Dining Out: Mango Yuzu Gelato Daifuku at Savorology

Mango yuzu gelato daifuku

Mango yuzu gelato daifuku

Went to Savorology to try their new viral gelato daifuku, which is made to order. Matcha is their signature flavour, but I decided to go with mango yuzu because it is so goddamn hot out and I wanted something more refreshing (which, in my mind, equates to fruity and/or citrusy). It certainly hit the spot and the mango yuzu flavour is incredible, but I do wish the mochi wrapper was thinner and softer to make it easier to dig into (as you know, mochi gets significantly harder and tougher once it gets cold). That having been said, it does provide an excellent barrier for those who want to bite into their ice cream but have sensitive teeth, so I digress...

Savorology

3621 Highway 7, Unit 120

Markham, ON L3R 0G6

(905) 470-8898

Dining Out: Iced HK Milk Tea, Dong Po Rou Benny, and Korean Bulgogi Breakfast Poutine at Sugar Cafe and Lounge

Had the most impeccable brunch with Minji and Daniel (and baby Lillian) at the newly-opened Sugar Cafe and Lounge:

Iced HK milk tea

The iced HK milk tea, which features an iced tea mould in the shape of a cat in a lion dance costume (yes, just wrap your head around that for a sec), is the single cutest iteration of an iced tea I have ever seen in my life. (You're supposed to make a wish, kiss the "gold coin" on the top of its head, and then push the whole mould into the cup so it can dissolve into the rest of the tea. If I win the lottery, I will give this milk tea its dues.) Not only is it adorable, but it has a great deep tea flavour and a creamy consistency that somehow never seems diluted despite the ice. (The tea mould is truly genius.)

Dong Po Rou Benny: two thick cuts of classic Chinese pork belly with spinach on Japanese milk bread, topped with hollandaise sauce

Korean Bulgogi Breakfast Poutine: Beef bulgogi with a poached egg, cheese curds, and garlic home fries, topped with hollandaise sauce, sriracha mayo drizzle, sesame seeds, and green onion

Both Minji and I ordered the Dong Po Rou Benny, and it was phenomenal — the pork belly was soft and tender and intensely flavourful, which worked beautifully with the mellow flavours of the (perfectly) poached eggs and hollandaise. The Japanese milk bread toast is perfect here to absorb all the sauce and drippings to provide a perfect bite each time. It also comes with your choice of house salad or garlic home fries, but we decided on salads (which includes spring mix, sun-dried tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta with a delicious tangy-sweet creamy dressing) since we wanted to share the Korean Bulgogi Breakfast Poutine — which we were all absolutely delighted with. It not only came with a generous amount of (perfectly) marinated beef, but also includes actual cheese curds (!!!), and an incredible combination of Asian-influenced flavours. The hollandaise, mayo, and egg yolk provide an excellent amount of sauce that gravy would normally provide in a poutine, and the garlic home fries are just crispy enough that they never get soggy underneath all those toppings. Honestly, these two dishes are perfect examples of Asian fusion done right.

Service was notably excellent, too — our server was welcoming and cheerful without veering into annoying, and accommodating and attentive without hovering. She was always prepared for our needs, made delightful conversation without being cloying, gave compliments without seeming over-the-top — this woman is stacked with people skills and extremely experienced in customer service and genuinely deserves generous tips (unlike many, many, many other servers out there, who feel entitled to a minimum 18% tip for doing the bare minimum). According to our receipt, her name is Michelle, and SHE IS WONDERFUL. I will absolutely come back here, and hopefully soon — their entire menu looks incredible, and we had a truly delightful time today. And what sets Sugar Cafe apart from other brunch places is that brunch service doesn't end until 4:00PM every day (except Mondays, 'cause they're closed). This is especially nice for those of us who work Monday to Friday but really like to sleep in on weekends...

Sugar Cafe and Lounge

Times Square Richmond Hill

550 Highway 7, Building E, Floor 2, Unit 281

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Z4

(647) 802-1268

Dining Out: BBQ Eel Croissant, Duck Confit Pancakes, and Truffle Fries at NextDoor Restaurant

Met up with my mom to go look at my new car model (the new VW 2025 GTI just arrived in the showrooms) so we decided to have a little Saturday brunch moment beforehand at NextDoor:

BBQ Eel Croissant: unagi, 2 scrambled eggs, masago, tare sauce, baby spinach, and nori on a butter croissant

Duck Confit Pancakes: crispy duck leg, maple hoisin glaze, sunny-side up egg, green onions, and cashew crumble on a stack of pancakes

Truffle Fries with parmesan and garlic aioli

We usually come here in the evening, so I hadn't really explored NextDoor's brunch menu but am happy to report it's just as good as their dinner menu. The BBQ Eel Croissant is especially delicious; definitely a must-order if you like unagi. (Who knew I could get BBQ eel for breakfast?) The Duck Confit Pancakes have an incredible sweet-savoury flavour combo and the duck meat was nice and tender, but I do wish there was a little more of the maple hoisin sauce as the pancakes start getting a little dry. The Truffle Fries — a last minute addition because we saw another table having them — were surprisingly excellent. Not only do they have a good amount of truffle flavour (a lot of places skimp on the truffle oil), but the texture of these fries are perfect. Every single fry was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside even after sitting at the table for half an hour. SO GOOD, SO ADDICTIVE.

Man, I really need to get out for brunch more. 

NextDoor Restaurant

Unionville Planing Mill

139 Main St. Unionville

Unionville, ON L3R 2G6

(905) 604-6983

Dining Out: Mother's Day Dinner at NextDoor Restaurant

Took my mom out for Mother's Day dinner at one of our faves (and go-to special occasion spot), NextDoor Restaurant:

King Salmon Ssam Bap: Ora king salmon, salmon caviar, Asian pear, yuzu egg salad, furikake, and black tobiko on seasoned rice, served with toasted nori

Kurabuta Pork Tenderloin: Blue crab mousse, fondant potatoes, baby bok choy, gooseberries, and fig demi glace

Koji Chicken: Grilled koji marinated chicken thighs, creamy miso polenta, roasted portobello mushrooms, shishito peppers, and yuzu kosho

Triple Chocolate Parfait: Chocolate brownie, chocolate crumble, caramelized white chocolate, cashews, and vanilla ice cream

Both my mom and I thought the pork tenderloin could've used more seasoning to bring out the blue crab mousse, but the meat was perfectly cooked and went beautifully with the fig sauce. The highlights for me were the Koji Chicken, a new addition to their regular menu — incredible flavours and the most juicy, moist chicken I think I've ever had — and the King Salmon Ssam Bap, which I hope gets added into the regular rotation as well. (The ssam bap, pork tenderloin, and chocolate parfait were all from the Mother's Day menu, so they're currently limited edition dishes.) As usual, we had a great time at NextDoor. The food is always delicious, always unique, and always changing, which is why we love it here.

I hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! 

NextDoor Restaurant

Unionville Planing Mill

139 Main St. Unionville

Unionville, ON L3R 2G6

(905) 604-6983

Dining Out: Smoked Salmon Benedict and Golden Sous-Vide Apple French Toast at Cafe Bon Bon

It's been a hot minute since I've gone out on for a weekend brunch (I am generally a hermit on weekends and usually sleep in until noon so I rarely make it for brunch), but Minji and Daniel are finally able to take their baby out so we had planned a little reunion brunch/baby introduction meeting at Cafe Bon Bon.

Smoked Salmon Benedict

Because it was brunch, I thought it was most appropriate to get the Smoked Salmon Benedict, which is served on a croissant, topped with parmesan and bacon bits, and served with a nice avocado garden salad on the side. It was delicious and exactly as I imagined (and the top of the croissant was perfect to dip into the delectably runny yolks with), but I did think the portion was a little on the smaller side (at least, for me)… Which just meant that I had to — oh, no! — order dessert. 

Golden Sous-Vide Apple French Toast

So I got the Golden Sous-Vide Apple French Toast, which features a pan-fried log croissant as its base (!!!) and sous-vide cooked apple slices, topped with vanilla ice cream and buttery crumble — an absolutely delightfully delicious treat. It is worth noting, however, that the portion for the dessert was also on the small side and I could easily have eaten another one. (But I didn't, because as we all know, I am the queen of self-control.) I did also get an iced latte with oat milk, but I didn't think this was worth $9, especially for the size (it was about 16 oz., but a significant portion of it was ice). 

Service was okay — pleasant enough, but quite inattentive (in fact, the servers seemed to go out of their way not to look at our raised hands and did not check in on us even once, even for water refills) — though I will give them the benefit of the doubt because it was incredibly busy. I would come back because the rest of the menu does sound incredible (Minji's soft shell crab carbonara pasta was amazing), but maybe just not on a weekend day. (And if you do want to check this place out on a weekend, especially for brunch, I would highly recommend making a reservation.)

Cafe Bon Bon

Times Square Richmond Hill

550 Highway 7, Unit 89 - 90

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Z4

(905) 597-3166

Dining Out: Condensed Milk Toast, Deep Fried Peanut Butter French Toast Bites, and Matcha Parfait at Sugar Marmalade

Minji, Daniel, and I wanted to get some late-night dessert and Minji was craving condensed milk toast (pregnancy cravings trump all), but it was also 10:00PM on a Saturday night. So where to go? Sugar Marmalade, of course.

Condensed milk toast

Deep-fried peanut butter French toast bites

Matcha parfait

But one condensed milk toast is never enough, so we also got the deep fried peanut butter french toast and a matcha parfait (you know, for variety). I don't even wanna know how much sugar and cholesterol we consumed tonight, but MY GOD, IT WAS WORTH IT. I hadn't been back to Sugar Marmalade in years and I forgot how good they are for Hong Kong fusion desserts. I'll have to re-visit more often. You know, to make up for the lean years...

Sugar Marmalade

First Markham Place

3235 Highway 7, Unit 19-20

Markham, ON L3R 8P9

(905) 604-8211

Dining Out: Mom's Birthday Dinner at Pears Restaurant

I decided to take my mom out for her birthday at the newly-opened, super-hyped, Asian fusion restaurant, Pears by Keith Pears, who also owns Glass Kitchen (where I took my mom for her birthday last year and thoroughly enjoyed). Wanting to try a bigger variety of the dishes, we decided to forego the mains and shared six of the small plates and two desserts:

Lobster Wontons — Shiitake mushrooms, shaoxing butter sauce, and ginger scallion relish

KFC Sliders — Korean fried chicken, sweet and spicy glazed, topped with garlic aioli, and citrus slaw

Mussels & Shrimp — Poached seafood, corn "chowder" butter sauce, served with pain de mie bread

Croquettes — Potato, leek, smoked onion, parmesan, and truffle aioli

Shrimp & Scallop Toast — Mousseline, pain de mie bread, mentaiko mayo, and chives

Stuffed Mozza Meatballs — Canadian ground beef, pork, and veal, parmesan, basil, served with grilled bread

Black Sesame & Tofu Baked Alaska — Tofu ice cream, ginger lemon gel, and mixed sesame crisps

Pear Tart — Almond cream, cognac, and brown butter ice cream

There are a lot of mixed reviews about Pears now that they've been open for a few weeks, so I thought I'd add my two cents because I actually went in with no expectations and having read no reviews prior. Firstly, the meatballs were just straight-up disappointing, and there is no "fusion" to be found here. The texture of the meat was fine, but even then, it severely lacked flavour (no salt, no seasoning), and the tomato sauce quite literally tasted like Chef Boyardee's. I understand upscale restaurant pricing, but it should be criminal to charge $18 for two meatballs that I could make better at home. Secondly, the croquettes, while having an excellent crispy texture, were overwhelmingly smoky in flavour. Almost offensively so. It suffocated every other flavour in the croquette, and there's supposed to be parmesan and truffle aioli in it. These definitely have potential, but I think there needs to be a better balance in flavours. 

That having been said, the other dishes were truly delicious, with the KFC Sliders and Mussels & Shrimp "chowder" being highlights for me, as well as the desserts, which were beautifully presented with unique flavour combinations that I'd never had before. Even my mom commented on how well done the desserts were. The portions for the small plates are, of course, small, but they are mighty. They use such rich, heavy ingredients that a bigger portion would almost be too filling. These six small plates and two desserts made us so full, in fact, that it was like we had just gorged at a buffet. (And we eat a lot. Yes, my 71-year-old mother can chow down.) So while some people might think that the dishes are way too expensive here for the portion you get, I actually didn't think the pricing (for the most part) was unreasonable for the small plates.

What actually made this experience less than stellar was our server. He started off by telling us the background of the restaurant and the chef behind it, which is fine. I understand why he would want to show off Chef Pears' achievements and why it's worth it to eat at his restaurants. But we also don't need to hear such a long story about how Keith Pears is "Wasian" (white and Asian) so he became passionate about creating fusion food and that he's currently in France for his Michelin star and has won many, many awards, etc. I can quite literally read this on his website. (Which I have.) 

Then, he went on and on about their mocktails because Pears is still waiting for their liquor license. I asked him if there was a lot of sugar in these drinks, and he kept saying that they're "not too sweet" and listed all these substitutes to make them "less sweet and taste more like alcohol." So I quite literally said, "It's not the sweetness I mind. I'm actually asking about the sugar content because I'm diabetic. Don't worry, we'll skip the mocktails and save room for dessert instead." To which he said, "But we can put less of the juice and substitute with non-alcoholic gin to make them taste more like cocktails!" So when my mom said, "It's okay, we don't drink alcohol, either," he quite literally just WALKED AWAY. 

When he came back five minutes later to take our orders, he proceeded to only recommend the most expensive dishes on the menu in a very transparent, blatant tactic to hike up our bill. During our meal, he was actually perfectly pleasant if not a little too enthusiastic in checking on how we liked the food (read: every 5 minutes). However, when it came time to pay for our bill, he placed the machine in front of me and then HOVERED to see how much I would tip him. Unprofessional, pushy, and way too obviously tip-hungry. Honestly, I expect way better service for an upscale restaurant. Overall, the food was great for the most part and the restaurant is very aesthetic with fun Asian fusion decor, but there are definitely a few kinks to work out. I would come back to try a few of the main dishes and give it a fair chance after they've been open for a bit longer, but I really hope they train their servers better. And take those abysmal meatballs off the menu.

Pears Restaurant

170 Enterprise Blvd., Unit J105

Markham, ON L6A 0A2

(365) 608-0939

Dining Out: A New Year's Reunion Dinner at NextDoor Restaurant

Since I always talk about how much I love NextDoor, my friend Ronsee really wanted to try it. After two months of trying to meet up (he and his girlfriend just had a baby so it's been busy for them, to say the least), the three of us (plus new baby!) finally made time to have dinner there:

Beef Tartare: Raw beef tenderloin, chili garlic oil, egg yolk, pickled cucumbers, and wood ear mushrooms served with fried baos

Fried Brussels Sprouts: Maple balsamic vinaigrette, lemon zest, parmesan aioli, and parmesan snow

Tuna Ceviche: Albacore tuna, coconut vinaigrette, red onions, English cucumbers, and jalapeño peppers served with fried corn tortilla chips

Char Siu Iberico Pork: 7.5oz Iberico pork secreto, grilled broccolini, ginger scallion sauce, and rosemary sweet potato purée

Spaghetti Bolognese: Fresh pasta, beef Bolognese sauce, chorizo sausage, cheddar cheese, and fried chicken 

Steak Diane: 8oz USDA prime top sirloin, roasted fingerling potatoes, miso mushroom sauce, roasted portobello mushrooms, and beer-battered onion rings

Mexican Chocolate Cake: Flourless chocolate cake, mezcal-infused caramel sauce, house made churros, chocolate crumble, and whipped cream

3 apps, 3 mains, 3 happy diners! Highlights for me were the Brussels sprouts and the char siu Iberico pork, but everything (including the service) was excellent, as always. My favourite thing about NextDoor is that they're consistently innovating new dishes to put alongside their classic favourites. Plus, they really do Asian fusion spectacularly well, truly marrying the flavours of different cuisines in unique ways. I can't wait to go back to try out their new menu items over the next few months.

NextDoor Restaurant

Unionville Planing Mill

139 Main St. Unionville

Unionville, ON L3R 2G6

(905) 604-6983

Dining Out: Smoked Beef Brisket & Ribs, Savoury Jowl Bites, Crispy Octopus with Sous Vide Egg, Vietnamese Beef Stew with Puff Pastry, and Lemongrass Pork Chops at Electric Piggy

I had never heard of Vietnamese BBQ before, so when I kept seeing Electric Piggy (the sister restaurant to Nam) all over my social media, I knew I had to try it out ASAP. So my friends Minji, Daniel, Samuel, and I went there for an early dinner and MY GOD, IT WAS INCREDIBLE:

14-hour smoked beef brisket and 6-hour smoked pork ribs with house BBQ sauce and buttery corn bread
Savoury pork jowl bites served with vermicelli
Crispy octopus with sous vide egg, la lot sausage chorizo, and potato purée
Vietnamese beef stew with premium beef brisket, tomato, carrots, and lemongrass topped with puff pastry
Charcoal grilled lemongrass pork chop on hai nam rice with onion oil

The most tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket and fall-off-the-bone pork ribs. Delectably juicy slices of pork neck. An impeccable combination of octopus and chorizo in an almost carbonara-like creamy egg concoction. A rich, savoury stew of tender beef brisket chunks and carrots topped with a flaky, crispy, golden puff pastry. Juicy lemongrass pork chops grilled over charcoal with perfectly oily hai nam rice. A perfect demonstration of how Vietnamese food is truly and beautifully fusion. 

I am apparently making it my goal to try out all the different Asian BBQs these days, and so far, I AM NOT DISAPPOINTED. 

Electric Piggy

8384 Woodbine Ave.

Markham, ON L3R 2N8

(905) 415-2122

Dining Out: A Belated Birthday All-You-Can-Eat Japanese Feast at Ichiban

When my friend Iris asked where I'd want to go for a belated birthday dinner, I was craving Japanese food but also just wanted to eat a lot, so what better place than Ichiban, my go-to AYCE Japanese restaurant?

Assorted sashimi: Salmon, surf clams, sweet shrimp, scallops, and white tuna

Beef tataki

Smoked duck and wagyu aburi sushi

Truffle wasabi tuna roll with jalapeño

Assorted aburi sushi: White tuna, snapper, shrimp, salmon, eel, and wagyu

Japanese-style cubed beef with garlic

Deep-fried scallops

Grilled jumbo shrimp skewer

Cream puffs

Deep-fried coconut custard

There was also steamed shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, Japanese steamed egg, enoki beef rolls, baked mussels with uni sauce, deep-fried calamari, deep-fried tofu, and a plethora of tempura. Unfortunately, we were too full to even touch the Asian stir-fried and noodle and rice sections, but you know, I think we did pretty well overall. GLUTTONOUS BIRTHDAY DINNER, SUCCESS!

Ichiban Asian All You Can Eat

4261 Highway 7, Unit C-8

Markham, ON L3R 9W6

(905) 305-8825

Dining Out: An Early Birthday Dinner at NextDoor Restaurant

My mom took me out for an early birthday dinner at NextDoor, and I gotta say, it's become our go-to special occasion restaurant for a reason. We've never had a dish here that was short of incredible. Our choices this evening:

Pork Sisig Bombs: Garlic rice, crispy pork filling, salmon caviar, and fried garlic in marinated bean curd pockets

Chopped Salad: Grilled chicken satay, lettuce, purple cabbage, arrots, red onions, fried shallots, crushed cashews, and fried wonton chips with soy peanut dressing

To start, the pork sisig bombs and the chopped salad. The pork sisig bombs were truly excellent — I've never had sisig before, and I don't know who's genius idea it was to stuff it inside delightfully marinated bean curd pockets, but these are INSPIRED. (I really need to try more Filipino food.) The chopped salad, which is definitely hefty enough to be a main course, was perfectly balanced in flavours and has so many amazing crunchy textures from the cabbage, cashews, and fried wonton chips that make it incredibly addictive. 

Singaporean Chili Crab: Tempura soft shell crab, P.E.I. mussels, tiger shrimp, pickled chilis, and crushed cashews with fried baos

Steak Diane: 8 oz. USDA prime top sirloin, roasted fingerling potatoes, and roasted portobello mushrooms topped with miso mushroom sauce and beer-battered onion rings

For our mains, we got the Singaporean chili crab and the Steak Diane. The chili crab — which comes with a plethora of delicious seafood — is flavour-packed and has just the right amount of savoury spice. It's the kind of spicy that makes your mouth tingle but doesn't take away from any of the other flavours. (Though, fair warning, this one might be too much if you can't handle spice in general.) I think my only critique would have been to replace the fried baos with rice  — the buns were great, but I think rice would've soaked up the sauce really nicely. Now, maybe it's because I'm just a huge fan of steak with mushrooms, but I thought the Steak Diane was utter perfection. The miso mushroom sauce was impeccable and not a drop could be wasted so we soaked up every last bit of it with the potatoes and onion rings. 

Piña Colada Tres Leches: Triple layer vanilla sponge cake, whipped cream, and cinnamon crumble served with cinnamon and rum infused pineapple and coconut ice cream

Finally, I picked the piña colada tres leches for dessert, which sounded the most unique (the other choices were strawberry shortcake, Mexican chocolate cake, and mango gelato). What I loved was that the combination of flavours — vanilla, cinnamon, pineapple, and coconut — was simultaneously tropical and comforting at the same time. And the texture of the cake was light and airy so it didn't feel heavy after such a huge meal (we did have to take half of the chili crab home — we can eat a lot but even this was too much for us). A lovely ending to an epic feast. 

I gotta say, birthday week is off to a great start!

NextDoor Restaurant

Unionville Planing Mill

139 Main St. Unionville

Markham, ON L3R 2G6

(905) 604-6983