Librarian_chef

I also like Swatow for Fukien style fare on Spadina. To be honest, lately I have been really enjoying Hakka-style cuisine in Scarborough-East York. The noodle place on the second floor of the pacific mall is very, very good and they make their noodles on the premise (you can hear them banging the dough).

I will second Kim Moon. I used to go to the Melewa, which I don't believe is there anymore, but Kim Moon was my second choice for buns in the immediate vicinity. There is also the place on Baldwin on the north side that serves great tofu buns.

The place we order from is Hakka Garden Chinese Restaurant at 25 Overlea BLVd, Unit #7A (416) 421-8898. I have tried their Bombay Chicken and Manchurian Squid and both have been great and I love the hot pickled peppers they give. Price is cheap-moderate. They are Halal as well.

I eat at two. Mostly this little take out on Overlea west of Don Mills. I will add the name tomorrow if I remember as I have the menu at work. Mark

Most Chinese markets have a good selection of Chinese sausages. I personally love the duck liver ones. I usually just get mine at the T&T in the Promenade. I like the fact you can snip them yourself. Their BBQ Pork and Roast Pork are only okay, nothing to write home about. I have also bought chinese sausages from an asian market on spadina south of Dundas on the East side. I always love a present of Tea myself, preferably a nice loose leaf oolong, such as Qilan or Ti Quan Yin, or maybe a brick of Pu-Erh (Po Lai). Mark

Ozawa Canada on East Beaver Creek sells Wagyu Beef Ozawa Canada - http://www.ozawa.ca/home.html Mark

The King Eddie used to do this on sundays (royal meridien King edward Hotel), but I am not sure if they still do. What about Over Easy or Eggspectation? Mark

I haven't eaten at the Kim moon bakery in years, didn't realize it was still there as i think the Melewa is gone. How are the buns these days? What dim sum do they do well? Mark

I just ate at the Banh Mi Factory (Keele and Finch on the South West Corner). Excellent baguette. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. I had my usual: pork roll, sliced pork and pate. Very yummy. I would have liked a little more carrots, daikon (lo bok), and cilantro though. I had the small, which is the same as most Banh Mi places, and it came to $2.07 with tax. You can add a drink and cookie for $0.75. They also have a creme cookie machine (looks similar to Walnut cake machine with a banana shaped mold). They have a large array of types of sandwiches, but the prices do go up with things such as pork satay or bbq pork. Not as cheap as the places on Spadina and Dundas, but much cleaner. I would recommend it to all of us northern city dwellers. Thanks for the recommendation, Khuyen. Mark

There are also two Schwarma shops on Elm at Yonge, right near Barberians that offer a good quick, fast food, bite. I prefer the one on the south side of the street. There is a pretty good Roti shop on Dundas just East of University on the South side. Has anyone been to Okonomi House recently at Yonge and Bloor? On a complete aside/non-sequitur, Too bad they closed the Top of the Senator, I loved that Bar. Mark

I occasionally go out that way. Where at Keele and Finch, the NW or SE corner? Let me know what you think of the place when you have tried it. Mark

The Banh Mi supplier for T&T is: Nguyen Huo'ng 322 Spadina Ave 416-599-4625 or 5661 Steeles Avenue East, Unit 1 Toronto, ON 416-292-8875 Mark

My favourite Vietnamese place is Saigon Palace just south of the corner of College and Spadina on the west side. Excellent Pho and good spring rolls. Authentic stuff too. I would also recommend a Banh Mi shop at 322 Spadina Avenue as well. Cheap delicious Vietnamese sandwiches. You can't go wrong with Chinese savoury and sweet buns, I like the tofu bun from the bakery on the north side of Baldwin. I used to like Kim Moon and the Melewa, but I don't think the latter is there anymore. The two pizzerias at the corner of Harbord and Spadina, one of which was Cora's, were a staple of my UofT existence. I would also recommend going out for some Korean on Bloor West west of Bathurst. There are a couple of okay cheap Falafel/Schwarma shops at Bloor and Bathurst. There used to be the Roti Palace (I think that is what it was called) on the west side of Bathurst, south of Bloor. Dim Sum on Spadina and in Kensington is always pretty cheap cuisine. I am not a big fan of the SpringRolls chain or of Red Lobster. The latter of which I think destroys otherwise good seafood. If I think of any others, I will add them. Mark

I was very unimpressed with DISH when I went a couple of years ago. I thought that it was not good value for the price. I suppose if you just wanted to sit back and drink mediocre wine or beer and watch someone cook it might be okay. Here is a link to my review of that experience: Review of Dish Experience I have really enjoyed the GBC School of Hospitality continuing ed courses. I took one on Sushi making, which was fun and very informative. The cost was reasonable too. Granted, I am a bit biased as a former GBC Hospitality grad. You get a receipt that can be applied against your taxes to boot. I don't know if Bonnie Stern still conducts her school, but I have heard good things about it from baby boomers who have attended. I always enjoy the demos at the Cookbook Store too. Here is a link to an earlier thread we did on cooking schools in the GTA: GTA Cooking Schools Mark

I have not been to the restaurant, but I did want to comment on the article by Joanne Kates. I actually thought it was pretty thorough and fair. She went twice and she tried both sushi and non-sushi dishes. I have had horrendous Chawanmushi in Toronto. The worst being from Mysushi on yonge where the egg was curded and the fake crab was unappetizing. I personally hate most Japanese fusion places as they tend to rely too heavily on mayonaise and deep fried items going in sushi or on, in the case of sushi pizza. The Bagel sushi sounds disgusting, but very Montreal. I agree with her about any restaurant that drowns everything in sauce. But I am sure their sushi is better than TandT's or Bento Nouveau. How can it not be? I, for one, am glad she was honest and hard as I don't want to make the mistake of going their looking for Japanese cuisine. Mark

I see that Cumbrae's has a Bayview location. i will have to try it out. Mark

My favourite butcher shop at the moment is The Butchers on Yonge, which sell a lot of interesting marinated chicken breasts and sausages, incredible homemade hot dogs, and some game. Not everything they sell is organic, but a lot of it is. I have also purchased a lot from Whitehouse meats, both on Bayview and at the Market. The Boar was good and I love Emu/Ostrich. But, I prefer to get my oxtail and ribs from Korean stores. I have never been overly impressed with Pusateri's, save when they had Wagyu beef. Where is Cumbrae? I have never been. I keep meaning to get to the Cheese Boutique. Mark

Hello all, I was wondering where people in the north end of the GTA (North York, Markham, Vaughan, and Richmond Hill) go for good Banh Mi--Vietnamese sandwiches with meat and pickled carrot and daikon on a french roll. I used to pick them up from the T&T at the promenade, but they haven't got them in early enough the last few times I have been. So I am looking for suggestions, preferably places that make the sandwiches themselves. I know tons of places on Dundas and Spadina, but nothing in the North End of the GTA where I live. I would make them myself, but haven't bought the book that has the charcuterie in it, from Chapters yet. Please help, as I have cravings! Mark

I mostly get the Ramen at Konichiwa, I think it was called the Tampopo after the movie. Let me know what you think of Boujadi, not super cheap, but good food and great to share. Mark

Konnichiwa on Baldwin was good. I also liked Boujadi on Eglinton for Morrocan tagine cuisine. Mark

Thanks for the correction, I have yet to make it out to the Cheese Boutique on the South Kingsway as it is far from my part of town, but I would love to do so to compare it with Pusateri's which I know well. Mark

I am so sorry that you had such a terrible experience there. It has been a couple of years since I last dined there and can say that my experience was not nearly so negative. Mind you, I have only dined there for brunch, not dinner. Anyone else have a recent dining experience from the Ambassador to share? You should have taken pictures of the fly floating in the soup with a camera-phone or something. Mark

Which Cheese Boutique are we comparing? The one on Mount Pleasant at Eglinton or the original? Mark

If you are considering getting a ceramic knife, why not get the pink one that Kyocera is selling where some of the proceeds go towards breast cancer research. Ming Tsai, it seems, still pushes the Kyocera line. Any more experiences with the PC line from anybody? Mark

I used to get the Ashton Greene catalogue. They are based in Ottawa right? Will they still replace a broken ceramic knife if it is dropped? I know most places will only replace if there is a defect or if it is a result of regular wear and tear, not including falls. The Kyocera ceramics are, in my experience, very sharp. They supposively hold their edge for a very long time. ( I have heard 5 years bantered around, but I have never used one for that length of time). Kyocera even has ones that mimic Damascus Steel:Kyocera Damascus-like Knives Mark