Showing posts with label fried shrimp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fried shrimp. Show all posts

Parcheggio and Beauty BBQ (Toronto)

My husband had apprehensions about eating on a patio when Toronto’s stage two plans were announced. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that we finally made our way to Parcheggio – after I promised we could ditch the reservation and leave if the table set-up seemed unsafe.

Thankfully, it never came to that; the tables were more than amply spread out and the extra safety measures immediately set us at ease. Of course, every staff member was donning a mask and they disinfected tables and chairs in between sittings. This was further augmented with a host of other tactics:

  • Menus were printed for single use or you could bring it one step further and scan the QR code to display on your phone.
  • Our table had an extra on the side where our server placed a tray with our drinks, water (in a bottle), and cups to serve ourselves. This table was also where we should put things we wanted taken away, so they could be removed without them reaching over our food.
  • All cutlery was tightly wrapped in napkins to keep them sanitary until ready for use.
  • Guests had to wear masks to enter the building to use the bathroom, a rule that was tightly enforced.

While choosing a restaurant, I sensed Parcheggio would be safe. After all, it’s owned by O&B, a chain with such a longstanding reputation that they wouldn’t risk tarnishing it with packed tables and sloppy service. The restaurant is also located in a structure detached from the rest of Bayview Village to keep the foot traffic around the patio minimal. If you’re also faced with a hesitant diner, this is the place to bring them.

Another attractive aspect to Parcheggio is their patio menu also includes items from their adjoining sister restaurant, Beauty Barbeque Smokehouse. Italian and Southern food in one? Sign me up!

We started on the Beauty side, with the Southern fried shrimp ($24 for 1lb). It’s exactly what fried shrimp should be: clean sizeable prawns that are lightly dusted in cornmeal flour and fried until they’re just cooked through. Boy are they good, and the “white sauce” accompanying it – like a less tangy ranch – was the perfect pairing.

In hindsight, we miscalculated the order size and would have been more than satisfied with half a pound… I couldn’t even count how many came on the plate. Luckily, they taste equally delicious re-heated in the toaster oven the next day.

From the Parcheggio side came the chicken parmigiana ($24). The chicken was breaded in the same light cornmeal flour and topped with a lovely tomato sauce and mozzarella. It’s one of the better chicken parmigiana I’ve had, using just enough of each ingredient to blend into a harmonious flavour. Plus, the addition of roasted cherry tomatoes is genius, a burst of freshness to lighten the dish. Even the side of spaghetti pomodoro was delicious, made from chewy fresh pasta tossed in a thick marinara and basil.

The only faux pas was how the chicken was served: the two thinner slices on the bottom, sandwiched between a warm plate and the hot thicker slice on top. It meant the first portion was juicy and absolute perfection while the other two seemingly drier after such a great start. To be fair, I had to pack the other two to go, so they likely would have dried out from re-heating anyways.

Having snuck a bite of my husband’s smoked brisket burger ($19), I had to have another taste. The combination of a perfectly seasoned smashed beef patty topped with a slice of smoked brisket is a brilliant blend. The fixings are kept simple – a thick slice of juicy beefsteak tomato, shredded lettuce, and caramelized onions that almost resembles a chunky chutney – all on a soft potato bun that disintegrated halfway through the burger. It could have easily become too salty, too saucy, or steeped in oil, but Beauty kept it balanced and smartly left off cheese.

The burger is served with either fries or tater tots – yes, you heard right, tots! Those delicious nuggets of miniaturized hash browns. We ended up getting both as they noticed the side was wrong while bringing it out and was already firing up the right side, which arrived minutes later.

By this point, I was in a delirious carb heaven. While the shoestring fries were a bit salty, they were nonetheless cooked well … crispy with a bit of creaminess in the centre. The tots were crunchy, hot, and fresh. As delicious as they were, I must admit it’d be too heavy with the burger, so the substituted fries were likely the better choice. Instead, the tots came home with us and was a great addition to breakfast.

A common thread to the meal, aside from all the dishes being scrumptious, is that the portions are BIG (almost every table was asking for a takeout container). Thankfully, Parcheggio also invests in biodegradable paper containers carried out in a paper bag. A big nod of appreciation from me, on behalf of our environment!

It was a great dinner (and breakfast and lunch to follow). Such a success, that my husband’s already asking when we can return. Apprehensions I’ll be damned.  

Overall mark - 9 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 2901 Bayview Avenue (at Bayview Village)
 Delivery: Uber
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Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:



Paluto Restaurant (Dubai)

Thank you to Parv for all these pictures!
Who would have thought that amongst a desert there are waterfront markets? Yet, that’s exactly what you’ll find in Deira in Dubai – a sprawling multi-wing facility where you can buy seafood from one area, vegetables and spices from another, and even find restaurants to cook the seafood for you along the waterfront.

It seemed like a novel idea and had us visiting Paluto Restaurant by Chef Boy Logro (a celebrity chef from the Philippines) one afternoon. In reality, the link to a well-known chef doesn’t seem like a necessity for a place where customer purchase their own ingredients, fish mongers clean it for them, and all the chefs do is cook it (either fried, grilled, or in soup form) for AED25/kg. Aren’t we all our own chefs at this point?

Patrons then wait around for an empty table and their food to be prepared. There’s a hunting-and-gathering feel to the meal, except I guess the hunting is fairly easy when it’s all laid out on ice and in tanks amongst the stalls. It’s a part of the meal that we skipped, since we didn’t visit the Waterfront Market early enough to source our own seafood.

Truth be told, I was glad we missed that part of the experience as seeing things swim and wriggle before breaking bread is the least of my desires. Plus, going after the general rush, meant there was no queue so we could sit and enjoy drinks (the serve yourself fountain pop variety) while we waited for the food preparation.

As the mixed seafood platters arrived – one tossed in lemon herb and the other in a sweet chili (both AED149), we started salivating at the combination of blue crabs, shrimp, and mussels. This was sure going to be a messy lunch that had some reaching for the plastic gloves.



The two sauces were so different – the lemon herb a bit too mild and needed more seasoning, while the sweet chili having a fiery heat that could be too much for some. Of the two, the chili drew me in and had me spooning the thick sauce over the unlimited rice that arrives with the meal. Still, the seafood itself was mediocre; while the shrimp were nice, the crab wasn’t cleaned properly (who leaves the gills on?) so there was a musky after taste and the mussels no different from the frozen variety found in supermarkets.

Personally, I preferred the simpler varieties. The deep-fried prawns (AED49 for 12) done with and without batter were delicious. A hot sweet nugget that I could have had a dozen to myself.



Even the grilled fish (AED149 for a large size) had potential… nice and meaty, but, sadly overcooked. The chili soy sauce on the side helped flavour and hydrate the fish a bit.


Perhaps the most surprising was the vegetable Hakka noodles (AED29), long chewy egg noodles tossed with julienned vegetables and enveloped in a lovely wok hay. They were so good that we added another order.


With fresh seafood, it’s smart to remember that simple is best. Dipped into hot oil or a faster lick on the grill is all you need. When in doubt, just remember K.I.S.S. – keep it simple, stupid.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
 Address: In the Waterfront Market (Al Khaleej Road)

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!

Mr. Miyagi (Dubai)


Let’s be honest, you go to Mr. Miyagi for the fun environment, not the food. It’s a cool looking place that looks like it’s been decorated by an organized hoarder: umbrellas lining the wall, picture frames everywhere, and a stamp collection adorning every table lamp. There’s a bar at the back of the restaurant, so after dinner you can stay for the party. The food, on the other hand, is decent, at best.  


The tastiest thing of the night was the shrimp crackers (AED19) hanging on the table lamps, the bag begging to be ripped apart and eaten before the other items arrive. The crackers are the real deal, flavourful with the deep essence of seafood, much like what you’d find in Thailand.


So much better than the Dynamite shrimp (AED45) that’s essentially deep fried shrimp tossed in a crap load of Miracle Whip. A really heavy starter that’s probably beloved, if you like that tangy zesty mayo wannabe.


If things aren’t great, smother it with condiments seems to be the mantra at Miyagi. The sushi aburi roll (AED55) is not flame torched, but rather drowned with avocado cream so you can’t taste an ounce of the salmon wrapping a huge piece of rice.


The Dragon roll (AED55) was even worse; it must have been pre-made earlier in the day as the rice was hard and dry. The menu describes it as being tataki style, which generally means lightly seared at other restaurants. At Miyagi, it translates to fully cooking the salmon and tuna to the point that they taste like they came out of a can, and of course drizzling so much sauce over it that they hope you can’t tell the difference.


There was a chance that the beef sisig (AED49) could be better – at least the flavours were nice – but the meat still so over cooked rendering it like eating bits of leather on crispy wonton crackers.


Of the mains, the curries are the safest bet. Both the green and red versions were decent (AED59 for chicken and AED65 for shrimp), but neither really packing much heat. Not even the red one, which had three chilies listed beside it on the menu, unless you actually have a bite of the bird’s eye chili.



Nonetheless, they’re better than the mee goreng handmade egg noodles (AED49). What it lacks in wok hay, Miyagi tries to make up for dumping more sauce on, but even that couldn’t rehydrate their dry hard tofu. Sadly, I’ve whipped up better noodles at home on a week night with a bottle of store-bought Szechwan sauce.


Aside from the shrimp chips, the only saving grace of the evening was the fact that it was Lady’s Night and our waiter was so friendly and attentive.

Interestingly, for a country that doesn’t allow alcohol to be served outside of hotels, the ones that do sell spirits also offers all-you-can-drink options. At Mr. Miyagi, on Wednesday nights their Lady’s Night menu provides women a choice of two dishes and two hours of unlimited drinks for only AED99. So, the fact that our waiter was on the ball with refills meant I developed a nice buzz even before the food arrived. Not enough for me to actually like the food, of course, but still a memorable night.

Overall mark - 5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
 Address: Media One Hotel

Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
  • Asian District

Mr Miyagi's - Media One Hotel Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato