Out & About #505 | Toronto Christmas Market 2018

A cherished custom for the past three years, it was necessary to revisit Distillery for the annual Christmas Market trip.

With a resignation letter in the works, I wanted to drop by earlier than later, seeing as I would no longer be frequenting the downtown core once it took effect.

Some strenuous hours of ahju-torture later, I was on the 504, heading east along King Street, on the chilliest day of the week.
The first stop was Tandem Coffee - one of my all-time favourite destinations in the area. Little did I know though, the Trinity stop had been abolished; I was required to retrace my path from the Sackville stop.

orangecane can arrived some ten minutes early and secured a table towards the back of the café, near the artificial shrubbery (that I later realized to be genuine after all).

While waiting for the other members of our crew to reveal themselves, a Peanutty Hot Chocolate and London Fog were requested to restore warmth to our jittering bodies. The former remained consistent with the cup ochungg had purchased previously: creamy, chunky, and heavily laced with nuttiness. Minimal chocolatey essence was present.

Signature enamel pins were also placed near the cashier. I thoughtlessly caving to its kitschy, monochromatic profile, relinquishing ten dollars in the process. It wasn't until I whipped around the counter, receipt in hand, that I mentally kicked myself for not inquiring the price of the pin before committing.

Tandem was slated to close at 6pm, so we quickly gathered up our belongings and headed south while waiting for the remaining members of the party.

The number of light fixtures had doubled since the previous year; meanwhile, the vendor list remained relatively identical. Dispersed throughout were a variety of photo-ready attractions and - much to our relief - glowing heat lamps. It was the chilliest day of the week after all.

By 7:30pm, all members had assimilated and feelings of famine had slowly settled in.
Reservation-less, our original pick of piping hot ramen from Boku meant a wait time of one hour. Cacao 70 nearby wasn't much more favourable either: we were informed of an approximate 35-minute wait.

View the full album HERE !

Shivering and exhausted, I ultimately suggested purchasing $10 dishes of Japanese Gyu Curry outside the district's resident sake distillery. (It was a flashback to the Chicken Karaage situation from my first visit.)
Izumi offered a hearty combination of metabolism-boosting (read: moderately spicy) curry, saffron-toned rice grains, fried garlic shreds, and an oddly-placed spoonful of dried cranberries. We took the flimsy, biodegradable containers into the distillery, then swiftly slid onto the bar stools to commence consumption.

The portion was quite tiny, considering that even I felt unsatisfied upon polishing off the plate. Flavour-wise, it was passable. But I wasn't about to complain about the nonexistent lineup and toasty dining quarters.

Yuzu-laced sake was amazing though.

Dessert was a necessary evil to finish off the evening. We hadn't managed to cover the market's attractions in their entirety, though given the unbearable temperatures, there were no protests.

We got a whiff of Wafel Bar on our way to Boku, which promptly earned it a spot on our to-go list afterwards.
Selected between the crew were: Spectacular, S'Mores, and Santa's Favourite.

Spectacular was my suggestion; named after Speculoos cookie butter, the concoction was centered around the indulgent, caramel-like spread. Bits of chewy Liege waffles filled a substantially-sized paper cone, ready to share between friends and family.

S'Mores came with a skewer of torched marshmallows, as well as a graham cracker that later tragically fell to the ground as a result of careless user error. This creation was on the drier, sweeter side.
Santa's Favourite was noted to be tart by orangecane. Personally, the synthetic strawberry syrup was not to my liking and I steered clear of this variation.

With half of the party needing to wake early the next morning, we exited the premises shortly after 9PM.
This was, by far, the most enjoyable trip to the Toronto Christmas Market - in spite of the subzero conditions. Company plays a significant role in such social scenarios, and one cannot deny that new faces have the power to turn traditional routine into unconventional experiences.