review – Page 5 – Around the World in 196 Plates

Country 026 – South Korea (Cho Dang Soon Tofu)

Published on February 7, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 5130 Dundas Street West, Etobicoke
Website: None

If the whole point of this blog is to try new things, then I’m failing pretty miserably with this entry; not only have I been to Cho Dang Soon Tofu several times before, I’ve even written about it for another blog.

Still, I haven’t written about the restaurant’s namesake dish: an intensely flavourful, bubbling hot stew that I can’t get enough of.

Like any Korean restaurant worth its salt, the meal starts with a generous selection of banchan — essentially a variety of small appetizers. My favourite here are the crispy, addictively salty fried sardines, but the silky cubes of soft tofu (made in house) with a little bowl of sesame- and green-onion-infused soy sauce for dipping are also quite memorable, as is the obligatory (and delcious) kimchi.

But of course, the reason to come here is that delicious, piping-hot stew. I got mine with pork, though several other options are available. It’s spicy, flavourful, and seriously hearty — aside from the aforementioned pork, its absolutely suffused with the restaurant’s creamy house-made tofu, not to mention the egg that you crack into the bowl yourself, and the generous bowl of purple rice that accompanies the stew (made that distinctive colour by mixing black rice in with the white).

The best part? All that food? Eight bucks. Yeah, it’s a deal.

Country 025 – United Kingdom (House on Parliament)

Published on January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 454 Parliament Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.houseonparliament.com/

I remember, as a kid, scotch eggs were a special treat that I always looked forward to. But I haven’t had one in many, many years, and I’m not sure why. It’s one of those dishes where it’s pretty much impossible to go wrong. Take an egg, ensconce it in delicious sausage, cover it in breading and then deep fry it? You’d have to work pretty hard to mess that up.

House on Parliament does not mess it up.

First, there’s the perfect egg, hard boiled but not overcooked, with a creamy — not crumbly — yolk. It’s surrounded by a really tasty sausage (wild boar, pheasant and cognac) that has an almost pate-like richness of flavour that suits the dish perfectly. The fried breadcrumb layer is light and crispy, and just in case it’s not quite indulgent enough for you yet, they top the whole thing with a generous helping of rich, creamy hollandaise sauce.

It comes with a side of delightfully crispy homefries that were a touch underdone in the middle, but otherwise very close to perfect.

The restaurant was absolutely packed — we were able to get seated right away at just after 11:30 on a Sunday, but by the time we left the entrance was crammed with hungry diners waiting to get their brunch on. Eating the food, it’s easy enough to see why.

Country 024 – Ethiopia (Ethiopian House)

Published on January 10, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4 Irwin Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.ethiopianhouse.com/

See, this is one of the big reasons I started this blog: I have zero experience with Ethiopian cuisine. And who knows when I would have tried it otherwise — the inspiration for this particular excursion was entirely blog-related.

The moral of this story? If you want to try new things, start a blog. (and ignore the fact that you could easily try new things without the hassle and work of maintaining a food blog — where’s the fun in that??)

My dining companion and I shared both the meat and vegetarian Bayaaynatu, which the menu translates as “of each kind,” and is essentially a sampler plate. It all came on one enormous platter bearing a kaleidoscopic assortment of tastes and textures. I’m not even going to try to describe them all, but I will say that there wasn’t a weak selection in the bunch. I was particularly impressed by the diversity of flavours here; I sort of figured that everything would taste similar, but with few exceptions, each selection in the assortment had a personality of its own.

I really enjoyed it, though the meat in the dish at the top of the header photo was a bit tough, and the whole spread felt like it could have used more spice (hot sauce was provided, however).

There’s no classy way to eat this. There’s no cutlery to be seen; you just tear off a piece of injera — a wheaty Ethiopian flatbread that’s kind of like a thin, spongy pancake — and start scooping. The whole thing is served on a piece of that same bread, so eventually you’ll start tearing pieces off and eating that too. Only one napkin was provided (though I’m sure I could have — and should have — asked for more), and without getting into too much detail, I’ll say that by the end of the meal that napkin had seen better days.

It’s also an intimidating amount of food. My dining companion and I were defeated by the enormous spread, and neither of us are exactly dainty eaters. Still, we did our best; when the food is this good, how could you not?

Country 023 – Finland (Fanny Chadwick’s)

Published on December 27, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 268 Howland Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://www.fannychadwicks.ca/

I’ll bet you didn’t know how multicultural pancakes are. Check out their entry on Wikipedia; apparently about half of the countries in the world have their own variation on pancakes, which have been a staple at least since the time of the ancient Greeks.

And, yes, apparently Finland is one of the many pancake-loving countries out there. Their take — at least based on what Fanny Chadwick’s is serving up — is kind of like a crepe, only thicker and with a more substantial chew. Topped with a mango passion fruit compote, lightly sweetened ricotta and a bit of honey, and rolled up into dense, multi-layered rolls, they make for a hearty, satisfying breakfast.

The compote adds a nice balance of sweet and tart, with the blob of creamy ricotta on top rounding things out. The honey is sparingly applied, so if you like your breakfast to be closer to dessert, you’d be best advised to look elsewhere.

I found it a bit too eggy both in texture and taste, but then I’m not crazy about things that are eggy that aren’t eggs (I’m indifferent to French toast for the same reason). Despite that, however, I still quite enjoyed these pancakes.

You have a few choices for the side, but I went with the smoked fish, thinking that it was probably the most authentically Finnish. I think it was salmon, but don’t quote me on that. It was really, really good — perfectly tender, with a pronounced smoky flavour that didn’t overwhelm. It was hot smoked rather than cold, so it had the flavour of traditional smoked salmon, but the texture of perfectly cooked fish. It was great.

Country 021 – Italy (A3 Napoli)

Published on November 29, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 589 College Street, Toronto
Website: http://a3napoli.com/

Given that A3 is a collaboration between Porchetta and Co.‘s Nick auf der Mauer and Pizzeria Libretto‘s Rocco Agostino, you’d just sort of assume that it’s going to be really good. And you would be correct. You would be 100% correct.

The menu is an even split between crispy goodies coming out of their fryer and piping hot pizzas from their enormous, impressive 900 degree pizza oven (which is pretty much the centrepiece of the restaurant).

We started with the “Land” assortment of fried deliciousness, which came with decadently gooey arancini, flavour-packed meatballs, fried mozzarella that would put any mozzarella stick to shame, and perfectly cooked slices of sweet potato. It included a little cup of marinara for dipping, but everything was so tasty on its own that it was mostly superfluous.

They serve a sandwich that changes every couple of weeks, served on what is essentially an undressed pizza that’s folded over. It was meatball when I went, but it’ll probably be something different by the time you read this.

First and foremost is that bread, which has an addictively chewy texture and just the right amount of char from the inferno-hot pizza oven. Can I have all of my sandwiches in this bread? Because I want all of my sandwiches in this bread.

The inside of the sandwich was a perfect mix of rich tomato sauce, creamy pesto, and peppery arugula. That’s not to mention, of course, the toothsome and abundant meatballs. If I had to come up with the top five meatball sandwiches I’ve had in my life, this one would probably be on there.

We finished with the Zeppoli — little cinnamon-and-sugar-dusted doughnuts that are essentially like the best Timbits you’ve ever had, which come with a heady chocolate hazelnut sauce for dipping. That sauce, I should note, was so good that my dining companion was compelled to drink the remains.

Country 019 – Vietnam (Pho King Fabulous!)

Published on November 1, 2015November 1, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2411 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.phokingfabulous.com/

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: the name of this restaurant is probably going to make you cringe. It’s an unfortunate bit of frat-boy humour that belies the legitimately tasty food that can be found inside.

You’d also expect an authentic Vietnamese joint to be a bit more bare-bones in its decor; the best Vietnamese restaurants in the city tend to have an endearingly run-down vibe that’s a bit at odds with the slickly appointed dining room you’ll find here. Again: don’t judge this book by its cover.

I ordered the Fabulous Beef Noodle Soup, which the menu describes as being filled with a cornucopia of meats: “Rare eye round, well-done flank, soft tendon, tripe, and beef meatballs.”

You have the choice of a medium or large bowl; the medium is absolutely crammed with noodles and meat, so unless you have a particularly voracious appetite, it’ll do.

A bowl of pho like this lives and dies by its broth, and this one has one of the most richly flavourful broths that I’ve tried (but then I’ve had maybe ten bowls of pho in my entire life, so don’t get too impressed). Kicked up with a couple of spoons of chili sauce and a squeeze of lime, and you’ve got a really satisfying bowl of soup.

The noodles are perfectly cooked and abundant, and the variety of meats gives the dish an appealing mix of flavours and textures: there’s the tender combination of rare and well done beef, the distinctively chewy/crunchy bite of the tripe, the unctuous richness of the almost melt-in-your-mouth tendon, and the hearty meatballs. There wasn’t a weak link here, which was nice.

Country 013 – Germany (Otto’s Berlin Doner)

Published on July 26, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 256 Augusta Avenue, Toronto
Website: http://ottosdoner.com/

I don’t know if doner is the first dish that springs to mind when you think of German cuisine (it’s definitely a thing, though), but I was in Kensington Market, stumbled across this place, and thought: Yeah. Why not?

As it turns out, it was only the restaurant’s second day in existence, which is much sooner than I’d typically write about a place — but since the food and service were both quite good, I’m going to assume (or hope) that they’ve managed to avoid the kinks that can gum up a brand new restaurant.

The menu is fairly simple, with a few different types of German doner, along with currywurst (Bratwurst topped with a sweet curry sauce) and a handful of sides. I went with the veal and lamb doner, because whenever I see lamb on a menu, I have a hard time saying no.

Packed with a generous amount of tasty, well seasoned meat that’s topped with a salad’s worth of fresh veggies (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, and onions) and your choice of sauces (the man behind the register suggested yogurt and hot sauce), it’s probably not anything that anyone is going to get too excited over, but it’s a very good sandwich.

The bread is a highlight, and probably the most distinctive thing about it — it’s perfectly toasted, with a great, crispy exterior, and a fresh, fluffy interior. It’s much more substantial than the typical pita you’d get in a shawarma sandwich or a gyro, but it suits the doner perfectly.

The sauces probably should have been a bit more abundant (I got plenty of sauce-less mouthfuls), but aside from that it was a fine sandwich. Mighty fine.

My dining companions tried the halloumi doner — which featured breaded and fried pieces of halloumi cheese in place of the of meat — and were both quite impressed. I’ll have to try that one next time.

Country 011 – Sri Lanka (Anantha Bhavan)

Published on June 28, 2015 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 4646 Heritage Hills Boulevard, Mississauga
Website: None

Apparently a mega-popular Sri Lankan street food, I’ll admit that I wasn’t even particularly familiar with kottu roti before trying it at Anantha Bhavan.

Sometimes you try a new dish, and it’s strange and unfamiliar; it’s good, but you can see why it might be considered an acquired taste. This was not one of those times.

I honestly think anyone would enjoy this — it’s essentially a South Asian version of hash. Consisting of pieces of roti (a flatbread) griddled with eggs, veggies, meat, and spices, it’s got all the crispy, starchy, eggy textures you expect from a hash, but thoroughly infused with floral Sri Lankan spices. It’s pure comfort food.

At Anantha Bhavan, you can get it vegetarian, with chicken, or with mutton. A quick Google search revealed mutton to be traditional, so that’s what I got. A couple of pieces of meat were a bit on the chewy side, but aside from that the morsels were tender and tasty.

It’s one of those dishes where once you start eating, you can’t stop. I was on my lunch break and didn’t particularly want to go back to work stuffed, so I thought I’d eat about half and save the rest for later. Easier said than done. And it’s a huge portion for seven bucks, so it’s a pretty good value, too.

How have I gone my whole life without having even heard of this, let alone tried it? How is this dish not a bigger deal? I don’t get it. I can only bemoan all those years spent kottu roti-less, like a sucker. Thanks a lot, society.