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Out & About #106 | Union Burger

6/27/2015

A number of new retailers and dining places have opened up in the Square One vicinity, and I happened to pass by one by the name of union burger. "ub hungry?" is their slogan, and quite accurately so. I was hungry, which is why I stopped to order takeout.

The interior was painted with a medium red hue with blue undertones; booths and tables were nicely spaced out - there was even a bar spot complete with "ub" engraved into the backs of the stools.

There was also a set of condiments laid out at the cashier, right next to a straw dispenser, ketchup container, and empty containers and lids. Interestingly enough, there were no napkins in sight. (Are they really that scarce these days?!)

Out & About #105 | Collective June Visuals

6/26/2015

June has been an unexpectedly hectic month for me, particularly the weeks that followed my extremely rushed weekend trip to Vancouver.
Numerous places have been visited, and an even greater number of photos were captured. I apologize in advance for this massive photo dump; most of these visuals will have stories associated with them, though there are a select few that I'll leave up to your interpretation.

1. Beaver and moose plushies resting on the dashboard of a vehicle parked adjacent - I applaude this driver for his/her patriotism!

2. Chocolate Glazed Donut from Timmies, as they were completely out of all types of Timbits on one busy afternoon.

3. A magenta Neoprene cross-body bag from Kate Spade that I instantly fell in love with but walked out of the store without making the purchase. A strong sense of regret hit later that evening, and a special trip was made to obtain it the next day.

4. Unlike the image on the website, the Caramel Cocoa Cluster Frappuccino, one of Starbuck's new Fan Flavours introduced towards the beginning of the month, did not boast the decadent chocolate syrup that was shown. It also didn't taste of much else besides sugar combined with more sugar, and that's already after I had requested half the normal dosage of flavoured syrup!

5. While happening to be in the Scarborough area, a small Japanese restaurant was discovered in a hidden part of a busy plaza. A number of items were ordered from Takara Bune, including a Curry Pork Cutlet on Rice, California rolls, an Aloe Drink, and a set lunch consisting of two types of maki rolls.

Out & About #104 | Nohohon Tea Room (Grand Opening)

6/25/2015

One can learn a number of things from browsing images of food at random on Instagram.
I, for one, learned that a tea room by the name of Nohohon (のほほん) would be holding their grand opening on June 25th, complete with a Buy One Get One Free deal. Thinking that this deal would only last for one day, I set out to claim it before it was too late, passing by a number of food places that my friends have wanted to visit/have already visited and mentioned before.

I had actually intended to arrive much earlier, using Yelp as a reference for their opening hours (11:30 AM to 9 PM between Sunday and Thursday), but had missed two of my buses and arrived just a few minutes to 1:00 PM instead. Thankfully, I arrived when I did, as the Grand Opening did not take place until then.

A red carpet had been laid out outside the store, and a small lineup gradually formed as it neared 1:00 PM.

The menu was clearly displayed above the counter and included images of each drink; the distinctness of each carefully concocted beverage made it easy to distinguish between the choices available, even for the evidently indecisive tea fanatics.

After considering all the possible options while waiting in line, I finally decided on the following drinks.
Shown L to R: Yuzu Lemonade, Sencha Mojito, Nohohon Homebrew Hojicha, and Fresh Matcha Latte

Out & About #103 | Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Matcha Cafe

6/24/2015

Today's excursion all began when I had caught sight of a few images of Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Matcha Cafe, a somewhat spin-off like shop that is located right beside their original Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Cheesecake shop at Bay and Dundas, appearing on my Instagram feed the night before. It almost seemed as if the square collages were teasing me - one of the biggest Matcha fans ever; a mission to obtain matcha-themed goodies from the cafe, who had its Soft Opening on Monday, was deemed absolutely necessary.

Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Cheesecake opens at 7 AM, likely in the anticipation of early bird cheesecake lovers; its Matcha Cafe counterpart, unfortunately, was discovered to open five hours later at noon.
No time was wasted, though. As the lineup for cheesecake hadn't even extended past the entrance of the shop, we decided to hop into the line.

Out & About #102 | Kinton Ramen 1 + Kekou Gelato

6/15/2015

Kinton has long been known as Toronto's number 1 ramen restaurant. While I myself am not nearly as familiar with the popular Japanese noodle dish as with bubble tea (also known as my seriously unhealthy addiction), I wasn't about to turn down a chance to visit one very warm evening.

The ramen shop has four locations, sequentially named Kinton Ramen 1, 2, 3, or 4 based on the order in which the store opened. Reviewers seemed to express a slight preference to the dining experience at the first location on Baldwin, so it was ultimately decided that that particular location would be visited.

A streetcar coveniently runs down Spadina, into Chinatown; after a short walk through a residential district that was much over capacity, as observed by the garbage bins between the small, closely-packed houses spilling onto the sidewalk, we caught sight of Kinton Ramen 1.

The entire store exterior bore a simplistic, boxy design. Void of colourful markings or patterns, it would have been easy to stroll by had we not seen their sign. The glass walls are a nice touch, in my opinion, as it allows passerbys to get a glimpse of the deliciousness happening inside. At the same time, though, I can imagine that it could also be quite annoying at times when sunlight is abundant.

Out & about #100 | Mississauga Waterfront Festival

6/13/2015

Apparently this wasn't Mississauga's first time holding a night market-type event, though I was initially convinced that it was.

Nearing the premises, a number of colourful festival rides for kids came into view, along with a few lights from the vendor section. The weather had been relatively gloomy throughout the entire day, with on-and-off periods of light showers, which, thankfully, resulted in a smaller turnout for the first day. This also meant a larger number of closer parking spaces.

There wasn't much for us in the rides; most of them had already existed during my middle school days and it was evident that they needed a major paint job. We strolled past to a short lineup of vendors: a few gritty-looking jewellry pieces were on display at one booth, while another had gaudy dresses. They didn't differ too vastly from CNE vendors outside the Direct Energy Centre, so we made our way towards the aisles of food stalls instead.

Out & About #99 | JaBistro

6/9/2015

I debated a sufficient amount between Guu and JaBistro before finally appointing the "hidden gem of Toronto sushi restaurants" as our dinner location of choice.

With its incredibly minimalist exterior, I almost walked completely past the restaurant, had I not been closely following the route indicated by Google Maps.
The road was quite quiet though, so I highly suggest finding someone to accompany you in the case where you deem a visit to JaBistro necessary following the interpretation of this post. In a few mere seconds of capturing a shot of the the Modern Japanese diner's renown footballfish logo (familiarly referred to as "An-chan"), we caught sight of and were approached by a much destitute being clothed in gravely stained rags. We dove into the restaurant at once, without casting another glance behind us.

Inside, we were welcomed by a neutral-faced, ponytail-sporting hostess and a narrow dining area with soft, yellow-toned lighting. The wooden interior definitely gave off the "cozy hideaway" feeling expressed on their website, while the level of detailed attention given to customers was indicative of the "sophisticated" manner of the restaurant.

As one that feels the need to conduct thorough research on each destination I develop the desire to visit, I learned that JaBistro received a higher amount of positive reviews than Guu. Both restaurants are, apparently, run by the same group of people, though Guu tends to be described as being "loud and chaotic", much to the contrast of JaBistro.
Only one blogger, though, had stated their disapproval - he/she had voiced out that JaBistro seemingly appeared to be the result when a heavily tattooed youngster specializing in street-style eats attempts to become classy. I did not agree with this one bit, and, evidently, neither did the rest of the yelp reviewers.

A (non-alcoholic) Green Tea Mojito and Lemon Lime & Bitters were ordered to start. While the Lemon Lime was tangy as expected, the Green Tea Mojito possessed a strong mint flavour accompanied by an extremely subtle hint of matcha. Though I would've preferred a less subdued green tea flavour, both drinks were refreshing nonetheless.

We then proceeded to order two identical meals, each consisting of a Miso Soup and a Chef's Choice Nigiri Platter. I also ordered a Salmon Oshizushi, as per Yelper recommendations.

Unlike the standard miso soups that commonly come with combos and set dinners at economical Japanese restaurants, this one had been carefully concocted by utilizing fresh miso and lobster broth. The difference in taste was astounding, to say in the least.

Weekend in Vancouver | DAY 3 - Journey Back Home

6/7/2015

The flight back could be considered one of the smoothest domestic flights I've ever experienced. Not only was the security check unbelievably quick (an extremely rare case for YVR), I was also able to consume a proper breakfast before boarding.
Pictured below: Raisin Bran with a slice of pineapple, Oikos Greek Yogurty with Honey, a glass of orange-apple juice, and a small hash brown accompanied by dollops of ketchup and jam (as I was unsure of what my dipping sauce preference would be).

After venturing into one of the gift shops and snapping this shot of adorable Snoopy-themed merchandise, I proceeded to board and seat myself into the most stunning economy seat I've ever seen.

There were even message pop-ups for passenger notifications!

Side note: While I didn't get a chance to visit this time around, I anticipate being able to stop by the Bella Gelateria (located just right outside Fairmont Pacific Rim) for some award-winning gelato in the future. Unfortunately, time was scarce and the lineup was just too long to account for in our tightly-packed schedule.

Weekend in Vancouver | DAY 2 - Burnaby Things: Cattle Cafe + Metrotown

6/6/2015

Having discovered Cattle Cafe last summer, I was more than eager to return to the restaurant for lunch the next day. But it wasn't until we called to make a reservation that we discovered that the Richmond location had closed down.
Consequently, we set out for their Burnaby location instead; this actually worked out quite well, as it allowed for a short period of shopping to be done at Metrotown before returning to Richmond to prepare for dinner.

The full album can be found HERE, though the various food items ordered on this visit are not specified. (It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what each member of the party orders, especially when some members are particularly stingy about having photos of their food captured. LIKE I DON'T THINK YOU LOSE ANYTHING FROM IT, BUT ALRIGHT, DO AS YOU WISH. SOMEONE CLEARLY DOESN'T KNOW THE DRILL AROUND HERE.)

We headed over to Metrotown to pick up a few snacks afterward.

Weekend in Vancouver | DAY 1 - Journey to Vancouver + Copa Cafe

6/5/2015

My day was chaotic to say in the least. But that's what I get for deciding to still work at regular hours before a flight instead of taking the day off.

Lunch, though thoroughly unappealing in presentation, was surprisingly scrumptious. Coined the "Inside Out Burrito", the 'dish' consisted of regular burrito fillings on a bed of rice in place of a standard pita wrap. Guacamole could also be added for an additional seventy-five cents; it was worth it though - it was a perfect mix of mashed avocado, small avocado chunks, and the slight tangy-ness of lemon juice.

I later on also settled for a Mango Strawberry Smoothie and a Banana Loaf upon arriving at the airport after a long subway/bus ride.

In anticipation of TTC delays (which are more common than you'd think), I arrived approximately 2 hours before my flight. About half an hour before boarding, it was announced that passengers without a check-in baggage could choose to transfer onto another flight that was currently looking to fill up a few remaining seats. Hoping to reach my destination half an hour early so that I could eat dinner there as opposed to impulsively investing in airplane food, I switched on.
This proved to be a bad decision, and the pang of regret only got worse as the flight dragged on.

Out & About #106 | Union Burger

Out & About #105 | Collective June Visuals

Out & About #104 | Nohohon Tea Room (Grand Opening)

Out & About #103 | Uncle Tetsu's Japanese Matcha Cafe

Out & About #102 | Kinton Ramen 1 + Kekou Gelato

Out & about #100 | Mississauga Waterfront Festival

Out & About #99 | JaBistro

Weekend in Vancouver | DAY 3 - Journey Back Home

Weekend in Vancouver | DAY 2 - Burnaby Things: Cattle Cafe + Metrotown

Weekend in Vancouver | DAY 1 - Journey to Vancouver + Copa Cafe

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