Recipe: Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread

When you're bananas are ripping too quickly and it looks like it's past the point of eating it, this is the time for some baking.

I forgot where I found the recipe, but it's nothing too special. But I have been using this particular recipe over and over and no ones had any complaints yet.
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Here's a step-by-step of how I make my banana bread (Chocolate Swirl in top)

Before you begin, turn on the oven to 350 degrees
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Let's start with SUGAR and EGGS

I like to reduce my sugar content, so that I'm able to add/top with things like chocolate swirl etc.

First, put in 1/2 cup of SUGAR

Beat 2 eggs, add to the SUGAR and blend lightly

Add in:

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Add in 1 and 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and then mix till blended well

When it looks like it's getting too dry, add in 1/4 cup of vegetable oil

Mix lightly and when blended, add in 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (the recipe calls for sour cream, but since I didn't have it I used yogurt. Plus it's healthier)

Lastly, stir (by hand) in the mashed bananas. I used 6 small bananas in this recipe.

and stir together

Before you pour in the batter, grease the pan. I greased it with olive oil.

When your oven is set to 350 degrees, you can take the chocolate chips and put it in the oven for 5-7 minutes to melt easily. 

Once melted, take the melted chocolate and make any design you'd like on the top crust of the banana bread. It's totally up to you.

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And here's the finish loaf:

It was very tasty and moist!

=0)

I'll see you guys in May. I'm going away on vacation for one week, so I'll probably have more blog posts to share with ya'll very very soon!

Food Review: Maxx Seafood Grill (Richmond Hill)

I went to Maxx Seafood Grill in Richmond Hill.

It's located at East Beaver Creek Rd/Highway 7 area. In this area, there is a big clump of restaurants, bubble tea stores and a movie theater. Great for night time for all your needs.

This is the first time I've ever heard of the restaurant, but thought we'd try it out as I went with friends who lived around the area. 

Went out early for lunch and so it was barely filled. The space was very large. The waiter placed us in the front of the restaurant which was very spacious and comfortable. The place was decorated very nice and quite 'shiny'. We took a both seat that was small-medium. Just right for 4 people.

They have a big menu. They offer many appetizers, sandwiches, seafood, salads and pastas.

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It's been a while since I've had one, so I was happy to order a Maxx's Cheeseburger ($13.00).

I actually enjoy this type of bun on a burger -maybe not as soft but this bun encompassed the thick meat inside. 

I was delighted to have slices (unfortunately, they were very thin slices) of avocado in my burger. And for the cheese portion, they used brie -my favorite. 

The meat did not taste dry, but it did taste kind of bland. It was saved by the rest of the ingredients.

The service ................... 2.5/5

(We were the first ones for lunch, so he was definitely good)

The atmosphere ............... 4.3/5 

(Very nice decorum and the space was large but nicely decorated everywhere)

The prices ...................... $$$ (normal for most seafood places)

Overall, it wasn't bad. I might have a better gauge during dinner and when there's more people. That's where you get the real service experience. =0)

2013 Summer Deals in Canada!

Summer weather is ALMOST... (yes almost, not quite) here! It's not yet hot but the deals are!

Summer deals happening with a hint of competition.

McDonalds vs. Tim Horton

All summer long, certain drinks will be $1.00 (plus tax)

It's not unusual that McDonald is having their $1 on soft drinks (any size) and $1 iced coffee

As well, McDonalds will have their FRUIT SMOOTHIES (snack size) for $1.00 between April 22-28, 2013!

At Tim Horton's, they're offering $1 on Iced Coffee (small), Icy cold frozen Rasberry Lemonade (small), Frozen lemonade (small), or Iced latte (small).

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Note: And it's all on right now! Not sure how long Tim Horton's will be, but McDonalds will be on all summer longer!

Hmmmmmmmm... choices choices. 

Now that you know, share this post with all your friends!

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Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Food Review: Khao San Road

In the past year my friends, acquaintances, and old co-workers have mentioned how Khao San Road is THE THAI restaurant to eat it.

And so after a year, I finally made it out with my friends to go try it out.

It's funny because it's not a very easy restaurant to find, but if you were to tell people, "you'll know where it is when you see there's a big line-up". When we got there at 6:00pm on a Saturday, we had a wait time of 45 minutes. *Aiyah!!!! Soooo long! But still... we waited because 2/3 of my party hadn't tried it yet.

This is what the store front looks like:

No visible sign... wait..... wait.... I think I found it.....

There IT is (photo above). 

Note: It's the white paper sign in the middle. 

Ok, enough of the obvious, let's dip right into the food, the prices, the service and the atmosphere.

The bar area and in the foreground of the photo (above), this is the start of the line.

They have 2 long cafeteria style tables that seats snugly and on bar stools in the front of house. A nice thing about this space is that underneath the tables have complimentary hooks  for you to hang your belongings -and they don't really get in the way of your feet. *thumbs up*

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The 2-page menu:

I thought they had a okay menu list. It was kind of small, but I guess (from what others have said) that all the packed people know when something is good, so whatever is on the menu, must be good as well.

Cup of Tom Yum Soup ($3.00). Warning: Very spicy, even for the people who enjoy and can tolerate spice. The cup is also very small (photo below).

Tom Yum Soup is probably one of my favorite soups (when it's not too spicy). The soup that night was very tasty and the ingredients tasted fresh as well. If it wasn't overly spicy, I think I could have enjoyed a lot more of it.

This is the craziest drink I've ever tasted. It felt like a million different ingredients in my mouth.  This was the Sa Koo Ma Prao drink. It's a sweet coconut milk, flavoured with pandon, and strips of tender young coconut. ($4.00). 

At first glance, you think it's a mango puree juce. But no! it's not! After my first sip, I tasted black tea, milky, sweet and a hint of mango and a lot of creaminess. It definitely felt similar to that of bubble tea, but insanely creamy. I liked the newest of it, but I'm not sure if it's something I would order again. Maybe it's too different for my taste buds.

For my main dish, I ordered the Khao Soi braised beef with wedge of lime ($15.00).

Before I came here, I did a little research on Yelp and other websites. One of the most repetitive dishes ordered was this one. And from the photos, they looked really good. However, when I ordered the Khao Soi, I thought it would have more orange and oil sauce and not this pure yellow-y sauce. The sauce was very creamy and light with minimal spiciness as I ordered mild. The sauce and noodle ratio was a bit off. There was a lot more sauce, which caused me to get a doggy bag for mostly 'sauce'. The braised beef was very soft and tender and well seasoned.

And of course, this wouldn't be a complete review without trying their Pad Thai (photo below).

I tried one Pad Thai with medium heat and another with mild. I absolutely can handle mild heat. And the Pad Thai was delicious. However, for the price ($14 & $16), it's a little pricey in comparison to others I've tried around downtown area like Salad King ($8-10, Dundas/Yonge) or Real Thailand ($8.95, Spadina/Bloor).

Overall....

From what I heard and my experience

Wait time for seating ....... 45 minutes

Wait time for food ......... 50 minutes (around 40 - 60 mins)

Price .......... 1.4/5 (over-priced compared to most thai restaurants)

Atmosphere .......... 4/5

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

Taste ................ 3.4/5

Total: 3.3/5

Yes, I was hyped up from other peoples' opinions and that did make my review a little bias. However, judging on my experience/price/atmosphere/wait times, it isn't something I'd like to do again.

Food Review: Boris Bistro (Montreal)

Old Montreal Restaurant | Boris Bistro

The restaurant is located at 465 McGill Street (Rue McGill) and it is more than just a french restaurant. 

This restaurant, during the warmer seasons, Boris opens up a vast area south of the building to a beautiful and open patio. Unfortunately, it's winter and much too cold to dine outside. I will definitely try to come back in the summer and take lots of photos of the outdoor space.

The interior is also nice, but triangular and limited space. 

Now.... onto the food:

We started off with French Fries in Duck Fat with Boris mayonnaise ($5.00) because I was tipped off (Foursquare app) that an order of these fries was to die for. Now I'm coming back with a review of "NO". Sorry, nothing special and the fries were not very tasty -a bit burnt.

For my entree, I ordered the Pork osso buco ($24.00). It was a pork and cheesy polenta dish. The polenta was very creamy and very very cheesy (+ +) and the pork was very nice and tender. The brussel sprouts were also well coated in a nice seasoning. Overall, this was a very delicious dish.

The menu had a limited list of food offerings, but I was pleased to see that their entree menu had a wide variety. The prices were $$$ range.

Overall, the service was very friendly as well professional and the food was a little above average.

Would I come again? I think I would like to try their lunch menu out on the deck in the spring or summer periods.

Boris Bistro, I'll be back!

Food Review: Memories of Japan

In Toronto and around the GTA there are just a million Japan type restaurants. But who's to know which one are the good ones?

Well, like most, they offer very similar entrees and similar medium priced food. I was actually very surprised to see Memories of Japan (located on Don Mills Road between Lawrence and Eglinton Avenue East).

From first glance, you can tell that this is a much older restaurant. Inside is the same. One thing that brought me back to my childhood in Windsor was this paper place mat (photo below).

Memoirs of Japan has 2 dining areas, 1) regular dining area and 2) Teppanyaki

At first, the manager sat us down in the Teppanyaki without even asking where we wanted. First strike!

However, we did get to have a look at what was on the Teppanyaki menu. I haven't been to one in a while, so I had always assumed it would be pricey due to the 'extra' show they do for the customers. 

Turns out it can be as low as $9.95 for a show and a tasty teppanyaki meal. But as it was, we decided to go to the other dining area to eat.

For lunch, their set menus were not too shabby. For myself, I ordered a chicken terriyaki bento box. But unlike most bento box orders, this also includes ice cream. 

For $8.95, you get:

3 pieces of salmon sushi

3 pieces of  cucumber sushi

miso soup

Bento box (salad w/ dressing, fried tofu, chicken  terriyaki, steamed rice, steamed broccoli)

ice cream (choice from vanilla, green tea, red bean, mango)

Overall, the food was good. Nothing out of the ordinary. The salmon sushi seemed pretty fresh.  But it was the amount of food (and dessert included in most bento sets) for that price made it well worth it. The atmosphere was pretty nice as well, with our party we had 7 people, so we sat in one of their more private rooms. 

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Here's a view of other food items they offer with the prices, if you're interested and in the area (photos below).

Overall, the experience was okay. The service there was not too great though. Some of the waitresses were really hard to understand and the manager there (who sat us without asking where we wanted to eat) had no customer service whatsoever... not even a smile. 

Price .................. 3.8/5

Taste ....... 2.9/5 (good, normal)

Location ............... Lots of parking

Atmosphere .............2.5/5 (still very old fashion, but clean)

Service .................. 1.5/5

Maybe next time I'll come here for their Teppanyaki. =0)