Taiwan - Soup Dumpling Edition: Din Tai Fung & Dian Shui Lou

Donburi

Donburi recently opened in Commerce Gate. They serve Japanese style rice bowls and their famous dish is the beef rice bowl.

To start off, you get miso soup. Not a big fan of miso soup, find it a little bit too salty.

Ordered Ozura Bacon (3.99) as appetizer. It was bacon wrapped quail egg. Pretty good, but nothing out of the ball park.

Next is the Katsudon (9.99) which is essentially deep fried pork chop on rice. The pork chop wasn't crispy, probably wilted down on the sauce for the rice. It was okay. There was A LOT of rice underneath. 

Finally, the famous Donburi Gyuudon (10.99) with Osen Egg ($1). I didn't think the additional egg was necessary. The beef was really tender and thinly sliced. Again, there was WAY too much rich underneath. It was good overall.

Went during the soft opening so service was a little lacking and people didn't look like they know what they were doing. I would go back if I wanted something to eat in the Markham area but not something I would go out of my way for.

Final Verdict: Par

Magnum Pleasure Store - Customize Your Own Ice Cream Bar

The Magnum Pleasure Store is a pop store serving up Magnum ice cream bar to your liking. For $6 including tax, you can pick between chocolate or vanilla bar with your choice of white, milk or dark chocolate coating. There are 21 toppings to pick from, the “pleasure maker” (that’s what they are called, it says on the back of their shirt) suggest 3 but there are no limit.

You will be handed a “menu” upon entering the store explaining how the process works. You line up and a “pleasure maker” will assist you. 

You pick your topping and they will sprinkle your toppings on after the ice cream bar is dipped. The service was excellent; they won’t rush you even with the long line up. I was very indecisive with my toppings and the “pleasure maker” said “take your time, there’s no rush.”

I got vanilla bar with milk chocolate coating, topped with culinary rose pedals, chocolate rice krispies, bacon bites, and dried strawberries on top with white chocolate drizzle. YUM~ Remember to ask for “gold touch” where they will sprinkle edible gold pieces on your creation. FANCY! Hahaha For the girls, you also get a gold nail polish, Magnum Gold?! by nails inc in collaboration with Magnum. I was worried about it being overly sweet as but it was perfect! I think the saltiness of the bacon helped and I didn’t ask for any sweet toppings on top. I read that they give you complimentary water but that’s not true, it’s $1.

A little further description on the toppings for those interested. The dried strawberries tasted like candy and I didn't eat that as part of the ice cream bar. The gold flakes had no taste, only for aesthetic purposes. The chocolate rice krispies provided a crispy texture and the rose pedal had a flowery fragrance and taste. The bacon wasn't overly tasty and provided a nice balance, perfect for those who like sweet and salty concoctions. The ice cream and milk chocolate coating was rich and smooth. Honestly, I would have been happy with no toppings. Hahaha~ My suggestion for topping is go easy and try not to get everything cause in the end, it probably won’t taste all that great. Simplicity. I do suggest on passing on the sea salt cause MRBF got it and it was overpowering even with just a little bit.

It’s a good promotional idea to bring people in but I would only go once. Pop up store has been extended until end of August. 

Korea - Food in Pictures

e11even

I have to deeply apologize that I have been neglecting this blog. Things just got busy in life. Finally went to e11even a couple weeks back. Read so much about their burger, the fancy iPad cocktail drinks menu and their toilets. Yes, their toilets. The atmosphere is really niceand the patio looks awesome if it wasn't so sunny. Thus, opted to sit inside. 

Complementary bread. It was warm and soft. The bread was on the sweet side like those Asian bakery bread.

Not an alcoholic drinker so I got the blueberry lemonade. You can really taste the blueberry in the beginning but not so much after, probably washed down by the ice.

The "seared tuna salad" $25 with avocado and ginger dressing was light and tasty. The tuna was fresh and seared perfectly. The salad was crisp and the portion was large.

Up next is the "maple burger" $25 with guiness cheddar, double smoked bacon and garlic aioli. Coming from a non burger fan, this burger was really good! It was juicy and the maple bacon really came through in taste and texture. I would definitely order this burger for myself next time. Forgot to the mention the bun. The bun was still toasty upon bite and it was delicious. Hate soggy buns, but this bun was wonderful! YUM!

The bill was presented in a very creative manner.

Final Verdict: Above Par

Market 707 - Gushi, Kim's A La Cart, Kanto

Market 707 is where international street food are presented out of retrofitted shipping containers. 

First stall I tried was Gushi, serving up Japanese rice bowls and deep fried skewers. Opted to try the skewers since I was going to be ordering from other stalls as well.

3 skewers for $5, I got the quail egg, sweet potato and pork. The breading of the skewer was light and crunchy. Pretty sure they used panko bread crumbs. I like the pork skewer the least of the three. The sweet potato was perfectly fried, crunchy on the outside and sweet in the inside. The quail egg was just egg with a crunchy coating.

 Next up is Kim's a La cart, I have visited their Yonge and Finch location a long long time ago for the sweet fish cake desserts.

Got the rice cake, chicken curry demplings, gim-mari and Korean vegetable pancake. The pancake was not tasty because it was really grainy inside with no taste. My favorite was the pan fried rice cake since I have an obsession with chewy things. The gim-mari was a deep fried seaweed with Korean starch noodles inside. It was alright. The curry chicken dumpling wasn't that great either. The filling was minced chicken and starch noodles.

Kanto is last of the food stall I tried and they serve up Filipino food. I never had Filipino food and wasn't sure what to expect.

I ended up ordering the palabok. Word of advice, don't stand near the window too long or else you will end up smelling like oil and kitchen afterwards, hahaha. The taste of palabok was interesting. I can't decide if I like it or not. It's worth a try next time you are in the area.

Craft Dogs - Home of Handmade Hot Dogs

Gourmet hot dog joints are opening left and right. I really wanted to try JAPADOG from Vancouver after seeing it on Eat St. Craft Dogs is a recent addition to King St E and has been opened for less than one month. The website is currently under construction. Menu is very limited with the prices of hot dogs ranging from $7-$13, quiet pricey I have to say. Please note, they do not come with any sides. 

I ordered the Philly Cheese Steak Dog for $8.95 hoping it would taste like a Philly cheese steak butI wrong. The visual aspect of the hot dog was not appetizing and it was tiny! I was honestly not full after. The hot dog itself was too salty, I actually prefer the hot dog carts better after eating this. Everything barely fit into the bun and it bun started falling apart when it sauces started soaking into the bun. I did not enjoy this gourmet hot dog and definitely not worth the price tag of $8.95+tax. Will not be back, overall big disappointment. Please note, it also took forever long to get the order when it wasn't even busy.

Final Verdict: Below Par