CLOSED: East Thirty Six (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 36 Wellington Street East
Type of Meal: Dinner


To clarify, East Thirty Six is not affiliated with Lucien or the Oyster Bar which previously resided at the space. The menu and ownership is completely new. Indeed, when you walk inside, the dining room has been updated with a large illuminated bar and more size appropriate furniture. It actually feels airy and spacious compared to the former supper club.

The large bar works well as East Thirty Six wants to be known as a place for cocktails. For the after work crowd, on weekdays from 4-7 there are happy hour specials - $5 for a Mill Street beer or mixed drink and $8 for a martini. Alas, despite a tall refreshing looking cocktail being displayed on the happy hour menu, there are no deals for these. However, their martinis are a nice substitute, my French martini was deliciously made with vodka, Chambord raspberry liqueur and pineapple juice.


Drinking the night away could get messy without food, so two friends and I opted to share several of their offerings. The bone marrow ($16) was our favourite. It was well-done, smooth and even had some excess oil for dipping. Some may find it overcooked but I personally prefer marrow cooked through so there's no bloody pieces. Flavoured with an herb mixture and salt it was great to spread across the grilled bread. On the side, a dish of smooth chicken liver parfait to include a slightly sweet element to everything.



 The smoked sweetbreads ($15) was another great find. Tender pieces of battered sweetbreads were cut into nuggets and deep fried crispy. On the side a great smoky and vibrant poblano and romesco sauce that went well with the neutral sweetbreads. On the bottom a simple slaw with some pistachio mixed throughout. A great easy to share plate for large groups.
 

Generally, we found their larger "mains" were good but the small plates which arrived earlier were better. Overall, the mains had great flavours and were artfully composed but, with the exception of duck confit, were a tad overdone. The shortrib ($21) needed a jus drizzled over top to give it more moisture as we found it dry for a shortrib. The accompanying spicy potato, arugula pistou (similar to pesto made with garlic, olive oil and arugula), sweet corn and turnips were nice and gave the dish an Argentinian flare.


The Berkshire pork belly ($20) was beautifully presented with a ricotta salata (a salty ricotta cheese which has been pressed and dried) topped fried egg. I thoroughly enjoyed the crispy pan fried gnocchi and broccoli sides, which with the egg were the dish highlights. The pork belly, while nicely flavoured, was tough to cut through. The skin could be thinner or rendered more as it was a bit chewy. Perhaps even just blow torching the top prior to serving would help to crisp up the skin.


One of my favourite dishes is duck confit ($23)… but it does mean I've had many versions of it throughout my lifetime. East Thirty Six's was decent and delicious - the duck tender, hot and flavourful. The sous-vide cooked duck egg was a great touch, adding a silky, creamy sauce over the pecorino semolina "grits". On the side were plump maitake or hen-of-the-wood mushrooms. Overall, the best of the three meaty dishes, in my opinion.


Our fellow diners also ordered a variety of dishes. Some of the interesting ones I snapped pictures are below. The octopus ($23) looked great and was served with smoked potatoes, a creamy tonnato sauce, olives and red mustard.


The cauliflower ($8) could be a great side with the meaty dishes with it slightly toasted and flavoured with capers, preserved lemon, brown butter, hazelnut and parsley.



I welcome East Thirty Six to the neighbourhood. They take reservations, service was great and there’s plenty on the menu to meet all desires. And of course their happy hour menu doesn’t hurt as well.

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!



CLOSED: County General (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 798 Queen Street East
Type of Meal: Brunch
Upon arriving at County General Riverside for weekend brunch, I was shocked to find the place empty. Sure, we had decided to meet earlier (10:30) to avoid the rush, but for me to be able to pick wherever I wanted to sit? Well that’s just refreshing. In fact, everything about County General is laid-back from their décor, staff, mismatched plates and non-rushed service. It takes some time for the food to arrive, but once it does you realize it’s worth the wait.

Wanting to have something savoury and sweet, my friend and I decide to split their famed chicken thigh sandwich ($12) and save room for “dessert”. The thick piece of fried chicken is delicious – oozing with juices, will brined and encased in a crunchy exterior. It’s actually the closest dish to reliving my lunch at Willie Mae’s Scotch House.


Slathered with a creamy avocado chutney, tangy pickled onions and a fair amount of fresh cilantro, these lightened the sandwich so it didn’t feel too gluttonous for the first meal of the day. We substituted the regular salad for kale ($2 supplement) which is well flavoured with a creamy roasted garlic sauce, fried capers, croutons and tons of shaved Thunder Oak gouda.

I’m so glad we decided to share so we could each enjoy a butter milk pancake ($4). Firstly, I must commend County General for selling their pancakes and French toast by the piece. It really helps indecisive individuals like me with being able to have a bit of everything. Generally, I lean towards ordering savoury dishes, but pancakes and French toast are those little made breakfast items I also crave.


County General’s pancake is unique; it’s denser and without the airy pockets. However, given its thinness the pancake still feels light. But, what makes it stand out is the deep crust that forms on the bottom (it’s a deep brown colour that if given another minute could border along burnt). This crust adds a great caramelized taste and smell to the pancake. Topped with plenty of maple syrup and stewed strawberries it’s worth saving room for.

Pictured below, but I did not try, are some of their other entrees my friends ordered. The croque madame ($12) made with pulled pork (instead of ham), fried egg, mornay sauce (a béchamel with cheese) and BBQ sauce. 


And the sausage and eggs ($12) served with tomato jam and hash browns. The sausages were served in a deep fried nugget form rather than links.


I’m so glad more restaurants are starting to open in the East end of the city. Since I live Uptown, the drive down is much easier, parking is a breeze (there’s unpaid street parking around the restaurant) and everything just seems calmer. After all, brunch should be a leisurely affair – who wants to feel hurried and arrive at a restaurant only to find a line-up?
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!



CLOSED: Los Colibris (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 220 King Street West (2nd floor)
Type of Meal: Dinner
It’s about time Toronto has a restaurant that serves upscale Mexican cuisine. Don’t get me wrong, I love tacos, burritos and chips with guacamole. But, I’m also intrigued by what authentic culinary creations Mexico has that don’t involve refried beans and cheese. As it turns out, there’s plenty. Dishes tend to have a Spanish flare augmented with a spicier kick.

Unlike their sister restaurant downstairs, Los Colibris is not a tequila bar. Nonetheless, their cocktail list still includes a variety of delicious sounding drinks. I started with the Zona Rosa ($12) a beautifully presented hibiscus margarita. Despite its vibrant pink colour and rimmed glass, it was thankfully not a sweet “girly” drink. Made with Tromba white rum, flor de Jamaica (a hibiscus tea), basil, mint and lime juice the cocktail was refreshing and light, great for the summer months.


Sharing the pulpo a la parrilla ($16) as an appetizer, it was a great start to the meal. Succulent pieces of plump grilled octopus were served with a refreshing basil, jalapeno & coriander oil sauce on the side. It was tender and meaty, tasting great by itself or wrapped into a fresh warm corn tortilla. With four tortillas and plenty of pieces of octopus, this is an excellent dish for sharing.


At first when the huachinango a la veracruzana ($24) arrived I was a little nervous. Sitting on top of the red snapper were tons of green olives and capers – two ingredients that are okay but I generally avoid. Little did I know that the spicy veracruz sauce was one made with tomatoes, olive oil, capers and olives. After taking a bite, I was pleasantly surprised as it was nicely balanced with salty, sweet and spicy elements. The olives and capers must have been soaked to rid it of the powerful briny taste. The sauce complimented the tender and flaky red snapper quite nicely and was also delicious at flavouring the poblano rice.


Sitting near the open kitchen, we were treated with the most intoxicating smells throughout our meal. Chef Elia Herrera didn’t seem present during our visit, but someone else was at the helm artfully plating the dishes in front of us. Many of the creations looked delicious, so much so that a return visit may be warranted to try some of their meatier offerings.


Overall mark - 8 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!


CLOSED: The Stockyards (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 699 St. Clair Avenue West
Type of Meal: Dinner
After visiting New Orleans and having delicious fried chicken at Willie Mae’s Scotch House, I was intrigued to sample what Toronto has to offer. The Stockyards was rated #1 in the city by Blogto, so naturally it seemed fitting to start with the best.

My friend warned me the restaurant is small with limited seating (about twenty bar stools facing the kitchen and wall). Since they don’t take reservations, we decided to head over earlier but found a line an hour long by 6:30. Luckily, the girl at the cash agreed to take down our number to call us when a table was ready. There are plenty of bars in the area to wait at. Since Stockyards isn’t licensed, also provided us the opportunity to have a drink before dinner.

Between the four of us we split two fried chicken dinners ($15). Each arrived in a cast iron skillet with four pieces of chicken, a large serving of fries, a decent sized coleslaw, ketchup and hot sauce.

The buttermilk marinated chicken was juicy and tender - even the denser breast pieces. The breading was crispy, thin and had some spice mixed into it. Personally, I would like a flakier crust to give more crunch and spices mixed into the buttermilk to brine the meat better. All in all, it was good fried chicken. Although I liked Stockyard’s chicken, I personally found the fried chicken at Patois more suited to my taste.

The sides were amazing! The fries were thin, crispy and full of potato flavour. Despite being stuffed I couldn’t help but continue to consume them. Additionally, the coleslaw was balanced between acidity and creaminess; I particularly liked the celery seeds mixed throughout.

Wanting to try some of the Stockyard’s famous BBQ (unfortunately, their ribs and chicken wasn’t available), we split a pulled pork sandwich ($8.50). The soft egg bun was piled high with big chunks of smoky meat. Although the pork was well flavoured, there could be more BBQ sauce – I like it saucy! Some coleslaw also topped the sandwich to add freshness. Note, when ordering sandwiches it will arrive by itself, for an extra $2.50 you can add a side of fries.

In an attempt to balance out the meaty starchy meal, we ordered a side of brussel sprouts ($6). They were delicious – cooked well (soft but still had bite to it) and flavourful from the addition of smoked ham and sriracha sauce. Consider ordering this as they arrive quickly and may help stave off hunger while waiting for the chicken to be made.

If the wait doesn’t appeal to you, Stockyards does offer take-out. In fact, it seemed to be a popular option. You should live in the area or be willing to eat without a table nearby as letting this delicious chicken sit in a paper container and get soggy would be a shame.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10
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!


CLOSED: Ginger and Onion 嘉仁宮 (Markham)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Markham, Canada
Address: 7131 Kennedy Road (in Market Village beside Pacific Mall)
Type of Meal: Brunch
I’ve visited Ginger and Onion throughout my childhood and due to its convenient location continues to be my family’s go-to dim sum choice. Admittedly, it’s neither the most delicious or cheapest option, but they are consistent and prices reasonable - $2.80 per dish (certain items such as steamed scallops & oysters cost more) and a $1 tea charge per person.

What attracts me most to Ginger is the variety of dishes they offer - there must be almost 100 types. Since dim sum is served cart style (read more about it here) they often have new "special" dishes adding further choices. They also offer many vegetarian options (a rare occurrence for most dim sum restaurants) so there's always something for everyone.

Of course, you will find steamed shrimp (har gow) & pork dumplings (siu mai) or BBQ pork buns here. These are traditional staple dishes that can be found at any dim sum restaurant. But, there are so many others dishes to try! In this post, I hope to introduce readers to some other common choices and encourage you to order them at your next brunch.

The steamed curry cuttlefish is simply prepared with the seafood marinated in a thick salty curry sauce and then cooked. The curry isn’t spicy and really is more for the colour and aroma. If you’ve never had cuttlefish, it’s similar to squid and octopus – the texture of squid but the thickness of octopus. The dish worth a try if you enjoy seafood. As a warning, sometimes the head of the cuttlefish can be gritty if not cleaned properly; just spit it out and wash your mouth out with some tea.


If you like steamed rice rolls, you’ll find plenty of options at Ginger. Essentially, soft white rice sheets wrapped with a choice of fillings. Shrimp (pictured below), beef paste and BBQ pork (my favourite) are the most popular. At Ginger, they also offer fish (tilapia fillets) and two vegetarian options that I also enjoy (Buddha delight and Chinese greens with prince mushrooms).


An alternative to the above you may want to try is the shredded chicken rice rolls. They’re smaller but has the same steamed rice sheet wrapped around a much bigger portion of filling. Made of tender dark chicken meat, crunchy black fungus and some other ingredients it’s more protein based and flavourful.


The steamed beef tendon takes some getting used to. As a child, I never liked it and found the sticky soft consistency off putting. But, I persisted through the years and it’s grown on me. The tendon is marinated in a savoury gravy/stew like sauce, then steamed until it gets soft and chewy. Plus, it’s rumoured to have beautifying properties from the natural collagen present in the tendon.


Wheeled around in a large clay pot and then spooned into smaller dishes are braised mixed vegetables with gluten. This may only be offered for dim sum at Ginger but can sometimes be found at vegetarian Buddhist restaurants. A mix of crispy snow peas, napa cabbage, earthy black mushrooms, crunchy white fungus and soft sauce soaked gluten pieces are cooked together in a thick flavourful sauce. Another vegetarian friendly choice.


During cold weather, it’s great to warm up with a bowl of steamed dumpling in soup. A silky piece of dough encapsulates ground pork, mushrooms, dried scallop and imitation crab. Everything is cooked in a flavourful seafood consume. Although it arrives with vinegar and ginger, I recommend you eat it by itself first to enjoy the delicious broth without the tart condiment.


You can also get congee at dim sum. It’s not as good as what you’ll find at congee restaurants but still decent. There are limited flavours (pork with thousand year preserved egg or dried fish with peanuts), my choice is the pork and egg. It’s fairly watery, so not as filling, but generally still has a nice amount of ingredients with it. They top it with green onions and peanuts, if you don’t like either just warn the lady to not add it when ordering.

 

For dessert, the egg custard sago pudding is a good choice. Best eaten warm (look for a cart that is filled with them) it’s a thick custard pudding mixed with sago (small clear tapioca balls) and a lotus paste centre. It’s not too sweet but has a rich satisfying quality to it.


When visiting with more people (I’d say at least four) you should try the large deep fried sesame glutinous balls. You’ll recognize them as they’re huge and arrive three to an order, there’s a smaller version of it that come in fours that’s filled with lotus paste. The larger ones are delicious especially when freshly fried. Although they look huge, it’s hollow inside but can still be quite filling due to the thick slightly sweet shell. All in all, a great combination of textures - a crispy sesame covered exterior but then soft and chewy on the inside.


For the dishes below, you can likely tell the picture is taken from a far. Although I’ve tried them in the past, they’re not my favourite so it’s rarely ordered unless during larger gatherings. With the rising in popularity of offal, here is an inexpensive way to try it.  Both are wheeled around together in stainless steel warming plates and are spooned into bowls as ordered to keep them piping hot.

One is a hodgepodge of offals that’s boiled for hours in a fragrant Chinese master sauce (lo shuy). You’ll often find stomach (tripe), liver and tongue in it. Juicy pieces of turnips can also be found throughout soaking up the delicious sauce (actually my favourite part of the dish). Chili oil is served on the side to give it more flavour should you require.


Another is blood jello. I know what you’re thinking … blood? But, it’s becoming a mainstream ingredient – Toronto’s Buca uses it. At dim sum the blood is mixed with a thickening agent so solidifies. Cubes of it are cooked in a thick savoury sauce and served with blanched chives and a liberal sprinkling of white pepper.


After reading the above, I’m sure there are some dishes that sound appealing and others a bit gross. Hopefully, it’s intrigued you enough to try something different on your next visit. My suggestion is try it once. Even if you don’t like it, persist and trying it again throughout your lifetime. After all, you may just develop a taste for something new and find it delicious.


 Overall mark - 8 out of 10
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!

CLOSED: Lychee Bay Cuisine 荔枝灣 (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Scarborough, Canada
Address: 4771 Steeles Ave E
Type of Meal: Dinner
My dinner at Lychee Bay Cuisine happened by chance. We had intended to eat at their neighbor, Ba Shu Ren Jia, only to be greeted by a renovations notice. Not wanting to find another place, Lychee Bay seemed like the best alternative - and it was a good choice. In fact, I ended up visiting again within the same month.

Lychee Bay is an area in Guangzhou that offers various seafood delicacies. At the restaurant, the large lobsters seems to be the popular choice amongst patrons. Unfortunately, their smallest lobster is five pounds ($16.95/lb) so unless you’re with a larger group it’s not the most conducive dish to order. So, we ordered a crab instead. Given that by itself it's already $50, the meal for four ($118 and includes a crab) is an economical choice.

To begin, the normal complementary pork and vegetable soup was substituted for shark fin (complementary soup pictured on left and shark fin on the right). I was a bit surprised it was real shark fin as I thought it’s banned in Toronto. Generally, for ethical reasons, I wouldn’t order it. But, I guiltily admit the soup base was good – thick and with a rich ham, chicken and seafood essence. It also had plenty of crab meat and shredded chicken. The shark fin itself is tasteless but adds a crunchy texture to the smooth base (personally I find bamboo shoots can serve the same purpose).


The star crab dish was steamed in Chinese wine allowing the crab’s natural sweetness to shine through. The crab was a bit thin so lacked the plump meat I’d like but was still satisfying. Underneath were thin bean thread vermicelli which soaks up all the delicious juices and is such a great part of the dish.


The stir fried clams with spicy black bean sauce was a decent interpretation and certainly had a kick from the chili pieces strewn throughout. The clams were a fair size and cooked perfectly.


If you’re ordering the set meal, remember – the vegetable dish that comes with it is yu choy (more on this later). Sitting in a flavourful supreme soup sauce with julienned Jinhua cured ham on top, it was good and not overdone.


The crispy roasted pigeon squab took forever to cook (we almost finished everything else before it finally came). But, it was worth the wait arriving piping hot, juicy and crispy. If you’ve never had pigeon squab, it’s a gamier fowl (more so than duck and quail) so can be an acquired taste. Marinated with five spice powder, soy sauce, vinegar and rice wine, the meat is full of flavour. Then it’s roasted and at some point blanched with hot oiled to really crisp up the skin. If you like Peking duck, you’ll probably want to try this dish.


On the whole, the set meal was fine but really not the greatest. Personally, I enjoyed the a la carte dishes more, even though they were more “everyday” non-fancy offerings. Below are the ones we've tried. 

Trust me, you’ll want to order the salt and squid ($8.95). Not only was it a huge portion at a low price, but the squid was tender, had a great crispy crust and was well flavoured. Although it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had (I’m partial to My Wonderful Kitchen), it was nonetheless delicious and satisfying.


The pan fried pork neck with lotus slice and chili ($12.95) may sound odd but is rather a tame dish. Essentially, the pork neck tastes like lean pork but more tender and has a somewhat crunchy bite to it. The lotus root is what drew me to the dish as I love when it’s just quickly stir fried and remains in its crispy fresh state. Just be mindful of the peppers mixed throughout as they’re much spicier than they look.


As a child, I loved having the sizzling “ja ja” chicken hot pot ($10.95) at a hole-in-the-wall in Broadview.  Sadly, the restaurant has long closed and I’ve been to various places trying to relive the wonderful taste. I didn’t find it at Lychee Bay but it wasn’t horrible. If only it wasn’t so overcooked (the chicken a bit shrunken looking and a tad dry) the dish would be better. Lychee Bay also adds sweet cured lap cheong to the dish to give it more flavour and a fatty essence.


The eggplant in hot pot ($8.95) was a mixture of sweet, spicy and savouriness. At Lychee Bay, I found the dish slightly tarter than most. But, this saucy dish is a great to eat with plain steamed rice.  


I found the stir fried snow pea leaves with prince mushroom ($16.95) to be an average interpretation. The vegetables were crispy and tender but the mushrooms sliced too thinly so the “meatiness” I enjoy in the mushroom was lost.


You’ll also receive a complementary dessert. During our first visit we were treated to a great milk soup with bird’s nest. It was such a great silky texture and ever so lightly sweetened. The second visit we were served tofu pudding, which is much plainer. But, it was piping hot and had a great soy flavour (rather than being the tasteless powdered versions that is so often served).


The service was refreshingly friendly and attentive … sadly, not something you can always expect at Chinese restaurants. However, each visit a mistake was made:
  • At the first dinner we were overcharged for a dish (sometimes it pays to be a blogger since I note down prices for each post). Of course, it could have been an honest mistake since Lychee Bay still makes bills manually and they were apologetic and fixed the error.
  • The second visit was worse and lowered the mark they ended up receiving. During this dinner we ordered the set meal. When the snow pea shoots arrived we naturally assumed it was the vegetable dish that’s part of the meal. It wasn’t until the second correct vegetable (yu choy) was served that we realized the error. The whole situation was rather uncomfortable as the waitress looked at us and asked if we still wanted the first dish. Indeed, we didn’t. But, having already eaten a portion, it seemed rather awkward to make her take it back. So, we grudgingly accepted it.


On the whole, these are small mistakes. But, you should carefully remember what you order and how much it costs. It won’t keep me away from visiting again (as I did enjoy the surroundings, service and dishes) but Lychee Bay won’t become a regular haunt. Their Cantonese style dishes were good; but, there are plenty of other restaurants that offer comparable versions without having to deal with the administrative errors. 


Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
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!

  


Pai Northern Thai Kitchen (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 18 Duncan Street
Website: http://www.paitoronto.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner
When Janet Zuccarini and Jeff Regular gets behind the kitchen and cooks Thai, people follow. I’ve been trying to get a taste of their original creations for years. From Khao San Road to Sukho Thai, it seems that every time I finally make it into the restaurant, they sneak away to open yet another place. This time I did it – I’ve eaten at Pai while the Regulars (as they are referred to by media) are still in power.

Since Khao San Road, they have realized that there is nothing wrong with taking reservations. As a person who hates waiting in lines, I’m thankful for that. And trust me, you’ll want reservations, as even visiting on a weeknight Pai was packed.

The set-up looks familiar – simple wooden tables packed close together in a long narrow restaurant. At Pai, there are a couple of cool features including a tatami sitting area and a rotating wooden barrel at the bar. Their menu still revolves around starchy Thai comfort foods, but sadly my beloved garlic shrimp is nowhere to be found.

On this visit, I took the advice of the waitress and ordered gaeng kiaw wan ($15). The green curry is served in a coconut, with an extra portion in a bowl on the side. Alas, other than being decorative the coconut doesn’t add much (I tried scraping the sides for some coconut meat but there was none to be found), but it sure does look nice.


The curry is chocked full of tender chicken slices, bamboo shoots and bell peppers, with basil and kaffir lime leaves to provide more flavour. To be safe, I went with a medium level of spiciness, so there was a bit of heat. But, the slightly sweet coconut milk was definitely more pronounced. So, I’d likely up it to the “foreigner spicy” level next time.

Keep in mind the spiciness of each dish really differs. My friend ordered her khao soi ($14) “mild” and I really didn’t find a noticeable change in heat between her noodle dish and my curry. I’ve had this egg noodles in golden curry dish at Sukho Thai and they taste similar. But, at Pai the beef arrives in much larger chunks – not good or bad but requires the eater to try to break it up with chopsticks.


Although I didn’t try it, the vegetarian pad thai ($14) my friend had smelled very good.


As a warning, food service is slow – so, you’ll likely not want to show up starving. The music is also much too loud, so I’d suggest sticking with a table of four or less if you want a chance of having a conversation. But, I’m glad for the opportunity to eat at a place Janet and Jeff are still managing; their creations do not disappoint. Well, may if Pai can add the crispy garlic shrimp to their menu… than it’d be even better.
Overall mark - 8 out of 10
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!




CLOSED: Sofra Mediterranean Cuisine (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 5025 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Dinner

Sofra Mediterranean Cuisine opened this year and looks rather unassuming from the outside. The “restaurant” is mostly a bright take-out area with a few tables scattered inside and out front. At first, I dismissed it as another fast food place, akin to Shawarma Max or Pita Pit. But, after walking by a few times and finding it busy at all hours, we were intrigued and stopped by for a late dinner.

As a warning, although you can be served while dining-in, it seems much quicker to just go inside and order at the cash register. It took less than five minutes to order, pay and pick our toppings and then brought over the finished plates to our table.

After seeing the size of the chicken shawarma laffa ($7.45; almost a foot long), my husband and I decided to share. In the end, we each still had a wrap the size of a regular Z-teca burrito. This was my first experience having laffa bread and found it had the chewiness of freshly baked naan but the thickness of a soft pita. The consistency is slightly denser, perhaps due to it being made from chickpea rather than wheat flour.



With tons of topping to choose from, we decided to let the lady put whatever she thought would be good (which ended up being everything). Unfortunately, I can’t remember all the ingredients but lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red cabbage, babaganoush, tahini, hummus, toum (garlic sauce) and skhug (hot sauce) were just a few of the things inside. The chicken was tender and there was decent portion of it. And while there were so many sauces, none of them were overpowering and worked well to complement each other. My husband and I both agreed it was one of the better shawarma wraps we’ve ever had.



Seeing a pile of baklava ($3.50) sitting on display, we couldn’t help but have one for dessert. Although it was soaked in a buttery syrup, we found it was at least not too sweet. Of course, it contained some customary chopped nuts, but Sofra’s also seemed to incorporate a fig paste as well.



With other locations across the GTA, Sofra is not exactly the one-off Mom & Pop shop we originally thought. Based on the pictures on their website, the North York site seems to be the most casual as the other locations appear to be more restaurant–like. But, even though it was small, it felt cozy, especially with the welcoming attitude of all the staff. 


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!


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