CLOSED: Xiao Long Bao 小籠包 (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, July 27, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 175 Commander Road, Unit 1
Type of Meal: Dinner
Xiao Long Bao, the phonetic spelling for soup filled dumplings, is the new branch of Ding Tai Fung located in Scarborough. Situated in the newly developed portion of Chartwell Centre, there’s plenty of space with tons of tables and a comfortable distance between each.

However, being a newer restaurant (opened in June) their operations require fine tuning. The first two dishes served were incorrect – the wrong meat with the noodles and two orders of the steamed dumplings when we only ordered one. But, the staff were apologetic and quickly rectified the situation so the small mishaps were negligible. 

You can’t come to Xiao Long Bao without ordering their namesake product - steamed pork soup dumplings ($5.99 for 6).  It’s a skill testing dish as the wrapper needs to be translucent yet strong enough to hold the filling and its juices.  


Xiao Long Bao passed the test as the dumpling could be picked up without breaking. It was juicier than most and had a nice balanced saltiness to it. All in all, a good version of the dish. 


However, what was most impressive was their pan-fried pork dumplings ($5.99 for 5). Arriving crusty side down the plain white dough appeared lackluster, but upon turning the dumpling over you're greeted with a lovely golden crust. Using the same pork mixture as the steamed dumplings, these also stayed sealed capturing a fair amount of juices inside.


The soy sauced braised beef noodles in soup ($7.99) had delicious chewy noodles and tender beef. Garnished with Shanghai baby bok choy and green onions with a dish of minced preserved vegetable on the side to add another salty element if you so desire. The broth was rich and flavourful, if only it were hotter the noodles would have been even better.


For you information, pictured below is the beef tendon version of the same noodle. I managed to snap a picture before realizing it wasn’t what we ordered.



To round out the meal an order of stir fried Chinese broccoli with garlic ($9.50). It was well trimmed, crisp and fresh. Surprisingly, their vegetable dishes tended to be more expensive than others (an entire bowl of noodles is only $8). But, the portion size was decent and only the top thin tender portion of the Chinese broccoli was served. 


Overall, Xiao Long Bao offers tasty renditions of traditional Shanghainese comfort food. Their Chinese only menu may make it harder to order (likely they have an English cheat sheet); luckily, I had my mom to help with ordering. I do enjoy their large restaurant offering comfortable seating and plenty of tables so chances are you won’t need to wait.
Overall mark - 7 out of 10
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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!


Patois (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, July 26, 2014 by

Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 794 Dundas Street West
Website: http://www.patoistoronto.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner

 Patois recently opened in the Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood, just a stone’s throw away from Bent. And like its neighbor, Patois offers Chinese fusion inspired dishes, except in their case, the tastes of the Caribbean (predominantly Jamaica).

 According to their website, the restaurant’s philosophy is simple - to offer delicious affordable dishes so customers will return weekly. Although prices aren’t suburban cheap, they are reasonable for its downtown Toronto local. Cocktails cap at $10 when $15 seems to be the new norm. And for $35 you can get a whole teapot of it – a bit fancier than the “cold tea” of the China Town days.

Patois

Patois’ whole vibe is down-to-earth from the simplistic décor, to the top 40 in the background and friendly staff. Despite not being a huge dining room, they were still accommodating taking large group reservations and manipulating tables so we would all fit. Admittedly, I’m not an expert when it comes to Jamaican Chinese cuisine, so luckily I was able to bring a couple of friends who were to sample the creations. One friend’s subject matter expertise (“SME”) has been supplemented with my thoughts below.

To start, “pierogi style” kimchi pot stickers ($11) made with tender ground pork and diced kimchi which is enveloped in a chewy dough before being pan fried crisp. The wrappers are thicker than other Asian dumplings (much more than a gyoza from an izakaya or even the pan-fried variety from a Shanghai restaurant) but then these are modelled after pierogi. Topped with sweet caramelized onions, crispy salty bacon, a spicy sour cream and scallions this was a tasty dish merging many textures and flavours.

Patois pierogies

Between my husband and me, we shared the yard bird special ($32) with a half order of juicy jerk and O.G. fried chicken, dirty rice and coleslaw. Indeed, the juicy jerk was aptly named as moisture just permeated from all pieces (even the often dry white meat). Patois notes that they rotisserie roast the chicken rather than using a BBQ or smoker. The result, is tender succulent pieces of chicken that are even moister than any rotisserie version I’ve ever had.

Patois jerk chicken

However, it lacked the in-your-face boldness of jerk. Perhaps it’s because Patois uses a dry rub rather than a wet marinade. Or maybe it’s because I had it after the strong kimchi pot stickers and fried chicken. In the end, the flavours were too subtle for me. I was expecting that spicy tangy heat with an earthy kick to it. Alas, there was none of that, just a spicy habanero yoghurt on the side.

The SME agrees and compares the spice level to what tourists would be served in Montego Bay. Except there restaurants use similarly spiced sauces which compliments the chicken rather than the disparate habanero. However, he did like the jerk seasoning rubbed on the chicken skin finding it had great authentic tastes.

Interestingly, Chef Craig Wong had told The Grid that “[jerk] has to have flavour that lingers on your palate. It’s definitely not a subtle taste … because jerk just blows your head off. Jerk chicken should be spicy and isn’t mild.” I encourage Chef Wong to go back to that philosophy and not dilute the flavouring to please all palettes. At the very least, offer two levels of spiciness so patrons can experience jerk the way it’s meant to be.

The O.G. (Original Gangster) fried chicken was the hit for me. Although not to the level of Willie Mae’s Scotch House, Patois’ offering was nonetheless delicious - pieces of tender, moist meat surrounded by a crispy crust. I loved the various condiments: cubes of watermelon with Thai basil, a spicy sweet sriracha sauce (like tamarind sauce accompanying samosas) and what I believe were pickled watermelon rind and cucumbers (tart and crunchy).

Patois fried chicken

In the end, it was a satisfying fried chicken meal. But, if I could offer one suggestion, it’s to bring it up to the next level. A lot of Toronto kitchens offer well done fried chicken – with Momofuku selling one that is similarly Chinese inspired. To date, restaurants keep the chicken simple with the cultural twist coming from the condiments. But, why not change the chicken itself? Something simple like dusting the “golden sand” that’s used on Luckee’s spicy squid on top of the batter would be delicious. Or I’m sure there’s other great Caribbean choices available such as a tropical pineapple glaze.

What may keep my husband and I coming back is the dirty fried rice. The menu describes the dish as rice stir fried with the Cajun trinity (onion, celery and bell peppers), sweet cured lap cheong sausage, peas, scrambled eggs and sweet soy sauce. But, there must be something else as the dish had an underlying richness to it. Traditional Cajun dirty rice also mixes in chicken liver so perhaps that was used here as well. Whatever it was, we loved it and polished off every grain.

Patois dirty fried rice

And the last dish of the yard bird special was a creamy coleslaw mixed with carrots and scallions. Made with napa cabbage, this slaw was softer and had a subtler taste than the traditional green cabbage variety.

Patois coleslaw

Other eats that were ordered amongst the table included the Jamaican patty double down ($7) consisting of two mini beef patties sandwiching bacon, melted cheese and a drizzle of sriracha.

Patois beef patty

Another dish ordered by the SME was the ackee n’ saltfish fritters ($14). Unfortunately, it was the shape of the fritters that disappointed – typically like a pancake rather than a ball - so the textures seemed off. Additionally, it lacked the characteristic scotch bonnet pepper flavours often accompanying the dish.

Patois ackee n saltfish fritter

The spaghetti vongole ($14) presented the distinctive pungent black bean aroma mixed with tarragon, little neck clams and sweet cured lap cheong sausage.

Patois spaghetti

As a whole, Patois should successfully accomplish what it’s set out to do – to offer delicious affordable dishes. Certainly, the yard bird special was a great combo with plenty of food; more than enough to satisfy me and my husband. My only hope is that Patois doesn’t try too hard to please the masses and ends up mixing into the melting pot rather than creating a distinct identity. After all, crispy and juicy chicken is fine (and will satisfy) but daring in-you-face flavours is what will wow.  

Overall mark - 7 out of 10
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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:

The Wonderful Drinks of NOLA

Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2014 by
New Orleans is a laid back city. Service is unhurried, people are down-to-earth and sitting outside with a drink seems to be a past time. Indeed, I had my fair share of cocktails whether it was with a meal, for a rest, before dinner or even while site seeing (New Orleans like Las Vegas allows for roadies). NOLA is a city that is brimming with cocktails that are synonymous with the region. Listed below are but some of the ones they offer.


The Drink: Sazerac
Location: The Sazerac Bar
Website: http://therooseveltneworleans.com/dining/the-sazerac-bar.html

The original can be found at the bar by the same name. The Sazerac ($13) is the official cocktail of New Orleans. Made with Cognac/rye, bitters, sugar and herbsaint (previously with absinthe) it’s a drink that gets better as the ice melts.  


The Drink: Ramo's gin fizz
Location: The Sazerac Bar
Website: http://therooseveltneworleans.com/dining/the-sazerac-bar.html

Also offered at the Sazerac Bar, the drink I enjoyed more is the Ramos gin fizz ($14). Just watching the bartender make it is a treat! It’s shaken for a long time to combine the gin, citrus, cream, egg whites, orange flower water and sugar. Eventually, the ingredients work together to emulsify the egg whites and the contents are poured into a glass from high above with a flourish. Frothy and finished with club soda it reminds me of a pina colada without all the sugar.


The Drink: Mint julep
Location: NOLA Restaurant
Website: http://www.emerilsrestaurants.com/nola-restaurant

Refreshing with the muddled mint leaves, the mint julep at NOLA is quite strong with a hefty dose of bourbon. Finished off with some sugar and water this is a great cocktail to sip on a hot summer’s day.


The Drink: Pimm's Cup
Location: Crescent City Brewhouse
Website: http://www.crescentcitybrewhouse.com/

Another gin based drink is a pimm’s cup. A fairly easy going cocktail made with lemonade, cucumber, something fizzy and sugar water.


The Drink: Hand granade
Location: Tropical Isle
Website: http://tropicalisle.com/
Every tourist on Bourbon Street seems to be carrying a Hand Grenade.  Only offered at the Tropical Isle bars they are famous for making these.  We got the “skinny” version which has less sugar but sadly still tasted awful. Supposedly, the recipe is a closely guarded secret but honeydew liqueur is the prevalent taste; there’s definitely no risk of me trying to recreate this at home.


The Drink: Horny gator
Location: Tropical Isle
Website: http://tropicalisle.com/

Also from Tropical Isle is the Horny Gator.  Hoping that it would be a better cocktail, alas we weren’t lucky. The bar notes it’s a mix of pomegranate, green tea and other exotic flavours but somehow ended up tasting like tea mixed with cough syrup. However, something magical does happen after having one of these cocktails, so if you can just gulp it down you’re ready for a great Bourbon Street night.

I’ve been asked by many people about my experience in NOLA. Surprisingly, despite its close flight and affordable prices, it’s a city rarely visited by Canadians. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth a visit especially if you’re in the mood for an easy-going vacation filled with architectural walks, eating & drinking and enjoying the laid-back night life (no heels required here!). My highlights were:
  • Bar hopping along Bourbon Street (including trying to karaoke at Cat’s Meow)
  • Doing a day trip to visit plantations and a swamp and 
  • Visiting the Audubon Zoo.

 Thank you NOLA for the amazing time and cheers until I return!


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CLOSED: Nota Bene (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 180 Queen Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner


Not having visited the restaurant for years, Summerlicious seemed like a great opportunity for a return visit. For one, it would be more affordable (normally mains can easily cost upwards of $35) and their Summerlicious offering sounded great. Plus, they even had great drink specials with $8 cocktails and $7 wine glasses.


At first, I was worried the restaurant’s quality had gone down as the starters differed from my fond memories of Nota Bene. Don't get me wrong, they were still decent; but, the ingredient combinations and tie into the restaurant itself seemed off. My albacore tuna sashimi was seared beautifully with a thin even ring around every piece. However, the accompanying ingredients (Caeser aoili, fried onion frizzles, bonito flakes and grilled peppers) were all so powerful that it drown out the fish. Personally, I thought the condiments described on the menu (citrus soy sauce, ginger and coriander) would have been more than enough. The additional elements were tasty but, in my opinion, would have worked better with beef carpaccio. 


Sanagan’s pulled braised goat was a dish recommended by Toronto Life’s picks. So, it was one I was interested to see and arrived more put together than expected. My friend described it perfectly – it tastes like chili except with shredded goat. In hindsight, after reading the menu’s description (black beans, pico de gallo and goat cheese espuma) it should have tipped us off to the potential Tex-Mex flavours. And it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing – the chili was good - just not something you’d expect at Nota Bene (but could work well at The Carbon Bar). The creamy fried croquettes (perhaps polenta?) were delicious and went well with the tangy goat cheese.


As the mains arrived all fears were calmed - this was what I remembered and loved about the restaurant! Normally, I always go for the meat or fish option but something about the pea and ricotta ravioli was calling my stomach. It was every bit as delightful as it sounded. There were plenty of plump ravioli stuffed with a fresh sweet pea and ricotta. The creamy sauce helped to flavour the pasta but wasn’t too strong as to cover the subtle pea. A soft runny poached egg in the middle mixed into everything to add another element of creaminess. Plus, nothing goes better with shaved truffles than a well-cooked egg! Crisp kale chips were scattered on top adding texture and extra pops of flavour. This is a great dish that you should order off their regular menu.


Indeed, the peppercorn-crusted steak frites tempted me and those who ordered it were happy. Between our larger group, there were requests for rare, medium rare and medium well steaks. The accomplished chefs successfully served everyone simultaneously (despite the varying doneness) and each came out correctly.  And the parmigiano and rosemary topped fries were wonderful – I may have snuck my fare share off of the plates around me.

My husband, a burger fanatic, went with their dry-aged beef burger. He noted it was very juicy (likely on account of using beef brisket) and had good flavours. He only wished there was a bit more sauce to the burger but was nonetheless satisfied.


To end, my friend and I split a hot sugared doughnut and cheese plate. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the cheese plate; it had three great pieces of different and delightful offerings. With crostini and a piece of dried fruit this would have been a sufficient ending.


But, the doughnut was absolutely fantastic! We were astonished by the size (the equivalent of two Krispy Kremes), yet everyone polished off their plate. The doughnut was hot, soft, light and not too sugary. It went so well with the hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream and the light blueberry sauce.  My only regret of the evening was not having a full order of this.
Needless to say, we left the restaurant stuffed. Of course, our attentive waiter could have something to do with this. As we were waiting for a friend, he continuously brought out bread and our drinks were never empty.  All in all, the return visit was great (albeit much busier than the non-Summerlicious weeknights visits). So, although this post is coming out a little late in the Summerlicious cycle, go while you still can! And if you don’t get a reservation, go back and splurge on the ravioli and doughnut, you will not be disappointed. 


 Is Summerlicious worth it?

 As a special feature to the Summerlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

 Summerlicious - $45

 Regular menu - $58 - tuna sashimi ($17), ravioli ($29) and doughnut ($12)

 Savings - $13 or 22%

 * All the items offered during Summerlicious were part of their regular menu, fantastic!

    Overall mark - 8 out of 10
    Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!



    Crescent City Brewhouse (New Orleans)

    Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2014 by
    Location: New Orleans, USA
    Address: 527 Decatur Street
    Website: http://www.crescentcitybrewhouse.com/
    Type of Meal: Lunch
    Located off of Decatur, Crescent City Brewhouse is a large two story restaurant that is hard to miss. Their restaurant also houses a microbrewery using natural ingredients and no chemicals or stabilizers or chemicals are used. With five to choose from, if you’re not sure which is best, you can also get their tasting flight ($8.50) that offers small glasses of each. Crescent City also offers various mixed drinks including a tasty Bloody Mary ($8.25) and inexpensive vodka waters ($6.75). 

    We originally intended to just get a drink and rest, but we couldn’t help ordering a couple of nibbles to sustain us until dinner. First up the fried alligator sauce picante ($11.95) which is like popcorn beef except tougher due to the leaner meat. The gator meat was lightly seasoned with creole spices, deep fried and served with a spicy picante sauce (tastes like marinara). These warm nuggets were good for munching on and worth a try.


    By far Crescent City’s most popular appetizer were the oysters, so much so that they have a gentleman downstairs that just constantly shucks them. We ordered six to share ($8.95) and were astounded by the size of these things! Our helpful waiter, Mark, advised that they are so gigantic as Louisiana has the right water temperature and consistency that presents ideal year-round breeding conditions. Apprehensive at first, I was glad that the oysters were very clean tasting. Admittedly the shells were a bit gritty and needed a good scrubbing; you definitely want to use a fork and not just tip these back.


    The restaurant also has the quintessential wrought iron balcony seating area with a slight lake view. It looked so appealing that we returned for lunch one afternoon. I opted for the crispy chicken salad ($13.95) which was packed with chicken tenders, slices of avocado, cheddar cheese, a hard-boiled egg and with a thick honey mustard vinaigrette. The salad certainly hit the spot with a good mix of healthy and decadent ingredients and ended up being fairly filling.


    All in all, Crescent City Brewhouse is a great central location to stop for drinks and an informal meal while walking around the French Quarter. While peaking at other individual’s orders their burgers and sandwiches also looked good with heaping mounds of shoestring fries on the side. 

    Overall mark - 7 out of 10
    Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!

     Photo Sources:
    1. Special thank you to my friend Jill for the pictures of the alligator bites and oysters.



    CLOSED: Shibui Robata Bar (Toronto)

    Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2014 by
    Location: Toronto, Canada
    Address: 230 Adelaide Street West
    Type of Meal: Dinner


    Shibui Robata Bar shares space with Copacabana – it’s on the bottom while Copa’s just above. Upon entering, the welcome desk was abuzz with a model-like midriff baring hostess who seems like she’d be working for a nightclub than a restaurant. Yet, upon descending the stairs and entering Shibui, the atmosphere changes. Although still much loungier than your typical izakaya, with its round booths and glowing artwork on the walls, the vibe at the bottom starts to calm down.

    Of course, breaking into the sake could have also helped the situation. For Summerlicious, Shibui offers a four-glass sake tasting for $20. It’s not a pairing, as you’re given them all together and only have to drink the pink one first. It provides a variety of tastes from sweet plum, crisp & dry, bitter and sparkling. My favourite was “Mio” the sparkling one – with the happy face smiling back at me and drinking it right after the extremely bitter Genshu, it ended the tasting off on a high.


    My friend had recommended we visit Shibui for their Summerlicious menu and I’m so glad she did. For $25 we were astounded by the amount of food received and had a great experience! With all the delicious choices we broke off into pairs and shared each course. I highly recommend sharing as there’s plenty to go around and some dishes are rich so you’ll appreciate the variety.


    To start, a helping of the Chilean sea bass dumplings and crispy rice with tuna. The dumplings contained a good helping of black pepper spiced fish in a delicate wrapper. It was light and a good start. The accompanying sesame vinegar dipping sauce (?) was subtle and hard to distinguish so neither added nor took away from gyozas.


    The crispy rice with tuna is like a cross between sushi pizza and pressed sushi. Chopped tuna is mixed with spicy mayo then garnished with a fried garlic chip and sliver of jalapeno packing tons of flavours. We chose wisely starting with the dumplings first or may have found them bland after eating the flavourful crispy rice. The combination of creamy tuna, soft warm rice and crispy base was delicious and definitely worth ordering.


    Next, we each received an eight-piece maki roll (four orders pictured below). As they brought out these dishes heads turn and eyes light up when you realize YOU GET THE ENTIRE ORDER!


    The Shibui salmon maki, pictured first, seemed like a classic spicy salmon roll based on the menu’s description. Indeed, the ingredients are typical consisting of salmon, spicy mayo and tempura flakes. However, their execution is what differs. Rather than mixing the tempura bits into the spicy salmon (causing it to get mushy) or sprinkling it on top (so that it’s the first thing to hit the tongue) Shibui puts it beside the salmon in the middle of the roll. The outcome is that as you bite through the roll you get distinct textures and flavours rather than one mushy clump. The salmon maki was a table favourite.


    The pirikara ebi maki looks amazing with the battered shrimp skewered onto purple pickled plum (?) rice. And has promise to taste good with the crispy asparagus and julienned cucumber inside. Together each item stands on its own but also compliments well (the heaviness of the fried shrimp with the freshness of the maki). However, the downfall was that the over battered shrimp was cold and also caused the spicy mayo to congeal.

    Of course, I understand the stresses of serving so many diners during Summerlicious – when you’re pumping out this much food certain items need to be prepped ahead of time. Unfortunately, the pirikara ebi maki was a bad choice to include on a Summerlicious offering as it really detracted from an otherwise delicious meal.

    Finally, onto Shibui’s claim to fame - robatayaki style cooking. With their open concept kitchen you’re able to see the chefs at work as they move skewers across various levels further from or closer to the hot coals. In the beginning, I expected the food to taste like yakatori but because the skewers are cooked further away from the direct heat it stayed juicier, fresher and crispier.

    The pork belly was one of the moistest I’ve ever had. Literally when you pick it up and squeeze oily juices drip off of it. Covered with shichimi pepper there’s some heat to the pork and a welcomed change from the sweet and salty concoctions. But, these are still heavy and one skewer is enough – even my pork belly loving friend agrees. So, you should definitely share! The sesame and teriyaki asparagus on the side was good, crispy yet cooked through.

     

    If you’ve read previous posts you’ll know I love miso marinated black cod. I pretty much try it everywhere and couldn’t pass up sampling it at Shibui. Although it wasn’t the best I’ve had (Yuzu No Hana and Blowfish still hold these titles) it was still delicious - flaky, tender and well flavoured. The side of corn glazed with yuzu butter was fine. But, I actually found the middle garnishes more intriguing with the zucchini topped with sesame oil pickled carrots and the pickled daikon flower – all devoured despite the abundance of food already consumed.


    To end, we shared amongst the table the passion fruit mousse (extremely sweet but one friend really liked it), mango gelato (creamy and devoid of the dreaded fake mango taste) and petit gateau (a rich dense dark chocolate cake). Honestly, none of these wowed me, but I don't have a sweet tooth so it really has to be good for me to want more. My fellow diners enjoyed them and all were polished off by the end.


    From the savings calculated below, you’ll get a sense that Shibui’s Summerlicious menu is a great deal. Certainly, it’s one of the highest calculated savings I’ve had as a Licious dinner. So, based on the numbers – this is a steal! I highly suggest you make a reservation and try it now as Shibui’s normal prices can be a bit steep. But, if you can’t make it out by July 20th, have no fear, as they do offer a fixed price lunch with many of the same items for $20.



    Let’s be clear, Shibui isn’t a traditional Japanese restaurant; their dishes have been modified for the North American palette. But, we need a bit of each. Slap more spicy mayo on those rolls I say because the Shibui salmon maki was just as great as a plain piece of fresh salmon any day. 

     Is Summerlicious worth it?

     As a special feature to the Summerlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

     Summerlicious - $25

     Regular menu - $60 - crispy rice with tuna ($14), pirikara ebi maki ($12), grilled black cod ($22), grilled asparagus ($7) and petit gateau* ($5)

     Savings - $35 or 58%

     * The dessert isn't part of their regular menu; the price based on a wild guess

      Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
      Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications -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!

      Big Fishermen (New Orleans)

      Posted on Wednesday, July 09, 2014 by
      Location: New Orleans, USA
      Address: 3301 Magazine Street
      Website: http://www.bigfishermanseafood.com/


      The Big Fishermen isn't a restaurant, but plenty of hungry people visit for their take-out area. Here, they offer a variety of hot boiled seafood at affordable prices. We swung by to pick up a pound of large sized crawfish (approximately a dozen) and four pieces of corn all for only $8!


      The crawfish were fresh and succulent. Following recommendations from New Orlean natives, I made sure to suck out all the "juices" in the head – a broth of wonderful umami filled essence. You may be squeamish at first but the taste of the salty seafood concentrated juices is well worth taking the plunge. Even the corn was well seasoned from being boiled with seafood and seasonings with a real spicy kick to it.
      Of course, the only drawback was that the Big Fishermen had no dining area. Some people travel by bike to nearby parks. We walked about a block and found a grassy area with some rocks that would have to serve us our table. After all, we just wanted to eat the crawfish while they were still hot! But, the experience was a tad messy, thankfully we had Purell, water and plenty of napkins. The crawfish were absolutely delicious, if only they were enjoyed in the comfort of a table with a cold drink the experience would have been perfect.


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       Photo Sources:
      1. Special thank you to my friend Jill for the picture!



      Café du Monde (New Orleans)

      Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2014 by
      Location: New Orleans, USA
      Address: 813 Decatur Street
      Website: http://www.cafedumonde.com/
      Type of Meal: Breakfast or Snack
      Café du Monde is not hard to find - just walk along Decatur and look for a bustling patio and you've found it. Luckily, tables turn over quickly or there’s always a takeout option (walk past the patio and look for a line-up by the back of the building).


      As a warning, they have a limited menu - there are only beignets and drinks. But, everyone who visits is coming for the pillows of joy, the lovely freshly made French doughnuts that they call beignets. Arriving three to an order ($2.42) my best advice is to plan accordingly … trust me you'll want at least two!

      So what makes them so good that a restaurant can sustain itself for over 150 years going head-to-head with the likes of Dunkin Donuts? Well, simply because they are unlike any doughnut I've tried before. They're crispy, light and airy but also has a delightful chewy consistency to them. The closest thing I can compare it to is a cruller mixed with a sweet Chinese fried dough pocket (ham chim peng). Simply dusted with powdered sugar, there's plenty of it on the plate so you can customize the beignet’s sweetness. 



      It's the chewiness and all the air pockets in the middle that makes this so good. Of course, constantly being made fresh, due to the popular demand, doesn't hurt either. 



       Intrigued by what chicory would taste like I also tried their cafe au lait ($2.42).  Cafe du Monde's website describes that this endive root as being added to soften the bitter edge of coffee.  I'll admit, the cafe au lait was light and creamy, but I'm not sure if this is attributed to the chicory or merely the whole milk used in the coffee. Nonetheless, you do need something bitter to counteract the sugariness of the doughnut. As a tip, consider getting the coffee in the "iced" form as it will arrive in a plastic cup perfect for taking to go. 


      Overall mark - 8.5 out of 10
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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!



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