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: 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

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: 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

Orlando 2024 Travel Log: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida — Day 3: Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Pudding Ice Cream Cone at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

We couldn't leave Universal Studios, let alone Orlando, without one last visit to Florean Fortescue's. So off we went, back to Diagon Alley, to get in the long line-up for one last epic ice cream.

Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Pudding ice creams in a waffle cone

My choice this time was Apple Crumble and Sticky Toffee Pudding hard-pack ice creams in a waffle cone. And y'all, this was maybe the best ice cream combination I've ever had in my life. Both flavours taste scarily accurate to their namesakes and they are PHENOMENAL — both alone and together. Like, damn, I knew it was going to be my last ice cream here, but I MADE IT WORTH IT. (Yes, even I am impressed with myself.) On another note, Minji is now obsessed with Chocolate Chili ice cream (even more so because she's pregnant) and is trying to figure out how to make it at home. 

HARRY POTTER WORLD, WE WILL MISS YOU SO MUCH.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley

Universal Studios Florida 

6000 Universal Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32819, USA

(407) 224-4233

Orlando 2024 Travel Log: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida — Day 2: Butterbeer Ice Cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

You know what's great about Diagon Alley? It's never too early to have ice cream at Florean Fortescue's.

Butterbeer ice cream in a waffle cone

Yes, they have taken full advantage of Butterbeer's popularity and basically made this flavour into every form, including soft serve ice cream. In soft serve, though, I do think the Butterbeer flavour is a bit lacking — it mainly tastes like vanilla, which is somewhat disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly delicious and anyone that likes soft serve in general will love this, but don't expect a huge amount of that signature caramelly, butterscotchy, cream soda flavour. With it being less sweet than actual Butterbeer, though, it actually worked out perfectly as an 11:00AM, post-breakfast dessert. (On that note, the morning is actually the best time to get ice cream from Florean Fortescue's, as the line-up is at its shortest. There were only 10 people in front of us when we got there.)

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley

Universal Studios Florida 

6000 Universal Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32819, USA

(407) 224-4233

Orlando 2024 Travel Log: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida — Day 1: Chocolate Strawberry Peanut Butter Sundae at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

The Universal Studios Florida park currently closes at 5:00PM everyday for their Halloween Horror Nights event, so we knew our last stop of the day in Diagon Alley had to be Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. For those who have read the books, you will know that Harry spends a great deal of time studying at Florean Fortescue's when he lives at Leaky Cauldron for a few weeks in Prisoner of Azkaban. You will also know that aside from helping Harry with his History of Magic homework on medieval witch-burnings, Florean also gives Harry free strawberry peanut butter ice cream sundaes every half hour. So guess what we got?

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour — Chocolate Strawberry Peanut Butter Sundae

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley: Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour — Chocolate Strawberry Peanut Butter Sundaes

Despite having to wait in line for 30 minutes, Minji and I both agreed the Chocolate Strawberry Peanut Butter Sundae was entirely worth it. (And yes, we each got our own. Because it just seemed too precious to share.) It's strawberry peanut butter ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream, shortbread crumbles, and a cherry on top served in a souvenir glass for $10.99, which I think is actually pretty reasonable considering the prices of most food items in the park. I do feel like they could work on the presentation of the sundae as they push the ice cream down flat to fill in the rest of the cup with whipped cream (the sample models of the sundaes look bigger with a rounded scoop and a much smaller dollop of whipped cream on top, which just looks far more aesthetically pleasing), but the combination of flavours makes up for it. There are a lot of ice cream options here, but if you're only going to get one, this is the one to get — it's indulgent, it's delicious, and it's the only one mentioned in the books. As for us, our goal is to visit here at least once a day on this trip.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley

Universal Studios Florida 

6000 Universal Blvd.

Orlando, FL 32819, USA

(407) 224-4233

Canadian National Exhibition: Summer 2024

Over the course of nine hours at the CNE (by far the longest I have ever spent there), Minji, Daniel, and I managed to go through all the exhibitions, play roulette at the casino, buy some air plants (me) and an Italian squeegee kit (them), and eat all the extraordinarily overpriced junk food we wanted to try this year:

Dilly Ranch Twisted Pickle

Tanghulu Mochi Doughnut

Wasabi Soft Serve Ice Cream

Fruity Pebbles Fried Chicken with Lime Dipping Sauce

Ruffles All Dressed Fried Chicken with Dill Pickle Dipping Sauce

Fried Soft Shell Crab "Kaarage" with Sriracha Mayo

Crème Brûlée Soft Serve Chimney Cone

Deep-Fried Pickle Oreos

Ube Sesame Corn

Deep-Fried Pickles

Deep-Fried Hickory Corn Ribs

Deep-Fried Cheese Curds and Curly Fries

Winners for me were the twisted pickle (so good, we almost got two), the Fruity Pebbles fried chicken (especially with the lime dip — a perfect combination of sweet, salty, and tangy), the soft shell crab (amazing texture and flavour — if it wasn't $20 each, we would've gotten another one), and the Tiny Tom's doughnuts (a classic for a reason; and did you really go to the CNE if you didn't get some Tiny Tom's doughnuts?). The most disappointing was the tanghulu mochi doughnut (sickly sweet, and I thought the fruit would be more incorporated into the doughnut somehow rather than just a skewer sitting on top), the Ruffles All Dressed fried chicken (the fried chicken was decent enough, but we could barely taste the All Dressed chips), the crème brûlée soft serve Chimney Cone (the burnt sugar and custard were just sitting on top so once you get past that top layer, it's just vanilla soft serve), and the deep-fried pickle Oreos (even the thick layer of sweet deep-fried dough could not hide the fact that pickles and Oreos just do not go together). 

And in case you're wondering, all of this cost $90.34 per person (not including entry tickets and parking). I wasn't kidding when I said "extraordinarily overpriced," because we could each have had a pretty lavish steak dinner for the cost of all this junk food. I guess we really made up for not going during the pandemic years. On another note, thank you to the guy at "Fool the Guesser" who thought I was still 27. At least Minji's $10 didn't go to waste and she got a stuffed frog plushie out of it. 

Canadian National Exhibition

Exhibition Place

210 Princes' Blvd.

Toronto, ON M6K 3C3

(416) 263-3330

Take Out: Pistachio and Hazelnut Gelato at Love Gelato

Pistachio and hazelnut gelato

Went to Love Gelato (because spring means gelatoice cream frozen dessert season has begun) after work and got a double-cup of my favourite pistachio and hazelnut — my forever couple.

Love Gelato

116 Main St. Markham N.

Markham, ON L3P 1Y1

(905) 201-2918

Osaka 2024 Travel Log: Day 3 — Dotonbori Street Food Tour

We fought our way through crowds and spent way too much time waiting in queues, but it wouldn't be a trip to Osaka without a plethora of street food:

Original takoyaki

A variety platter of takoyaki

Mitarashi dango

10 yen cheese coin pancake

Sweet potato taiyaki

Melonpan with strawberry ice cream

Ichigodaifuku with strawberry cream and matcha cream

Sweet corn with strawberry soft serve

Not a single disappointing item. ONLY DISAPPOINTED IN MYSELF BECAUSE I COULDN'T FIT ANYMORE IN. 

Dotonbori

Chome Dotonbori, Chuo Ward

Osaka, Japan 〒542-0071

+81-06-6211-4542

Dining Out: Looking Pine Belgian Waffle and My Main Squeeze Liège Waffle at Demetres

Starting the long weekend off right with dessert for dinner with Ying, featuring two new summer offerings from Demetres:

Looking Pine Belgian Waffle
(Pineapple sorbet, brûléed banana, butter caramel sauce, and cinnamon streusel)
My Main Squeeze Liège Waffle
(Lemon meringue pie ice cream, lemon shortbread crumble, lemon curd sauce, and fresh blueberries)
Ooooof. The Looking Pine Belgian Waffle is excellent, but as a lemon dessert fiend, the My Main Squeeze Liège Waffle was just... legendary. Not sure why lemon meringue pie ice cream isn't a thing yet, but it's officially mandatory for me to get it again before summer's over.

Demetres

180 Enterprise Blvd.

Markham, ON L6G 0G4

(905) 472-6881   

Kyoto 2023 Travel Log: Exploring Higashiyama Ward

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the historic Higashiyama Ward of Kyoto, which started off with the most delicious matcha soft serve ice cream cone at Ujicha Gion Tsujiri:

Matcha soft serve ice cream cone from Ujicha Gion Tsujiri
Walking by a stream in Higashiyama
Higashiyama Ward
A street view of Yasaka Pagoda
Women dressed up in kimono in Higashiyama
Grilling dango
Mitarashi dango
Higashiyama Ward
A torii gate in Higashiyama
Street view of the Gionkaku Tower in Daiunin Temple
Higashiyama Ward
A temple entrance in Higashiyama Ward
Women dressed up in kimono in Higashiyama

For 2 hours, we walked through narrow, sloped streets where it seems like time has stood still for hundreds of years. We watched ladies dressed up in geisha attire take an inordinate amount of selfies, stopped by the tiniest dango stall for some mitarashi dango (where I discovered that I like savoury dango way more than sweet ones), saw a multitude of shrine and temple entrances, and circled back around to visit Yasaka Shrine (which I will cover in the next post). An afternoon well spent!

Ujicha Gion Tsujiri

573-3 Gionmachi Minamigawa

Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City

Kyoto, Japan 〒605-0074

+81-07-5561-2257

Yasaka Pagoda

388 Yasakakamimachi Shimizu

Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City

Kyoto, Japan 〒605-0862 

+81-07-5551-2417

Daiunin Temple

594-1 Gionmachi Minamigawa

Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City

Kyoto, Japan 〒605-0074

+81-07-5531-5018