Eating With Gordon

This was an very old visit in the past with my first newborn/toddler at her first Japanese Ramen restaurant. We thought a hot soup bowl would be a great meal for a slightly less cold winter season.

Reviewer: Eating with Gordon
Visit Date: 2014/12/20
Food Rating: 3/5
Service Rating: 3/5


Atmosphere:
The space was very small for a restaurant!! We had to wait a bit for a large table to fit 8-10 people (there is only one) since the rest of the restaurant had date (1-2 people) seating and bar seating. The decor was very nice with this chess wood grid like pattern on the walls with open visual kitchen in the corner. I don't recommend this place for large groups of people! You definitely would definitely have to pay for parking on the street (on Yonge St).

Service:
Servers were good and friendly.

Food Comments:
From the online reviews - people actually recommended to get the chicken ramen soup version. I should have researched and asked ... I ordered the Pork Ramen soup base and it was SO SALTY. The noodles were perfectly springy, and chicken was so juicy. The egg was also expertly cooked (not over done). The The pricing per ramen dish came out to be $15+ (which was pricey). 

Would I come back? Probably not. Having tried a couple Ramen houses across GTA - Kinton isn't so good.

Food Photos:

fried chicken was pretty good

Should have gotten the Chicken Ramen soup base!!!!

This was the winter special fried pork balls with mashed egg - Kinton Ball

Name:	Kinton Ramen 4
Price Range:	$$
Cuisine:	Japanese
Address:	5165 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M2N 5P5
Phone:	(647) 350-7887
Menu URL:	www.kintonramen.com/menu/
Website:	www.kintonramen.com/
Hours:	Sunday 10:30AM–10:30PM Monday 10:30AM–10:30PM Tuesday 10:30AM–10:30PM Wednesday 10:30AM–10:30PM Thursday 10:30AM–10:30PM Friday 10:30AM–12AM Saturday 10:30AM–12AM
Map:

Brought the family and in-laws out to the beach again (Woodbine Beach Park). We were trending late for coming home and it was best to do something close by to home. We originally wanted to try Congee Wong but there was a million people waiting in line ... Checked Asian Legend and they had space available!

Food Rating: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5

Atmosphere:
"Asian legend's decor blends Western modernity and traditional Chinese motifs, which the diners with a comfortable yet nostalgic setting for their dining experience."

Service:
The night was busy. The staff were running and had to flag them for items. They were executing with the requests (dropped chopsticks - thanks Serena, waters, missing rice bowls).

Food Comments:
I considered Asian Legends similar to the McDs of Chinese food. For this meal, we ordered the following dishes:

• Onion Pancake Roll with Beef
• Fish Maw Thick Soup with Crab Meat
• Shredded Pork with chill Garlic Sauce
• Dry Sauteed Green Beans
• Deep Fried Noodle
• Eggplant with House Sauce 
• Steamed Rice

The beef pancake roll was weak in flavours with no help from the beef. Totally didn't like the dough of the roll. It was completely falling apart. Strongly preferred the version at Northern Dumpling. The shredded pork was very good with the mixture vegs and chicken with the sweet chill garlic sauce. The water chestnuts added another crunch texture to the dish. The signature star dish was the fried sauteed green beans with bits of garlic and mini shrimp. It wasn't too oily and maintained the perfect crunched on surface with tenderness inside.

Would I come back? Yes.

Food Photos:

Address:	125 Ravel Rd, North York, ON M2H 1T1
Phone:	(416) 756-9388
Website:	http://www.asianlegend.ca/
Hours:	Sunday 10:30AM–12AM Monday 10:30AM–12AM Tuesday 10:30AM–12AM Wednesday 10:30AM–12AM Thursday 10:30AM–12AM Friday 10:30AM–12AM Saturday 10:30AM–12AM
Map:

A group of friends and I came to try out their restaurant during their soft opening week. This restaurant is one of the newer Thai restaurant in Toronto with same management from Kub Khao Thai (review here) and Jatujak.

Food Comments: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5

Atmosphere:
The restaurant wasn't large and had a layout like an alleyway with maximum 24 seats and limited single seats along the front windows and one side of the restaurant. Parking in front of the restaurant was very limited. There is some paid parking near the Hero restaurant and some free parking in the neighborhood area.

Service:
There was a single server. She was friendly and got the orders down. The food took sometime to arrive at our tables (probably 30 minutes). Even thou my dish didn't come with the group, the server was constantly checking to see which dish I was missing ...

Note: they do have free wifi but you need to ask for the password. 

Food Comments:
We got complimentary shrimp chips with peanut sauce. The sauce was thick and sweet.

The Khao Soi Poutine with Beef was shared among the group.  The sauce in this poutine was replaced from gravy to curry soup base used in the Khao Soi. It was very tasty and comforting (really great on a cold day).

For this meal, I ordered the Khao Soi. I tried the Khao Soi across multiple Thai restaurants. The curry base was great with the toppings. The only negative comment was that the rice noodle texture was too soft. The quantity of the dishes were definitely larger compared to other restaurants like Khao San Road (review here).

Overall, I liked the meal. It would be great to find some time to come back to try other dishes (especially their fusion dishes).

Food Photos:

Khao Soi

Pad See Ewe with Tofu

Ramen Tom Yum

Pad Kee Mao with Beef

Pad Krapro Kai Dao

Khao Soi Poutine

Free Shrimp Chips with Peanut Satay Sauce

Non Food Photos:

Address:	4704 Yonge St. Toronto, ON M2N 5M4
Phone:	(647) 352-898
Website:	http://eatbkk.ca/our-menu/
Hours:	Sunday 11–10PM Monday 11–10PM Tuesday 11–10PM Wednesday 11–10PM Thursday 11–10PM Friday 11–10PM Saturday 11–10PM
Map:

There was a new restaurant that replaced an old Korean restaurant at the Finch and Leslie plaza. My SO decided to give this place a try. The name of this new restaurant was called "Primary Taste Yunnan Noodle House" and their specialty dish was the rice noodle soup from Yunnan province. More info can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_bridge_noodles

Food Rating: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5

Atmosphere:
The location of this restaurant was beside the BBQ shop (outdoor section of the plaza). The parking at this plaza wasa hit and miss (depending on how many people go shopping at Sunny's supermarket). The restaurant renovated a bit by changing the layout to be a long alley restaurant with sides flanked with tables and chairs. I wouldn't expect too much in the decor but at least the restaurant looked clean.

Service:
The staff was friendly and quick to assist in our orders and provided us cold and hot water.

Food Comments:
The Yunnan noodle soup was brought to our table in a boiling stone pot of broth. The clear broth came with a side of noodles and an assortment of small toppings which included some preserved veggies, ham, corn, chicken wing, etc. The noodles were good but I found the toppings totally distracting.

Would I come back? No

Food Pictures:

I need a new camera...

Address:	109 Ravel Rd, North York, ON M2H 1T2
Phone:	(416) 499-3836
Website:	NA
Hours:	Sunday 11AM–9PM Monday 11AM–9PM Tuesday 11AM–9PM Wednesday 11AM–9PM Thursday 11AM–9PM Friday 11AM–9PM Saturday 11AM–9PM
Map:

For Father's Day, we decided to go out as a family to try a local place in the neighborhood. We came to this restaurant before their re-branding and renovation. It used to be called 31 Kitchen which focus on Taiwanese food and desserts. Their food were so-so at best.

Food Rating: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5

Atmosphere:
The renovation has made this restaurant more spacious and added a lot of light wood themes. I like this new look compared to the previous decor of 31 Kitchen.

Service:
Service was okay. They have many servers going around in circles. They have free wiki (use their phone number).

Food Comments:
They have a small menu for lunch/dinner items but a massive desserts list. Seems there is a lot of emphasis on the presentation. I would say the food was much better than before. We ordered the tofu salad, eel rice with egg and ramen dish.

Bad: Ramen noodles were glued together while cooking (not good). I found the rice sauce too sweet for my liking.

Overall, I enjoyed the food and might come back again.

Food Pictures:

Eel Omurice w/ Teriyaki Sauce

Order extra noodles for my daughter growing stomach

Cute but hard to eat with this spoon!

Tofu Salad was good!

Eel Omurice w/ Teriyaki Sauce

Non Food Picture:

Address:	10 Ravel Rd #1-2, North York, ON M2H 1S8
Phone:	(416) 756-3311
Website:	www.petitpotato.com
Hours:	Monday 11:30AM–1AM Tuesday 11:30AM–1AM Wednesday 11:30AM–1AM Thursday 11:30AM–1AM Friday 11:30AM–2AM Saturday 11AM–2AM Sunday 11AM–1AM
Map:

This "train" pho restaurant is located at Finch and Leslie plaza location. There were many locations of the "train" pho across Toronto and there was one near my work place on Hwy 7.

Food Rating : 3/5
Service : 2/5

Atmosphere:
It is a spacious atmosphere with ample seating and TVs at the corners of the rooms. There are booth seating along the sides of the walls and round tables seating through the middle of the restaurant. For this visit, it was so quiet ... (not a good sign). The wifi is okay. They have electrical outlets to charge the cell phones so it is convenient, when your battery is low.

Service:
I found their service lacking. I had to go up to them to get a seat and get a menu ...

Food Comments:
Their mi-phun noodles are the fat kinds. I do not like the thick rice noodles but prefers the thinner noodles. I find their pho so so at best. The service for the food is fast but the quality is lacking.

I would come back if I am really hungry ...

Food Pictures:

They gave me a lemon!

Non Food Pictures:

Address:	101 Ravel Rd, North York, ON M2H 1T1
Phone:	(416) 490-8822
Website:	NA
Hours:	Wednesday 11AM–10PM Thursday 11AM–10PM Friday 11AM–10PM Saturday 11AM–10PM Sunday 11AM–10PM Monday 11AM–10PM Tuesday 11AM–10PM
Map:

There was a time that my colleague and I wanted to try Adamson BBQ located at Leaside. Thanks to the most amazing traffic/highway systems we have in Toronto, we were stuck on the highways and decided to cut our journey off and venture to something closer in the neighborhood.

New place of visit was ... Galleria Korean Supermarket ... food court!

Food Rating: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5

Atmosphere:
When I'm not eating at the Galleria food court, I love shopping in the large supermarket full of korean items/produce. The west side of the supermarket has ample seating for the eating. I have always seen it busy with many customers at all hours. Do not expect a quiet meal when eating here.

Service:
You select the food menu item you want to order at the cashier or using the machine and they will provide you the wireless alarm toy to notify you when the food is ready for pick up.  Very Simple!


Food Comments:
The menu is large for the food court (~30 items including the specialty Korean Fried Chicken and black bean noodle). For this visit, I ordered the Korean pork bone soup. It came with purple rice and some pickled hot vegs. I have order this dish a few hundred times in my life across various Korean restaurants in Toronto and this is almost no different in quality (that is a good thing!). The meat on came off on this bone easily (good sign as well). It wasn't too spicy for my palate.  

Would I come back again? Yes


Food Pictures:

Address:	865 York Mills Rd, Toronto, ON M3B 1Y6
Phone:	(647) 352-5004
Website:	galleriasm.com
Hours:	Wednesday 7AM–12AM Thursday 7AM–12AM Friday 7AM–12AM Saturday 7AM–12AM Sunday 7AM–12AM Monday 7AM–12AM Tuesday 7AM–12AM
Map:

Wife and I were able to visit this last restaurant just before my daughter was born the following day! We were debating what was to be her last meal outing and decided that Kwan would be the restaurant to try. Kwan Dim Sum was opening up another new location at the York Mills/Leslie plaza for all day dim sum. In my experiences with all day dim sum, the quality wasn't always good all the time and was quite hesitant about this experience. Good thing I was proved wrong!

Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Pricing: $3 - Small, $4 - Medium, $5-  Large, $6 - XL , Tea is $2 per person (fix charge)

Atmosphere:
Interior looks really upscale with a dark brown theme with wood styling. Very clean and elegant looking! The restaurant doesn't seem that big and it looks like it can seat 70 people max. We went on a Sunday and it was very packed with people. I like the fact that all the condiments are already on the table so no need to ask. 

Food:
The food available is typical Cantonese dim sum dishes with not too expensive pricing (compared to Yu Seafood). There were some extra styles with dim sum dishes with eel but will have to try those next time. At lunch time, the hot pot rice dishes aren't available. Overall, the dishes were up to expectation and great tasting. The congee with barley and pumpkin that I order was amazing. There was an extra flavour of orange zest which elevated the dish to another level. My wife noted that there were the nails on the claws of the chicken feet. I guess it was my first time noticing that. Overall, I would come back here again.


Food Photos:

best congee ever! The Congee with Barley and Pumpkin

Very Sweet chicken feet - can you see the nails?

Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

I believe this was Bean Curd

Tasted great with lots of juices

Non Food Photos:

Address:	808 York Mills Rd #8, Toronto, ON M3B 1X8
Phone:	(647) 352-0108
Website:	kwandimsum.ca/
Hours:	Monday 11:30 AM–5:30 PM Tuesday 11:30 AM–5:30 PM Wednesday 11:30 AM–5:30 PM Thursday 11:30 AM–5:30 PM Friday 11:30 AM–10:00 PM Saturday 10:00 AM–11:00 PM Sunday 10:00 AM–11:00 PM
Map: