Toronto’s definition of Hakka cuisine isn’t necessarily correct. Rather than linking it to the style of cooking from Hakka Chinese individuals, images of flavourful Chinese Indian dishes come to mind instead.

Federick is a Scarborough institution and although people argue whether it’s deteriorated through the years, I find their offerings just as filled with spices and plentiful as from my youth. Their dining room has been revamped, not exactly palatial but the comfier seating and bright colours a step up from the hole-in-the-wall I remember.

Perhaps their most famous dish is the chicken pakora ($8.99), deep fried nuggets of sizzling hot juicy chicken adorning every table in the restaurant. Marinated so the saltiness runs deep into the chicken, specks of green chilies peak out of the batter to remind you of where the spicy, but bearable, heat originates.

The chili chicken ($8.99) could use more spices, the main flavour derived from the soy sauce that forms the gravy that coats the diced meet. Nevertheless, it’s a fragrant dish and goes well with the steamed rice and what heat it lacks there are pungent hot sauces on the table that can always be added.

Despite the flecks of redness over the kan shue green beans ($7.50), they aren’t spicy. Although, this could be on account of the pakora and chili chicken already numbing the taste buds by the time the third dish arrives. I love the garlicky bits coating the beans, which helps the vegetables hold their own amongst the other strong items.  

The Hakka mixed chow mein ($8) is delicious, combining thicker Shanghai noodles with the curry and egg mixture found with Singapore vermicelli. Plenty of shrimp, beef (we substituted for the regular chicken), bean sprouts and green onions are found throughout the savoury chewy noodles.

Even with a second location in Markham, Federick is still busy; every table was filled during our weeknight visit and I was lucky to get a parking spot in front of the restaurant. Yet, the meal is a quick one and if you’re in a hurry there’s always the trusty take-out section located right beside the dining room. If you can handle the spice, give Federick’s Chinese Indian dishes a try.

When one thinks of frozen dinners, negative thoughts of shrink wrapped, unhealthy, sectioned off meals come to mind. When you need to eat one, there’s sometimes a sense of guilt that you’re doing you and your family a disservice.

Thankfully, times are changing and füdi is a company that offers frozen meals using quality ingredients (free range, hormone and antibiotic free chickens from Beretta Farms) and prepared sous-vide (essentially slowly cooked in a hot water bath) to limit the amount of fat. Indeed, it’s not as fast as throwing the package into the microwave for 7 minutes, but the extra time is worth it. Preparing the meals are pretty fool proof – bring water up to a boil, throw in the two pouches into the water and cook for about 15 minutes.

Upon cutting open the pouch, you’ll instantly be greeted by an intoxicating smell of spices. The chicken is well marinated so the flavours permeat throughout. Having been reheated in water, the meat remains moist and the barley soaks up the juices and spices from the cooking liquid.

The only downfall is the accompany kale… really is kale meant to be heated? I understand it’s popular and healty, but steamed kale becomes an odd mushy and chewy combination and tastes bitter. Luckily, they arrive in their own pouch so it’s not hard to discard (such a shame to waste); in my meals, I switched out the kale for broccoli or peas instead.

füdi doesn’t skimp on the spices, with the Pollo Jerk, Pollo Cajun, Pollo Santa Fe and Pollo Tandoori all having a kick to it. Being a person who loves spice, it was perfect for me, but thinking of children or the chili intolerant, having more options that aren’t spicy would be nice as well.

Although the barley was well flavoured and resisted getting soggy, ideally füdi could change up the starches in the future. Indeed, having a standard ingredient is much easier for manufacturing, but if a diner’s going to eat these on a consistent basis, having variety would help. For example, the barley works well with the Cajun and Tandoori, but a wild rice with the Jerk and Santa Fe and a pasta with the Cacciatora would be better paired.

In full disclosure, I received the five flavours for free to try. But, rest assured I will also give my honest opinion. Additionally, Gastro World has been chosen as a finalist in their picture contest. If you like my work, I'd appreciate you taking a minute to head to their website to vote for me!

You need to sign on through Facebook, but it won't post anything to your wall. Tip: For your first vote, you may need to click the blue "vote" bar at the top of the screen, sign into Facebook, then return back to the website and click the vote again for it to register. You can vote once a day until January 27th. 

Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the succulent chicken and flavours within the meal. The fact that all it took was boiling some water and spooning things out of a pouch? That’ll be our little secret.

Finding substitutes to potato chips is a continuing quest – anything that offers that satisfying savoury crunch without all the fat! A great alternative that I return to time and time again are Pepperidge Farm’s Cracker Chips or Tortillas.

Firstly, they’re available in a variety of their flavours I often like in chips: ketchup, nacho cheese and chili lime. If Pepperidge Farms add sour cream & onion and jalapeno to the mix, it’d be even better! Moreover, each crispy piece is covered with enough flavouring to be satisfying without leaving a dusty mess on the fingers.

Although still good to eat on its own, the neutral taste of the multi grain version lends itself for pairing with dips – a nice substitute for fried tortilla chips.

There is even a sweet variety: the cinnamon sugar reminding me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal in a thinner form. It was worth a try but not something I’d be rushing to buy again.

Of course what has me continually purchasing the product is their “healthiness”. With 20 chips only setting me back 90 calories, I also don’t feel guilty about reaching in for another handful. 

It’s not always easy to find a restaurant opened past 11pm, which is exactly the predicament we found ourselves in one night in San Francisco. Luckily, a quick search in the area brought us recommendations to visit Sushi Toni, not exactly hidden, but wouldn’t be a restaurant we’d stumble upon either.  

Toni’s maki are the best options on the menu, especially for sharing amongst a few people. Pictured from top to bottom:

The crunch roll ($9.50) didn’t live up to its name unless you count the pile of tempura bits on top. Nonetheless, it was passable incorporating spicy tuna and shrimp tempura wrapped in soy bean paper. Drizzling spicy mayo on top would help to wake up the somewhat bland dish.

Certainly, the rolls were much better than the other items we tried. The miso soup ($2), although hot, was lacking in supplementary ingredients. While the chicken don buri ($11.50) was extremely bland and in desperate need of more teriyaki sauce on top of the baked chicken, vegetables and egg.

Nonetheless, Sushi Toni’s maki were satisfying and there were many other tasty sounding versions on the menu. Moreover, service was warm and welcoming despite the late hour we entered. Thank you for sedating our hunger late into the evening. 

Shinobu’s dining room isn’t very big, consider making a reservation if you want to avoid disappointment. The décor is sparse and there won’t be small segregated rooms, but what the restaurant lacks in esthetics they make up with their food.

The complimentary miso soup was nice and hot, the cloudy miso revealing cubes of tofu and seaweed. Even on par to some of the ones I’ve paid for before.

The edamame ($4.50), although not spectacular, was warm and well salted.

Torn between all the delicious sounding maki, I was about to order three when our waitress suggested starting off with two. I’m thankful for her warning as they were huge and leftover sushi is never good the next day.

An interesting addition, the lettuce used in the double shrimp cannon roll ($9.80) helped to provide extra crunch along with the tempura shrimp while keeping the maki light. Really, it was your typical dynamite roll with tobiko (fish roe) and avocado, but was a well-executed version.

Meanwhile, the volcano rainbow roll ($10.90) was more inventive, blow torched at the table. Slices of salmon, tuna, eel, and avocado glisten on top giving the dish a beautiful contrast and the rainbow description. Overtop was a light diluted honey sauce, which added a delicate sweetness and caramelized a bit from the heat while protecting the seafood itself. Inside the roll, avocado and tempura bits provided a creamy and crunchy contrast.

Unbeknown to me, my friend had switched tables to help the restaurant accommodate another group. So, after the filling meal they also treated us to scoops of intense black sesame ice cream; very rich and creamy. What a satisfying finish to a new local favourite sushi restaurant of mine. 

Tsui Wah is a no-frills Hong Kong style café with a menu offering a variety of baked rice, sandwich and stir fried noodles combinations. However, there is something a little more interesting and rarer, a style of cooking generally not found in other establishments, Guilin style noodles.

A cacophony of crunchy peanuts, pickled vegetables, vegetables and some sort of protein, it’s a more flavourful dish thanks to the area’s Sichuan influences. If you’re into a stronger dish with a variety of textures, you’d want to give this a try.

Of the two varieties at Tsui Wah, the beef Guilin style lo vermicelli ($8.25) provided a richer version of the dish. Lo essentially translates to ‘mix’, the bowl of noodles topped with pickled cabbage, bamboo, peanuts, tomatoes, fried garlic slivers, green onions and cilantro that you mix together. The sauce is soy sauce based with a more potent taste from spices used in it. Unlike the traditional dish, it wasn’t spicy but few drops of the intense chili oil on the table did the trick.

Whereas, the soup version, pictured here is the Guilin style minced pork vermicelli ($7.50) is lighter. Seemingly, they use the same soy sauce base but it’s diluted with a broth to mellow out the flavours. The ingredients used are the same, except in this case substituting minced pork for the stir fried beef.

Although the menu describes both dishes as ‘vermicelli’, the noodles are actually Guilin rice noodles also known as ‘mifen’. It’s about the thickness of ramen and the texture of Korean potato starch noodles – a bit chewy and doesn’t become soggy when left in the broth. There’s a silkiness to these delicate slippery noodles.

Just in case the bowls don’t contain enough vegetables, there’s always the opportunity to add some boiled yu choy with oyster sauce ($3.99) on the side. Tsui Wah provides a decent portion for the price.

Located in a non-descript commercial area down Kennedy Road, who knows how many times I’ve whizzed past the place. I’m glad my father decided to slow down and take a chance on the restaurant; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been introduced to it! Maybe it’s something we should all do more, just drive and stop at small establishments without all the glitz and reading about it first. Something I’ll try to do more of this year – after all, who knows what you’ll discover?

With its prominent tourist location and bright signage, I wasn’t expecting superb seafood at Joe's Crab Shack. Being a cold evening, we wandered into the restaurant to escape the wind … before researching the establishment. After being seated, it seemed rude to leave so we stuck it out despite the restaurant’s 2.5 star rating on Yelp and 3.5 stars everywhere else.

The cup of clam chowder ($3.99) was lukewarm, a big pet peeve of mine, mostly filled with potatoes than clams. You’re better off ordering the bowl ($7.29) and sharing. Since they add bacon bits and small clams into the mix, the soup is cooked again and my friend’s bowl arrived piping hot.

Since most reviews warned against Joe’s steam pots, my friend and I opted to split the Dungeness crab bucket ($37.49) instead. The crab itself was decent, seemingly fresh and not overdone; the Old Bay seasoning used in the “Chesapeake style” option complimented the crab well giving it a salty seasoning without being too strong.

Yet, its shrunken size amongst a large pot was disappointing, especially when compared to our friends’ voluminous orders of steam pot and assorted crab legs. Unlike what most reviews proclaim, not everything is good for sharing, the Dungeness crab being one, since I could have had the whole dish to myself.

Each entrée is accompanied with French fries & hush puppies or an ear corn & baby potatoes. Despite not regularly eating hush puppies, I’d imagine they shouldn’t arrive cold and the texture of stale Timbits (doughnut holes for Americans). The fries were only a step better, at least warm, but lacked seasoning so I had to resort to dipping them in the crab juices.

In the end, I kept my expectations low. After all, it’s a chain restaurant and the menu has pictures on it. All in all, at least the seafood was fresh and cooked nicely. But, if sharing, I’d stick to the larger steam pots, because a few crab legs isn’t nearly satisfying enough.