The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 2)

[Kerry Beal]

Anna and I were out and about on the weekend - decided at lunchtime that Indian would suit.  Went to the Bombay Grill.  

 

 

Beer for Anna.

 

 

Onion bhaji.

 

 

Mixed breads.

 

 

Beef Saag, lamb madras curry and mutter paneer as I recall.

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

My Sumeet needs a bit of repair to get it back to grinding as it should.  Anna and I ran to Markham yesterday to drop it off.  

 

No trip to that area is complete without visiting the Korean Galleria and J-town.  Lunch was at Niwatei in J-town.  

 

 

I had tonkotsu ramen.

 

 

Anna opted for chashu ramen.  

 

 

Inari and karaage.  

 

 

An all in one cooker seen at the Korean Galleria.  

[Anna N]

On Thursday we headed back to our Burlington Bistro on Plains Road.

A Rickard's Red for me while Kerry sipped on a glass of water.

Kerry chose the burger bundle with frites.

I ordered the salmon strudel also with frites.

[Anna N]

Yesterday we lunched within spitting distance of these two images. Anyone know where we were?

The restaurant was a Japanese place called Taki. We joked that we hoped it wasn't tacky! But we practically had to fight our way past Japanese tourists to get in. Seemed a good omen and so it turned out to be.

Kerry enjoyed tea from this lovely cup

I enjoyed a draft Sapporo.

Shrimp Shu Mai

Calamari karaage (for you, rotuts)

Tempura Platter

Beef Taki

I asked Kerry to take this photograph to show you the chopstick rest. It was so simple and yet so effective. It seemed to be nothing more than a lump of clay into which the Potter had pressed a thumb.

[Anna N]

Today we met up with member patris for lunch in Buffalo, New YorK. We can always count on her to find an interesting venue. Today she chose a restaurant called Martin Cooks. We knew we were in for an interesting lunch when Kerry spotted a Thermomix and a Poly Science sous vide set up in the open kitchen.

patris ordered the mushroom rissotto

Kerry selected the shrimp with grits

And I ordered the short ribs

As we finished lunch Kerry went to powder her nose (ladies who lunch frequently do this), I was able to attract the attention of Martin who then came over to chat with us. patris and I tried to keep him engaged until Kerry returned. It was then much fun to watch as Martin and Kerry played a game of "I've got more toys than you!" Before we left the two of them had arranged to meet sometime in November to play with Kerry's rotovap and Martin's centrifuge.

[Smithy]

image.jpg

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Yesterday we lunched within spitting distance of these two images. Anyone know where we were?

 

 

How long will we wait before you tell us?  I'd guess "somewhere in Toronto!" but that's pretty vague.    The Waterpark doesn't ring any bells for me.

[FauxPas]

Niagara Falls? 

[Deryn]

I suspect ... 5500 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls Ontario. Had you not given me the name of the restaurant though I would never have been able to look it up online, nor guessed where it was.

[huiray]

5500 Victoria Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3L2, Canada it seems to be.  The "Waterpark" is across from the restaurant.  One can see the building on Googlemaps.  Views from the windows on the south side upper level of that building, looking across the parapet wall of that "well area"?  (Did they recently renovate those windows?)  There is a two-headed old-style street lamp about the right position - or thereabouts - shortly beyond the parapet edge and "positioned" between the squarish "tower" on the left (eastern point of the Skyline Inn, in front of the Waterpark) and the angled view of the NE end of the Waterpark...?

Edited October 2, 2014 by huiray (log)

[Ashen]

kittycorner to a country inn and suites I have stayed at a few times  , although I always thought it was called Saitoh..  I guess I wasn't paying close attention.   If you are looking for a bit of a hidden gem in Niagara falls, try Bettys restaurant.  Not fancy just well cooked homestyle food, decent prices , less hectic than most restos in the tourist areas of town. 

[Anna N]

Yes. Right in the middle of touristy Niagara Falls. But it was remarkably civilized. We ended up there only because we had an errand in nearby Fort Erie. Ashen, thanks for the recommendation.

[Anna N]

5500 Victoria Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3L2, Canada it seems to be.  The "Waterpark" is across from the restaurant.  One can see the building on Googlemaps.  Views from the windows on the south side upper level of that building, looking across the parapet wall of that "well area"?  (Did they recently renovate those windows?)  There is a two-headed old-style street lamp about the right position - or thereabouts - shortly beyond the parapet edge and "positioned" between the squarish "tower" on the left (eastern point of the Skyline Inn, in front of the Waterpark) and the angled view of the NE end of the Waterpark...?

Bull's eye! Don't know anything about renovations.

[Anna N]

Niagara Falls?

Yes it is. Usually visited only when friends or family arrive from distant planets.

[Anna N]

For our last lunch before heading north

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149603-falling-back-on-island-time/

we opted for more Asian food as it will be in short supply for the next 3 weeks.

We headed back to Sakai, the Korean/japanese restaurant on Fairview in Burlington.

Kerry's tea

Miso soup

The ubiquitous "Japanese" salad

Beef goolgobi for me

Chicken Karaage for Kerry

We were hoping this "portrait" would make our fortunes if we posted it on eBay. It surely looks like? Marlene Dietrich?

Edited to fix many issues with formatting etc..

Edited October 4, 2014 by Anna N (log)

[gfweb]

Betty Boop.

[Smithy]

gfweb beat me to it! :-D

Those serving setups are very cool. They make me think of bento boxes, but they're trays instead. I don't suppose they're called bento trays? Are they lacquerware?

[Kerry Beal]

gfweb beat me to it! :-D

Those serving setups are very cool. They make me think of bento boxes, but they're trays instead. I don't suppose they're called bento trays? Are they lacquerware?

Plastic made to look like lacquer unfortunately.  

[MelissaH]

As we finished lunch Kerry went to powder her nose (ladies who lunch frequently do this), I was able to attract the attention of Martin who then came over to chat with us. patris and I tried to keep him engaged until Kerry returned. It was then much fun to watch as Martin and Kerry played a game of "I've got more toys than you!" Before we left the two of them had arranged to meet sometime in November to play with Kerry's rotovap and Martin's centrifuge.

 

Oh, man, I'd love to be there for that playdate!

[Anna N]

So we are back in the saddle again! today we revisited Hakka Fresh.

This was the reason for our return visit. This is spicy deep fried cauliflower which we had enjoyed so much on our first visit. Can you believe they changed it? It was still very good but different. We tried to get some forensic shots:

I know Kerry talked to our server about the change and perhaps she will pop in and tell us what she learned

We also had Mongolian beef and

Hakka chicken chop suey.

There were enough leftovers for each of us for another meal.

Edited because I can spell cauliflower and to add the comment about the leftovers.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

Yesterday Kerry Beal and I went off towards the Asian section of Mississauga looking for stainless steel lunchboxes. Kerry has a new hammer, a freeze dryer, and needed a container to enable her to freeze dry certain ingredients. Serendipitously I had hoped for Ramen for lunch. And so it was that we ended up once again at Kenzo.

Tonkotsu sho-yu for Kerry

Tonkotsu hakata style for me

Sorry but I don't recall the name of this dish. It was tofu of some sort in a sauce. I quite happily surrendered my share to Kerry.

And of course we can never resist takoyaki.

[huiray]

image.jpg

Sorry but I don't recall the name of this dish. It was tofu of some sort in a sauce. I quite happily surrendered my share to Kerry.

 

 

Agedashidofu.

 

I will happily scarf down multiple orders of this.

[Anna N]

Agedashidofu.

 

I will happily scarf down multiple orders of this.

Thank you for providing that link. I am so glad we are all different! It wasn't horrible just uninteresting.

[huiray]

Thank you for providing that link. I am so glad we are all different! It wasn't horrible just uninteresting.

 

:-)

 

Mind you, the serving you got (assuming it *was* agedashidofu) had somewhat clunky toppings and not enough shoyu in a too-small and too-shallow dish.  Various restaurants/establishments have variations on how they put together this dish but the ones I enjoy the most are the ones where the tofu is served piping hot (almost scaldingly so) sitting in a shallow pool of just-so-slightly cool shoyu in a semi-deep correctly sized flat-bottomed dish/bowl with toppings of either grated daikon or finely shaved katsuoboshi, usually with some finely sliced scallions as well.  There is an enjoyable contrast of textures and flavors and temperatures all in one small dish and with one bite.** With the proper bowl and the proper temperature of the tofu, a rising heat column above the bowl gets created and when topped with katsuoboshi the shaved fish flakes that are placed on top of the tofu dance and wiggle as if they are alive.  It's a little extra entertainment and adds to the visual appeal - and is a bit startling to someone who has never seen this dish "come alive" in front of him/her before.  I used to enjoy ordering properly-executed agedashidofu for co-diners in this category and watching the look on their faces when they noticed the dancing fish ribbons/flakes. :-D

 

** But, in anycase, I like tofu so that also factors in.

[Kerry Beal]

The tofu was silky smooth and custardy.  Didn't see any dancing though!

[MelissaH]

That tofu looks REALLY good. Any chance of another Ladies Lunch on this side of the border before the snow starts to fly?