Food Review: Mabu Station 麻布小館

There's a new (opened a couple months ago) place that I'm totally digging on. Yes, I used the term "digging" and yes it's still a cool place to go!

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It's called 

麻布小館 Mabu Station and it's located one street south of Finch Avenue at 5457 Yonge Street, North York (just south of the light on the east side).

The decor is very cute, but a little to "green" for me. Like another blogger said, it has a very IKEA-esque to it. ;p The service is definitely a step up from your average Bubble Tea place in the Toronto GTA. And surprisingly, after I checked out this place on the social medias platforms, I read that one customer had ordered a drink but didn't like it and one of the staff members actually let him returm and replace it with another drink. Wha?????? Does that even happen at bubble tea places? I was shocked and pleasantly surprised.

Another nice known fact is their large snack options as well drink options. They've got A LOT on the menu. On top of that, when I went a couple weeks ago, they had a special going on -Post a photo of your order on either weibo/facebook/twitter and get a drink/dessert equivalent of $5.99 free. And then the cherry on top is their free wi-fi (password is printed on the menu on the top right).

WI-FI password: 6474302175

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Things we ordered:

I wanted something taiwanese (they had a lot of Japanese inspired items), so I got the very popular (on all taiwanese & bbt menus) Taiwanese Style Minced Pork on Rice.

The taste was good. 

The serving was pretty big/average. 

The only thing I didn't quite like was how the egg was cooked - too well-done. But other than that, the rice dish was good. =0)

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Then, we got sweets of the sweets

My friend ordered this, so I didn't think too much about it. I thought it was a waffle until I bit into it. This is a Mocha Fresh Red Bean Belgian Waffle topped with green tea ice cream and surrounded by whip cream. This was pretty decadent and I loved it. But quite honestly, it's HUGE... or rather filling. So I warn all people who order this that it's good for 2-3 people to share.

My Mocha Red Bean Belgian Waffle slice of heaven!

Another fun item on their menu is their Panna Cotta with toffee sauce pudding cup

One was already stolen off the tray before I got my photo in. =0) This was a nice and light dessert, but I don't know if it's really worth ordering outside. It was very cute and I liked the presentation very much.

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And if you really like their food/drinks, just for that and not simply for the atmosphere, then they do take out. Yes! 

They go as north as Highway 7, as west as Keele, as east as Don Mills, as south as Highway 401.

Overall,

Price ................ $ (average)

Atmosphere/Space ............. 3/5, small/medium

Location ........... Yonge/Finch Ave.

Taste ............... 3.5/5

Service ............... 3.5/5

Wifi ................. Free

Food Review: Lobster Trap Restaurant (Vaughan)

Before coming to Lobster Trap, I did my fair share of reading reviews from Yelp and Foursquare and I was very unenthusiastic about trying this place out. First, the taste review was only mediocre, but it was the service that really put a damper on my hope for this place. But going into it, at least I knew what to to expect... poor service. I went because we had already purchased a deal/coupon.

When we get there right when they opened. It was a very small "L" shaped restaurant. It took a couple of seconds before we get a host/waitress to attend to us. But when he gets to us, he has a big smile and seems very friendly.

He seated us and was very well-mannered in asking our beverage preference. 

Good start!

The place has much to desire, but I was already prepared for a mediocre to bad restaurant experience. 

When another waitress came to set down our "table bread", she was just as pleasant and smiley as our waiter. They served 4 thick slices of garlic bread. It was fresh and was a very good!

So far.... so good!

While we looked through the menu, we noticed just how expensive their prices were. If you compare one item, such as Lobster Roll with Diana's Restaurant, we noticed a very big difference. Whereas Diana's cost $16 (a little smaller than Lobster Trap), Lobster Traps' was $24. A very big difference in price!

We ended up ordering:

Lobster Bisque, large ($14)

Rack of Lamb + Caesar salad ($31)

Lobster Roll + Garden salad ($24)

Lobster Bisque (photo above)

Caesar & Garden Salads (photos above) 

Rack of Lamb (New Zealand)

Lobster Roll

I truly enjoyed the Lobster Bisque. It was thick, creamy and very very filling. The salads were made nicely and it didn't have too much/too little dressing on either salads.

I thought my Lobster Roll was quite stuffed. And for that price, I was happily satisfied. The taste was good, but in truth, it's my first Lobster Roll, so I have nothing to compare it to.

And lastly, the Rack of Lamb was cooked nicely (medium rare) and I kind of enjoyed the mint jelly accompanied with my lamb. Another first for me!

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The waiter came to check in on us and I didn't have a single bad thought about their service.

Overall, I thought was a very pleasant dinner.

The only thing I was say they now need to improve upon is their decorum. It lacks much and it makes the whole restaurant atmosphere very... dull. 

Taste ............. 3/5

Service ............ 4/5 

(after reading those bad reviews)

Price ............ $$$

Location ...................... Vaughan 

(minutes away from Vaughan Mills) 

Atmosphere ................... 2/5

Cleanliness .................... 3.5/5

Win film passes to SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (Toronto)

How to win a pair of tickets to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Film comes out Christmas Day

Starring Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig & Sean Penn

Click for Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGWO2w0H2V8

1) Make sure you are available this Thursday evening, location is downtown Toronto

2) Leave your name & e-mail in the comments

3) Add in comments: Your favorite theccgirl Food Review post & what you liked about it

(poster from google, does not belong to theccgirl)

IMBb Synopsis:

A day-dreamer escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, he takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

If-you-win details:

When: Thursday December 5, 2013

Time: 6:00pm

Location: Downtown 

# of tickets: 2 pair of passes (exchange for tickets at location, night of). Please note if you want 2 or 4 tickets. First draw gets to choose. Thanks!

Winner will be picked at random. Contest closes Tuesday December 3 @ 11:59pm. Winner will be notified by e-mail Wednesday December 4, 2013.

Good luck & Happy Tuesday!

Food Review: Pho Vietnam (Scarborough)

On a cold windy & rainy day out, what better than something hot to eat and warm up with?

My usual go-to for that remedy is always hot soup, but this time, I got my fix with a bowl of Pho.

A new plaza (clean and with lots of parking), opened about two years ago, just north of the corner plaza on Finch and Midland (west side) with a lot of restaurant choices. The strip plaza is not a bad size.

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With lots of restaurants to choose from, narrowing it down can be a little difficult since everything is Asian cuisine. But fortunately, it was easy to make this decision for Pho (really close by the church I attended last Sunday).

I ordered: 

Bowl of Pho (small, $6.50) with rare beef slices & tendon in noodles

I love my pho just as it is. I don't add any hot spices or other sauces.

The beef, I thought was delicious and tender as was the noodles. 

I was, however, disappointed with just how chewy the tendon pieces are. I like a good soft sticky and slightly chewy tendon. And the soup had much lacking in flavour or it was way too mild for my taste buds.

*when we ordered our pho, our waitress asked us if we'd like fresh or dry noodles. Hm?? what did she mean by that? 

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One thing I've sadly noticed is the hike up for Pho. A couple years ago, you can get a small bowl for $4.50-$5.00. =0( Maybe that's why I haven't been to any phos lately.

Overall,

Price ................. $-$$

Atmosphere .................... 4/5 Clean & Modern

Service ................ 4/5 Very friendly staff

Taste .................. 3/5

Food Review: La Société Bistro

When it comes to french food, I am all about the indulgence. The cheese, the creamy sauces, the steak frites and so on. It's always such a pleasure-filled experience!

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And now Toronto gets one of Montreals' own, La Société, in Yorkville.

Out for dinner, I indulge my taste buds with a warming appetizer of Classic Onion Soup ($13) with a thick layer of  Gruyere cheese on top.

I must admit this is one of the better French Onion soups' I've tasted. It was packed with lots of thinly cut onion and bread. But of course, I didn't want to fill up on that, so I gave in for only the Gruyere cheese. Very very good soup!

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For my main, I felt the need to try this ever since I watched White Chicks, when actress Jaime King tries to make a snobby joke about a Nicoise Salad.  Tonight, I finally got my Tuna Nicoise.

The presentation was a show stopper. Beautifully made and oh-so colourful. 

Tuna Nicoise Salad ($28) had fresh beans, potatoes (regular and blue), assorted cherry tomatoes, olives and lemon vinaigrette.

The most magical combination in this dish was the small but intense anchovies and hard boiled egg. It was a mouth full of tasty textures.

My only negatives to the salad:

I would have liked the beans a little softer. It was a bit too stiff for my liking. Lastly, the tuna was seasoned very well (not too salty on the crust) but it was the roughness on my tongue that made the thick pieces of tuna hard to enjoy.

Overall...

Atmosphere .......... 4.8/5

Price ............... $$$

Service ............. 4.8/5

Taste (tonight's meal) ........... 3.2/5

Location ........ Yorkville (on Bloor, east of Avenue, 2nd floor) 

Food Review: Jetsun Juicy Burger (North York location)

In the heart of North York's downtown -Empress Walk-Sheppard Grande Centre, you'll find that many of the foodie places are Mom & Pop stores... and for that I'm happy! However, this "Jetsun Juicy Burger" can't quite be called a Mom & Pop now that it has 2 locations. It's growing and I'd thought I'd give it a try... before it got really big.

The interior is decorated like a very cheesy old diner. It gets the feel across that you've went back in time... unfortunately the prices stayed in the present time.

The price range for burgers alone are $6-9. It's an average among most burger joints.

What drew me to this place was their milkshakes. For some reason, I feel like I rarely see item anywhere.... but then again maybe I haven't "really" been searching for it. And then they've got combos for about $10 (regular size fries & drink -$1.00 upgrade)

I ordered the regular "Jetsun Juicy burger and another one with cheese. 

2 burgers came to $14.22

How'd it taste?

The burger wasn't very thick, but the juiciness made it into my book of good. My only complaint is it wasn't a mouth full when I bit into the burger.

Overall.....

Service: Slow but friendly (went on a Saturday morning, 11:40am)

Atmosphere: Medium size restaurant, fairly clean

Price: Average 

Taste: Average (like any other burger joint)

2.7/5 stars

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival | Nov 5-16, 2013

CALLING ALL....

Film lovers..... here's a festival you don't want to miss this year ;p

(photo from the official Reel Asian website)

REEL ASIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

2013

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 |theccgirl choices|

How To Use Guys With Secret Tips 남자사용설명서

Thursday Nov. 7 @ 8:30pm

Choi Bo-Na spends her days on movie sets hiding in the shadow of her sexist boss and baggy hoodie. When she stumbles upon a secret instructional video, she suddenly gets...

Zone Pro Site: Moveable Feast 總舖師：移動大廚

Sunday Nov. 10 @ 2:00pm

This Taiwanese box-office comedy hit serves up gut-busting laughs as Wan (played by Kimi Hsia), daughter of banquet caterer Master Fly Spirit, teams up with her mother to bring catering honour back to their family name.

Linsanity 林書豪旋瘋

Saturday Nov. 16 @ 4:30pm 

The meteoric rise of Jeremy Lin, from an NBA bench warmer to a worldwide phenomenon, coined the term “Linsanity” and created one of the most unforgettable stories in sports and Asian American history.

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For more info, tickets, synopsis, film schedule, go to:

www.reelasian.com

(Toronto & Richmond Hill)

Snack Review: Starbucks Pumpkin Loaf

In full swing of Autumn 2013, Starbucks delves into their "seasonal menu". My favorite is autumn. Everything pumpkin!

Truth be told, I don't like to eat pumpkin pie, but everything else I like... for example Starbucks' Pumpkin Spiced Latte. It's not overly sweet and a hint of the pumpkin spice that gives it a perfect kick.

Today, I wanted to try something more snack-y.... Starbucks' Pumpkin Loaf

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What helped me pick this particular loaf was its density, jam pack ingredients and "somewhat" healthier choice (pine nuts, raisins, walnuts).

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Of course, with items that look that this, I can't help but check out their chart, nutrition chart of course:.

(screenshot from the Starbucks.ca website)

The stats, like most stats in the Starbucks' variety, isn't always the best choice for. But I knew it had to be better than getting anything with chocolate chips and/or caramel drizzle. ;p

I bought this in the morning, so it was a nice and fresh.

This compared to the lemon poppy seed loaf, the pumpkin kicks its butt! Mind you, all the poppy seed loaves I've tried at Starbucks have been extremely dry -very hard to eat. But this pumpkin loaf is a real winner in the snack department.

Good one! I hope you would make this a "regular" on the menu!!!

FREE FRENCH FRIES FRIDAYS

Burger King is giving away (no purchase necessary) their newest (and 40% less fat) rippled french fries at participating locations every Friday until November 1, 2013.

That means today and next Friday only to try their new fries for FREE!

But its only between lunch time, 12:00 - 2:00pm 

Every Friday until November 1, 2013.