Dining Out: A Belated Birthday Dinner at NextDoor Restaurant

My friend Iris also took me out for a belated birthday dinner (scheduling a meet-up gets hard when your friends have kids) this weekend, this time at one of my go-to special occasion restaurants, NextDoor:

Fried Brussels sprouts with maple balsamic vinaigrette, lemon zest, parmesan aioli, and parmesan snow
Street corn guac with crema, feta, and friend corn tortillas
New England seafood pot pie with fresh catch of the day, double-smoked bacon, fingerling potatoes, sweet corn, creamy bisque, and puff pastry
Crying tiger steak bowl with 6 oz. Thai marinated bavette steak, salmon caviar, garlic fried rice, sous-vide egg, nam jim jaew sauce, and fried shallots

Four dishes — two starters and two mains — to share. The fried Brussels sprouts and the street corn guac are tried-and-true favourites, but the seafood pot pie and steak bowl are new to their menu. The "pot pie" is presented in a kind of deconstructed format, so it's not really a pot pie, but more of a rich, creamy, thick seafood chowder with a delightful puff pastry on the side for dipping. Exactly what I expected in terms of flavour, with the bacon adding a nice smoky, savoury element, and the seafood was generous. Delicious, cozy, and comforting. All the things I want on a freezing, gloomy day.

The steak was perfectly tender and the salmon caviar added a punch of oceanic flavour — a true surf and turf experience. We mixed the sous-vide egg with the garlic fried rice and each bite was a gloriously creamy flavour bomb. (I did not touch the nam jim jaew sauce, though. It was full of cilantro and therefore would have ruined my entire experience.) The steak bowl definitely made up for the lack of fusion in the seafood pot pie, and offered a totally different but equally enjoyable experience. This was another delightful meal for the books. You know, I'm officially a huge fan of belated birthday dinners. I get to celebrate with good food and good friends for a month!

NextDoor Restaurant

Unionville Planing Mill

139 Main St. Unionville

Unionville, ON L3R 2G6

(905) 604-6983

Dining Out: An Early Birthday Dinner at Watercolour

I'd wanted to try Watercolour for a couple years now but kept forgetting about it because newer restaurants kept opening up, so when my mom asked where I wanted to go for this year's birthday dinner, I decided it was finally time to try it out. And I can't believe it took me so long to finally eat there.

Beets and goat cheese with roasted walnuts, shallots, dill, and champagne vinaigrette
Daily special: PEI mussels with leeks in white wine cream sauce
Daily special: Halibut with chickpeas and Swiss chard
Red wine braised short rib with rigatoni, Calabrian chili, and parmesan
Lemon meringue tart

We decided to go with two dishes from the regular menu and two from the daily specials. Impeccable combinations of flavours and textures in every dish. Not a single dud or disappointment. Just swooning after every bite. (I wish I had been paying more attention to what was in the daily specials, but I was so freaking hungry and excited at the prospect of eating that I only took in the key words, so forgive me for the lack of detail in the descriptions. Like, the red, aromatic, slightly spicy sauce with the halibut? I have no idea what it is. But it was fucking delicious.) Even when our server — who was incredible, by the way; professional but with a great sense of humour, attentive but not cloying — came by with our mains, he said, "That looks so, so good." 

He asked if it was a special occasion, so I told him it was my birthday and he lit a little candle to go with our dessert — the best lemon meringue pie I've ever had in my life. (Already knowing the answer, he did ask, while chuckling, if I wanted him to sing happy birthday, and I said, also smiling, "Absolutely not, but thank you.") Even my mom, who is notoriously critical, had nothing negative to say about this dinner. We both had nothing but praise for the food and the service. It was a truly incredible meal. So glad I finally got to try Watercolour. It's pricey, so it's firmly in the "special occasions" category, but I will absolutely be coming back. Wonder if they're open for Christmas…

Watercolour

166 Main St. Unionville

Unionville, ON L3R 2G9

(905) 266-6877

Dining Out: An Early Birthday Dinner at Bâton Rouge

When my dad texted me asking where I'd want to have dinner for my birthday, I originally told him The Keg, which has been my go-to for many years. But he said we always go to The Keg and should try something else. So I decided to go with Bâton Rouge, which I figured was the most similar in menu to The Keg and close enough in location (coincidentally, it's right across the street from The Keg).

Cauliflower wings with General Tao sauce, green onions, and sesame seeds
Crispy Brussels sprouts with Mike's Hot Honey, sesame and tahini vinaigrette, and maple candied pecans
Mixed greens salad with croutons, chopped egg, and green goddess vinaigrette
Prime rib with au jus, garlic mashed potatoes, and seasonal vegetables
Choco-espresso cream pie

The appetizers were good, especially the Brussels sprouts (which I highly recommend), but everything else was… okay-to-decent. Maybe because I'm actively comparing the food here to The Keg, but the prime rib just doesn't compete. Both my mom and I ordered it, and it looks like we somehow both got the ugly end pieces. We're used to prime rib being sliced from the centre, with a nice pinkish-red surface, but this looked almost unappetizing. Still, the inside was medium rare and the flavour was good, which is what counts, I guess. Unfortunately, the meat was way chewier with way more tendon than what we're used to from The Keg. Our cuts were also supposed to be 12 oz., but they seemed much smaller here, maybe closer to 8 or 9 oz. (For context, I usually can't finish both the meat and mashed potatoes at The Keg, but I polished off everything on my plate here.) I thought it was just the prime rib that was a flop, but my dad had gotten the ribs (which is really what Bâton Rouge is famous for), and he said that they were on the drier side and tough to eat. He didn't even bother finishing them.

All in all, our mains were disappointing.

For dessert, I decided on the choco-espresso cream pie for the table to share, and while I thought it tasted decent enough, it looked really, really sad — just small and kind of warped, and not fresh at all (we could see the crack lines in the cream along the edges). Both of my parents commented that it was definitely an older pie and that they could taste that it was sprayed with syrup to keep it from tasting stale. Again, disappointing. So, conclusion: For these prices (it was about $80 per person after tax and tip), go to The Keg instead. 

Bâton Rouge

230 Commerce Valley Dr. E., Unit 7

Thornhill, ON L3T 7Y3

(226) 240-8349

Dining Out: Thanksgiving Dinner 2025 at Swiss Chalet

As per our original Thanksgiving tradition, my mom and I went for dinner at Swiss Chalet:

Thanksgiving Feast: Half rotisserie chicken with stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a dinner roll
Obviously, we partook in the Thanksgiving Feast — it's basically their rotisserie chicken dinner with stuffing and cranberry sauce — which they offer twice a year, at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Unfortunately, they didn't have enough dark meat for both of us to get double-leg dinners, so we got one quarter chicken dinner and one half chicken dinner and split the white meat. (A quarter chicken is never enough for either of us.) We normally don't like white meat because it's usually dry AF, but it was shockingly good today — tender and juicy — maybe because the turnover was so high that there wasn't time for chickens to get dry on the spit. This combo also comes with your choice of pie for dessert, but we obviously got the pumpkin pie because they only offer it during Thanksgiving. (Pumpkin pie isn't one of my favourite pies, not even a Top 5, but because of its rarity, I have to get it when it's offered.)

Pumpkin pie

Luckily, our Thanksgiving experience at Swiss Chalet today was significantly better than the last one, which was three years ago. That experience was so bad that we had actually boycotted going to Swiss Chalet for Thanksgiving since then. But we figured it's been three years, so we decided to give it another go, except at our usual location this time. And I will not deviate from this location again, because this Thanksgiving experience compared to that one was like night and day. Today, we got seated within five minutes (we got there at 5:30PM in attempt to beat the rush), we got our regular server (she has literally worked there since I was a teenager, so she always recognizes us — aside from being really nice, she is also scary efficient and frankly, all servers should learn from her), our food came to the table within 10 minutes, and best of all, the food was GREAT. Fresh, piping hot, and DELICIOUS. This is what I expect from Swiss Chalet. Thanksgiving boycott, officially over.

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!

Swiss Chalet

Markville Mall

5070 Highway 7

Markham, ON L3R 4M9

(905) 305-1809

Dining Out: Downtown Markham Food Fest 2025

Since we didn't make it out to the CNE this year (which, aside from the hour-long commute from the GTA and the most anxiety-inducing parking space hunt, has become way too expensive — with a $25 admission fee this year, an all-time high — and way too crowded), I asked Minji and Daniel if they'd be interested in going to the Downtown Markham Food Fest after work yesterday, which has free admission and is way less stressful than going to downtown Toronto. 

Korean beef bulgogi tater tots from Crunch Alley
Beef, lamb, and sausage skewers from Chinese Northern BBQ
Tornado potato with garlic parmesan from Happy Twist
Taiwanese sweet potato balls from Sweet Potato Ball

Along with live music and performances, they have 40 local vendors this year. Since we got there right when they opened, it wasn't crowded yet and we could take the time to peruse all the food options. There were some vendors that we vetoed off the bat — mostly the Korean food ones that Minji insisted were way too overpriced (e.g. $13 for a Korean corn dog, $8 for a small cup of tteokbokki), but also the multiple vendors that are selling the exact same things (mostly the Chinese BBQ skewers), as well as the higher end local restaurants (like Pears and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse) because their price points were too high for what they were offering. (Also because they're quite literally across the street, so we could easily go to the actual restaurants if we wanted to.)

We ended up with Korean beef bulgogi tater tots (wish there was more kimchi and cucumbers, but the tots were super crunchy and the beef was well-seasoned — 4/5); a variety of Chinese BBQ skewers (9 skewers for $20 is a steal, but the vendor we ended up going to used pre-grilled skewers, so re-heating them on the grill made the beef and lamb a little too chewy, though the sausage was excellent — 3/5); a tornado potato that Minji added copious amounts of delicious garlic parmesan seasoning to (the potato was perfectly fried resulting in really nice crispy edges with the inside still giving a nice chew — 5/5); and Taiwanese sweet potato balls that are basically sweet potato-based donuts that have the most spectacular mochi-like chew (they were also dusted with this sweet-tart purple powder that made them taste like apple fritters and were INSANELY GOOD — 5/5). It was about $17 per person for everything, and we were surprisingly full. (I say "surprisingly," because I usually get way more than this at food festivals. But then again, there were no line-ups, so I guess there was no time to digest in between orders...)

It's not marketed as an Asian food fest which is why it was far less crowded than we expected (at least when we got there around 5:30PM which, admittedly, is a little earlier than most people's dinner times) and there's no stinky tofu (still not sure why people are so obsessed with it — it honestly tastes like regular fried tofu but just smells like sewer), but the majority of their offerings is exactly like an Asian night market, anyway. (It is in Markham, after all.) All of us wished there were more dessert options, but overall, I thought it was worth stopping by. And unlike the CNE or Ribfest, it's free to go in. Not sure why I had never bothered going before, but I will absolutely come back next year!

Downtown Markham Food Fest 2025

Downtown Markham

179 Enterprise Blvd.

Markham, ON L6G 0A2

Dining Out: The LOCAL Burger with Onion Rings at LOCAL Public Eatery

So, ahead of the Taking Back Sunday/Coheed and Cambria show at Budweiser Stage, Chelsea, Braden, and I decided to have an early dinner as close to the venue as possible, which meant picking a restaurant in Liberty Village. But we didn't want to go anywhere too expensive or too fancy, and eating with Chelsea also means that we had to pick a spot that has gluten-free options. So after some research, we decided on LOCAL Public Eatery:

The LOCAL Burger

Both Braden and I got the LOCAL Burger — two grilled beef patties, melted American cheese, caramelized onions, tomato, lettuce, and secret house sauce. After a few bites, we both agreed: it was surprisingly better than many other highly-rated burger joints — and LOCAL isn't even technically a burger restaurant. The patties were juicy, well-seasoned, and perfectly cooked with great crusting; the veg was fresh and crisp; the bun was bouncy with a good chew and kept its integrity well; and the "secret house sauce" (which tastes like a combo of ketchup, mustard, and mayo) added a nice sweet-tart kick. And instead of fries, I paired my burger with what turned out to be the most exquisitely crispy, perfectly golden, delightfully giant onion rings, served with a creamy, zesty, garlicky aioli dip. 

Suffice it to say, it made for the perfect pre-concert meal. 

LOCAL Public Eatery

Liberty Market Building

171 E Liberty St., Unit 100

Toronto, ON M6K 3P6

(416) 901-8351

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: Markham Ribfest 2025

I, along with Minji and Daniel (and baby Lillian), embarked on my first ever ribfest this evening:

1/4 rack ribs and sausage with sides of baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread, and mac and cheese from Sticky Fingers BBQ

1/3 rack ribs and 1/2 pound beef brisket from Big Texas BBQ

Unanimous highlights were the ribs (moist, juicy, and excellent BBQ sauce that was just sweet and tangy enough), sausages (great bite, superb flavour), and beans (good combination of sweet and smoky, not too runny or thick) from Sticky Fingers BBQ and, surprisingly, the Dubai-style chocolate strawberries (the berries were super fresh and sweet, and worked really well with the combination of pistachio and chocolate flavours while the kataifi added a really nice crunch). 

Everything else was just... mediocre. At best. While the meats we tried from Sticky Fingers BBQ were great, most of the sides were quite disappointing: the coleslaw was bland (as if the dressing was too diluted?), the cornbread (not pictured) was on the drier side, and the mac and cheese (not pictured) needed to be both creamier and cheesier. (Had we had more stomach space, I would've loved to do a compare and contrast between these sides from all five rib teams.) The majority of the ribs from Big Texas BBQ were very dry (like, some of the meat wouldn't even come off the bone), the flavour of the BBQ sauce was rather forgettable, and all the lean pieces of beef brisket were tough. Not sure if it's the cooking conditions or the actual cooks, but the five featured rib teams at this ribfest have won numerous awards, titles, and trophies, so I was expecting way, way, way better quality offerings. 

Funnel cake with vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce from Fabulicious Funnel Cakes

Churros with vanilla ice cream from Victoria's Churro Cone

Dubai-style chocolate strawberries

Aside from the chocolate strawberries (a real underdog at a festival like this), the desserts were honesty quite disappointing, too. The funnel cake was way too thick and dense and not nearly crispy enough, and the ice cream on top was way too icy, as if it was made with low-fat milk. And while the churros came with much smoother and creamier ice cream, the churros themselves were hard and crunchy rather than chewy with a crispy edge. We all regretted not getting a bloomin' onion or tornado potato instead of so many desserts. Alas, we were too full to even think about getting anything else.

Surprisingly, we only spent $39.81 each on food and drink, which actually ends up being cheaper than a dinner at an average sit-down restaurant after tax and tip. So, would I go to ribfest again? Yeah, it was still fun to try different BBQ and food vendors and soak in the summery vibes and live music (the band did some great covers from The White Stripes to Letters to Cleo to Queen). But I just need to lower my expectations next time. And maybe better strategize on how to divide and conquer all the food options.

Markham Ribfest 2025

Downtown Markham

179 Enterprise Blvd.

Markham, ON L6G 0A2

Cooking at Home: Canada Day Dinner with Corn & Blueberry Salad with Feta and Hawaiian Pulled Pork Sliders

My friends Chelsea and Braden invited me over to their house for a little pre-Canada Day dinner:

Corn and blueberry salad with feta

BBQ pulled pork

Grilled pineapple

Hawaiian pulled pork sliders

Not sure where they get their recipes, but this dinner was amazing. Sweet and savoury, fresh and refreshing — the perfect choices for a summer meal. We did agree that a second side like sweet potato fries would've made the dinner even better, but what calories and fat grams we saved on that went to dessert at Chocolate & Company (riding on the theme of summer, I got black currant sorbetto and coconut gelato, my new favourite combo), the perfect ending to an incredible dinner.

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: Southern Platter, Southern Creole Mac & Cheese, and Pecan Bread Pudding at Smash Kitchen & Bar

I hadn't been back to Smash Kitchen in nearly six years — there was nothing inherently wrong or bad about the restaurant; it just didn't leave me with any lasting impressions. Nothing on their menu was particularly special, nothing stood out, and I didn't think the food wasn't really worth the price. Back then, their menu pretty much consisted of burgers, pizzas, and pastas; in the Markham area, there are now so many restaurants that do those categories better or cheaper, it just didn't occur to me to visit Smash again. But it is the sister restaurant to NextDoor, one of my favourite eateries in the city, and some of my colleagues said that they thought Smash was pretty good. So I decided to check out the menu online and noticed they revamped everything. There are still a few pasta dishes and some burgers, of course, but they definitely streamlined and now focus mainly on Southern comfort food. So when Ronsee asked if I was free for dinner with him and Val this evening, I suggested going back to Smash.

Southern Platter: Buttermilk fried chicken, BBQ pork back ribs, BBQ beef croquettes, L.A. mac and cheese, chicken gravy, creamy coleslaw, and pickled cucumbers

Southern Creole Mac & Cheese: Cavatappi pasta with creole cheese sauce, cajun shrimp, grilled chicken, andouille sausage, grilled corn, pico de gallo, cheese blend, and herb crumble

The three of us decided to share the Southern Platter and the Southern Creole Mac & Cheese for our mains. The food was more memorable than before — flavours are on-point, and the portions are generous — but the texture of both the fried chicken and the ribs were definitely on the drier side. The batter on the chicken was a bit too thick and it relied on the gravy for moisture, and the meat on the ribs was somewhat tough and difficult to separate from the bone. The BBQ beef croquettes were excellent and the L.A. mac and cheese was nice and creamy, but we all agreed that the Southern Creole Mac & Cheese is superior — deeper flavours, a good amount of spice, and with the addition of shrimp and sausage, just more well-rounded and interesting to eat. (Although picky eaters and those who don't like too much flavour will prefer the reliable one-note-ness of the L.A. mac and cheese.) The Southern Platter is good if you want to try out all the "Southern comfort" dishes that Smash offers, but note that all the items featured in it can also be ordered separately as well.

Pecan Bread Pudding with vanilla crème anglaise, chocolate crumble, banana ice cream

The stand-out for us was actually the Pecan Bread Pudding, which had a great moist texture, excellent flavour, and worked exceptionally well with banana ice cream. My conclusion this time around is that the food is decent and nothing was particularly disappointing — plus, the service is friendly and the atmosphere is great for socializing — but it's also nothing to write home about. Not sure if I'd come back for the "Southern comfort" dishes here, but I am interested to see if their fish and chips and other pasta dishes are any good. At least, I'm interested enough that I won't wait another six years to come back.

Smash Kitchen & Bar

Shoppes of Unionville

4261 Highway 7

Unionville, ON L3R 9W6

(905) 940-2000

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

Take Out: Key Lime Pie Ice Cream at Kawartha Dairy

The weather is finally warming up, so what's the perfect way to celebrate actual spring weather? Ice cream. (Obviously.) With my new favourite flavour, too: Key Lime Pie at Kawartha Dairy. It tastes exactly like its namesake. It's the perfect mix of sweet and tart; it's creamy but citrusy without veering into sorbet territory, and there's bits of graham cracker in there to give it a nice chew. And if you actually go to a Kawartha Dairy store, the "baby" size is like a large at Baskin Robbins so it's a pretty incredible value for $6. (No, really, this cup is huge. It can feed two people. Or one ice cream fiend, a.k.a. me.) Yes, I know that I can go to my local supermarket and get a tub of Kawartha Dairy ice cream to eat at home, but it's never the same as going out for ice cream, is it?

Kawartha Dairy

5 Alexander Rd.

Newmarket, ON L3Y 3J2

(905) 953-2881

Dining Out: Truffle Fries, Sausage Campanelle, Short Rib Pappardelle, and Skirt on Skillet at Cafe 85

I have been busy, busy, busy. On top of work, I got a call back for a job that I had applied for a few weeks ago. After three interviews, I got a job offer that I am very, very excited for. Coincidentally, my friend Samuel also got a job offer that he really wanted the day after I got mine. So Minji and Daniel asked where we'd want to go for a celebration dinner, and I suggested Cafe 85, which has been popping up all over my Instagram.

Truffle Fries — Shoestring fries, parmesan, and thyme

Sausage Campanelle — Italian sausage, tomato sauce, kale, basil, and fennel

Short Rib Pappardelle — Braised short rib, pan sauce, pesto, and parmesan

Skirt on Skillet — 8 oz. skirt steak, confit fingerling potatoes, balsamic mushrooms, wilted spinach, and peppercorn sauce

The restaurant just had their soft opening so we missed out on their $10 short rib special promotion, but I'm not even mad about it because I don't think it would have given me the true, unbiased experience of what they're capable of. Most of the average-to-negative reviews of this restaurant were because people went for this promotion only to find out that it was a limit of one per table. The restaurant would lose money before they could even have their grand opening if this promotion was unlimited, and I don't think they should be penalized in a negative review for that. That having been said, those diners were missing out on some of the other amazing dishes on the menu. We decided to share the Truffle Fries, the Sausage Campanelle, the Short Rib Pappardelle, and two Skirt on Skillets, and everything was pretty damn incredible.

Flavour and texture combinations were on point, pastas were cooked perfectly al dente, the short rib and the skirt steaks were incredibly tender and juicy and not even a little chewy (the steak is on rarer side of medium-rare, which is exactly how I like it, so I might be biased here), portions were decent, and the pricing is entirely reasonable. Our server was pleasant and accommodating and not cloying at all, but made sure that we had everything we needed and refilled our waters regularly. The restaurant itself is cozy but modern with huge comfy booth seating. My only regret is not getting dessert (we had an 8:45PM booking for an escape room and couldn't stay longer). I will absolutely be coming back to try their brunch options — the Sausage Shakshuka and Duck Confit Benny are calling my name.

Cafe 85

280 West Beaver Creek Rd., Lower Level Unit 10

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Z1

(905) 224-0757