For my birthday, we went to Niagara on the Lake for some wine tasting but we ended up leaving Toronto much later than we planned and arrived at Niagara in the mid-afternoon. Because of this, we only managed to visit two wineries at Peller Estates and Jackson Triggs.

Also, because we rushed over to Niagara we didn’t have a proper lunch so we were starving by 4pm! Unfortunately, the restaurant at Peller Estates was not open until 6pm but they recommended that we visit Grill on King which is located on 233 King, Niagara on the Lake. The lady at Peller Estates mentioned that the place made excellent steaks! Mmm… Driven by our hungry stomachs, we rushed over and was lucky to have the entire restaurant to ourselves (because we were so early!). It was a lovely setting though.

Muscles: these were soooo delicious. I couldn’t get enough of the tomato sauce that these were cooked in. It was so tasty and the muscles were cooked to perfection!

Grilled Calamari: this was another lovely tasting dish.

This is my shrimp skewer with roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots and zucchini. I loved the peppery seasoning they put all over this. So yummy!

Check out the size of Elliott’s steak.  It’s gigantic! The potato mash was smooth and creamy and the steak was cooked perfectly and was nice and juicy! The vegetable side was cooked very similar to the way mine were.

After we filled up our bellies with so much food, we drove over the border to the U.S of A for some shopping! Look how rainy and depressing it was outside though :( We made it over to the Coach outlet, bought mummy a bag and then went back home to Canada :)

Restaurant Review: Guu Sakabar

Last Saturday I got to finally check out the new Guu SakaBar that opened on Bloor and Bathurst. I love love love Japanese Food and I find fusion food Japanese food such as Sushi Samba really interesting. I’ve heard a lot of people raving about Guu so far but I had yet to experience it. What I found that I love most about Guu is that you really feel like you’ve stepped right into Japan! Just as you step inside, the entire staff (waters and chefs) all scream out (something in Japanese) to welcome you. It really was welcoming indeed! It was very cute.

Beware of Guu’s famous reputation as there is always a line. We were smart and made sure we were there before 6pm on a Saturday evening before the majority of people would generally go out to eat. Yet, we were still made to line up for about 15 minutes and when we finally left at 9pm, the line was quite long. So make sure you go early or you’ll be sorry for waiting!

We ended up getting quite an awesome table in the second dining room where we were instructed to remove our shoes and park them in their shoe shelf. I wasn’t fussed by this especially since I was keen to take off my high heels, however as we were  guided to our table I started to get worried. I looked at how low the tables were situated and saw that there were butt pads on the floor for you to sit on. I was thinking to myself, “Oh my! We have to sit on the floor?!?!”

While that would have been truly the authentic Japanese experience, as I approached our table I was relieved to discover there was a gap in the flooring so that we could allow our legs to sit like we would sit on a chair. Yes, we were sitting on the floor but not really because we did not have to kneel or sit cross legged. This was really cool but it was so hard to get out of there!

Guu is a tapas-style restaurant whereby their dishes are primarily small appetizers in which you can share. Above is the Specials Menu in which we ordered the last 3 items on this page!

Salmon Natto Yukke: Chopped salmon sashimi with five friends (Natto, shibazuke, takuan, wonton chips, green onion and quail egg). What you do is mix them up and then wrap it in seaweed!

Okonomiyaki: Japanese deep fried pancake with yakisoba noodles, tonkatsu sauce and mayo.

Filet of Fish: Filet of black cod like burger with pink tar tar tankatsu sauce in rice cakes.

Agedashi: Deep fried tofu in dashi broth topped with water eel and noti seaweed.

Almond Tofu

Roasted Green Tea Cheesecake

I thought this was a really awesome place to dine and easily understood the popularity and rave of this place. When you don’t have the time or money to fly all the way to Japan, you can definitely go to Guu for the Japanese dining atmosphere. While the food is not authentic Japanese (as I mentioned earlier, it was more fusion style), the types of food on offer are truly unique and very special. It brings back the fun and entertainment back into food and dining. In all, I had a great time and that’s what food should be all about.

Btw, thanks so much Jason for taking me!

Guu SakaBar

(Annex, Toronto, Canada)

559 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON
www.guu-izakaya.com

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Lately, I’ve been craving Mexican food a LOT. I think it’s because the food is so fresh and I love all the spices! I’ve recently learnt how to make Chicken Fajitas which I have been making often because it’s so damn easy to make and it’s so damn delicious! I got my recipe from Jamie’s Food Revolution book which was a very simple and easy 20 minute recipe.

Chicken Fajitas

Serves 2

1 red bell pepper
1 medium red onion
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
A small pinch of ground cumin
2 limes
Olive oil
Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 flour tortillas
1/2 cup sour cream
4 ounces Cheddar cheese

Salsa

2 fresh chillies
15 ripe cherry tomatoes
Small bunch of cilantro
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lime
Extra virgin olive oil

1. First, start of by putting your grill pan on a high heat.
2. Halve and seed your bell pepper and cut into thin strips and peel, halve and finely slice the onion.
3. Slice the chicken lengthways into long strips (roughly the same size as the bell pepper strips)
4. Put the chicken, bell pepper and onion into a bowl with the paprika and cumin, squeeze in half a lime and drizzle a lug of olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well.
5. Marinate for 5 minutes. While we wait, we can now make our salsa.
6. Finely chop the chilli and roughly chop the tomatoes and cilantro (stalks and leaves together).
7. Put the chilli and tomatoes in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper and squeeze 1 lime.
8. Add extra virgin olive oil and stair the chopped cilantro.
9. Using a pair of tongs, put the pieces of bell pepper, onion, and chicken into the preheated grill pan to cook for 6-8 minutes (as seen in the above photo)
10. Warm the tortillas on a warm dry frying pan.

Red Pepper, Green Pepper, Onion, Chicken in the grill pan

Fresh salsa

Ready to add to the tortillas: Sour cream, cheese and salsa

Add to the tortillas

Wrap up your tortillas and eat away! Enjoy! :)

History of Benihana

Benihana is a well-known Japanese cuisine franchise with nearly 80 restaurants around the world. It was founded in 1964 on West 56th Street in New York City by 25-year old Hiroaki “Rocky” Aoki. He was a qualified wrestler at the time, but did not attend the 1960 Summer Olympics and started the restaurant with just $10,000 that he earned from driving an ice cream truck in Harlem.

The first restaurant (named Benihana of Tokyo), was named after the red Safflower which was the name of his parent’s coffee shop in Tokyo. Rocky’s idea was for customers to enjoy meals around a teppanyaki table combined with some knife theatrics (which I really enjoyed!)

 Restaurant Review & Photos

We first started off my meal with a warm and satisfying miso soup.

And then began the knife theatrics! Our chef started throwing eggs in the air and catching them with his knife so that it would split exactly in half. Very skillful!

And then he fried us some Japanese style fried rice in the shape of a heart. Aww :)

Freshly served Fried Rice! Yum!

Then comes freshly cooked shrimp! Mmmm..

Our chef then proceeded to cut up some onions, stacked them, then poured some oil down the middle and it then turned into an onion volcano! Hahaha..

Here’s our teppanyaki style dinner. The meat was probably a lot more chewier than I liked (especially when I asked for medium-rare) however the whole experience was really enjoyable and the food was quite decent. I would recommend coming here more for the experience, and it was a lot of fun. Expect quite the show while you eat. Also expect to be very full though – I normally eat A LOT and I normally eat VERY FAST however I was the slowest one to eat on the table because there was just so much yummy food!

It is located at the Royal York Hotel at Front and York St, Toronto.

Benihana

(Entertainment District, Toronto, Canada)

100 Front St W, Toronto, Ontario
http://www.benihana.com/

Urbanspoon Rocks

About Sushi Samba

While I was in Chicago, we decided to try the famous Sushi Samba which offers a unique blend of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine, music and design. Through the energy and spirit that birthed in the early 20th century when thousands of Japanese travelled to South America to cultivate coffee plantations and make their fortune. It is because of this, places such as Lima in Peru and São Paulo in Brazil, these three distinct cultures have integrated and became a beautiful combination. And it is because of this, the experience you have at SushiSamba is a truly unique one. It is no wonder that SushiSamba has been so popular, expanding to five locations in the world’s most trendiest locations: NYC, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas.

As you walk into SushiSamba you are greeted with amazing design and atmosphere. Especially by the way everybody dresses up to go to this place, you’ll wonder if you’ve walked into a lounge/bar or a restaurant.

Main Room

Sushi Bar

Sexy Red Hot Interior Design

I’m not exactly sure what we ordered because we left this up to the waiter to decide what to eat. Haha! There were way too many delicious choices on the menu and you can request the waiter make a four course set for you to your liking. He asked us a few questions on what we enjoyed, what we didn’t and he brought us quite an exquisite choice of items. I very much enjoyed this experience, and I had full trust in my waiter (maybe because he was amazingly hot and I was entranced by everything he said…) hahaha. Or maybe it was because I was happily enjoying my fruity alcoholic beverage which was AMAZING, by the way! Make sure you order the SambaJuice cocktail which was a combination of raspberry and watermelon infused rum, açai, passion fruit, créme de banana and guava - it’s was fckn out of this world. No jokes.

First Course: Chicharron Calamari with mint, tamarind, plantain

I don’t normally like calamari and I’ve had some pretty badly cooked calamari in the past.. but one piece of this and I was sold! I could not stop putting these into my mouth they were so good! Cooked to perfection, soft and chewy enough without being at all rubbery.

The sushi here was so fresh and tasty with such a unique blend of Japanese flavours with Brazilian spices and textures.

Squid, asparagus with sesame seed and scallops (?)

The four course menu was to die for and was about $55 a person. I’ve been raving about this place for months but when I’ve been asked to explain why it was so good – it was really hard to say. It’s something that you really need to try for yourself. Please trust me on this – you WILL be blown away.

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Sushi Samba Rio
504 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60654, United States
(312) 595-2300
sushisamba.com?

I’ve been watching a lot of cooking shows lately (Masterchef Australia, Junior Masterchef Australia, Masterchef USA, Hell’s Kitchen, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Jamie’s American Road Trip, etc). One of my favourite all time chefs is Jamie Oliver, especially since his infamous TV show “Fifteen” and “Fifteen Melbourne”.

I recently purchased Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (The Cook Book) which is filled with quick and easy recipes which is great for a beginner chef like me.

I started off with my first recipe, spaghetti! I love Italian food and especially pasta. This recipe is so simple and yet so delicious!

Garlic, Basil & Tomato Spaghetti Recipe (Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution)

Ingredients
Bunch of basil
Garlic
Chilli
400ml of canned diced tomatoes
400g spaghetti
Salt and pepper

I also added: parmasen cheese, dry chilli flakes, and minced pork

Recipe
1. Cook the spaghetti in salted water for 12 minutes
2. Remove the basil leaves from the stalk.
3.  Finely chop the garlic, chilli and the basil stalk.
4. Add olive oil to the saucepan and fry the garlic, chilli and basil stalk.
5. Once the garlic is almost brown, add the meat to fry or skip to add the tomatoes and the basil leaves.
6. Cook on high heat for a minute and add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Once the spaghetti is cooked, strain the water and add to the sauce in the saucepan.
8. Serve and grate the cheese onto the plate and dried chilli flakes.

On my trip to Chicago in September I did a guided food tour with Tastebud Tours which takes you to 5-7 food locations in the historic Chicago Loop and Millennium Park. Bring your stomach to this tour because the food tastings are enough for lunch and are included in the Tastebud ticket price (US $44.00 for the Millennium Loop Tour)

Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes because you’ll be going to each spot on foot! This was good to ease the digestion of all the food you’re gonna eat. Haha.

The tour always starts at Pizano’s Pizza which is Vince Vaughn and Oprah’s favourite pizza restaurant! At 11am, there was already a line outside this restaurant!

Pizano’s is located at 864 North State Street, Chicago

This is the VIP room – where Oprah & Vince Vaughn would sit to hide away from the public.

At Pizano’s we got to try regular pizza and their famous Deep Dish pizza. In my opinion, this was much better than the Deep Dish pizza I had at Uno’s.

The next place we went to is Sarah’s Candies.

So many chocolates!!

Heart candies! Awww.

And various other sweets and cakes :) We came here and we got to try her famous brownie.

Next stop was The Drake Hotel on Lake Shore Drive.

The Drake Hotel is so pretty that this bathroom was voted the best bathroom! Never knew there was such a thing.. hahaha.

Our next location was Downtown Dogs at 804 North Rush Street, Chicago which is famous for the Chicago-style hot dog!

Heaven on Seven is a authentic cajun restaurant right in the heart of the city! That’s the most fantastic thing about Chicago is that you can find almost every food right in the city.

It has amazing atmosphere.

Here we got served some yummy rice with chicken and gumbo.

Look at all this hot sauce! Heaven on Seven recently had a promotion where if you brought in a bottle of hot sauce that they didn’t already have that dinner was on them! This is what led them to this awesome hot sauce collection. So cool!

Hahaha don’t you love the name of these sauces! Cracker.

The Billy Goat Tavern was our second last stop. Enter at Your Own Risk!

Do you recall the Saturday Night Live sketch in which a short order cook would yell out to incoming patrons? Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger, No pepsi.. Coke!

Finally – our last stop was Candyality! This store has a variety of candy and is really unique because once you choose a bunch of candy in this store and checkout, they will give you a personalized analysis of your personality depending on the type of candy you’ve chosen!

I don’t remember my personality analysis at all but it sure was interesting! Haha

The store also has some interesting types of chocolate. No weight gain chocolate? Really? Hahaha. Lies.

Candyality can be found at 520 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago where all the other great shopping resides.

If you go to Chicago, you must do a food tour because you get to do a taste test of different restaurants and types of foods in the one day. You needn’t worry about getting your stomach too full though I was pretty stuffed after this tour. Tastebud Tours was great because it they really offered quite a unique experience.

About Montreal Poutine

Poutine (French pronunciation [puts?n]) is a diner staple which originated in Quebec and can now be found across Canada. Classic Poutine consists of French fries topped by fresh cheese curds and covered with brown gravy sauce.

While there are some delicious poutine that can be found in Toronto, I knew I had to try the authentic poutine on my trip to Montreal. I decided to pop into one of the little whole in the walls in Old Montreal for some yummy classic poutine with added mushrooms. Soooo good!

But if you’re in Toronto and wish to get some good poutine without having to go up to Montreal, you definitely can. Here are some hot spots which have been tried and tested and I recommend myself :)

1. Smoke’s Poutinerie
   218 Adelaide Street West, Toronto
   This place has both the home cooked feel and taste with some interesting versions of the classic such as Pulled Pork, Chilli Beef, Curry Chicken. There are many beef, chicken, pork or veggie options.
   http://smokespoutinerie.com/
2. Duggan’s Brewery
   75 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario,M5C 2B1
   The curry chicken poutine here was recommended by a friend and it was so fresh and deeeelicious.
   http://www.duggansbrewery.com/
   

Restaurant Review: Marche De La Vilette

This place was recommended my horse carriage driver. He said you can get the best french onion soups in town from this place. Upon hearing this, I was craving nothing but french onion soup. Oooohh, just thinking of the goodness *mmmm*

This place is small and extremely busy! I was lucky enough to steal a spot inside just as I arrived but soon after there were lines going out the door. Not only is this place a restaurant but a general store and a butcher too. Saw some awesome cheeses on sale as well.

 Marche De La Vilette Food & Restaurant Photos

As soon as I was seated – I knew exactly what I wanted. French Onion Soup! I couldn’t understand the menu at all, but I saw something that resembled onion and soup and quiche and got it and this is what I got. Doesn’t it look delicious!

French Onion Soup!

Quiche!

While this place had some great food – it didn’t offer the best service in the world. In fact they were quite rude to me probably because I didn’t know any French and they were just too busy to offer any service. I waited for ages for a bill then was just showed that they accept payment at the register…. Nevertheless – if you’re after good food (especially great French Onion Soup) then I recommend this place for sure.

Marche De La Villette

(Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

324 Rue St.-Paul Ouest, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

About Pizzeria Uno & Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

When I tell people I am going to Chicago – everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has said to me “you have to try the Chicago Deep Dish pizza!”

I had no idea what I was in for. On the very night that I arrived I was excited to try one for dinner. It was about 11pm when I finally got to my hotel and I still hadn’t eaten yet! It was pouring with rain at the time and so I looked at the closest place to go to. This was Pizzeria Unos, and to my luck – the place is actually where deep dish pizzas originated from!

Uno’s was established by a former University of Texas footballer and his friend World War II G.I. Rick Ricardo in 1943. The original recipe for the deep dish pizza was created by chef Rudy Malnati who wanted to transform pizza (primarily being a snack food) to a whole hearty meal experience.

As I went to Pizzeria Unos, I couldn’t believe the line. Yes it was 11pm on a Thursday night but there was a line waiting to go inside and they were taking orders in the foyer. I asked for their recommendation and ordered the classic Numero Uno pizza.

Deep Dish pizzas take about 30-40 minutes to make so don’t go in with the expectation to eat one right away like I did. At 11pm, I was starving, so I decided to snack on some fried onion rings as recommended by the waitress. These were really good!

I wanted to eat this entire thing but knew I had to save my appetite for the pizza that was to come!

When it finally came, I was so excited! Here’s the Numero Uno Deep Dish Pizza – the ‘works’ pizza with sausage, pepperoni, onions, peppers, mushrooms and our unique chunky tomato sauce. It is also topped with mozzarella and grated Romano.

Look at all that goodness in side! Mmmmm! Rudy Malnati did what he wanted to do – create a hearty meal. I only bring myself to eat half of it even though it was so delicious.

Pizzeria Uno Restaurant Review
Food
Atmosphere
Service
Value

Overall
In all, Pizzeria Unos gives you a wonderful Chicago dining experience. I will sure to be back for more!