Out & About #508 | Holiday in the Square + You Don Ya

There is no shortage of Christmas markets in Toronto, and adding to the list is Nathan Phillips' Holiday in the Square.

Operating during the late afternoon hours (on every day of the week except for Monday), the event includes a range of family-friendly activities such as skating and kids' rides, along with independent vendors and unique food stalls. There were even fire pits for warmth, though no heaters in sight.

I dropped by the event on four different occasions: lunchtime and after-work hours on Thursday, and then again on Friday. The holiday fair was slated to commence operations at noon on both days, but majority of the vendors were unprepared for the scheduled opening. Friday was the only day where many began rolling in to set up at the half past mark.

At around 4:45pm, Nam Wan's hot Thai Tea was declared unready for serving. As such, myself - along with two other lucky visitors - scored a complimentary cup of warm Thai Tea with condensed milk. Albeit the amount of sweetened condensed milk we observed them spooning into the tiny plastic cups, the combination yielded a super-satisfying beverage of optimal sweetness. I opted out of whipped cream - and the complimentary rose bud garnish - thus acquiring a tad more tea to fill the cup.

My next stop was Tiny Tom's sky blue truck. Retailed at $6.50 by the dozen, one could choose from four flavours: tried-and-true Icing Sugar, harvest-ready Apple Cinnamon, fun-and-festive Icing Sugar/Cinnamon, and slick Chocolate. I veered toward the safest selection; the starter pick of Icing Sugar proved absolutely delicious, especially when served piping hot and fresh.

The next day welcomed the curtain-opening of several vendors. It was at this point that purchases were made at Señor Sock and fraktals (a Coffee & Tea Expo discovery!). Originally eyeing the dark chocolate buttercrunch, I ultimately left the stall with a 100g bag of milk chocolate and a 375g bag of dark chocolate - a bonus gift from the man who I had interrupted in the midst of setup procedures.

Nam Wan remained shuttered until the late afternoon hours, when the skating rink gradually reached full capacity. With a fellow foodie in tow, I suggested grabbing two cups of Nam Wan Hot before retreating into City Hall to soothe our numbed limbs and digits.

The man behind the stall recognized me from the previous evening's visit, and then presented a sample of the Ginger Cold Killer for the two of us to share. Retaining the citrusy aroma of yuzu but the powerful anti-inflammatory characteristics of ginger, one gulp was more than enough in setting my already sore throat ablaze. (Its name had been chosen appropriately.)

With our re-entry into subzero temperatures, we contemplated taking a spin on the merry-go-round. That is, until it was discovered that one five-dollar ticket had to be relinquished for each of the rides.
Instead, we headed to the new Muji flagship store at Yonge/Dundas.

Following renovations, the lifestyle boutique now spans two floors; an embroidery station can be found at ground level, while a custom tote design studio on the second.

Ramen had been the unanimous decision for dinner, however the lineup outside Sansotei persisted. And Santouka was a frigid 12-minute walk away. Seeing as You Don Ya's wait time was a mere 10- to 15-minute estimate, we agreed on hanging tight while browsing their menu options.

The wait time averaged just under seven minutes, and we were soon seated - might I add, within very close proximity to the neighbouring tables.

Donburi bowls were the primary focus of the menu, with a small section allocated towards appetizers like karaage and oshizushi. There were over five members of staff working the floor, but orders were communicated via a double-sided slip of paper instead of verbal interchange - a format all too familiar to Chinese diners.

We settled for sharing a Karubi Don with a Hot Spring Egg and a Hamachi Nabe. Cabbage slaw and miso soup followed shortly afterwards. The former was not so much a "salad", so to speak, but rather a strange, off-putting combination of cream atop dried cranberries and scraggly bits of cabbage. The soup, on the other hand, was tastier than your run-of-the-mill hot-water-and-soybean-paste emulsion and sufficiently seasoned with chopped scallions and aburaage bits.

As the headlining item of the menu, one would anticipate the Karubi Don to leave a lasting impression. First and foremost, its appearance was severely lacking. Topping a seemingly endless portion of short-grain rice were charred pieces of boneless short rib, onions, and a hot spring egg that had been requested at an extra charge of ninety-nine cents. The Hot Spring was cracked and haphazardly shoved towards the side, while the short rib slices were stubby and thick - completely unlike the promotional image.

If Café Bon Bon had set the standard for Short Rib Donburi, You Don Ya has succeeded in achieving the opposite. The rice was dry, while the sauce was lacking (and lacklustre); the overall composition was reminiscent of a bowl of leftovers from home, but with a heavy dose of monosodium glutamate. Moreover, there was such a hefty amount of rice that not even mixing in the hot spring egg helped to increase consumption levels.

The Hamachi Nabe wasn't really "nabe" at all, for the sole purpose of the separate pitcher of broth was to create a sizzle effect. The stone pot failed in rendering crispy rice bits, while the hamachi was essentially tasteless. All in all, the exclusive dine-in dish was nothing more than a beaten attempt at Hub's dolsot Unagi Kimchi Donburi.

Service was spotty for the most part. Many of the staff members appeared inexperienced and inattentive, with the exception of one glasses-donning male. Alas, a different waitress assisted us when we called for the bill. Not only did she have a ridiculous amount of trouble splitting the bill equally, several eons seemed to pass before she remembered that I hadn't received my change. In addition, it didn't occur to me that she had, in fact, charged us twice for the Hot Spring Egg while making attempts to divide the total cost.

One also ought to note that You Don Ya refuses to accept credit as a form of payment. Cash and debit are the only options here.

Bathrooms are another factor worthy of complaint. The facilities are far from pristine, and, moreover, the faucets are not able to tilt/swivel fully due to the positioning of the mirror above it. The situation was the epitome of a serviceability design failure.

Needless to say, neither of us left feeling satisfied with the new restaurant.

We ended the night off with Tsujiri, as dessert has the ethereal capacity to resolve negative vibes into positive ones.