Brunch @ School...EPIC FAIL!!!

My last trip at School was mediocre. Not so good but not so bad either.

This time I returned for brunch and OMG what an EPIC FAIL!!!

Thank god Bonnie was there first. If it wasn't for her we wouldn't have gotten a table. But when I arrived I noticed a lot of empty tables. WTH!!! Why the holdup then? Guess they are the type of resto where they make people wait just so that it appears to be busy. Already I wasn't too pleased.

I had my eye on the macadamia banana pancakes but was told that they didn't have any bananas so any dishes with the fruit would not be available. Once again not thrilled here. This is the 2nd time that I came and couldn't get the dish I wanted due to lack of ingredients.

WARNING: The pictures may appear mouthwatering but believe me did not taste as great as it looked.

We were waiting for quite some time for our meal so our waitress gave us complimentary muffins on the house. That made me feel a bit happier since I was starving.

A+ @ School but only on the Baked Goods

I give it an A+. Only on the baked goods though.

Me and my 3 girlfriends went for dinner at School. I was looking forward to trying out School since I read so many good reviews and saw a lot of tweets referring to this place.

Our reservation was for 6:30pm. When we arrived, the place was empty. The reason being was everyone was hanging out on the patio and for good reason too. It was a very hot and humid day. Bad part was it was hot and humid inside the restaurant as well. No air conditioner at all. I was already unhappy. I need my AC. Oh well out on the patio we went.

Cake Balls

OH-MY-GOD!!!

For the Love of Cake now sells cake balls. It is un-freakin-believable.

They are pieces of cake covered in chocolate. At first glance I thought it was truffles but after discovering it was filled with cake in the centre I simply had to try one out. I sampled the grasshopper flavor and it was fantastic. A burst of chocolatey mint flavor with a moist creamy chocolate cake in the middle. It was so smooth and creamy that I couldn't even tell it was cake.

My friend tried the red velvet cake ball and she loved it as well.

Of course we couldn't help ourselves we split a cupcake as well. We got the cupcake flavor of the month which was chocolate cake with banana and peanut butter. Utterly delicious:)

TOTAL BILL $8...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Lunch at Mildred's

Mildred's Temple Kitchen does it again.

My last trip at Mildred's I had a very good brunch experience. This time I went to try out their lunch menu.

Both me and my friend had our eyes on the gnocchi poutine.

It was spectacular. Picture flaky tender pieces of oxtail with some tasty gnocchi in a rich meaty gravy topped with cheesy curds. Unbelievably mind blowing. It is definitely a must have at this kitchen.

Here is grilled calamari marinated in Thai yellow curry with scallion, garlic chips and lime. It was mediocre to me.

The shrimp crab cakes was my least favorite mainly because the curry flavor was too strong for me. Funny that the previous dish had curry but it wasn't as overpowering as this dish.

In conclusion, the poutine is a MUST TRY. Despite my views on the remaining dishes it was undoubtedly worth the trip.

TOTAL BILL $40...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

85 Hanna Ave.

(close to King St. West)

416-588-5695

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

Yesterday me and my friend were looking forward to having lunch at Mildred's Temple Kitchen. Little did we know that they do not serve lunch on weekends. Since we were starving we decided to stay and try out the brunch.

The place was packed. Luckily we arrived a little after the rush so we only waited about 10 minutes before we were seated.

The restaurant was very spacious with a modern decor minus the enormous pig statute right on the bar. The kitchen was an open concept so patrons can watch the chefs working their magic.

Once we were seated me and my friend couldn't help but gawk at the family next to us. Their food looked very tasty. The father was eating poached eggs on a croissant which looked absolutely delish and the kids were eating pancakes which looked just as mouthwatering as well. Immediately we knew what we wanted to order.

On top of that I wanted to try the biscuit and scone since I read some very good reviews on it.

Here is the buttermilk biscuit and black currant scone served with homemade preserves and sweet butter. It was a great start to the meal. The baked goods were hot from the oven. It was truly delightful. My friend really enjoyed the jam. She thought it was better than the high tea at Windsor Arms. I have never really ate much biscuits to have any comparison. The only one place I can think of is Red Lobster's buttery garlic biscuits. Yummy. However, scone-wise so far this place is ranked #1 on my list.

Here is the Veda's choice which is poached eggs on a croissant with smoked salmon, Bearnaise sauce and a side of mixed greens. While my friend was splitting the croissant in half you can actually hear the crunchiness of the outer layer. The Bearnaise sauce was airy light and the amount of the sauce was just perfect. The eggs were well seasoned and was tasty on its own even without the sauce. But one bite of everything as a whole it was definitely scrumptious. The salad however, was mediocre nothing special to report there.

Here is the blueberry buttermilk pancakes piled high with whipped cream and blueberries all swimming in a pool of sweet maple syrup. These were undoubtedly the BEST pancakes EVER!!! Fluffy and sweet. Just heavenly. It did not taste starchy or dry like most places. The pancake itself had a nice sweet flavor to it. Everything complimented each other perfectly. I just couldn't get enough.

So glad we decided to give the brunch a try. Now I wonder whether lunch could top that. Guess we will see.

TOTAL BILL $37...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

85 Hanna Ave.

(close to King St. West)

416-588-5695

Iron Cupcake

In May, I went to Liberty Village to check out the Iron Cupcake competition. This was my first time attending the event so I didn't know what to expect. The only thing I knew was that the secret ingredient was flowers so the competitors had to somehow incorporate it into their cupcakes.

Once I paid the $5 entry fee I was given a bottled water along with a plate with 5 mini cupcakes each placed on top of a number which was written on the plate. I was told that this was part of the cake tasting portion of the competition. There were a total of 15 competitors in the contest and each patron was given 5 flavors to taste. I assume 5 was more reasonable to taste than 15 because if we were to taste all 15 don't I think I would have been able to differentiate one from the other. The 5 that I sampled was already an overload to me.

The cupcakes that I was given to taste, starting clockwise with the cupcake with the lilac on top, were lavendar & lilac lady cake, Japanese sakura (cherry blossom) & matcha tea, lavendar & pansy, flower power with flowers lilac & daisy, and lastly, Persian L'amour which was orange, rose & cardamom cake with cream cheese frosting and toasted pistachios.

My favorite was number 9 the flower power. It tasted like chocolate cake filled with cream cheese in the centre. The purple buttercream icing I did not like but then again I am bias since I don't like buttercream icing at all. My least favorite was the sakura & matcha tea flavor. Since it contained tea I found it to be a tad bitter like the tea itself so it wasn't as appetizing as the chocolate flavored cupcake. As for the ones in between I'm not sure what flavor it was but it still was yummy.

We were also asked to vote on which display we thought was most appealing. I voted for this Hawaiian themed display since I love Hawaii but then again I like any tropical places with sunny blue skies and white sandy beaches. Now looking back at my pictures think I should have voted for the sakura & matcha tea display instead since there was a lot more effort used in that display with the origami paper and all. Oh well too late now to change my vote.

Even though the show didn't have as many competitors as I had hope but for $5 you get to taste 5 mini cupcakes and see 15 charming cupcake displays, so you can't really complain either.

The next competition is September 19 and the secret ingredient is Cheese. Unfortunately I won't be able to attend so hopefully I can go for the next competition.

For the Love of Cake

For the Love of Cake is by far my favorite cupcake boutique. Once you enter the shop you are bombarded with the scent of freshly baked cupcakes. I was in awe at the range of flavors that was on display. I felt like a kid at a toy store that didn't know what they wanted but just had to have everything.

I've been to the Cupcake Shoppe along Yonge and I was extremely disappointed with what I saw. First of all the only cake flavors they offered were vanilla, chocolate and marble. Unlike the shop in Liberty Village, For the Love of Cake has 24 cake flavors to choose from. From spice cake to red velvet cake to almond flavored cake to ginger cupcake. Also the midtown shop mostly has buttercream icing and I just absolutely hated it. At first I wasn't sure if I liked buttercream but after sampling the cupcakes I knew it wasn't for me. It also didn't taste like the flavor that it represented. For example, the Curious George which was either vanilla or chocolate cake topped with banana buttercream. Well, that buttercream did not taste like banana at all it was just plain cream.

I ended up buying a 12-pk of the junior cupcakes at For the Love of Cake since I wanted to try a bit of everything. I also bought a 6-pk of regular cupcakes since there were still more flavors to try. Here are the flavors starting from left to right at the top: Black & White, Salted Caramel, Maple Bacon (which is suppose to be a mancake hence the bacon...yes that is bacon on a cupcake), Chocolate Hazelnut (my fav.), Death by Chocolate, Japanese Ginger, Rum & Coke, Guinness Chocolate, Pumpkin Pie, Stout Spice, Lemon Meringue and PB & C (peanut butter & chocolate).

The next picture are Japanese Ginger, Strawberry Shortcake, Red Velvet, Raspberry Rosewater, Tiramisu and Stout Spice.

I also bought 2 extra cupcakes so in total I spent $40 on these little sweet delights. So far so good. Worth every penny.

There were other flavors that weren't available that day so definitely have to make a second trip. Still would like to try Mochaccino, Caramel Apple, Grasshopper, Rocky Road, Cookies & Cream, Almond, Crazy Carrot, and Chocolate covered Banana.

So far I highly recommend the Chocolate Hazelnut. It is absolutely divine. It's a chocolate hazelnut flavoured cupcake filled with a creamy chocolate hazelnut ganache and topped with chocolate and a homemade hazelnut truffle. Just wished I grabbed a regular size rather than the junior. Man it taste so good have to return for more. Also the Tiramisu cupcake certainly taste like the flavor it claims to be. Just heavenly.

Can't wait to try the rest but will have to hit the gym after. Why is it that something that taste so good is so bad for you??!

TOTAL BILL $30...EAT HERE NEXT!!!