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)