Out & About #934 | The Big'r Apple Farm, Al Ferri and Sons Country Apple Store + Gyu-Kaku

Apple season has seemingly started earlier this year. In spite of the wildfire-induced temporal changes, Ontario's assortment hasn't been noticeably impacted, as far as the standout of standard consumer. Beyond Ginger Gold, a number of other varieties had already begun picking.

Mid-September was remarkably early to commence fall activities, yet it aligned well with the rest of my schedule. Taking advantage of apple availability, we ventured to the farm closest in proximity: The Big'r Apple Farm in Brampton.

The Big'r Apple Farm was, in fact, home to smaller apples than the standard grocery store selection. While I wasn't entirely surprised given my experience at Applewood last year, I wasn't impressed that $25 for 20 lbs - and paid by cash only - was the only option available to visitors. On the other hand, admission was free, which enabled large families to visit without surrendering atrocious entrance fees.

Parking was ample, adopting the same grassy surface as Dixie Orchards, albeit starkly less green and not nearly as well maintained. Given that the absence of tractor rides, visitors would be required to trek the entire distance towards the front of the farm for apple-picking needs. Other produce, such as peppers, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes, were also spotted on site, despite bearing generally poor visuals as their indicator of freshness.

​​We followed the abundance of signage with poor spelling towards the rows of apples, eager to evaluate the spread on site.

​The McIntosh selection was quite compact, leading to commentary of the fruit being "unripe" and "not ready for picking". Regardless of whether they were unripe or simply undersized, I wasn't particularly keen on committing to twenty pounds of the same five-ish species. The quantity was excessive even in consideration of o̶u̶r̶ ̶h̶o̶u̶s̶e̶h̶o̶l̶d̶'̶s̶ my atypically high consumption levels and pie-making intentions.

​We resorted to merely sightseeing and snapping a few photos by the trees. While posing with one of the branches, a lone McIntosh detached and landed in my hand. The single, ashy-hued specimen would assume our souvenir from the trip.

​Based on information acquired from reviews of Carl Laidlaw Orchards up the street - a destination home to farm animals, playground structures, and admission fees of $15 per person - we opted for a stopover at Al Ferri & Sons' Country Apple Market for our fill of produce.

The market was a wealth of apple varieties, bagged by "bushels" and "pecks", along with preserves, cheese, cider, frozen pies, and more. Prices were more than reasonable, with the smallest apple bags ranging between $6-$9.

A half-peck, as per my research, is the approximate equivalent of 7 lbs, while a bushel roughly 18 kg. Agriculture-specific metrics aside, we had few qualms plucking our picks from the wooden crates. Half-pecks of Ginger Gold and Wealthy apples were chosen for the first (?) round of experimentation. Appended to this order were two 4-inch frozen pies (Apple and Raspberry) priced at $7 for 2, a 3 L bottle of apple cider for $5.75 (half the cost of Apple Factory's!), a half-peck satchel of Bartlett Pears, and a $2.95 bag of dried pear rings. The total came to just $41.75 - an unthinkable deal given the current market value of produce. On average, apples and pears are priced between $3.49 to $5.25 per pound these days, thus we considered our whopping purchase a steal - even with the cashier's incorrect entry of Sunrise apples ($8.55 per half-peck) instead of Wealthy ($6.25 per half-peck). Unlike us though, I'd advise verifying the items list prior to payment.

It is also worth noting that plastic bags are additional charge (either fifty cents or less), while cloth tote bags retail at two dollars each. In other words, bring your own bag, or bring extra sets of hands.

At least one of each apple was examined after returning home. The souvenir McIntosh was the absolute worst of the trio: sour, tacky, unripe, and unpleasant. Thank goodness we hadn't committed to twenty pounds!

​Wealthy apples were as berry-like as depicted: marbled red-pink skin, white-yellow flesh, and sweet with berry-like qualities, making them ideal for eating.
Al Ferri and Sons' Ginger Gold were larger than those picked at Applewood. Their appearance was very reminiscent of Golden Delicious, though possessing less porosity in their cross-sections. This specific denseness and resistance to oxidation, however, confirmed it as the best candidate for baking projects. Once again, I am looking forward to incorporating thin slices into Sunday Baking's yogurt cake and crumble.

​The small bag of Dried Pear Rings contained 50 grams of thin, dehydrated slices. Instead of boasting a sharp crunch, they were, instead, rather chewy despite uniform wispiness.

​Taking place after the apple-centric visits was a late lunch at Gyu-Kaku.

Our meal coincided with that of last time, leading to a relatively peaceful dining area with few fumes. That said, our booth was rather stuffy, even without ignition of the grill. ​Platters of raw meat would be excluded from our order this time around, with the objective being to sample the franchise's array of appetizers and side dishes at Happy Hour prices.

With the exception of Asahi Zero and Glazed Pork Bibimbap from the Flavours to Experience Hokkaido brochure, our order comprised solely of items included within the "HH" special:

• Gyu Sushi - Delicious, balanced profile served with gritty yet potent wasabi. Often is this dish overlooked when included as part of meal courses, but it emerged as a solid standalone item.
• Wakame Seaweed Salad - The standard side salad with contrasting texture of diced red pepper.
• Tuna Poke Nachos - Least laudable choice of the afternoon. Fried gyoza wrappers were used as tortillas; due to their countless irregular air pockets, they failed at being scoopers, for the large chunks of tuna would merely roll off. The inclusion of wakame salad also felt repetitive given that we had already ordered an individual portion and wasn't advised that we'd be seeing the slimy green strands twice.
• Takoyaki - Insufficient sauce for six pieces: Okonomiyaki sauce and Kewpie mayo were included in scarce quantities. Scallions topped the six pieces instead of dried nori strips. The morsels were deep fried for a crispy exterior, while the inside was soft but encased minimal octopus pieces within.
• Shio Cold Negi Tofu - Cold tofu dish sprinkled liberally with green onion. Tasty, with the aromas of sesame and umami of soy. Green onions had likely been soaked beforehand as pungency had been removed entirely.
• Black Pepper Wings - Much better than expected! Embodied a nice char to its surface, supple meat within, and was not peppery whatsoever.

​Asahi Zero granted me the perfect solution for a pre-exercise beer: unlike other alcohol-free renditions, the can was aromatic, malty, and paired splendidly with our chosen selection.
Meanwhile, the Glazed Pork Bibimbap was flavourful without being laden with sodium or monosodium glutamate. The pork belly was astoundingly fleshy as opposed to being comprised entirely of fat, as the grilled variety often appears.

Service levels were slower than average, though friendly and patient nevertheless.

Before re-entering the parking garage, I took a quick peek at Gong Cha and learned of their Daily Specials.

Our final agenda item of the day was Moon Festival at Celebration. Widespread online promotion for the event had been observed in the weeks leading up to the event, inciting excitement towards the variety of performances and advertised activities.

Upon arrival, we would learn that the event was nowhere near as exhilarating as Chinese Culture Festival, Philippine Festival, nor Japan Festival. Alternatively known as "Taste of South East Asia (SEA)", food vendors assumed a mishmash of Momos, Indonesian food, and specialty Vietnamese (pho only, etc.). It would appear that many Taste of Vietnam vendors had found their way to Mississauga to continue their summer festival appearances. Food prices were, interestingly, more economic than both Chinese Culture Festival and Japan Festival and featured a decent variety.

​A handful of jewellery and toy vendors were also present, though none appeared to belong to a particular theme, concept, or culture. Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese attire could be found along the west edge of the square for photobooth purposes. A lotus fixture resided at the centre of the square, similar to Taste of Vietnam at Nathan Phillips Square.

​While the concept of hosting various cultures in one space was intended to be inclusive and diverse, results were mediocre. The actual turnout paled in comparison to the incredulous amount of promotions that had been circulating the Internet. There were ostensibly fewer crowds compared to past events and performances were led by children rather than traditional dance teams.
Utterly disappointed, we departed the premises within twenty minutes of arriving.