Out & About #904 | Petit Potato + OHYO

Life is to be lived efficiently.
When desires to venture beyond the local neighbourhoods overlapped with an opportunity to schedule my (supposed) first of many double dates, I fervently began planning the day's itinerary. In keeping with the theme of efficiency, I took to re-purposing previously donned work attire in a casual ensemble, prior to tossing into the wash. This would, in turn, lead to more intentional styling, which would then amount to a dance-able outfit capable of being used for filming Queencard in public.

The domino effect is arguably vague, but events easily fall into place as a result of the preceding activity or decision.

​The sleepy polar bear arrived with punctuality, assisting me in errands before bestowing new LINE Friends merchandise upon me. A supposedly authentic Infrared Wireless Car Charger was presented, reeking of cheap plastic and bearing sharp-edged packaging. I was doubtful of its usefulness, for I had experimented with various phone holders in the past and saw success from none.
When I eventually took to installing the apparatus, the arms of the holder began closing in on my hand without warning, firmly closing in on my hand and pinching skin to the point where extreme pain and bleeding would occur. There wasn't a single safety warning on the manual, which only affirmed the utter inadequacy of QC for products hailing from China.

We arrived earlier than expected, given decent weekend morning traffic volumes. Located off Empress Ave, the Loblaws garage offered 90 minutes of complimentary parking with purchases of ten dollars or more, otherwise enforcing a weekend flat rate of six dollars. The Empress Walk located off Hillcrest Ave was one dollar less: five dollars, or complimentary two-hour parking for Petit Potato customers. Both were ridiculously reasonable prices, especially considering the Green P meters in the area.

The lot connected to Loblaws via an inclined moving walkway, identical to those present at Superstore locations. It led directly towards a Tim Hortons kiosk situated beyond the cash registers, then permitted access to the escalators of Empress Walk as well as TTC's North York Centre station. Before ascending into the retail plaza, we caught sight of OHYO. The establishment's doors would remain closed until noon, thus we opted to check back following lunch plans.

After briefly browsing Mumuso, it was determined that our selected destination was, in fact, only accessible from street level.

Petit Potato had been a follow-up suggestion to my original picks of Ssangkye Jjimdak for lunch and Mikaku (still unfulfilled) for dinner. It was, collectively, the most convenient location for the group, as it could be reached easily on foot or by car.

​The eatery comprised of double glass doors, wherein its entryway had positioned a shrine with pungent incense sticks. Beyond these doors was an unoccupied bar area. To the right of the bar was a stairwell, lined with mirrors and illuminated with a yellowish lighting to mimic a gold sheen. An unoccupied reception area was found at the top, along with distinctly cool-toned décor to contrast with the stairwell palette.

​Copious tables lined the perimeter of the dining floor, mainly four-person booth seating with marble tabletops. Beneath a handful of these booths were outlets, indicating the restaurant's openness to extended stays by students or work-from-home employees. Wi-Fi was also available, though its speed untested.

< Pictured below:

• C10 Braised Oxtail Stew
• C03 Black Truffle Mushroom Spaghetti w/ Cream Sauce
• E01 Pork Cutlet Omurice w/ Curry
• A01 Yum Som >

​Food and drink menus were provided in the form of canvas catalogs, each item associated with an image for reference - akin to the Congee Queen concept. Instead of calling upon a member of staff though, orders would be placed via a QR code. However, the table number and scannable content were merely printed on a flimsy piece of receipt paper, and not affixed directly to the table or restaurant interior, causing the slip to flitter with every page flip of the menu.

​As opposed to ordering sharing plates, the duo across from us had taken to individual portions of food, and proceeded with their items without sharing. Distributed between the sleepy polar bear and I were the E01 Pork Cutlet Omurice w/ Curry and A01 Yum Som. The former earned extensive praise from both of us: smooth, supple egg, tender pork, and crispy breading was a no-fail combination, after all.

​Yum Som had been my meek attempt at incorporating greens into the meal. While visually appealing, the combination consisted of exceedingly few sprigs of arugula, a mass of heavily salted, shredded pomelo, and a few slivers of canned peaches. Seared lightly on both sides, the scallops were passable in that they were adequately seasoned and not overdone, yet far from memorable all the same.

​Plates were moderately tinted to emphasize the saturation and textural difference of the dishes; they were also free of chips and grease on their underside, much to my delight. The utensils, despite being deemed amusing at first glance, were difficult to use as a result of their large size (shovel spoon) and wide-toothed prongs (fork). 

​On the other hand, the physical menus were quite greasy. Similar hygiene observations could be concluded in regards to their washroom, which exuded a vibe more reminiscent of hectic Chinese eateries than a cozy, refined uptown gathering spot.

The intent had been to continue exploring the district afterwards, with the potential of acquiring snacks. Purposely consuming less than desired, the sleepy polar bear conserved appetite in preparation for these subsequent ventures. At passing Kekou Gelato, a single scoop of Jasmine Tea was procured by our resident Torontonians. A sample of Gochukaru Chocolate had me vouching for a full size, though the sleepy polar bear ultimately settled on the basics: Almond Tofu in a waffle cone.

Once again, the choice was too milky, too sweet, and too generic for my preferences. Unimpressed, I declared its profile to be identical to the almond pulp byproduct from making Chinese Almond Tea.

M Brand was my primary destination, for I had depleted my last innisfree wash-off mask samples the previous day.

As always, the retailer's accessory assortment is of great interest to me - dare I say, they've surpassed cocomolo in my books since my last Vancity visit.

Since my birthday buddy's acquisition of a coffee-based beverage at Don't Yell At Me, an inkling of curiosity had been piqued. The barely air-conditioned space was witnessed as the first of any bubble tea franchise to house an espresso machine.

My pick of the Osmanthus Coffee Latte was available exclusively in a Medium cup, though the Ceylon tea variations supported both Medium and Large sizes. While I debated ordering an alternative for sharing purposes with the sleepy polar bear, I was reassured without hesitation: "Just get what you want." Although logical functionality is not always present in decision-making, I was greatly appreciative of this gesture, for I was likely to regret not requesting my item of interest.

To the drink, I added Brown Sugar Pearls after reducing its ice and sugar levels. The bill came to just under five dollars - a shocking revelation given that the average market price had slotted handcrafted beverages, caffeinated or not, upwards of six dollars.

I was extremely pleased with the Latte, for it embodied potent, aromatic notes of coffee with subtly milky, floral undertones. It wasn't too sweet, but could have used more ice, given that the interior wasn't well-ventilated. Staff was exceptionally friendly, and worked with swiftness; though there were just two members handling the cashier and drink preparation, they worked quickly and could even tend to additional requests, such as plastic bag provision. Unlike CoCo, the bag was provided willingly at no charge. Furthermore, the beverage container was plastic, as was the straw.

​We parted ways with the other couple at Mel Lastman Square, then ventured down towards the fountain/rink area to escape the deafening shouts of a nearby protest.

Breezy and serene was the environment, making for the ideal shooting location for my first K-Pop in Public segment. A plentiful number of benches around the fountain ensured sufficiency for visitors to relax with a book, music, or conversation companion (or two).

Navigating back to Empress Walk afterwards, I was informed via signage that Starbucks' Chocolate Cream Cold Brew had returned! A mental note was made to verify the drink's palatability one year later.

​I proposed a brief stopover at LCBO, where Kamikokoro Momo Sake was obtained. Then, we headed back to the basement level to check out OHYO.

Vibrant LED lights filled the space. Scanning from one wall to another, there wasn't an inch of space devoid of colourful plushies, figurines, or game machines. A few Gacha pods were positioned by the entrance, catering mainly towards young children. Majority of the space had been allocated towards UFO catchers and merchandise displays.

​Plushies of varying sizes could be exchanged for tickets, though it wasn't clear whether "tickets" were synonymous with "tokens". After conducting a walkthrough of the space, I strode over to the service desk, where the price list had been suspended from above the counter. Without purchase of a membership, the cost of one token was essentially one dollar, or slightly less than if purchasing larger quantities.

We resolved to try our hand at the $20 option, which earned us twenty tokens. 

​UFO catchers housing small prizes were priced at 3 tokens per play, while medium to large prizes at 4 tokens. Figurines were the most costly at 5 tokens per play, though the popular figurines could only be obtained by collecting standard variations and "exchanging up".

​Erring on the conservative side, I tried my hand at three small prizes first, each trial resulting in success. In fact, my first and third attempts had almost seen double and triple successes respectively, with the claw having caught onto more than one of the same prize.

The claw could be operated for a total of twenty seconds. When attempting the medium prize UFO catcher, a member of staff observed as my hands left the joystick and informed us of the time limit, then proceeded to override the machine for an extra chance. A white, very upright polar bear was gifted to the sleepy polar bear.

​Three tokens remained in our basket by the end of the session. Looking to try my hand at winning a plush strawberry, I sauntered over to the Service Desk to request one more token. Unfortunately, this endeavour was not so fruitful - no pun intended.

​Bidding farewell to OHYO (and a fellow ahgase shoebill), we meandered towards Thornhill for the final stop of the day.

​The asphalt lot of Alminz Kakanin was absolutely bustling with vehicles darting left and right. A handful of SUVs had even queued before the storefront, allowing passengers to quickly pop in and retrieve their kakanin platter orders.

I took to a six-dollar box of sapin sapin, a single slice of their Leche Flan Ube Chiffon Cake, and Ube Cheese Ensaymada, as requested by my chauffeur. Spotted within the refrigerator was a partially devoured pan of leche flan, a spoon still residing inside the tray.

The sapin sapin retained stronger coconut-ty aromas than previously, but its texture less velvety and more rigid. Each piece resulted in starchy residue on the fingertips. Instead of latik, which is often seen as being asymmetric in shape, the spread was topped with a spoonful of toasted, shredded coconut bearing slight savoury notes.

​Similar reactions would emerge with the Leche Flan Ube Chiffon Cake. Though the custard wasn't nearly as rich and sweet as before, the cake was noticeably denser, leading to less contrast in depth and, consequently, a lower degree of gratification.

Admittedly, I was quite stunned to discover the stark deviations in their produce range compared to my earlier visit. Visually, the treats did not appear that different. That said, the gustatory discrepancies are telling of the bakery's carelessness in composition. Temperature control and a scale would work wonders in establishing, and further sustaining, consistency in quality.

Alas, until that day arrives, I may very well settle for recreating these treats in the comfort of my own home.