicken and bean sprouts
Of course I have to order the kuay teow, it’s my one favourite dish that I can’t cook at home. First glance: the noodles are wrong. They’re too thin. Carrot is not normally fried with the noodles but there’s not a lot so I can let that slide. The most important question is whether this has wok hei - breath of the wok - that wonderful smokiness that the wok imparts to the ingredients when frying things at a high temperature. A smell of the food, then a taste…yep, there it is. Delicious. The taste is pretty good and better than what I was expecting. The sambal belacan I’ve ordered goes well with the meal, adding that salty spicyness. The noodles being small are really my only complaint about this, and it’s important because it’s harder to eat with chopsticks, otherwise this is a big pass from me.

Dessert

Bubur Hitam: Indonesia sweet black rice with coconut milk
Okay I’ll get a dessert as well. Bubur hitam is something I have never seen outside of Malaysia, not even from my favourite Malaysian restaurants in New Zealand. I can tell it’s been microwaved because some parts are nuclear hot and some parts are luke warm, but the flavour is pretty on point. The gula melaka tastes just like it’s from home, and the aroma of coconut is excellent. Again, a few flaws but still a pass.

As I’m finishing up, I can hear the kitchen yelling out some things in Bahasa, and that pleases me because it means they’re from Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia, and they know what their food should taste like. It turns out one is from Indonesia, one is from Johor Bahru, but the chef is from Kuala Lumpur, and actually I can also hear some Cantonese being brandied about. I’ve been burned at least three times by people who claim they know Malaysian food but in fact have only spent a few months or years in Malaysia and don’t know what the proper flavour profile of this complex cuisine should be. I had a good chat to the staff and it was lovely to hear that accent again.

Oh yeah I got a small discount too for being so enthusiastic about the food. Yuss!

Posted by Jeremy at 3:41am on Wednesday January 19, 2022 :: 0 comments ::