Blog Archives

Out & About #218 | Weekend Visuals: Kenzo Ramen + Homemade Waffles

4/9/2016

Kenzo is pretty awesome. It is the sole source for ramen in Mississauga (Oh, I digress!), but is constantly introducing new menu items to keep up with the hype.

On our most recent visit, we ordered the Black Tonkotsu Ramen, Tonkotsu Ramen, and Tsukemen with a tangy-spicy dipping sauce.

And of course, I couldn't stop by Kenzo without ordering their signature takoyaki dish. Albeit a tad pricey at $9.95, the flavour and quality has always remained consistent; it's definitely more promising than other other variation I've tried in Vancouver or at summer night markets.

As always, find the full album HERE !

Also consumed over the weekend was a brunch of homemade waffles with mango mint cream and limoncello gelato.

The recipe is still in the middle of being tweaked, though it should hopefully make its way over to What I Make shortly!

Out & About #217 | New Balance Toronto Grand Opening + McMaster Light Up The Night

4/8/2016

Utter awe - it's most common reaction I receive from peers, family, and friends when I inform them that my daily morning routine involves three alarms going off simultaneously at 5 AM. In all honesty, the commute isn't nearly as bad as one would think, considering that Mississauga has one of the largest transportation hubs within the GTA.

Waking up early has its perks. shorter lineups, less traffic on the road, and an abundance of parking spots, just to name a few. Additionally, it also means that grand opening events at 7:30 AM aren't too challenging of a trip to make either.

The "Coming Soon" sign outside of New Balance's proposed location in Exchange Tower had remained as such since last fall, thus failing to draw any sort of excitement from me until the recent spikes in temperature. In anticipation of the warmer weather, I had sprinted to Square One just last week to invest a pair of faux fur-less footwear, only to be informed of their Grand Opening event a few days afterwards.

With every $160 (or more specifically, $159.99) purchase, customers would receive a free pair of 574 Lifestyle Sneakers with a customized insole. Limited to the first three hundred valid purchases (150 for women and 150 for men), I had anticipated the worst as I neared Financial District.

I joined the lineup at approximately 7:15 AM; thankfully, there were only about twenty people ahead of me. The staff were kind enough to allow us into the store several minutes before 7:30 AM. The chaos began from that point onwards.

With the number of customers greatly outweighing that of the store staff, requesting for shoe sizes and processing checkout orders was quite the lengthy process. Ultimately though, I walked out with a new pair of running shoes (to replace my current pair of disintegrating Nikes) as well as the 574s in a striking shade of royal purple. (Also pictured below is the eccentric grey pair from Square One.)

The remainder of the day involved stopping over at City Hall, among other things such as visiting Chatime's prime downtown location.

With copious experiences at the Mississauga location behind me, I had expected nothing less from its Toronto flagship. I had approximately twenty minutes until my next train would depart, and opted to wait it out for the sake of avoiding rush hour back home. This was a very poor decision indeed.

I recall having to wait approximately five minutes to place an order on my first visit, along with not being able to find the washroom at the back due to its concealed doorway. Taking sloth-like order-processing properties to new heights, this round cost me ten minutes in wait time, as well as another seven minutes for drink preparation.

Despite the inexplicably picky and indecisive family in front of me in line, the experience was made a bit better by the girls creating the drinks behind the counter. Though not the most efficient, they were undoubtedly friendly, even donning the welcoming demeanours amidst the crafting chaos.

The Thai Milk Tea and Thai Coffee Milk Tea were equally as tasty as the Misssissauga location, though I can't say I'd visit again due to the high volume of bubble tea-goers in the area. The wait is simply not worth it, especially when the waiting area is a narrow corridor with insane levels of noise pollution (and you have to run to make the westbound train back.)

On a more positive note, the highlight of my day was attending McMaster's second annual Light Up The Night Up event. Held on the last official day of the classes, the event is intended to lift students' spirits prior to the painful exam crunch by infiltrating campus grounds with carnival rides, games, and a brief assortment of free food.

View the full album HERE !

Out & About #216 | Uncle Tetsu's Angel Cafe Preview + Bare Burger

4/7/2016

Earlier this week, Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Angel Cafe premiered its first dine-in cafe to eager cheesecake fans on Dundas near St. Patrick station.

The cafe consisted of two levels: the lower featured the standard glass window storefront and cake-making machinery, while a maid cafe was located upstairs. According to Toronto Life, the new outpost includes chocolate, strawberry, and matcha variations of their Angel Hat Cheesecake / Zuccotto, a no-bake, crusted "lunar" cheesecake, chocolate and maple puddings, and beverages such as teas and lattes.

As with all Uncle Tetsu locations, opening hours and product availability is always questionable. Though their official Facebook page had noted that the shop would be open at 3:00 PM, the in-store, or rather out-of-store, experience wasn't quite punctual.

I took the opportunity to stop by on a damp, somewhat chilly Wednesday, just since I happened to be in the area already. At first, I disregarded the lineup of 5 people hovering near the store window - it was now 3:03 PM anyways. Yanking on the ever-resistant door, however, informed me that they were queuing up for the exact same thing I had ventured out to accomplish.

I wanted to obtain a cake. But not just any cake, of course. What my heart desired were the chocolate and matcha Angel Hat Cakes.

About twenty minutes into the waiting game, a bespectacled man with blonde-brown hair appeared in the doorway. He apologized that the cafe hadn't opened at the time that was distinctly posted on the door, mentioning that there were "technical issues".
Some several minutes later, one of the waitresses - well, maids - came out to provide us with the same message. As she was about to turn back into the store, however, I caught her giving us a heads up that the cafe was "dine-in only" and "cash only".

Um, excuse me?

Immediately rushing over to confirm whether the cakes could be taken to-go or not, she denied this option in her semi-broken English apologetically. I had no choice to but to turn back and search for a group willing to make the commute eastward with me.

So much for those twenty minutes of waiting...

Thankfully, the Bay/Dundas area has more to offer than just Uncle Tetsu.

For burger lovers looking to adapt a healthier lifestyle, Bare Burger offers meals comprised of organic, fair trade, pesticide-free, and GMO-free ingredients. It's a refreshing take on something that commonly assumes a slick, greasy form.

And while it is simply a hunch, the name concept is interesting as well: removing the additives from your standard, popular fast food item renders it "bare".

I had been running a tad late, so my friend offered to grab us a table first. Thank goodness too, for the entire restaurant was at full capacity when I stepped in around ten minutes past noon.

Seated next to the window, we were able to obtain the optimal amount of natural light. The glass windows are lofty and large, though didn't quite provide the same degree of illumination to the remainder of the booths and tables.

Despite its non-uniform lighting arrangement though, the orange-tinted dimness paired remarkably well with Bare Burger's funky decor details. From the earthy tones of the wooden tables to the scalloped scales lining the walls, and from the quirky condiment bottle designs to the colourful bear pieces adorning the booths near the bar area, the interior dazzled with vivid aesthetic appeal.

View the full album HERE !

Out & About #215 | Goodfellas

4/1/2016

"Do you want to go for pizza?" is something I rarely ever say.
But let's face it: there are times when the only item you truly crave is a crispy slab of dough with an incredulous amount of toppings.

So we set out for Goodfellas in Streetsville, and arrived just past 7 pm to discover the insane lack of available street parking.

When we managed to finally locate a spot on a residential/institutional side street, we discovered that the restaurant was completely full. We were provided the option of a one-hour wait, or the alternative of sitting in the bar area.

Located in the dimmest section of the restaurant, the bar was nautical-themed and consisted of elements such as life rings, a magenta conch shell lighting fixation, a blue, wooden fish decor piece. The entrance of the bar was seemingly constructed of brick, reminiscent of traditional Italian wood ovens; coherent with the flickering flames situated along the exterior of the restaurant, the bar top design was a hybrid of abstract coal-hued and fiery orange splotches.

The bartender became our waitress, and assisted in placing our food orders and providing us with utensils and napkins. After allowing us to thoroughly discussed Goodfellas' various pizza options, she punched in our order of the Spettacolare.

The fiore di latte- and Parmigiano-topped dish arrived in a little under ten minutes, which was quite swift considering the amount of customers populating the three-part dining area. Along with sauteed mushrooms, the red pizza also included twisted strips of speck, a type of smoked ham boasting a high degree of similarity to prosciutto due to its partially-cooked properties.

Forward>>

Out & About #218 | Weekend Visuals: Kenzo Ramen + Homemade Waffles

Out & About #217 | New Balance Toronto Grand Opening + McMaster Light Up The Night

Out & About #216 | Uncle Tetsu's Angel Cafe Preview + Bare Burger

Out & About #215 | Goodfellas

Who Am I?

Archives

Categories

WHAT DOES "QUIRKY AESTHETICS" MEAN?

Contact ME

Subscribe

Out & About #218 | Weekend Visuals: Kenzo Ramen + Homemade Waffles

Out & About #217 | New Balance Toronto Grand Opening + McMaster Light Up The Night

Out & About #216 | Uncle Tetsu's Angel Cafe Preview + Bare Burger

Out & About #215 | Goodfellas

Who Am I?

Archives

Categories

WHAT DOES "QUIRKY AESTHETICS" MEAN?

Contact ME

​Subscribe

Subscribe