Since the Scarborough institution Beef Noodle House closed in 2024, I thought my chances of tucking into a bowl of properly braised beef noodles was gone. Then I heard about 579 Taiwan Beef Noodle House a Canadian outpost of a chain from Taiwan. 

At first glance, it seems there isn’t a lot of beef in the braised beef soup noodles ($15.99 for large) but the five slices are cut thicker, which gives it a heartier feeling. And while some restaurants may use a pure meat cut, 579 Taiwan braises a part that has cartilage attached so some pieces have a gelatinous bite, a texture I don’t mind but others may find grizzly.

You’ll likely want to upgrade to a large bowl as there aren’t that many noodles in a portion. Made to a medium thickness, they’re a little soft for my taste. But the salty broth does hold up against the carbs and already contains some chili oil so there’s a bit of a kick. For those who want it spicier there’s more tableside, just be careful as the chili oil is powerful.

What adds to the noodles are the chopped pickled vegetables, which you’ll want to sprinkle liberally into the dry mixed noodles with minced pork ($14.99 for small). While the dish already contains julienned cucumber and bean sprouts, the pickled vegetables provide interest to the otherwise tame garlicky noodles.

If noodles aren’t your jam, 579 Taiwan also offers dumplings as a base, eight nuggets topped with your choice of beef, tendon, and/or tripe. A great option for those who want a lot of protein. I decided to try the boiled dumplings ($9.99) solo and liked that they arrived freshly made and boiling hot. The seafood, meat, and chives filling just wasn’t the greatest, too fishy for my taste.

The Taiwanese popcorn chicken ($6.99) was delicious, enough to share amongst two people and is sizzling hot and crispy. Being well seasoned, the chicken doesn’t need condiments, it’s juicy and delicious nude.

Other ways to round out a meal is with a side of A choy ($4.99) that’s boiled and topped with sweet soy sauce and crispy shallots.

There’s also an array of side dishes ($3.49 for one + $3 for each additional dish). The thinly sliced jellyfish was tossed with julienned vegetables and a slightly spicy sauce. It’s not as crunchy as the Cantonese version but more flavourful and refreshing. Meanwhile, I didn’t love the lack of crunch with the cucumber and the sweetness threw me off… I guess I was expecting the Korean kimchi version.

Loyalty is rewarded at 579 Taiwan Beef Noodle House with a punch card where eight bowls get you a ninth for free. Cash payments garner a 5% discount, and the bill comes with a coupon for a free small dish for a following visit. Mark my words, after the success of the first Scarborough location, I’m sure we’ll see more 579 Taiwan restaurants popping up across the GTA.

Summerlicious returns and this year I’ve narrowed my visits to only one place, Ēst Restaurant, that was recommended by a friend. They’ve been meaning to visit the casual French establishment and at last we had an opportunity and reason to get out to the East side.

Their Summerlicious menu ($75 per person) is at the highest price point, but still good value compared to normal prices (reflected in this post). For example, the burrata & caviar starter is typically $41, more than half of the special deal, which is surprising given its modest size.  

Hopefully, they usually give a full burrata as the palm-sized portion barely whet the appetite. Served on top of toasted pain-au-lait with a dollop of sturgeon caviar, the starter was a blend of flavours with the olive oil and honey. It’s good, but would I order it again for $40? Let’s just say I’m glad I experienced it with Summerlicious.

Unlike the burrata, they weren’t stingy with the lobster agnolotti ($39) with plenty of plump stuffed pasta to go around. The chopped lobster and ricotta (?) filling was wrapped in an al dante shell that went nicely with the light champagne butter sauce. Simply topped with chopped fermented garlic scapes and a yuzu foam, they complimented but didn’t overpower the seafood.

You can’t go wrong with the braised beef short rib ($51) a large hunk of tender beef sitting on silky pomme purée (or mashed potatoes for the English) swimming in a lovely red wine jus. It’s a classic for a reason, excellently executed at Ēst.

If you like chocolate, you’ll love the Ēst chocolate cake ($15), a rich dark chocolate dessert with sweet chocolate whipped cream and more warm chocolate sauce on the side. It’s A LOT but thankfully there’s a bit of vanilla gelato to help cut through it all.

At the other end of the spectrum, the piña colada sorbet ($15) was lighter with coconut sorbet topped with crispy coconut, pineapple, and nuts. It’s good, if you wanted to end on a more manageable note.

At the risk of sounding like Goldilocks, the crème brulee cheesecake was just right - a balanced sweetness with a creamy and not overly dense texture. The scoop of gelato didn’t hurt either. Of the three desserts, this was my favourite.

I’ll say it again; I commend restaurants that build their Summerlicious menu around dishes they normally serve. Ēst held true to the experience along with their friendly and unhurried service. Thank you for allowing diners to taste a typical meal at a deal. 

There’s a dizzying number of Vietnamese restaurants opening along the Scarborough and Markham border area. Another newcomer joining the fold is Pho Ahn Vu, an addition to the growing chain that’s spreading across the GTA. Its claim to fame: an ornate dining room with fake pink blossomed trees that’s photographed just as much as their actual food.

To be fair, their food tastes good too. If you’re feeling hungry their bún thịt nướng (or rice noodles with grilled meat) dishes are very filling. It starts with a generous portion of vermicelli and tops it with your choice of protein.

The grilled pork, spring roll, and shrimp on sugarcane ($22.95) offered a bit of everything including cardboard thin slices of marinated pork, a hot and delicious crispy spring roll, and a golf ball sized fried shrimp paste that made up for its petiteness with flavour. Along with a mix of fresh herbs, julienned cucumber, bean sprouts, pickled vegetables, and roasted peanuts it’s a cool refreshing dish for the warmer months.

My tip: try the dish with a mixture of their chili sauces. That hit of heat goes so nicely with the fish sauce vinaigrette.

Their pho is tiny in comparison. The special rice noodle soup ($17.95) had a decent amount of protein with slices of rare beef tenderloin, well done flank, a couple cubes of tendon, maybe two beef balls, and a couple thinly sliced tripe, but a scant portion of noodles. So, you’ll either want to upgrade to the larger size ($21.50) or add a side dish to round out the meal.

At least their broth was on point – full flavoured and perfectly seasoned. I only wish it was hotter as it became lukewarm after the raw bean sprouts were added. Like the vermicelli, their pho contains several herbs creating a bright bowl of noodles.

I can see why Pho Ahn Vu’s expanding so quickly, opening locations in Mississauga, Hamilton, and Whitby. Pretty pink flowers, solid recipes, and friendly attentive service. Now this is the type of ‘send noods’ I can get behind.

You generally won’t find a calming and glamourous restaurant within an industrial neighbourhood. During a weeknight visit, we had to dodge cars getting in and out of businesses before arriving at General Public along the busy Geary Avenue. We met an older couple outside who looked confused. Yes, they were in the right place. Once an auto repair shop, it’s now home to Toronto Life’s best new restaurant of 2025.

It’s not exactly the place you’d think to start the meal with a bubbles and a bump ($15), essentially a 2g spoon of caviar chased with 1oz of champagne. While a bit ostentatious, it’s believed that by placing the caviar on the crook of your hand (essentially were you sprinkle salt to chase a tequila shot), your body will gradually warm the caviar to the right temperature. Did it work? Honestly, hard to tell with such a tiny portion.

While I enjoyed the dish, the protein could have been anything in bluefin carpaccio ($29). The strong flavours from the pickled onion and cheddar cheese crisps ended up covering the tuna. Not the greatest if you want to taste the bluefin, but ideal for those who are squeamish about eating raw fish.

Every table seemed to order the chicken wings ($21) given the description of being brined in a Guiness and tossed with a Worcestershire honey butter sauce… now this is different! It tasted like General Tao to me, which isn’t bad but not overly exciting either. At least they were crispy, juicy, and hot, three important components to a good wing.

The black cod ($47) was poached to perfection and covered in an herb bread crumb crust giving the silky fish some crunch. What really made it shine was the buttery parsley sauce that tasted like a creamy bisque. Why the dish isn’t served with toasted bread to allow diners to wipe up every drop of this sauce is a mystery.

We made our own “fish and chips” by pairing the cod with English chips ($13). These were so crispy and the potato nice and fluffy. I just need to tone down the salt.

Often an after thought at pubs, the desserts at General Public stole the show. The banoffee pie ($16) incorporates a thick ganache base in a lovely graham crust, so much chocolate that it could have been described as a chocolate tart. Layered with banana, caramel, and whipped cream this is a rich dessert that must be shared.

Consequently, it went perfectly with the lemon posset ($15). I wasn’t going to order this but after Corey, our server, described it as the best lemon dessert he’s had for a person who doesn’t like lemon desserts, I knew I had to try it.  

He was right. Covered with a short bread cookie, you need to break through it like a crème brûlée to get to the luscious creamy lemon pudding. The flavours were well-balanced, not overly sour or sweet, but as the Three Bears would say… just right. It was delicious on its own or mixed with the chocolate or whipped cream from the banoffee pie it worked as well. Teamwork makes the dessert dreams work.

Despite the swanky décor, General Public doesn’t take itself too seriously. I was curious about the furry mascot printed on the menus. Corey explained it was GP, a sidekick to Hammy the Hamster in a program called Once Upon a Hamster shown in the 90s on YTV. The initials GP spells out General Public so the obscure reference works.

And it certainly does for those who were born before the millennium. Upon reference to Hammy, my husband’s eyes lit up as he recounted the strange show that only broadcasted for two seasons. General Public is more than just a restaurant or pub. It’s a conversation starter, from the quirky guinea pig mascot to its odd location amongst repair shops.   

Pantheon is a family run business, even if it’s not apparent at first. We get a glimpse of the generations working there when our server overhears us discussing the intricacies of making moussaka. She explains that it’s a two-day process as her mother creates the recipe, which is a favourite at their household. And after she describes all the steps, we really wanted to try her family’s moussaka. Lucky for us, her mom also makes the dish at the restaurant, which is how we came to have it as a starter, even if it’s normally an entrée.

Having had moussaka ($33.95) at more chain-like Greek restaurants, Pantheon’s version is lighter and fresher tasting. The potato layer feels fluffy and sandwiches thinly sliced eggplant, so the aubergine is rather pronounced. The ground beef mixture wasn’t overly spiced and even the bechamel sauce was a thin layer, so it toasts the top but doesn’t saturate the slice. Ultimately, it’s not heavy so you could get through a full portion.

A flaming saganaki ($19.95), the pan fried kefalotiri cheese, is a staple in Canadian Greek restaurants. It seems touristy to order but there’s something endearing about setting a piece of cheese on fire and yelling “opa”! For me, the dish is more for the atmosphere than taste. Pantheon pan fries the cheese well, so it develops a crust even prior to flambeeing and serves it as a thick gooey slice. If only the accompanying bread wasn’t so dry and mealy, a good saganaki calls for a better complement.

Almost all their mains arrive with a sizeable Greek side salad that’s smartly served first containing ample amounts of crumbled feta and some tomato, cucumbers, and onion over romaine. Their dressing is different, tamer and while still acidic there’s a sweetness to it. Not sure, but perhaps they use a red wine vinegar and then blend the ingredients together so it’s better combined?

With the fishkebob souvlaki ($36.95) I was expecting fish, but it’s really a seafood kebob containing shrimp, calamari and mushroom. It’s cooked well with a faint grilled aroma, very tender, and lightly salted.

Sadly, my steamed vegetables were merely carrots and didn’t have the delicious garlicky green beans included on my friends’ plates. Luckily, there was plenty with the moussaka so I could augment mine.  At least there was an ample portion of roasted lemon potatoes that were soft and fluffy with a refreshing pronounced citrus finish.

Pantheon doesn’t skimp on the lamb chops that arrive with the entrée. And if you can’t decide on what protein you’d like, their menu also offers some as add-ons. The lamb chop by the piece ($11.95) was bit gamier than I’d like but was cooked to a perfect medium doneness.

A complimentary honey cake arrives for the table and is almost like having baklava in cake form. Just watch out, as the moist crumbly cake is difficult to pick up with a fork. Don’t waste a bit of this delicious dessert, just use your fingers.

As I write this post, I’ve just finished watching Nonnas on Netflix – I highly recommend! With that movie in mind, Pantheon has that warm home cooking feeling. They’re busy on our Friday visit, but still friendly and shows us different mains as we inquisitively look at dishes flying by. Even the pappous of the restaurant, who I assume owns Pantheon, insisted on serenading us with a hearty version of Happy Birthday and a second helping of honey cake. Ultimately, I left the restaurant not only with a full stomach, but a full heart.