Bent-O Seafood Tasting for 2

After seeing picture of Bent's Seafood Bent-O Box on twitter, Bent Restaurant (@BentRestaurant) suddenly moved right to the top of my to-eat list. On top of that, it was such a great deal at $35 for 2 before 7pm and $42 onward. I have been meaning to visit for ages since I am a big fan of Susur Lee (@susurlee) and he's behind the menu. This is definitely a family affair with the sons, Kai and Levi Bent-Lee reining the restaurant and Lee's wife behind the design of the space.

Love the casualness of the space with an array of vintage childhood toys on display.

Since the special will only be available until June 8th, the place was packed on this Friday night and we only manage to secure seats at the bar.

We were still in sake redrawal after the Kampai Sake event the day before, we didn't order sake as usual... so I had the Feature Cocktail instead which was a Mojito w/ Yuzu $15 while Ben had a Tsing Tao Beer $7.

I have to say that the price of their cocktails was rather steep but mine was a rather large glass but I notice that some other ones being served was rather small with price ranging from $14 to $18.

Seafood Bent-O include the following :

Lime Coconut Curry Shrimp Soup 

~ tomato, corn, squash, crispy puff rice 

I was very surprise at how light and flavorful this was, normally coconut soup are just heavy and very one dimentional in taste. This one, you can taste every components and just pack so much flavor.

Then the rest was served at once in a large Bento Box:

 Lobster Tacos

~ charred onion tomato salsa, chipotle, avocado, in taro shell (bottom centre)

We got one in taco shell and one in wonton shell, they should have stick with the taro as per the menu since it was a better texture and taste with the lobster fillings.

Pressed Octopus

~ lentil, tomato, black garlic, perilla, herbed olive oil, pomegranate vinaigrette

 This was a very interesting dish with the octopus without much flavoring apart from it's own seweetness while the vinaigrette was rather salty but interested flavor that I believe come from the black garlic.

Not Summer Yet [OOTD]

Went to Taste of the Food Terminal 2 weeks ago where the Ontario Food terminal open it's door to the public once a year with all profit going to Food Share and it's an outdoor event and our Toronto weather wasn't cooperating. It has been too cold for bare leg so I threw on a pair of my favorite boots from Minnetonka Moccasin (@MinnetonkaMocc) which is great for those not-summer-yet days. This is definetly a casual and comfy outfit for me to browse the place and carry all the goodies at the same time.

Outfit Details:

Jacket, T-Shirt & Sunnies - H&M; Skirt - American Eagle;  Booties - Minnetonka (from Little Burgundy);

Bag - No Brand from Hong Kong (old)

Beaujolais BBQ @ Acadia [EVENT]

I was invited to a Beaujolais Tasting at Acadia 2-3 weeks ago and it was the perfect weather for patio wine sipping (^_^)

Inter Beaujolais' Anthony Collet was there to provide info and descriptions of Beaujolais wines.

We got to taste 12 different wines from the Beaujolais region with food prepared by Patrick Kriss (who has since left Acadia).

We started with Chateau des Jacques, Beaujolais, Grand Clos de Loyse , 2010 while listening to a brief presentation about Beaujolais wines. It was the first time I had a Chardonnay (White) from the region since it's extremely rare (1% from the region)

Afterward we were given 3 wines per course and decide for ourselves which one pair best and just love how everyone had a different opinion.

 Creole Shrimp w/ Anson Mills Grits

 Wine#2 ~ Georges DuBoeuf, Beaujolais Fun, 2009

Wine#3 ~ Louis Jadot, Beaujolais-Villages, Combe aux Jacques, 2011

I personally like #2 better with the creamy grits since it had more crisp and juicy taste to it w/ a very smooth finish while #3 was a bit too floral-y.

The Bier Markt #BeautifulBier [EVENT]

I was invited to The Bier Markt (@BierMarktEsplan)  #BeautifulBier event a few weeks ago to sample their Spring/Summer Collection of Beer together with some BBQ items and they couldn't have chosen a more perfect patio day.

 There was 4 beer on tap for sampling that night:

Hasseroder Pilsner  (exclusive to Bier Markt)

~  this was my least favorite although it was their feature beer, it's a very light and refreshing beer which I can see a lot of people loving it especially for hot summer patio days.

 

Amsterdam Boneshaker IPA

~ love this beer which has a very balanced body with a very hoppy taste and a bitter finish. It has some sort of pine taste to it which I like a lot. I personally like this best out of the 4 beer we sampled, so so that I end up buying a case from LCBO ;)

Alexander Keith's Hop Manson IPA 

 ~ Tasted this at a wine show a week before and it's a great improvement to their regular IPA. It had a medium body, a little bit sweet with mild-mid hop flavor. Although I love beer and know what I like, I am def not a beer expert so I'm really doing my best to describe the flavors here.

Houblon Chouffe IPA

 ~ This had a hoppy lemony and floral aroma to it... sweet & herbal, this was Ben's favorite while I personally didn't like the herb-y flavor but definitely a sucker for the cute gnomes design.

Avocado Tomato Grilled Cheese ~ #LuvMexAvocado

I have always love Avocados since it's so versatile and basically a creamy goodness that goes with everything. Not only that but they are low in fat and packed with vitamins; therefore I was thrilled when Sandy (@savvari) asked me to participate in a blogging/cooking project with Avocados from Mexico (@MissAvaCado).

Here's some fun fact of Avocados from Mexico:

~ The world's 1st avocado was grown and cultivated more than 9,000 years ago in the fertile, volcanic region of Mexico

~ Currently Mexico is the only region in the world where avocados bloom four times a year

~ Mexico is responsible for approximately half of the world's total avocado production

~ Avocados contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals and more potassium than banana

~ When served with other vegetables, avocado's healthy fats (help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol) help the body absorb fat-soluble nutrients from the foods.

One of my earliest memory of Avocados was a milkshake that my dad would made just by blending ripe avocados with a bit of condensed milk, then refrigerate or freeze and  enjoy the thick creamy goodness. I still make it from time to time to this very day.

We were provided with a few recipes to choose from or create our own but thought I would share one of my fave Grilled Cheese Sandwich of all time. It's easy and most ingredient will probably be on hand.

Avocado Tomato Grilled Cheese

Ingredients: Bread, Cheese, Tomato, Avocado and butter



1) Slice Avocado & Tomato around 1/4"
2) Butter the outside of the bread and put the cheese, avocado and tomato in between (I use the good old Kraft cheese slices here but feel free to experiment with other cheeses).
3) Sprinkled with ingredients with salt and pepper as desire (be careful if you are using saltier cheese).
3) Heat up you skillet with some butter/oil, toast sandwich until the desire golden color.

Tip: If you prefer using butter like me (and who doesn't), add a touch of oil when cooking and it won't brown up (burn) as quickly.

I did this as my Meatless Monday Dinner but feel free to add ham, bacon, chicken or bacon jam which is my favorite choice.

Paired the finish product with a side of salad and it's good to go, easy and quick meal that I bet anyone would enjoy since who doesn't like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Visit their website here to find out more about avocados and recipes.

Intelligentsia Coffee [Chicago]

We first had Intelligentsia Coffee (Twitter: @Intelligentsia) at Manic, one of our favorite coffee shop (see post here) in Toronto and loved it since. We were thrill that there was one near our hotel and we went there first thing everyday ;)

Started in Chicago with a couple locations, it is now with locations in New York and Los Angeles as well. Intelligentsia source their beans from growers and ensure fair trades practices. Roasted and crafted around the beans and brewing methods that would best compliment the flavors.

From their website I learn that their coffee are roasted on vintage, gas powered Gothot roasters built during the 1950s & 60s. Gothot's are considered by some to be a masterpiece of German engineering and are lauded for their exceptional temperature stability throughout the roasting drum., The consistency achieved with each roast and is unique look are reasons why this 125 years old brand is still widely sought after by coffee roasters everywhere.

 While watching the staff at work, you can see they have a huge passion and knowledge for coffee and preparation methods; that's where good coffee can be found... we even spotted the staff having a taste test during one of our visit

Day 1: Cappuccino & Latte

Love my cappuccino a lot, it had a very bold flavor yet very smooth and delicate w/ the perfectly smooth & glossy foam. And just look at the latte art, perfectly cute every single cup we had.

the Publican [Chicago]

Our 2nd day dinner in Chicago was at the Publican (@thepublican2008) and it was our favorite from our trip. The portion are rather large, so I definitely wish there was more of us. Some main was meant to share for 2 people which we can't order since we wanted to order more dishes instead of one big one. We were so stuffed after dinner that we decided to take a 45mins walk back to the hotel.

The place was pack on the Wednesday night we went, so I would highly recommend reservation. They mainly have one big communal table (reminiscent of 16the century European banquets) that goes all around and seats up to 100 people side by side; there's also some small booth seats on one side and bar seats on the other. In the center, there was some three tiered cocktail tables where guest can lean on and have a drink while waiting.

the Publican is a beer focus restaurant in the Fulton Market District in Chicago featuring pork and fish/seafood preparations.... but you will be quick to notice that the meat section are centered around pork. The menu tends to change daily to reflect the seasonal availability of products.

There was piggy drawing all around the place, so there's no doubt that we need to order some pork ;)

As we sat down, we immediately order a Spicy Pork Rinds $5 and some Beer while deciding what to order.  We end up sharing 3 beer cause beer fill me up and I prefer to leave room to eat.

 Trappistes Rochefort 8 $14

~ Braisserie de Rochefort, Belgium, 9.20%

Don't let the color fool you, it was a rather fruity sweet beer with a caramel maltiness, dry fruit flavor to it and a crisp finish

Duvel Belgian Golden Strong Ale $9

~ Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat N.V, Belgium, 8.50%

This one have a slight bitterness to it and a hop flavor to it... I def like this a lot better than the first.

Alpha King Pale Ale $5

~ Three Floyds BrewingCo., Indiana, 6.00%

The pale ale have a rather deep amber color w/ a very creamy head to it and it has a citrus aroma and hoppy finish. This is definitely my kind of beer and my fave out of the 3 we ordered.