Belle Isle is named after an island park in the Detroit River, sitting between Windsor and the “country that shall not be named” (according to Zac Schwartz). While the co-owner didn’t dive too deeply into the naming inspiration, one thing was immediately clear: Zac is funny, and that energy set the tone for a laid-back, laugh-filled Toronto Life event.

After breezing through the obligatory “legal” housekeeping, we were introduced to the full team, including Chef Ronan Shaftoe and the other Ronan, before settling in for a special tasting menu ($125; regular à la carte dishes also noted below).

Chef Keith Siu had me hooked the moment he explained that the contemporary Chinese dishes we’d be eating were inspired by his childhood growing up in Scarborough. Say no more, he was speaking my language.

The drunken foie youtiao was an interesting opener. The Shaoxing wine was restrained (thankfully), letting the sweetness of the foie gras come through rather than overpowering it. The crunchy youtiao worked nicely as a crostini stand-in.

Curry and hamachi sounded like a tricky combination, but the HK curry crudo ($20) somehow pulled it off. Fresh, layered, and flavourful without leaning on acid or soy, it was one of the more surprising successes of the night.

You couldn’t see all the tendon and beef shank hiding under the silky rice noodle sheet, but trust me the cheung fun ($22) delivered. he confit onion gave it a French onion meets Taiwanese beef vibe, and the rice noodles had a chewy, almost al dente texture. One of my favourite bites of the evening.

Shrimp toast ($16) has made a comeback in modern Chinese restaurants, and Belle Isle’s version came with a spicy shrimp mayo that was undeniably umami-packed… though it slightly overshadowed the shrimp itself. I preferred my second piece plain and appreciated that it wasn’t greasy, but I would’ve loved a heavier hand with the shrimp paste.

Chef Siu joked that his inspiration for the lemon pepper hidden chicken wings ($16) came from strip club wings - an experience I can’t personally verify. Despite the pile of red chilies, the heat was surprisingly muted unless you bit into one directly. The lemony notes didn’t quite work for me either, so I guess I’m not a strip-club-wing kind of gal.

The typhoon shelter steak was cooked closer to medium-well than I’d prefer, but the fried chili, garlic, shallot, and black bean topping added a crunchy, savoury punch. If you love onion frizzles, this is your dish.

On the flip side, the mushroom rice could’ve used more time. Some kernels were undercooked in the centre, likely from being stir-fried raw rather than pre-cooked. That said, the grains had a plump, glutinous quality and absorbed a deep mushroom flavour that I enjoyed.

Fuyu with yu choy isn’t something I would’ve expected, but fermented tofu usually plays well with most greens. Since the dish was steamed, the fuyu flavour felt diluted and didn’t fully shine.

The mango pudding jell-o shot duh ($14) remains on the menu, but Chef Siu gives it a nostalgic twist: more pudding than jello, inspired by something his mom might’ve made (minus the Malibu rum, of course). The boozy kick was strong, but once I added cream from the accompanying steamed cake, it mellowed out nicely.

Belle Isle’s steam cake has such a rich coconut taste. A delicious take on ma lai go the delce de leche frosting went so nicely without it and was just sweet enough to satisfy.

And if that weren't enough, we ended with apple and orange slices. If you're a 80s/90s child, a visited a Toronto Chinese restaurant, these were the desserts of our days.

I’d be remiss not to mention the libations from James McCole. After sampling two cocktails and two wines, the cocktails clearly stole the show. The names alone, tramp stamp + sandal tan = a life well-lived ($20), had me hooked. Cheerful and pink, with an unexpected leathery undertone that genuinely evoked sandals.

Still, it was the strawberry foam in I’m just a boy who loves berries and cream that won me over. If I could order a bowl of that foam with fresh berries, I absolutely would. Cold-foam lovers, take note.

Even though Belle Isle has been around since October 2024, this was my first time hearing about it, a sister restaurant to Lake Inez. Maybe it’s the discreet signage, but for now, it still feels like a well-kept secret. Belle Isle feels like a restaurant that’s still revealing itself and is worth discovering before everyone else does.

The staff at Tinga Kim Taqueria are so pleasant that they make the experience. They’re welcoming and flexible on seating arrangements, offering their cute patio out back, which we were contemplating until we saw a table coming back complaining about bugs.

Being in the dingier indoor area has its benefit: such as the ease of getting their attention and placing our order in three stages to control the pace of the meal.

We started with “appetizers” including the K-Wings or Korean style wings in both flavours. I preferred the Oro K-wings ($20 for 6) the crispy chicken left neutral but having been marinated in arbol (type of chili pepper), soy, and oyster sauce was very flavourful. Juicy and crunchy this is what makes Korean fried chicken so good.

The Rojo K-wings ($20 for 6) were too strong for me: the gochujang, ginger, soju, and oyster sauce base tasty on the first bite but overwhelming by the last. Rest assured, Tinga Kim doesn’t baby their diners and makes these spicy.

I’m glad we got the quesabirria ($18) for the table as the shredded beef saturated in consommé was so rich and salty that one is sufficient. They don’t skimp of the cheese so it’s nice and gooey but could use more raw onion and herbs to counteract the heaviness. Strangely this arrives with chili oil and a sour cream aioli instead of the beef consommé you’d expect to dip it in. It seemed more quesadilla than quesabirria.

Their single order tacos are great for building your own main. Ideally, the chef should have left the shrimp in the pingo Coreano ($12) neutral rather than saturating it in soju, soy and oyster sauce. By this point, I was getting tired of this flavour combo and was looking forward to what the menu describes as shrimp, soju-based salsa, guacamole, cotija & Oaxaca cheese, and cilantro. No where did it mention soy and oyster sauce, which completely covered the sparse guacamole and cheese but did help soften the tostada, so it was foldable and easier to eat. I’m really reaching for the silver lining here.

The maapo libre ($10) tasted the same since the main protein was Korean marinated galbi. Except this was topped with an overly salted citrusy red cabbage slaw. Quite frankly, by this time I’m not sure what on their menu doesn’t contain soy sauce.

After all that salt I was craving something sweet. The Mexican flan ($10) was calling and while it wasn’t terrible, if the recipe includes white chocolate in the custard they really should have left the syrup thin rather than dousing it in a thick caramel that brought this to cloying sweet level. Moreover, the custard became too dense. The silver lining? At least each order contained two mini flans that makes it perfect for sharing.

My perception is that the chefs at Tinga Kim create one sauce then use it on everything. That same caramel was drizzled onto the already sweet tres leches cake ($17), which means yes this is tooth achingly sweet as well. At least the cake was nice and moist.

Even the cinnamon sugar dusted churros ($10) didn’t escape the sauce, which needs to be served on the side. The actual pastry was a bit dense but at least freshly deep fried and hot.

Writing this post really has me going back to the practice of gratitude journaling – amongst everything that goes wrong, what is the positive thing? Tinga Kim is lucky their staff are so sweet… much like all their desserts.  

There’s no shortage of pubs in the Yonge Lawrence neighbourhood and almost all of their menus offer chicken wings. But the pub that is most dedicated to the dish is Drums & Flats: showcasing it in their name and dedicating a quarter of their menu, including the option to have just the drums (the meaty “lollipop” third of the wing) or the flats (the middle portion).

For this order, one of their signature sauces was beckoning me – The Island Hot Hot Hot ($14.99). I imagined the heat of scotch bonnet peppers combined with sweet pineapples, maybe something like a jerk marinade. The three “hots” should have been a tip that there would likely be less fruit and more spice in the sauce. Three layers to be exact - buffalo, hot sauce, and chili flakes (?) - and not a tinge of anything tropical anywhere.

One bite into the bright red wing and the tingling heat began. The cooling carrot stick was not enough, but a dip into the lovely buttermilk dill sauce helped a bit. Nonetheless, after two wings, even that couldn’t calm the fire, only a big glass of almond milk could help me get through a few more of the flats.

Unable to get through the rest of the spicy wings, I saved them for the next day to build into another meal. After reheating them in the toasted oven and dunking them into a bowl of non-spicy instant noodles, the chillies combined into the broth creating a great bowl of spicy chicken wing ramen.

I should have stuck with our typical dish: the double-dipped hot and honey ($15.99), which takes the deep-fried wings and tosses it in the fiery sweet sauce and then grills them on the barbeque to caramelize that layer before tossing them in sauce again. While we kept it to a single flavour, normally you can combine two sauces to really develop something to your liking. Being cooked twice creates a smokier and stickier wing, but I find also makes them a little drier.

For those who don’t eat meat, Drums & Flats even has veggie wings ($12.99) using battered and deep-fried chunks of broccoli and cauliflower that are tossed in your choice of seasoning. Wanting to keep the crispiness in the coating, a lemon and pepper dry rub seemed to be a good choice and gave the dish enough flavour without rendering the batter to a paste.

While an inclusive idea, the dish is also extremely oily - the amount of grease that’s released after squeezing a piece in a paper towel is scary. The batter is too thick, more like fish and chips than tempura, which causes it to soak up so much oil.

The great things about wings is it works well for delivery arriving fairly hot and the veggie wings still surprisingly crispy. Plus, all inhibitions go out the window, you can really get in there and get messy in the safety of your own home. Take it from me, aside from the buttermilk dill sauce, you need a lot of napkins to go with chicken wings.