Doma offers an array of dishes they describe as "Korean with French inspiration or French with Korean influences". To keep things fresh, their menu changes monthly and only a few favourites from the previous month are carried forward. It’s a pretty democratic way to create a menu; as staff ask diners about their favourite dishes, the menu should be curated around the taste of customers.

Most people partake in their tasting menu where for $65 a person you try everything. In reality, for the sake of fairness, it’s really your democratic duty to sample it all so you can give a well-informed opinion on your favourite dish. If you’re not up for the task, the prices per dish have also been included in this post.

Within a short while of ordering, an amuse bouche is brought out. Being an acorn jelly, the actual jelly is neutral, so you’re greeted with a hit of spice from the finely diced kimchi and pickled onions with a slight saltiness added by the soy dashi. A refreshing summery start.

Meanwhile, the yook hwae ($18), a beef tartare that’s spiked with the spicy gochujang, is filled with flavours: of course there’s a bit of heat, but this is fairly delicate and balanced with sweet pear gel and pickled honey; black garlic aioli adds a lovely savoury creaminess. 

The long strips of beef, instead of the customary diced pieces, takes getting used to as it’s difficult to scoop the tartare and causes the entire pile of meat to come off in one bite. Hence, you’ll need the aid of a fork and it’s best to break the rice and seaweed chips into smaller pieces to create one-bite portions. Nonetheless, the tartare tastes good and I enjoy the little pieces of cauliflower and broccoli mixed in for crunch. The chips are also kept neutral so they add texture without competing on flavours.

More than one staff member told us their grilled octopus ($20) is the sole dish that’s been on every menu since the start. In my opinion, this needs to be tweaked or retired. Sure, the slaw of cabbage, bell peppers, cucumber, pear jelly, and seaweed is good – it’s that mix of sweet, sour, and spicy flavours that’s synonymous with Korean flavours. Even the pickled grainy mustard on top really adds a pop to the salad. But then, the actual octopus, although meaty and tender is just SO sweet. If octopus can be rendered into a chewy candy, it’d resemble what Doma serves.

Instead, they should keep the sam gye tang ($24), a great rendition of the French chicken roulade where medallions of dark meat is stuffed, rolled, and then baked until the skin crisps up. The Asian flavours are brought in with the stuffing: a mix of ginseng, dates, and more meat. It’s tender and flavourful, and with a dollop of fragrant ginger and scallion paste even better. White and black fungus is added for crunch and also helps to soak up the oriental herb infused chicken veloute sauce in all its crevices. Of all the dishes, this was the greatest at amalgamating the French and Asian flavours in one plate.

If Doma doesn’t keep the uhsun mandoo ($26) forever on their menu, I’ll be seriously mad. What a seafood lover’s delight with a piece of wonderfully cooked white fish (could be pickerel), a large sweet prawn, and the best part, a mandoo, which is a Korean dumpling filled with crab encapsulated in a ravioli pasta. Each of the individual proteins already have sufficient flavours, but then you smear on onion or pea puree and the ingredients change again.

While the sweet potato rice cakes ($16) were good – a base of chewy Korean rice cakes filled with a creamy sweet potato puree - it could have been the dish that French flavours are featured more prominently. The European influence was in there with a light sprinkling of parmigian, but it didn’t really add much and everything else was more Korean focused. The tofu and pork belly ragout spooned onto the rice cakes is similar to the sweet bean paste sauce found in ja jang mein. In lieu of the ragout, it would be interesting to pair the rice cakes with a creamy sauce or replace it with a thicker beef bourguignon instead.

For being glazed in gochujang, I would have expected the pork belly ($26) to be spicier. Instead, it merely tastes sweet and savoury, especially with the grilled nectarines accompanying the dish. Overall, the flavour that was missing from Doma’s dishes is something spicy. Indeed, there was a bit of it from the kimchi in the amuse bouche, but afterwards everything else was void of the taste that is so popular in Korean cuisine. The pork belly could have been the opportunity to showcase spice, even if it was merely incorporated into a side dish with the meat. 

Nonetheless, I’m glad Doma invested in using a premium part of the pork belly where the meat and fat alternates in layers (rather than having one thick piece of each), it makes the pork belly less heavy and the flavours better-rounded.

When it came to dessert, the Korean influence flew out the window. The first dessert, an ode to corn ($10) wasn’t even French and instead best described as North American. Sweet corn ice cream is combined with salted caramel popcorn, sponge cake, and corn kernels. The sweet and salty dessert was good and the honey truffle sponge cake an interesting pulled fluffy texture. Nonetheless, it was a bit disappointing that it had nothing to do with Doma’s vision.

While the apple tarte tatin ($10) is definitely a nod in the French direction, it once again has no Korean influences (unless the country loves marshmallows). The dessert was just so sugary ... when there’s caramel sauce one doesn’t need marshmallows on top. Despite looking decent, it was just too sweet and even the fruit was overpowered.

While Korean cuisine isn’t known for desserts, there are still some notable dishes. Chewy glutinous rice creations, similar to mocha, could have been filled with fruit and topped with Chantilly cream to make a Doma appropriate sweet. With so many renditions of red bean paste encapsulated desserts (whether it be pan fried, baked, or deep fried), surely something French could have been incorporated into the pastries to give it a fusion twist.

Don’t get me wrong, with the exception of the octopus and apple tarte tatin, I was pleased with the taste of Doma’s August menu. If our waiter didn’t feel the need to explain that restaurant is known for French and Korean inspired creations, I could have just accepted the dishes as presented. But, if they really want to be known for marrying the two cultures, more dedication is required at ensuring every dish (not sure some) really showcase the spirit of each culture’s cuisine. Otherwise, it’d just be another mixed continental restaurant , which are a dime a dozen.

• 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!

• Little Sister
• Noorden

After the success of their downtown location, Hot Star Large Fried Chicken has opened a North York outpost so patrons in North Toronto can also enjoy their larger-than-life chicken. Lucky for me, during their August soft launch period, the store was relatively quiet for weekday lunch – finally, I could try the item people wait painfully in line for.

Some describe the large chicken cutlet as Taiwanese schnitzel, but it’s an inaccurate description. Firstly, Hot Star’s is much thicker - about half an inch wide while traditional schnitzel should be as thin as cardboard. Moreover, the breast bone remains connected at the bottom of the piece (hard to decipher at first since it is battered), while schnitzel is boneless.

However, true to other descriptions, it is as large as your face and does arrive piping hot as they’re made-to-order…taking about seven minutes for me.

For my first taste, I tried the original large fried chicken with extra spicy seasoning ($9.99). In reality, the flavouring is just chili powder sprinkled on top and even with the extra spicy it’s a manageable amount of heat that slowly builds with subsequent bites. Aside from having it plain, customers can also flavour it with salt and pepper, seaweed, plum or curry. For an extra 50 cents, there’s a wet version drizzled with barbeque sauce - a good option for those who like katsu.

It’s really large: enough to share (just be careful splitting it in half given the bottom portion does have the aforementioned bone) or saved for another meal (mine re-heated nicely in the toaster oven becoming crispier and less oily). Despite the size, I had to try the fried king oyster mushrooms ($4.99), which were delicious - just try resist biting into them as soon as they arrive. They’re really hot and after patiently waiting several minutes for them to cool, you can pop the entire nugget into your mouth, so a flood of crunch and sweetness is released in all its glory.

Normally, a fried chicken and drink combo is an additional $3.50. During August 25-27, 2017, the North York location is giving customers who purchase a large chicken cutlet, a blue curacao or green apple yoghurt drink for free. Head over soon before the lines start forming… once someone sees you holding the massive chicken slice, they’ll want one too.

• 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!

• Kanpai Snack Bar
• Cluck Clucks Chicken & Waffles

Take a walk through TD Centre’s concourse level and you’ll encounter Mark McEwan’s domination of the floor: the second McEwan grocery store and eatery occupies an entire corner, walk in a bit further and his long time restaurant Bymark (a creative conjunction of “by” and “Mark”) takes up the rest of the corner. It’s a restaurant known for its decadent foie gras burger with a hefty price to match. Like most of McEwan’s ventures, it’s a fine dining establishment where bill totals easily reach $100+ a person. Hence, during Summerlicious, their special $48 dinner menu always draws a crowd.

What looks like mechanically processed tuna certainly tasted that way - instead of dicing the fish by hand, the tartare arrives pulverized so you end up spreading (rather than scooping) the mixture on the crispy wonton chips. I could have looked past the fish’s mushy texture if it was seasoned better; too bad the miso-ginger vinaigrette was so light that most of the flavours were from the fish’s natural oils and the chip. Thankfully, the crisp shaved fennel salad on the side helped to wake up the dish, if only smaller pieces were combined into the tartare itself, maybe the starter would have tasted better.

While the Summerlicious website describes the cod as being from "Fogo Island", Bymark’s actual menu revises it to "Atlantic". Honestly, I don’t care that much about the origin and I’m glad the restaurant was honest about the fish’s source – having read Olmsted’s Fake Food Real Food, it’s a shame how often establishments try to pass off non-authentic ingredients to diners, I applaude Bymark for being truthful.

Arriving as a sizeable piece, the baked cod was moist and flakey. Normally, the delicate texture would be fine, but since the accompanying polenta was also silky and smooth, it'd be nice if the fish was seared with the skin-on to create a crispy layer for contrast. Unlike the starter, the main incorporated plenty of flavour from the salty olive tapenade, rapini, and unexpected kick of chili oil. All in all, it's a satisfying dish.

Too bad the same couldn’t be said with the strawberry shortcake … I’m getting so tired of deconstructed desserts! The strawberry shortcake came with the usual elements: soft vanilla shortcake, delicious macerated strawberries, and whipped cream. Additional crisp meringue pieces were a nice touch, providing an extra texture and sweetness to the cake. Dutifully, I combined all the ingredients to make my own cake, only to find the Chantilly creamy overly salty. Perhaps it was the pastry chef wanting to play up the earthiness of the basil purée, but it didn’t work for me. Strawberry shortcake doesn't work as a sweet and salty dessert.

Meanwhile the s’more’s tart was elegant and delicious. Not normally a fan of rich chocolate desserts, I was even drawn in to take a bite of the smooth dark chocolate ganache and ever so slightly salty graham cracker crust.

Having previously visited Bymark for Winterlicious and a regular dinner, this was by far the worst experience. Indeed, I understand what's served during Summerlicious may be a modified menu with less expensive ingredients, but looking back on the Winterlicious experience from about six years ago, it was executed much better and was of closer quality to a regular dinner service. This time, nothing wowed us and the dishes were passable at best.

Luckily, their service didn’t falter; they were just as friendly and attentive as ever. For example, when our waitress noticed my friend rooting through her beef cheek pasta to find the actual meat - another downfall of Summerlicious is some dishes are cooked in larger batches so plates aren’t always split evenly - she offered to get the kitchen to bring out more beef cheek for her to add to the pasta. What a thoughtful gesture that made the experience better. Maybe next time she can take my dessert and make it into a real cake… feasible right?

Is Summerlicious worth it (based on my meal selection)?
Summerlicious - $48
Regular menu - $72.50 - tuna tartare* ($19), cod ($40) and shortcake ($13.50)
Savings - $24.50 or 34%
* Based on the steak tartare and cheesecake

• 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!

• America
• Aria

Having been a Toronto resident for over 30 years, I rarely venture west of Avenue road. When I do, it's usually for a wedding or meeting up with friends in Port Credit, but rarely does it entail going to a mall. Beaumont Kitchen, a new entrant to the Oliver & Bonacini empire, has given me a reason to visit Sherway Gardens, which is a lot nicer than I’ve been led to believe.

Connected to Saks Fifth Avenue, like their sister restaurant Lena with the Saks downtown, Beaumont Kitchen is more down-to-earth and family friendly. During a weekend visit for their Summerlicious lunch ($23), the tables generally held three generations, all sitting together breaking bread ... it’s sort of refreshing that there wasn’t a suit or hipster in sight. Their menu is modeled like an O&B Café – no real ethnicity’s cuisine being featured, but rather popular “safe” options that diverse tables can choose from.

With so much raspberry dressing on the 100km beet salad, it was too tart. Luckily, the roasted beets’ sweetness help to cut down on the acidity, so after cutting the cubes into even smaller pieces and ensuring there was a bit of beet with each bite of overdressed spinach, the salad was decent.

Most of the table agreed the chicken piccatta was one of the better mains. Despite being a thick piece of chicken breast that was thoroughly cooked, it was still moist. The capers weren’t overpowering, adding a light saltiness to the dish and when combined with butter a great topping for the smashed potatoes, which sucked in all the juices. Even the crispy grilled broccolini were delicious, a healthier  balance to the dish.

Served really hot, you have to contain your excitement when the pudding chômeur arrives or risk burning your tongue. The rum caramel sauce is light on the rum (for those sharing with children) and isn’t too sweet so nicely balances the dense fudgy cake.

Who knows, after the lunch at Beaumont Kitchen, maybe I’ll go to Sherway Gardens more often; when the traffic is moving, it doesn’t take that much longer to drive there than Yorkdale or Fairview and parking is a whole lot easier to find. Summerlicious can be a beautiful thing, it encourages people to go out and try new restaurants. For me, it encouraged me to venture west out of my comfort zone. 

Is Summerlicious worth it (based on my meal selection)?
Summerlicious - $23
Regular menu - $37 - salad ($12), chicken picatta ($17) and dessert ($8)
Savings - $14 or 38%
* None of Summerlicious items are part of their regular menu, estimates are based on spinach salad, chicken breast sandwich, and carrot cake

• 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!

• Oliver & Bonacini Cafe and Grill
• Lena

Toronto’s 2017 summer has been a wet one; hence, when Mother Nature graces us with a sunny day, make the most of it and get out there! Seize every moment and opportunity as what’s left of the summer will be short.

For a quick weekday lunch enjoyed outdoors, Food Society has an ideal option: a $10 barbeque plate that includes a choice of protein, salad, and pop. Simply head to the patio at the back of their restaurant, grab a seat, and let Chef Joe know what you’d like.

The proteins are pre-cooked and then re-heated on the barbeque as ordered. Unfortunately, the meat isn’t at its peak juiciness, but this does allow diners to get a dish without a long wait. That afternoon I had a choice of a burger, jerk chicken, or ribs. Having had a taste of the jerk chicken and the ribs, both were well marinated and flavourful. The ribs incorporates herbs in the rub giving it a refreshing essence while the jerk chicken wasn’t overly spicy - there’s heat but it’s merely in the background.

Chef Joe hails from North Carolina, the mecca of barbeque cooking. He explains that there are three common styles: dry, wet, and vinegar-based. That afternoon he was featuring the dry rub method, which isn’t as popular in Canada given our love for sauce laden meats. It’s a style I’ve recently grown to like as my husband began experimenting on the Big Green Egg. For one, dry rubs are less messy to eat (no sticky hands and crumpled napkins) and you can appreciate the meat’s juices rather than tasting a ton of sugary sauce.

Nevertheless, Joe explains that he’s going to run through different types of recipes – so don’t worry if you like your meat smothered – and given his last stint was working as a private chef for a vegan client, he’ll likely feature a vegan-friendly option as well.

Generally, Food Society caters to those who want healthy but flavourful food. I experienced this with the barbeque plate where the salad was lightly dressed and the meat very lean. By the end of the meal, I left energized, despite the filling meal.

The adjoining cafe features an array of coffees including butter coffee (currently growing in popularity) and nitro cold brews ($3.95) that’s great for the summer. Even though I generally take milk and sugar with my drinks, the nitro cold brew coffee is full-flavoured without being bitter, so smooth I could handle it black.

Aside from all-day breakfast and mains such as soba noodles and quinoa bowls, Food Society’s café has items to satisfy your sweet tooth. From smoothie bowls (which could easily substitute for frozen yoghurt) to acai bowls, I still like the pastries sourced from La Bamboche best.

Having tried the gluten free coconut, dark chocolate, and oat cookie ($3.25) it was surprisingly good for something that didn’t have an ounce of flour. Rather than turning into cardboard, the cookie still had the chewiness and crispy edges you’d want in a biscuit. Saving it for an afternoon break, the dark chocolate was rich and satisfying, keeping me full well into the dinner hour. In the end, they want to ensure the food they serve is never frozen and free of preservatives.

While Food Society only opened in May, they continue to add on and expand. Oliver Knox, owner of Food Society, notes they’ll begin catering services later in the summer (complete with a cooler for chilling smoothie bowls) and will feature local bands on their patio starting September when they expect to receive their liquor license. Best of all, they’ll continue offering the barbeque plate in the evening, so when you go by to listen to the live music you can grab a bite to eat as well.

While the café and lounge areas are swathed in gorgeous lacquered wood and rose gold furniture. The backyard patio has a comfortable whimsical feel with tables in the sun or shade. It’s a space that can be rented for private events (complete with barbeque if you wish), holding 80 for comfort.

For me, I can’t wait until Food Society scores their liquor license. After work drinks on a patio? The requisite way to spend an evening while Mother Nature cooperates. 

• 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!