[Markham] Gal's Sushi

Review Location:
3621 Hwy 7
Markham, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Hwy 7 & Warden Ave)

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I've been to Gal's a couple of times, and I have never been disappointed. Each time they have served  consistently fresh fish, great service, and attention to presentation. Definitely a go-to place whenever the sushi cravings arise!

[Richmond Hill] Pho Hoang Kim

Review Location:
330 Hwy 7 East
Richmond Hill, Ontario







Situated in the Golden Gate Plaza, the restaurant is right where the former Xe Lua Vietnamese Cuisine  with its iconic pho train store sign used to be. Having been to predecessor restaurant a couple times in the past, I can tell you that nothing has really changed. The renovations and furnishing are exactly the same, and the menu is almost identical. But then again, most Vietnamese restaurants serve up similar dishes anyway. On a Friday night at around 9pm, Rob and I came here to grab a quick dinner. As you read this entry you may  start to notice that I always end up ordering the same things whenever I go have Vietnamese food. I guess I know what I like!

[Toronto] Spirits Bar and Grill

Review Location
642 Church St
Toronto, Ontario
(Yorkville)

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One afternoon my co-workers and I went out for a quick lunch. We wanted to sit out in the patio because it was a nice day, so chose this smaller pub in hopes that it wasn't already packed from the lunch crowd. Spirits ended up being the perfect place. This place has it all. They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner, and have an awesome stocked bar. Because I was here for a weekday lunch with the co-workers I didn't end up ordering drinks, but looking through the drink menu I noticed they had an extensive beer list on tap. Even draft Strongbow! Obviously the beer offerings were no match to that of Beer Bistro or other specialized restaurants, but for a tiny pub its not too bad.

[Toronto] Food at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)

Review Location:
210 Princes' Boulevard
Toronto, Ontario






If you've never been to CNE (or what is commonly referred to as The Ex) then your definitely missing out. Each year, this 18 day exhibition attracts thousands of people with its carnival games, food stands, fair rides, casino, animal shows, shopping, and much more. Obviously as a huge foodie, every year I only remember CNE by the countless hours roaming the food building and food carts. This year was no exception. Infact, this year I went with @misswu23 as well as a bunch of other girls, and went on an all fried food frenzy. Believe it or not, for the entire day I did not eat a single thing that was unfried. What a disgustingly amazing day. 

[Markham] Old Firehall Confectionery

Review Location:
170 Main Street
Unionville, Ontario










As a followup to the disappointing reality that  Al Dente was in fact located in Mains St. Markham and not Unionville, later that evening Rob and I decided to take a stroll around the latter.. I was no stranger to the Historic Main Street Unionville area. It is so charming with its beautiful Victoria style streets, but never have I seen it so romantic as it was after sunset. It was a completely different atmosphere.

While most retail stores would be closed at this time elsewhere, most of the little shops here were still open. The stores sold a variety of interesting items and trinkets, but you could tell most people went in for the sole purpose of browsing. It was definitely the ice cream stores that brought in the most business on the warm summer night. Not being able to resist we decided to get ice cream ourselves.

[Markham] Al Dente

Review Location:
39 Main Street N,
Markham, Ontario

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The term "al dente"  is an Italian expression to describe pasta, rice, and even vegetables that are cooked to a firm but not hard texture. So if you haven't made the connection, today's post is about Italian food. From just the address listed above, one might think that this restaurant is located in the romantic historic gem of Unioniville. Well, I know I did at least. Turns out this was on Main street Markham, and not Unionville (who knew there was a difference?). Being a bit lost, I called the restaurant to ask for directions only to be greeted by an abrupt and rude lady. Aside from repeating the address she made no effort to help me navigate my way there. She sounded impatient and just wanted to hang up. Not the best first impression.

[Richmond Hill] Chili Secrets

Location Review:
9021 Leslie Street
Richmond Hill, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Leslie St. and Hwy 7)





The other day I came here to have dim sum with the family and some family friends. Located just by Time Square, Chili secrets gets lots of traffic for both lunch and dinner service. It serves up a fusion of Cantonese, Szechuan and Shanghai cuisines. The great thing about this place is that they have lots of vegetarian options. Because we had a vegetarian with us that day, we had less meat dishes than usual.

[Toronto] Copacabana Brazilian Steak House

Review Location:
150 Eglinton Ave E
Toronto, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave)

When I found out that I would be going to an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ for dinner one night, my carnivorous side got pretty excited. I don't know of too many places like this, but Copacabana is definitely the most well known Brazilian BBQ that I know of. Everyone who's been there had great things to rave about, so that just added to my anticipation. Bottomless meat for a fixed prix of $35? YES PLEASE!

Myungdong Kalkuksu Noodles and Shabu Shabu

Review Location:
8194 Bayview Ave
Thornhill, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Bayview Ave & Langstaff Rd E.)




The other day my friend Jess and I went out for a catch-up dinner. For whatever reason we always end up having Korean, but no complaints since I love Korean food! 

Despite this restaurant being open for a while now, this was my first time trying it. The food was so good, I'm surprised I didn't hear about this place earlier! Perhaps its the name of the restaurant. I was actually recommending this restaurant to someone else yesterday, and had quite a bit of difficulty communicating the restaurant name. I'm sure in Korean it is probably less of a weird mouthful of words. In the interest of time and typing efforts, I will now refer to this restaurant as Myungdong for the rest of the post.