Otto’s Berlin Döner [German/Sandwich]

Pass by Otto’s Berlin Döner (@ottosdoner) in Kensington Market the other day and decided to give it a try. This 33-seat spot was packed this past Sunday early evening at around 5pm and I couldn't resit not trying since they serves German street food döner and currywurst that I have never tried before.

Love the small self serve space, small specialize menu, German beer on tap plus also some cocktail and wine selection.

Veal & Lamb Döner $7.95

Love the overstuffed flatbread topped with yogurt and harissa hot sauce but frankly it was a bit messy to eat. You can also add fries or feta for $0.50.

Millie Patisserie & Creamery [Bakery]

Kensington's Millie Creperie (see post here) has finally opened a sister shop, Millie Patisserie & Creamery (Instagram: @milliepatisserie) has a slightly bigger space. Instead of the Japanese crepe, this new location will have other Japanese-French style pastries like mille-crêpe, cakes and tarts.

Love the simple bright space with the display case being center stage. When I went they offer a variety of their mille-crêpe, cheesecake tarts and Japanese pudding cups. They also have some Japanese/Asian flavor gelato with a creme puff sandwich option which was sold out when we went.

Strawberry & Champagne mille-crêpe $8.20

~ strawberry jam from Kitten & The Bear w/ champagne spiked custard

Did I mention that it's my favorite mille-crêpe in Toronto and I am so glad that they have more flavors now. They have the best crepe and creamy texture, the ones I had in Toronto is usually either too dry or not creamy enough but this one is perfect and just as good as the famous Lady M.

Broncos Slider Bar

We were looking for a place to eat right before Beerfest (here) nad just happen to pass by this place after a wrong turn. I haven't really heard about Broncos Slider Bar (@broncos_to) before and I am glad I did.

Love the nice big patio, definitely would love to come back with more friends to enjoy their beer and patio. Since we were heading to a beer festival, we didn't order any beer but they have over 15 beer on tap which I would love to try.

We ordered 5 sliders and they are super affordable at $3 or $4 each.

You can also sub the bun for lettuce cup.

The Carousel $4

~ peameal bacon, fried egg, american cheese

Classic and one of my favorite, everything taste better with an egg on it right.

Banh Mi $3

~ pork belly, kimchi, pickled slaw

Not really a banh mi at all with a little bit too much of the sauce but the pork belly was delish. Wish they use baguette instead of a regular bun.

Buffalo Fried Chicken $4

~ hot sauce, pickled celery, blue cheese

This was the only one we didn't like, the sauce was too strong and the chicken breast was way too dry.

Redneck Taco $4

~ pulled pork, coleslaw, corn griddle cake

Love the griddle cake instead of the bun like the others, would love to see more variety of bread use.

Mac N Cheese $3

~ panko fried

This was a bit plain and not cheesy enough but with some ketchup, it was delish.

Verdict:

Love the patio and the selection of beer on tap.

The sliders are delish as well, perfect for someone like me who want to try the entire menu.

Concession Road [French]

I was invited to a Media Tasting to Concession Road (@concessionroad) and what an amazing dinner with even more amazing company, it's always so fun to chat with familiar foodies/food blogger). Owned by the same people as Pukka and you can see I am a fan (see my post here, here and here), I am excited to try this new Classic French restaurant with Asian influences. With Chef Masayuki Tamaru extensive resume from the Fifth, Crush Wine Bar and Jamie Kennedy Wine bar, I know this will be a tasty meal.

Love the bright space with minimal decoration but as per them, it's till in the works.

Especially the vintage feel of the statement wallpaper ♥♥♥

Bubble Lights!!!

Beast & Friends - Classic French Cuisine [u-feast Event]

This is my 3rd u-feast(@u_feast) event I attended and it's at one of my favorite Toronto restaurant, Beast (@beastrestaurant). Scott Vivian of Beast manage to invite Ned Elliott of Foreign & Domestic (@ForeignDomestic) from Austin and Mathew Gaudet of West Bridge (@WestBridge02139) from Boston for this dinner collaboration.

Scott Vivian not only being the chef/owner of one of my favorite restaurant is also one of my favorite chef, always found time to do collaboration dinners with guest chefs and the fun popup dinner 
with The Group of 7 Chefs.

Sab Stories 

Wasabi infused Dillon's vodka, raspberry syrup, lime, angostura, citric acid

~ by guest bartender Jamie Martyniuk form Ottawa's Union Local 613

You can definitely smell the wasabi but not so much as tasting it but that aside, it was a very well balanced cocktail.

Rebecca Meir-Liebman was the guest sommeliere of the night and expertly paired all the wines from Chateau des Charmes. Always love listening to her talk about the wine, the history, the reason for the pairing and a little fun story along the way. So much fun surprising paring from her once again!!!

Beerfest 2015 [TFOB - Event]

It's become our tradition to attend the Toronto's Festival of Beer (@tobeerfestival) each year (see previous post here, here and here) and this year it's even better with the milder weather.

Once again I am so lucky to get Media passes to the event where you get a special entrance, you should have seen the regular line up. We were bought to the Sleeman Media Lounge which was amazing and included our own portable potty (again no long line up with the crowd)  plus a socail media charging station for the twitter/instagram-holic like me.

Sleeman (@sleemanbeer)
Can those ladies look more amazing and I definitely need makeup tips from them, they manage to look that amazing throughout the hot day. Try LIFT light lager which was brewed with coconut water, it was incredibly light and refreshing and i was surprise that you can actually taste the coconut water in it.

Pizzeria Libretto (@PizzaLibretto)
We were lucky enough to be treated some yummy Margherita Pizza from my favorite pizza place inside the media lounge, another perks and once again no lining up at their pizza truck which trust me can be incredibly long.

Budwiser (@budcanada)

Tried the Bud Light Apple, to me it tasted like apple juice mixed with a super light beer. Almost like a cider but less sour and more on the sweet side. Once again Budwiser got the big area with lounge/dance area and live band throughout the day.

Just Eat (@JUSTEATca)

Can you believe they had a electronic bull sushi for you to ride on.

Twisted Tea (@TwistedTea)

We didn't get to get a sip this year, the place was so packed with such long wait that we decided to skip.

Moosehead (@MooseheadLager)

May I say best DJ and dance floor of the festival, the place is packed and people are totally busting some move here. Try the Moosehead Radler for the first time,  it is infused with natural grapefruit, grape and lemon juices but personally I thought it was way too sweet for my taste.

Toronto Food & Wine Festival [Contest]

I'm giving away a pair of tickets to 

Toronto Food & Wine Festival

I am giving away a pair of tickets worth $72 to the first ever Toronto Food & Wine Festival (@TOfoodandwine) happening on Sept 18th to 20th, The tickets will provide general admission to the festival, giving you access to the Grand Tasting Pavillion and some celeb chef events.

5 Reasons You Need to Visit Toronto FOOD & WINE Festival 2015

1. Curtis Stone, Tyler Florence, Gail Simmons, Chuck Hughes, Roger Mooking, Mark McEwan, Antonio Park and many more will be taking to the stages for demos, talks and workshops throughout the three-day event.

2. You’ll be able to sample, sip and savour all the flavours from 130 purveyors of premium products, fine foods and beverages from Ontario, Canada and around the world in the Grand Tasting Pavilion – presented by PC Black Label.

3. For the first time ever, Cochon 555 is bringing its flavour-packed marquee events series to Canada allowing guests to sink their teeth into over 1400 pounds of expertly prepared pork dishes by the hottest chefs including Chuck Hughes, Matty Matheson and more. 

4. Expert-level educational workshops welcome legendary masters like Kevin Kent (Knifewear), Tetsuya "Ted" Iizuka (Soba Canada), and Antonio Park (Park Restaurant) to share their knowledge regarding time-held traditions like knife skills and soba noodle making.

5. Canada’s Best New Student Chef will be crowned after an exciting and unique cooking competition called Taste Canada Cooks the Books. Some of the brightest up-and-coming culinary talents from schools across Canada will gather in front of a live audience in the Miele Kitchen to make a dish from a well-known Canadian cookbook, with the author on stage!

Location:

Evergreen Brick Works

550 Bayview Ave, Toronto, ON

 Date:

September 18th-20th, 2015

. 

Ticket Details:  

$28 in advance online until Aug 21st or $32 in advance online as of Aug 22nd or $36 at the door (subject to availability) + Sample Tickets at $1 each

Get your tickets here

Good Luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Diwan Restaurant at Aga Khan Museum [Middle Eastern / Fusion]

I have been meaning to visit Aga Khan Museum (@agakhanmuseum) since it open, the space just look amazing and thought it would be nice to drop by for Brunch at Diwan, the restaurant located inside.

The space was quite modern and bright with floor to ceiling windows and with pieces of antique architectural pieces around which tied in with being a museum restaurant.

Persian Princess 
A pomegranate drink non alcoholic, asked for no sugar and it was very refreshing.

Roasted Eggplant Dip (Kashk e bademjan) $8

~ fermented whey sauce (kashk), turmeric fried garlic and mint

This was delicious especially the roll up naan which is so pillowy soft and definitely an amazing deal for that price. This was large enough for both of us to share.

Little Sister [Indonesian]

I think Little Sister (@littlesisterto) is the first Indonesian restaurants I know of in Toronto and since they opened last year and I haven't had time to check them out but recently after having their Babi Panggang at Taste of Toronto, we just had to check out the place.

The kitchen was located at the back of the restaurant with the glass windows, it definitely reminds me of some of the small street vendors/hawkers in Asia. And the menu was printed on pieces of cardboard which we thought was fun.

We just left Beerfest for the day, so just water for us but with all the "labeled" bottles on the shelves at the bar I think I will be back to try out some of their cocktails

Fried Cauliflower Salad $7.50

~ Rujak, Green Onion, Puffed Rice

Thought it was a rather small portion given it was for $7.50 and it was very "soy-sauce" for me, not a big fan.