Dining Out: Canada Day Dinner at Congee Queen

Celebrated Canada Day proper with a little fam jam this evening at Congee Queen — our go-to restaurant for not only special occasions but national holidays, too!

Thai-style green mango and tiger shrimp salad

General Tao chicken

Fried oysters with belacan sauce

Stir-fried beef and Chinese broccoli

Shrimp dumpling noodle soup

'Cause nothing says "Happy Birthday, Canada!" like a table full of delicious Chinese food. (Eaten at a restaurant, of course. There is no holiday or special occasion that could make my family actually cook at home.) Hope all my fellow Canadians had a lovely Canada Day!

New York City 2025 Travel Log: Shack Stack, Fries, and Strawberry Milkshake from Shake Shack

Shack Stack

The perfect post-concert meal: A Shack Stack with fries from Shake Shack. (And a strawberry milkshake on the side. You know, to help soothe your throat after 2 hours of screaming.) 

Shake Shack (Flatbush-Barclays Center)

170 Flatbush Ave.

Brooklyn, NY 11217

(347) 442-7711

New York City 2025 Travel Log: Margherita Pizza, Fried Calamari, and Fried Mozzarella-Stuffed Mushrooms at Patsy's Pizzeria

On this trip to NYC, I really wanted to get some New York-style pizza. Of course, there are hundreds of pizzerias in Brooklyn alone and New Yorkers have very extreme opinions on which one is the best, but I am neither a New Yorker nor a pizza snob, so after nearly four hours of waiting to get J-Hope merch in the cold, we decided to go to the historic Patsy's Pizzeria, which is very conveniently across the street from Barclays Center.

Margherita pizza
Fried calamari with shrimp
Fried mozzarella-stuffed mushrooms

We were quite ambitious and ordered the Margherita pie, the fried calamari, and the fried mozzarella-stuffed mushrooms. My food baby was definitely substantial afterwards, but my god, this lunch was spectacular. Not a crumb was left. (Well, Iris did leave a bit of crust left, but she did her best!) Not sure how Patsy's now ranks among New York pizzerias, but there's a reason why they've been around for nearly 100 years (and has 12 locations across NYC for your pizza-eating pleasure).

Patsy's Pizzeria

450 Dean St.

Brooklyn, NY 11217

(718) 622-2268

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: Mango Strawberry Mixed Rolled Ice Cream at Roll Me Up

It has been a long time since I've had Thai-style rolled ice cream (probably two decades, honestly), so I was particularly excited to go to Roll Me Up with Chelsea for a late night dessert:

   Mango Strawberry Mixed Rolled Ice Cream

When the server asked me what toppings I wanted, I told him to decide for me, so he chose the matching mango and strawberry popping bobas and this combination was PURE DELIGHT. So, now I must come back ASAP to make up for all the years I didn't have rolled ice cream.

Roll Me Up

9325 Yonge St., Unit 18

Richmond Hill, ON L4C 0A8

(905) 508-0600

Dining Out: An Early Birthday Dinner at The Keg

My dad insisted on taking me out for a birthday dinner, so along with my mom, we went to The Keg to celebrate tonight:

Iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese

Caesar Brussels sprouts with bacon

Prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, and crispy fried onions

Billy Miner Pie

Of course, I got all my favourites: An iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese to start, the Caesar Brussels sprouts to share, and the classic prime rib cooked a perfect medium rare with garlic mashed potatoes as my main. And because this dinner was to celebrate my birthday, our lovely server prepared a slice of Billy Miner Pie (mocha ice cream, chocolate crust, fudge, caramel, and almonds) for dessert on the house, which is one of my favourite things about celebrating birthdays at The Keg. (Billy Miner Pie has been one of my favourite desserts since I was a kid, and it is absolutely crucial to save stomach space for it.) Honestly, after going to The Keg for over three decades, it's still my favourite Canadian chain restaurant. 

The Keg

162 York Blvd.

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3J6

(905) 882-0500

Dining Out: Key Lime Pie, Churro Ice Cream Sandwich, and Salted Caramel Cheesecake from Moxies

I haven't been to Moxies in a long time (no, seriously, it's been at least five years), but Minji really wanted dessert this evening after dinner so we headed to the closest restaurant that served desserts, which just happened to be Moxies.

Key Lime Pie

Churro Ice Cream Sandwich

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

We shared three of their four desserts (they've had the White Chocolate Brownie for ages, so we didn't feel the need to get it), and while I still haven't forgiven them for discontinuing their Sticky Toffee Pudding a few years ago, these were, admittedly, pretty damn delightful. I also don't know a lot of places that serve key lime pie (one of my favourite desserts), either, so they get extra brownie points (no pun intended) for that. Anyway, it never occurred to us that we could go into any restaurant just for dessert. We may have to reconsider how to dine out...

Moxies

159 York Blvd.

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3B4

(905) 764-9500

Dining Out: So-tteok So-tteok, Cheese Corn, "Gangnam Style" Wings Combo, and Padak Fried Chicken at BBQ Chicken

Starting the long weekend off right with Minji and Daniel at BBQ Chicken:

So-tteok so-tteok

Cheese corn

"Gangnam Style" Wings Combo

Padak fried chicken

BBQ Chicken revamped their menu recently, so when we saw so-tteok so-tteok and cheese corn, we knew we had to get them alongside our fried chicken. Of course, the chicken here never disappoints (today's choices were the "Gangnam Style" wings with fries, which is an ultra-tasty combination of black pepper sauce with garlic and onions, and the Padak fried chicken, a classic crowd-pleaser and my personal favourite), and cheese corn is always a reliable side dish, but this is the first time I tried deep-fried tteok and it's pretty goddamn revolutionary. Easily a must-order here. Now, I'm not going to say it replaces tteokbokki because that would be blasphemous, but if you're in the mood for tteok but want something less saucy, the so-tteok so-tteok here (which is served deconstructed rather than on skewers) is fucking glorious.

BBQ Chicken

8110 Birchmount Rd., Unit 1 and 2

Markham, ON L6G 0E3

(905) 305-8110

Dining Out: Chicken Biscuit Sandwich at IHOP and Shrimp Alfredo at Olive Garden

Since it's Civic Day long weekend, Minji, Daniel, and I decided to make a little trip down to Buffalo to eat and do some American snack shopping. The rule, of course, was to only eat and/or buy things that we don't have in Toronto or Canada in general. We let Minji make the restaurant decisions on this trip, so our first stop was for lunch at IHOP in Niagara Falls:

Chicken Biscuit Sandwich at IHOP

Since we had quite literally ordered pancake breakfasts at work on Friday, both Daniel and I decided to forego the breakfast options and chose the fried chicken biscuit sandwich with hash browns on the inside. The sandwich itself tasted pretty decent — the fried chicken was crispy and juicy on the inside, and the biscuit was nice and fluffy — but the portion was DISMAL (one thing I did NOT EXPECT to complain about at an American restaurant chain is the portion size), the hash browns were barely cooked on the inside, and the white gravy on the side was quite literally cold gelatin (it was the exact texture of cream soup straight out of the can). Along with a Diet Pepsi, this meal cost just over $44 CAD after tax, tip, and a NIAGARA FALLS TOURIST FEE (an absolute fucking scam). This was by far the most disappointing meal with the worst value I have ever had in my entire almost-38 years of life, and I'm not even being dramatic. We had to console ourselves with Killaloe Sunrise Beavertails down the street (which were excellent, and are under $10 each).

Shrimp Alfredo at Olive Garden

We crossed the border and drove to Buffalo to do some shopping at Target and Trader Joe's, and Minji chose Olive Garden for dinner. Some Canadians may not remember, but we actually used to have Olive Garden in Ontario. They all closed down when I was in middle school — which means Minji and Daniel, who are born in the mid-1990s, don't remember the existence of this restaurant chain at all — but my parents used to take us there once a month as our non-Chinese dining out option. I don't remember it being that amazing — and we do have East Side Mario's, which is basically the same thing — but I agreed so that Minji and Daniel could experience Olive Garden for themselves. 

Except we had to wait 30 minutes to get seated, another 15 minutes just to order our food, another 10 minutes to get water, another 15 minutes just to get our salad and breadsticks, and another 30 minutes to get our entrees. This is actually no fault of our server, who was an absolute sweetheart, but just the fact that this Olive Garden was woefully understaffed (she was already waiting on at least 8 tables with no other help and new guests would just keep coming in). The food was actually quite tasty — the unlimited salad (which is EXACTLY THE SAME as East Side Mario's) and bread sticks were decent (I did get two refills of the salad and both Minji and Daniel got second refills of soup because we were waiting so long) — and the shrimp alfredo I ordered was surprisingly delicious (flavourful, creamy, and contained a great amount of shrimp), but it was the fact that we arrived at 7:15PM and didn't leave until 10:00PM that was the issue. And we still had to re-charge the Tesla and drive over two hours to get home.

Should've just gone to the Cheesecake Factory and called it a day.

IHOP

4955 Clifton Hill, 3/F

Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3N5

(905) 371-3396

Olive Garden

2011 Walden Ave.

Cheektowaga, NY 14225

(716) 683-4670

Dining Out: A Reunion Korean BBQ Dinner at Daldongnae

My friend Hannan is in town this weekend and called me up to see if I was free to meet up. I haven't seen him since his wedding in 2019 so, of course, we had to have a reunion dinner. He wanted Asian food so I suggested Korean BBQ and he very enthusiastically agreed (they do not have many Asian food options where he lives). So off to Daldongnae we went:

Beef boneless short rib and beef tenderloin

Beef boneless short rib

Beef tenderloin

Kimchi fried rice with cheese

Seafood pajeon

Since he doesn't eat pork, it was all beef tonight, which was actually a really nice change (I love samgyeopsal, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just need some short rib), and the kimchi fried rice and seafood pajeon were the perfect accompaniments. It was his first time trying both, and he was absolutely DELIGHTED. (I mean, that's fair.) He's only been to Korean BBQ once before and it was an AYCE place, which basically doesn't count, so I'm so glad I could introduce him to an authentic experience. Only problem now is, he loved it so much that I think he may develop an addiction to K-BBQ.

Daldongnae

135 York Blvd.

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3B4

(905) 707-0683

Dining Out: Father's Day Dinner at Congee Queen

I haven't eaten a lot of Cantonese food since coming back from Hong Kong in March and am now craving it all the time, so when my mom asked where we should take my dad for Father's Day, I suggested Congee Queen:

Diced beef sirloin with chili black pepper in golden bowl

Roasted pork and BBQ pork platter

Fried sea bass in secret sauce

Fried bean curd with mixed vegetables

There's a reason it's our go-to "casual-but-special occasion" restaurant. Honestly, they never disappoint. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Congee Queen

230 Commerce Valley Dr. E., Unit 1

Thornhill, ON L3T 7Y3

(905) 707-8388

Dining Out: Padak Fried Chicken, Gangjeong Fried Chicken, and Rose Tteokbokki at BBQ Chicken

Dinner at BBQ Chicken with Daniel and Minji because there's nothing like fried chicken after two days of eating hot pot:

Padak fried chicken
Gangjeong fried chicken
Rose tteokbokki

I asked Daniel and Minji to make the flavour decisions, so they ended up ordering two that I'd never tried before and I inadvertently found my new fave flavour in the padak chicken. I didn't even think I liked green onion that much, but the flavour and texture of it works supremely well with sweet, tangy fried chicken. Anyway, the new goal is to make my way through the entire BBQ Chicken menu now. (Except for maybe the ultra-spicy variants. I do value my tastebuds.)

BBQ Chicken

8110 Birchmount Rd., Unit 1 and 2

Markham, ON L6G 0E3

(905) 305-8110

Dining Out: Galbi Q Fried Chicken Combo, Crispy Shrimp Menbosha, and Rose Tteokbokki at BBQ Chicken

What's the perfect meal to eat after watching the Agust D Tour movie? Korean fried chicken, of course.

Galbi Q fried chicken combo
Crispy shrimp menbosha
Rose tteokbokki

I don't know if it's because I haven't had fried chicken in over half a year or because I just haven't had Korean food in months, but this meal was, like, extra satisfying? The shrimp menbosha is still revolutionary, of course, and the rose tteokbokki is reliably delicious, but as someone who usually prefers non-sauced fried chicken, I thought the Galbi Q flavour fried chicken was incredible. It's sweet like honey garlic, but it has a deeper, smokier, more savoury flavour. Would absolutely order again. (Oh, and best tip: Dip the fries into the rose sauce from the tteokbokki. It's SO FREAKING GOOD.) Bb.q Chicken, you remain my favourite Korean fried chicken restaurant. "Best of the best quality," indeed. 

BBQ Chicken

8110 Birchmount Rd., Unit 1 and 2

Markham, ON L6G 0E3

(905) 305-8110

Hong Kong 2024 Travel Log: Day 6 — Stir-Fried Beef Rice Noodles, Stir-Fried Singapore-Style Vermicelli Noodles, and a Toasted Egg & Luncheon Meat Sandwich from at Ngan Lung Restaurant 銀龍粉麵茶餐廳

Aaaaand we're back in Hong Kong! As per usual, we were starving after getting to our hotel from the airport, so we just decided to eat at the closest cha chaan teng, which happens to be Ngan Lung, where we ate on our first day in Hong Kong.

Stir-fried beef rice noodles
Stir-fried Singapore-style vermicelli noodles
Toasted egg and luncheon meat sandwich

Okay, so we may have written off Ngan Lung a little too hastily. The afternoon tea special we got last time was mediocre, but their fried noodles are quite excellent. (We got two cha chaan teng staples: beef chow fun and Singapore-style mei fun.) Their egg and luncheon meat sandwich is also pretty good, so I can't even say it's their breakfast foods that are disappointing. And the service was also significantly better this time around, perhaps because it wasn't during peak hours. So maybe we just went on a bad day when both the cook and our server were in bad moods? (Maybe they're dating and got into a fight. Yes, that's got to be it.) Again, I'm not sure this place merits awards, but you know, I'm glad we tried it again.

Ngan Lung Restaurant 銀龍粉麵茶餐廳

Friends' House

4B Carnarvon Rd.

Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Hong Kong

(852) 2721-1155

Tokyo 2024 Travel Log: Day 4 — Omurice with Seafood Cream Sauce, Hambagu, and Ebi Fry at Royal Host

Since we were exhausted from exploring Senso-ji and Ueno Park (we did over 20,000 steps!), we wanted to find a restaurant for dinner that would be near our hotel and open relatively late. So we decided to go to Royal Host, once of Japan's most popular Western-style family restaurant chains.

Omurice with seafood cream sauce
Hambagu with vegetables
Ebifry with tartar sauce

Two things I hadn't eaten in Japan yet were omurice and hambagu. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and got one of the "Western Food Specials" that included omurice with a seafood cream sauce, a hambagu with vegetables, and an ebi fry — all for under ¥2,500. Surprisingly delicious and a great value. (So good, in fact, that my mom wants to come back tomorrow. We shall see.)

Royal Host 

Shinjuku Mitsui Building

2 Chome−1−1 新宿三井ビル 1F

Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City

Tokyo, Japan 〒160-0023 

+81-3-3345-0276

Tokyo 2024 Travel Log: Day 3 — Carbonara Udon at Tsuru Ton Tan Udon Noodle Brasserie

Since we were in Shibuya, we decided to have dinner inside Shibuya Scramble Square at a restaurant called Tsuru Ton Tan Udon Noodle Brasserie. Luckily, we weren't too hungry when we got in the insane line-up because we had to wait for nearly 45 minutes to get a table. (At which point we became very hungry.)

Carbonara udon

I decided on the carbonara udon, which includes udon noodles, thick-cut bacon, eggplant, broccoli, fried lotus root, and an egg yolk. This tasted INCREDIBLE, especially when the egg yolk is mixed into the cream sauce, which makes it extra rich and flavourful. It doesn't like look it would contain that many things just from looking at it, but I kept finding different veggies and slices of meat as I fished around in the bowl. 

I was originally tempted to get 1.5 servings of noodles because Japanese portions are usually smaller than North American ones and I have a very, shall we say, North American appetite. But good thing I didn't, because these bowls are MASSIVE (like, it could fit a pretty big watermelon). Based on this udon alone, I'd say that it's definitely worth trying and coming back to eat, but probably not worth waiting in line for 45 minutes, so I'd either visit during off-hours or try going to one of the other dozen locations around Tokyo. (I mean, to be fair, Shibuya Scramble Crossing is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world, so I guess line-ups to eat around here are to be expected.)

Ramen, check. Soba, check. Udon, CHECK. Japanese noodle trifecta, COMPLETE!

Tsuru Ton Tan Udon Noodle Brasserie

Shibuya Scramble Square

2 Chome−24−12 スクランブルスクエア 13階

Shibuya, Shibuya City

Tokyo, Japan 〒150-6113

+81-3-6419-7155

Tokyo 2024 Travel Log: Day 2 — Yuzu-Tsuyu Tsukemen and Aburi Koro Chashu Gohan at Afuri

Well, you know I can't stay in Japan for very long without getting another bowl of noodles.

Yuzu-Tsuyu Tsukemen

Aburi Koro Chashu Gohan

One thing I really wanted to try on this trip was tsukemen, which is like ramen but instead of having all the hot broth inside the bowl already, the ramen (served cold) is dipped into a separate, much more concentrated sauce (served hot). So when we decided to go to Afuri for dinner (my mom wanted ramen), I decided to get the Yuzu-Tsuyu Tsukemen with both chashu and chicken. It is a refreshing, aromatic bowl of delightfully bouncy noodles, and the hint of yuzu adds a really lovely brightness to the umami of the dipping broth. This would make an amazing summer noodle option, actually.

This set also came with a bowl of their Aburi Koro Chashu Gohan — a rice bowl with grilled chashu, yuzu, and daikon oroshi — which is honestly just as delicious as their noodles (according to both me and my mom, who also got it with her ramen set). I guess it can get overlooked because, you know, Afuri is a noodle restaurant and the gohan is technically under "side orders" (we love carbs with a side of carbs!) but I would honestly come here just for this. (You know, if I lived in Japan and didn't want noodles for some reason.) 

Afuri

Shinjuku Sumitomo Building

2 Chome-6-1 

Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku City

Tokyo, Japan 〒160-0023