Out & About #214 | Collective March Visuals

Pondering the fact that another thirty days have already passed is quite a stunning realization. Despite the amount of entries I've been documenting in this space, it felt like it was just yesterday that I was planning the much-anticipated Bang Bang trip with a good friend of mine.

Nonetheless, here are my snaps of the month! As always, food shots remain a majority, though I've tried to inject some Easter visuals as well. Enjoy!

1. Sunsets as captured from my room
2. Homemade Roasted Butternut Squash & Kale Soup (recipe coming soon!)

3. Exploring the two-level flagship McDonald's location at Yonge and Elm
(Might I add: their portion sizes are huge!)

4. Homemade Matcha Cappuccino (à la Tsujiri) + an Egg Tart from Papa John's
5. A tower of balloons bearing an intermediate resemblance to Koro-Sensei
6. Toronto Fashion Week aftermath

7. Someone's turning 50!
8. A freshly-compiled Yogurt Parfait w/ Fruit & Granola from the just-opened cultures​ in Metro Centre

9. CoCo's current promotions

10. Adorable bunny and monkey plushies at Indigo

11. Mini Maple Pastry from McDonald's
12. Homemade Coconut Sticky Rice w/ Mango
13. Dinner in the form of Salmon Congee w/ Shredded Lettuce

14. I got my eye(s) on you, New Balance 574s.

15. Momo Oolong + Onigiri from Nohohon Tea Room
16. TTC Streetcar track construction currently taking place on King St. W from Peter to Charlotte

17. Thumb-sized "Chocolate Chip Cookie" from Aroma Espresso Bar (which reminded me why I never should have stepped foot into the franchise in the first place)
18. Extremely decadent Hot Chocolate Cookie purchased from Second Cup as a result of the cravings Aroma failed to satisfy

19. Sweet Jesus
A friend of mine has been intending to try out Sweet Jesus for some time now. I had already visited several times before the New Year (1, 2, 3) and hadn't planned to return any time soon, though the excursion was worth the first-time experience for my soft serve partner-in-crime.
We chanced upon a time at which the narrow hallway of a dessert parlour wasn't busy, and proceeded to order a Campfire S'Mores Pimped Out Soft Serve, split between two cups to form "half sizes". Additionally, being the matcha lover that I am, I also pointed at The Matcha Libre - one of Sweet Jesus' new hot beverage concoctions, priced at a whopping six dollars.

The prices for the premium soft serves have since suffered inflation, rising from the already costly $6.00 to $6.50. Modifications to these flavours are generally forbidden, but the girl at the cashier allowed the soft serve to be divided between two cups after observing the lack of customers in the shop.
With a base of sweet vanilla soft serve, sticky chocolate sauce, mini marshmallows, and a handful of graham cracker crumbs, Campfire S'Mores was more sugary than it was gooey and satisfying. The marshmallows hadn't been toasted at all from what we were able to see, and the chocolate sauce resembled caramel sauce that had been residing on the shelf past its expiration date. It should also be noted that treat was made with burnt marshmallow soft serve when it first released, but the base has since switched to plain vanilla instead. (Talk about a money grab!) Might I add that it was also unnecessarily sweet, making me think that I could probably have done better with torching my own marshmallows and stacking them onto McD's instead.

The Matcha Libre, Sweet Jesus' newest contender, didn't fair too well in my books either. Depicted as a "white miso hot chocolate" with condensed milk, and matcha whipped cream, this insanely sweet drink was anything but impressive. I could not perceive any hints of miso in the drink base whatsoever; it tasted of liquefied white chocolate that had been simply been steamed using an espresso machine. The matcha whipped cream, which made up the remaining half of the product, was extremely rich and creamy, but exhibited a lack of recognizable matcha flavour. While the crispy nori bits and rice crisps were a nice topping addition, the black sesame rim was an immense flop - they added crunch, but were also accompanied by a tacky aftertaste due to inadequate toasting.

Despite the incredulous amount of hype it received during its opening stage, I can faithfully conclude that Sweet Jesus is no longer worth the diabetes-inducing trek. And given its complete absence of a dining area, one can assume that other customers are guaranteed to bump into you, intentionally or not, while you're munching on your towering sugar-laden creation.

​And thus concludes my March visuals!  (Perhaps you'll find some cherry blossom snaps in next month's issue!)