Sariwon (Thornhill)

Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2013 by
Location: Thornhill, Canada
Address: 7388 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Dinner

 Mentioning Korean barbeque in Toronto brings up images of all you can eat restaurants where diners cram around a small table and cook thinly sliced meat on a cast iron plate. The quality of the meat is usually subpar but the prices are cheap and food is plentiful.  Sariwon is where you can go to experience authentic Korean barbeque cooking in a comfortable environment.

Located in a retail plaza on the bottom of condo buildings, the location is surprisingly large with tons of tables and several tucked away in separate rooms.  Tables are spaced a comfortable distance away from each other so you don’t feel like you’re spying on you’re the cooking skills of your neighbours.
Sariwon serves an extensive menu with Korean non-barbeque dishes (pork bone soup, bibimbap, etc.) as well as a couple of pages dedicated to Chinese cuisine.  However, you get a sense to stay away from all these as everyone who comes generally gets their barbeque mains.  To be fair, it appears this is what they do best as the goon man doo (dumplings) ($6.95) we ordered to begin was pretty disappointing – tasteless pork filling wrapped in thin oily deep-fried dough.  It needed something more - vegetables to add some texture, sauce to give it some flavour, really anything to make it taste less like store bought frozen dumplings.

Before the mains arrived, two complimentary appetizers came first - salad with a homemade orange dressing and a vegetable omelette pancake.  Nothing that blows your mind but of course appreciated.  I particularly liked that their pancake wasn’t too doughy and had a fair amount of vegetables sprinkled throughout.

 Next came a boiling bowl of deonjang jjigae (soybean paste tofu soup) filled with cubes of tofu, slivers of vegetables, button mushrooms and pieces of octopus.  I could have just eaten that with a bowl of rice.  The savoury soup had just a hint of spice from the chilies in it and with the plethora of ingredients really became a hearty stew.

Deonjang jjigae


 Finally our mains arrived, which required a trolley to serve with the abundance of banchan (small side dishes to share) that came with it.  In total, we received eight dishes (not all pictured) including:
  • Napa cabbage kimchi
  • Cucumber kimchi
  • Some sort of pickled vegetable (radish or coyote vegetable) in a jalapeño brine
  • Spicy blanched bean sprouts tossed in sesame oil
  • Julienned fish pancakes mixed in a sweet and sour vinaigrette
  • Oyster sauce (?) stir fried peanuts
  • Julienned raw potato salad
  • Stir fried dried shrimp in a sweet soy sauce

With the exception of the dried shrimp, I liked them all.  I appreciated that the kimchi was not too fermented so the vegetables retained their crispness.  The various flavours and acidity of the dishes went well with the heaviness of the meat. 
 

For the barbeque meats, we ordered sam kyub sal (pork belly) ($18.95) and yang yum kalbi (marinated beef short ribs) ($26.95).  The pork belly wasn’t what I expected; arriving like strips of bacon except being tasteless given it hadn’t been smoked or salted.  It was bland and after cooking tasted like grilled boiled pork so I wouldn’t order again.  The kalbi was much better, tender and marinated so that it was flavourful but not overpoweringly sweet.  Additionally, it was cut to a good thickness – not too thin that it overcooked easily but also not so thick that you felt you had to gnaw at it.  
A basket of crisp romaine lettuce and a green onion soy vinaigrette salad accompanied the meats so that you could wrap them like ssam.  Each person also received a dish of sweet bean paste of peppered sesame oil to add more flavour if required.  I really enjoyed the bean paste and finished every drop of it.
Lettuce dishes


Small bowls of soojong gwa (chilled ginger-cinnamon tea) finished off our meal.  The pieces of crushed ice floating in the sweet liquid were perfect after sitting beside the heat of the grill.



Sariwon is great place to go with a group of friends if you just want to take your time having dinner.  We didn’t feel rushed and the staff generally left us alone until we called them with the button situated on the wall beside our table.  The drinks were reasonably priced; bottles of Sapporo only set us back $5 apiece.  What you end up paying is comparable with the all-you-can-eat Korean barbeque places but you’re in a more comfortable environment.  The two meat dishes was more than enough to satisfy three people and we were stuffed given the soup, salad, rice and banchan that’s also served with it.  In the future, I’ll be visiting Sariwon when I want Korean barbeque.



 Overall mark - 7.5 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!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html


Khao San Road (Toronto)

Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 326 Adelaide Street West
Website: http://khaosanroad.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner
Khao San Road is a location in Thailand where backpackers go for reasonably priced hotels, bars & partying and right before Thailand’s New Year the Songkran festival.  The festival marks the start of the year where people splash water on each other to express love and goodwill towards each other; after all, what could be friendlier than getting a bucket of water in the face?  The Khao San Road in Toronto follows custom by organizing a water fight in April, if you’d like to join in the tradition without leaving the city.  On this visit we didn’t partake in the water fight but just enjoyed the food.
Ordering “family style” we tried a number of dishes. To start we had two deep fried appetizers.  First up was the arhan whang taud samoon prai (deep fried garlic shrimp) ($10) consisting of six butterflied shrimps coated in garlic, spices & breadcrumbs and then deep fried.  The waft of garlic hits your nose as soon as the dish arrives.  However, it’s not overpowering in taste, especially if you dip it into the accompanying sweet tamarind sauce.  There is a hint of spice in the batter so you’re left with a hint of heat on the tongue.  The dish is definitely worth a try.



For the second appetizer we tried gra bong (fried squash fritters) ($10), which is an impressive looking dish with the plumes of deep fried tendrils. Made from spaghetti squash, the fritters are sweet and remind me of a crispier funnel cake.  If you like batter then this is the dish for you; for me it was a bit much and I wouldn’t order again.



Khao San Road offers patrons a choice, in most dishes, of:
  • Protein – tofu, chicken, beef, pork or with a $1 supplement shrimp; and
  • Level of spiciness - mild, medium or spicy.  We opted for medium to be safe, but with the exception of the green curry I couldn’t really taste much heat. Accordingly, feel free to order up a level!

 One of my favourite dishes of the night was the gaeng kaew wan (green curry) ($13).  Tender pieces of chicken breast were mixed with bell peppers, bamboo shoots, Thai basil and Kaffir lime leaves in a green chilies and coconut milk sauce.  I normally don’t like coconut milk, but it had just the right amount to add to its aroma and give the sauce a rich taste. Although it comes with a bowl of rice, there simply isn’t enough of it for the quantity of curry you’re given.  Tip, order a side of jasmine rice ($3) so that you can eat ever last drop of the delicious curry.

 


 It’s refreshing to see pad thai that’s not bright red, but rather a caramel colour, which is more in line with the noodles I had in Thailand. Khao’s Sam Roas (Chef’s special pad thai) ($15) is less saucy, but still has a robust flavour which is more sour /savoury and less sweet than you may be used to. I liked it but wasn’t blown away.  I can’t put my finger on what I felt the dish was lacking; it could be it wasn’t spicy enough or I’m so used to pad thai having the crunch of bean sprouts and other vegetables that I miss them in this dish.

 

The pad phed pha (beef with red curry paste and vegetables) ($13) was the most disappointing dish of the evening.  Even though the beef was tender, there wasn’t a memorable taste; I recall it was savoury, had a hint of spice, but was mostly oily tasting. The dish arrives disheveled looking compared to other dishes.  The dish could benefit from being plated like the green curry – sauce in bowl and rice in another bowl on the side – given it’d look more appealing and the oil would pool at the bottom.
 

Khao San Road’s wine list is written on a chalk board.  Depending on where you’re sitting, it can be quite difficult to read.  We ended up getting a bottle of the Dienhard “green label” riesling ($32) which was quite good for the price.  Fruity and crisp tasting, without being overly sweet, the wine went well with the spicy food.

Ultimately, the meal was respectable.  The mark Khao San Road earned could have been a 7, but I’d likely not return due to their no reservation policy.  After two failed attempts, I was finally able to try the restaurant by opting to go by 6:00 on a Wednesday evening.  Luckily, we only waited for 10 minutes.  But, upon leaving at 7:30 there was a huge line out the doors.  Maybe others don’t mind the wait, but it’s not for me – if you care to read my rant on no reservation policies please visit http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.ca/2013/04/my-no-reservations-policy-rant.html.

Khao’s food was good, but I visit a Malaysian restaurant called Restoran Malaysia (please see my post here http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.ca/2012/11/restoran-malaysia-toronto.html ) that tastes very similar.  But Restoran Malaysia takes reservations, offers a more extensive menu and the serves larger dishes that cost less.  So, next time I’m craving spicy comfort carbs, I’ll just make my way up north.



 Overall mark - 6.5 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!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html


My no reservation policy rant

Posted on Monday, April 08, 2013 by

When did the no reservations policy become the norm?


A big pet peeve of mine is a restaurant that doesn’t take reservations.  Perhaps this policy serves a purpose if you’re a quick turnover noodle shop, grab-and-eat café or fast-food in nature.  But, if you’re serving multiple courses (appetizer, mains and desserts), have a dining room and courses are $10+, you can afford to take reservations.


Of course, I understand why busy restaurants do this – why would they want to waste precious money generating opportunities by having vacant waiting tables? Instead, they’d rather just make their patrons wait for an hour and arrive starving and ready to eat anything.
To restaurants out there that don’t take reservations, I offer the following recommendations:
  1. Take reservations, but limit it to a percentage of dining room space or number of tables.  For example, if your restaurant seats 100, you may opt to take reservations to fill 20% (or 20 people) for every seating.  Customers who really want to eat at your establishment will call in advance to score a reservation.  Those who are unwilling to wait for a reservation are still welcomed to visit on a first-come first-serve basis for the remaining 80% of your space.
  2. To reduce the chance of having idle tables, implement a strict time adherence policy. If you’re not here in 15 minutes we give away your table; you can’t call to hold, you must physically be in the door.  Of course, be sure to explain this to the individual, write it on your website/confirmation email and/or remind them when calling the day before. But, you’ve fairly given them a chance to reserve and if they can’t show up on time you shouldn’t be expected to hold a table indefinitely.  Having a strict time adherence policy rather than banning all reservations is what can help limit “wasted” resources.
I sincerely hope more restaurants will implement the above.  Sure, you may be busy now, but the hype will eventually die down.  Those who’ve tried your restaurant but had to wait a long time will likely not return.  So, think of it this way, taking reservations may be your insurance to cultivating long-term relationships.  After all, happy customers are returning customers.


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CLOSED Bushi Udon Kappo (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, April 06, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 1404 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Dinner

 According to Google, “Bushi” represents a warrior class while “Kappo” denotes Japanese cooking methods - cutting, boiling, stewing & frying.  So, together, Bushi Udon Kappo could be translated as the warrior of cooking udon.   I don’t know how many martial arts moves is required to make these bowls chewy noodles, but I certainly welcome any warrior that makes their own noodles in-house.

Thankfully, Bushi also allows guests to make reservations!  Sadly, this is a rarity with many of the new establishments.  Well, I commend them for it and welcome the change.  Plus, it would be best for patrons to call ahead given the dining room only seats 34.  With its white wash walls and bundles of twigs adorning the wall, the restaurant is minimally decorated.  You’re definitely going for the food and not the surroundings.

During this visit, my friends and I ordered all three types of udon so we could try the difference.

Firstly, there’s the tried and true traditional hot udon where the noodles arrive in a bowl of hot broth.  Opting for the shrimp tempura version ($9.50), we asked for the tempura on the side to avoid the batter getting soggy.  The noodles arrived piping hot in a clear, clean tasting soy-bonito broth.  Unlike a bowl of ramen, the broth for udon is not oily (given it’s flavoured with seaweed and bonito flakes rather than pork bones) and isn’t as salty.  On the side, patrons are given a bottle of shichimi tōgarashi (seven flavour chili spice) to add as they please.  The noodles are thinner than what you may be used to and have a chewier, denser and smoother texture. The tempura was all right, but I found a bit bland given there’s nothing but broth to dip it into.


 


 The next to arrive was my favourite, the tsuke udon with pork and onion ($10.50).  With the tsuke style, the udon is served separately, and then is dipped into a bowl of hot soup.  The soup itself is more condensed than the regular hot kind and has a lot more soy sauce and seasonings in it.  Accordingly, the soup would be salty to drink but good for dipping or mixing the noodles into.  The noodles were pretty much the same, except a little more al dente, but mixed with the flavourful soup was heavenly.  The pork and onion were once again nothing exciting but rather thin shavings of each inside the soup.

 


 The last version to be served was the zaru udon ($7.50), where the udon is served cold and topped with shredded nori.  To flavour this noodle, there is a cold flavourful dipping sauce (made from soy and other sauces) and dishes of grated ginger and chopped green onions to add as you please.  The zaru was the least exciting of the bunch, but would be refreshing on a hot summer day.



Aside from udon, Bushi also serves sushi and other hot dishes.  The miso marinated grilled pork ($9.50) consisted of five slices of the most tender and flavourful pork I’ve had in a long time.  A handful of mixed greens is on the side and has an amazing miso dressing.  If I return, I’d like to order a helping of just the salad given the dressing was so good.

 

Of course, I had to try my one of my favourite dishes, the grilled black cod ($10.50), which was buttery and flavourful just like black cod should be.  I only wish the fish could be cut into thicker pieces as it was difficult to pick up and looked somewhat haphazardly thrown onto the plate.





In the end, I was pleased with experience.  My suggestion would be to definitely try the tsuke udon as it’s unique and unlike the other udons throughout the city.  The toppings included with the noodles are average, so ordering some of their grilled plates to share instead may be the better option.  Given Bushi is close to St. Clair station and has a parking lot close by with $5 parking, I will definitely be returning.


Overall mark - 7.5 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!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html







CLOSED: Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill (Toronto)

Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 33 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Lunches and Brunch

 The O&B Café downtown is certainly in a prime location.  So after having lunch here three times over the last two weeks, I thought I’d share my experience with everyone.  After all, if you work in the downtown core, it’s a popular choice, so you’ll  likely end up here sometime soon.

One of my favourite dishes at O&B is their mushroom soup ($5.95/cup or $8.75/bowl).  The earthy pureed soup tastes creamy but doesn’t contain any butter or cream. To contrast the smooth texture, O&B tops it with snippets of chives and enoki mushrooms.  The soup is of course served piping hot, which is welcomed during the cold winter season.
The mains, on the other hand, have always been decent but never exceptional.  Some of the recent dishes I’ve tried are:
The breakfast pizza ($14.95), available on their weekend brunch menu, is topped with caramelized onions, maple glazed ham, cheese and a sunny side-up egg. The crust is thin and chewy but because of the uneven distribution of toppings (too heavily concentrated in the centre) the middle becomes soggy and gross.  In keeping with the breakfast these, the egg is useful for dipping your crust into.

If you’re hungry, their chicken burger ($15.25) is a large and is accompanied by a generous portion of sweet potato fries.  Topped with bacon (soft and not “crispy” as noted on their menu), cheese, crisp romaine lettuce, a thick slice of beefsteak tomato and red onions there are certainly a lot of flavours and textures.  Expecting the chicken to be a piece of chicken breast, I was surprised when it ended up being a chicken mixture formed into a patty. Although the patty was juicy, the consistency was a bit soft for my preference. 

During the latest visit, I tried the seared cheery snapper tacos ($15.95). Mixed feelings are abounding for this dish.

  • I enjoyed the plethora of sauces filling the tacos – avocado crema, sweet bbq/mole type sauce, tangy pineapple chutney and a dish of sour cream made each bite flavourful.  It also had great texture from the mix of coleslaw, sliced radishes and cilantro (albeit wilted).
  • But, improvements could be made to make this dish better.  Firstly, the store bought tortillas have got to be changed.  Understandably, O&B is not a Mexican cantina but sourcing hand-made tortillas can’t be that difficult in the city!  Secondly, the fish to toppings ratio is dismal given I could hardly taste the pan fried snapper; the coleslaw to fish ratio must be revisited.  Thirdly, what I like about Mexican food is the heat!  The three thinly sliced pickled jalapenos is simply not enough. Lastly, please invest in metal taco stand/holders.  Indeed, I enjoyed all the sauces, but after finishing my first taco, the second tortilla was soggy from being saturated from the extra moisture.  O&B, I can assure you that guests do not like soggy wraps that leave hands sticky.

If you’re not afraid of insanely fat and calorie-laden dishes, you should try the O&B macaroni & cheese ($15.95).  A shallow dish filled with elbow macaroni drenched in a creamy, buttery, white cheddar & Gruyère sauce.  As if that weren’t enough, pieces of roasted chicken, peas and dollops of goat cheese are mixed throughout.  I suggest ordering with an entrée salad and sharing with a friend as the dish is very rich.

 Macaroni and cheese (1)
Overall, I’ve always liked my order, but with the exception of their soup, have never ordered anything I’d want to have again.  Perhaps, for O&B Café & Grill, food is not the big draw.  Rather, it’s their central location, substantial dining area that can accommodate groups of any size and the professional & efficient service that attracts their patrons.  Whatever the attraction, O&B continues to be a popular lunch destination.



 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!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html


Photo Sources:
  1. Macaroni and cheese - Monster Media (http://www.monstermedia.ca/press-release/236-oliver-a-bonacini-opening)



CLOSED: Swish by Han (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, March 31, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 38 Wellington Street East    
Type of Meal: Dinner

 Swish by Han has a deceiving name, you may think the restaurant is German or Austrian, but in reality, is a Korean tapas restaurant.  The price points are much higher than most Korean restaurants, but most of the food is prepared to a higher caliber.  I stress the word most because not everything is better and perhaps not better for restaurants that are “known” for a particular dish, but on an overall basis is better than most. 

During this visit, we started with the sweet chili and garlic prawns ($12).  The sauce is exactly as described, sweet, a bit spicy and a kick of garlic; all great flavours.  The shrimp were deep fried and then stir fried with the sauce.  Overall, the dish was good but not amazing and lacking a Korean flare to it.  In terms of value for money, the dish definitely isn’t worth what it’s asking for.


 
The lobster “bi bim bbap” ($18), was a dish I had on our first visit and loved, so insisted we get it again.  Sadly, it wasn’t as good as I remembered.  I believe the problem stemmed from the waitress putting it down and stirring it up right away (sorry, the picture looks like a pot of mess as I wasn’t quick enough to snap a picture before the destruction began).  I understand, this is the correct way to eat it – drizzle in the thick sweet and spicy gochujang sauce then mix until all the ingredients are disbursed.  But, this also makes the deep fried lobster mushy and doesn’t give the rice a chance to develop a crispy crust on the bottom.  I would have much preferred if they just served it, explained what the customer should do and let them decide when the moment to mix is.




Our last dish was the best of this evening, the “dak kogi” (chicken) ssäm set ($25).  The teriyaki type glazed chicken is served on a hot sizzling skillet with slivers of carrots, cucumbers and onion.  To eat, you take a piece of romaine lettuce, add the ingredients, top with any condiment you like (we were given gochujang sauce, raw onion mixed in a pickled kimchi sauce), then wrap it up and ingest! My first experience having ssäm, I really liked it and would love to go back to try the beef or pork versions.   






During a past visit, I tried the Swish Seafood ($30), which is like shabu shabu or hot pot.  A small pot of broth is brought to the table along with plate of raw shrimp, mussels, vegetables and noodles.  It’s a good option for someone who doesn’t like spicy or overly strong tastes – compared to other items on their menu.  However, for someone that loves bold flavours, I found it to be pretty bland.  Plus, because you’re only cooking a few ingredients within the broth, it didn’t develop that lovely deep essence I normally associate with broth based cooking.

 Many reviews note the service here is poor, I didn’t find that to be the case.  I would say there were better servers than other – a gentleman that took our order was nice and explained everything and offered suggestions, while the lady server was a bit moody and offered one word answers (she was also the one that mixed up the bi bim bbap without asking). In the end, it wasn’t extremely friendly service but no one was overtly rude either.             

 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!

The Doctor's House (Kleinburg)

Posted on Friday, March 29, 2013 by
Location: Kleinburg, Canada
Address: 21 Nashville Road
Website: http://thedoctorshouse.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner


 The Doctor’s House is situated in the quaint village of Kleinburg, north west of Toronto.  If you haven’t had a chance to visit, I would suggest going for the view and charm alone. The house is aptly named as historically was occupied by doctors and didn’t become a restaurant until the 1970s.  The dining room has lovely wooden beams and tables placed in nooks and crannies. 

Given its traditional roots, we had better luck with the classic dishes (Ceaser salad, steak and lamb) while the “newer” dishes (calamari, Kobe burger and osso bucco) were a bit lack luster.       

After ordering, a wonderful dish of warm bread was brought to the table.  I love bread and this one tops the list.  Topped with olives, roasted garlic cloves and sitting in an olive oil and spice mixture the bread was amazing.  So much so that we got another order of it!

 

To start I had the jumbo shrimp cocktail ($15) which consisted of three large prawns with cocktail sauce and a mayo.  I thought it was fine and liked the size of the shrimp.  They could have provided a bit more cocktail sauce as I had run out of it after the second shrimp. 


My husband had the Ceaser salad ($12) and noted it was good.  Our friend, on the other hand, ordered the calamari fritti ($14) and was disappointed given they tasted and looked like the frozen ring type.  If a restaurant is to offer calamari it really should be made fresh and battered in house.

My main of pan roasted rack of lamb ($48) was great.  Two pieces of thick lamb chops were encrusted in a flavourful herb and spice mixture.  The accompanying cabernet sauvignon reduction was a nice consistency and went well with the perfectly cooked chops.  Buttery mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables (zucchini and peppers) also came with the dish.

 

The Kobe beef burger ($28), my husband’s main, was dry and a bit bland.  The burger did come with a side of caramelized onions, but needed some type of sauce to give the beef more taste and moisture.  Accompanying the burger was freshly made fries that were average.


Their tiramisu (I believe is $9) was rich and thick.  I liked that it was in cup rather than cake form to seal in the moisture.  I like mine to have a bit more espresso soaked lady fingers so that it’s super moist but the Doctor’s House version wasn’t bad.  The vanilla wafer chip on top was also good.


The flourless chocolate cake (also may be $9) was very rich and appears to be made from dark chocolate so wasn’t overly sweet.  The slight bitterness went well with the sweet vanilla ice cream.  They certainly gave a generous portion of this dessert, so it’s a good one for sharing. 

 

It did take us a while to get seated on the night we went, about 5 minutes, as the hostess wasn’t at the podium when we arrived.  But, when she did, she sat us quickly and was friendly and courteous. 

As a warning, this isn’t the place to go to for a quick bite; you have to have time and be willing to wait. The Doctor’s House is an old school restaurant where courses are brought out slowly – they are not looking to turn over tables multiple times a night, you can really sit back and enjoy the company of your friends and family. 


Overall mark - 6.5 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!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html


Kinton Ramen 1 (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, March 23, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 51 Baldwin Street
Website: http://kintonramen.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner

 The crowd of people at the door may scare you off at first.  But, it must be good if people are willing to wait 30 minutes to an hour for a bowl of noodles?  Luckily, although Kinton looks small, given its narrow layout, with efficient seating and quick turnaround the line actually moves pretty quickly.  But, as a warning, in keeping with this get in and out quick philosophy you cannot, under any circumstance or amount of negotiation, be seated until your entire party arrives.

Similar to most ramen places the seating consists of many bar stools and high top tables.  Décor is kept simple with the focal point being the cooking area in the middle of the room where two chefs deftly showcase their preparation skills.  Aside from cooking, the chefs also lead the way in shouting greetings and so-longs to people.  Kinton, like all the restaurants under the Guu chain, has an upbeat and friendly environment. 

On their drinks menu, they have an interesting section titled the “beer cocktail”.  Normally, I don’t like beer, but decided to try the Panache ($6) which is Sapporo mixed with lemonade.  The concoction was refreshing and reminded me of having a Hoegaarden except lighter, sweeter and more lemony.  This would definitely be a great refreshing summer drink!

Kinton’s menu allows customers to personalize their broth intensity – light, regular or rich.  I opted for the regular broth in hopes of avoiding another ultra-salty experience; luckily it worked out as I hoped.  Regrettably, intensity is also linked with the richness of the broth as I found the soup weak compared to Momofuku and Santouka.  It seems like they just dilute the “rich” broth depending on what you order.  What I would like is a broth that is as flavourful as “rich” but as salty as “regular” - is that too much to ask?
This time, I opted for the “shio” or salted broth and am happy to announce I found the version I like.  Although the miso (fermented bean paste) and shoyu (soy sauce) based broths are good, I find both agents overpowering so it ends up masking the natural ingredients present in the broth itself.  Shio, conversely, allows the taste of the pork and chicken bones to shine through.  I also tried some of my friend’s spicy garlic ramen broth; for those who like it spicy this one sure has a kick to it.  But, you definitely wouldn’t want to order this on a date as there is an overwhelming amount of garlic in the soup. 



Kinton’s noodles are thicker than its competitors, so they are chewier and not as “springy” in texture.  Neither is better, but rather a matter of preference.  I prefer the springy bite of the medium width noodles, but also liked that these thicker noodles stayed at the al dante texture longer than its thinner counterparts. 

Where the competition outshines Kinton is in the meat.  Given a choice of shoulder or pork belly, neither is that good.  I prefer the shoulder cut which is surprisingly more tender and also enjoyed the seared smoky exterior. The pork belly, on the other hand, was disappointing.  Cut into long, thick bacon-like strips it was difficult to eat.  Additionally, it wasn’t cooked long enough to render the fat to a melting point. In the end, I just ate the meat and left all the fat as it had a tough and gross texture. 

The distinguishing aspects of the ramen were perhaps the “fixings” that come with it.  I liked that there were scallions and pieces of nori, things that are sometimes left out at other restaurants.  But the unassuming egg triumphs all – fully cooked on the outside but wonderfully soft-boiled and oozing on the inside, the timing that must be required to achieve this is remarkable.


Overall, I liked Kinton but found it lagged behind its competitors.  To be fair, their price ($9.50) is less the bowls from Momofuku ($15) and Santouka ($15.95) that I’m comparing it to.  But, if I was going to wait half an hour to eat some noodles, I’d rather splurge an extra $5 and get something that’s better quality. 

Overall mark - 6 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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