Ruelo Patisserie

Macaron galore.

I never tried a macaroon before. The only one I knew of was the coconut one. The American version. Yuck! I hate coconut for one so coconut macaroon was not for me.

But then I discovered there was another type of macaroon. The French variation called macaron with only 1 "o". Oh my god have I been missing out.

It's not a cookie. It's something even better. Basically it's two pieces of almond meringue with a creamy filling in the centre. They are so cute and pretty. They look like a bunch of colorful oreos.

I read on Yelp that Ruelo Patisserie was on the top list for best macarons in Toronto so I decided to give it a shot.

My boyfriend picked out the 5 flavors and bought 2 of each flavor. I didn't want pairs of the same flavor but he didn't want to share lol. So doubles it was. We got balsamic vinegar, raspberry, strawberry, expresso and peppermint. I wanted to try the wasabi grapefruit but my boyfriend made a face. Since we bought quite a few already I figure it was enough for now. I didn't even know if I would like it or not so didn't want to have too much of something I disliked. I didn't even notice that the price varied between $2.25 - $3 until I looked at my picture. I thought it was quite expensive but then again I don't even know what is considered regular price. In the end, the sweet confection was worth every bite. Even my boyfriend liked it and he's not really a big fan of sweets. Only once in a blue moon he will indulge unlike me, I can eat it all day everyday. I actually wanted to eat it all in the car on the way home unfortunately my boyfriend stopped me and told me to save some for the next day knowing I will crave for sweets again. Well, he was right because the next day I finished it all.

As for the cakes there wasn't that many of a selection to choose from. Originally I wanted to try the molten chocolate cake however it took 15 minutes to prepare. We didn't want to wait so we settled on what was being offered on display.

Once again I let my boyfriend decide since the majority of the cakes had mousse and I didn't care for it. He ended up choosing one chocolate banana and one hazelnut. The chocolate banana was made of Jivara milk chocolate mousse, caramelized bananas, banana mousse and crispy praline. The hazelnut cake consisted of Jivara milk chocolate mousse, praline mousse, double crispy praline and hazelnut daquoise. Honestly I don't even know what half of it means. All I can say is it was delightful. I am not a big fan of mousse but this changed my whole perception of it. Mousse is good.

Another thing that caught my eye is that they offer afternoon tea which is like high tea I assume. For $16.99 you get to eat some macarons, scones/biscuits, some finger sandwiches and drink some tea. It sounded like a great deal. But the place is really tiny so there might be a bit of a wait. It's available on a daily basis from 2pm-6pm.

I might try that out next time when I go for my next round of colorful treats. This time I am grabbing that wasabi grapefruit.

TOTAL BILL $34...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Ruelo Patisserie

550 Highway 7 East, Unit C73

(Times Square)

905-762-1500

Kalendar

I was still on the search for the best stuffed french toast. I saw several reviewers recommending the restaurant Kalendar.

It's a cute little bistro along college. There is a patio for outdoor lovers; however, for me I prefer to sit indoors. It was really tight inside luckily it was just me and my girlfriend.

We both split the french toast. It was stuffed with banana, mango and cream cheese served with herbed potatoes and 2 slices of fruit.

It was humongous. It was good but I think the bread itself could've used a bit more flavor.

I noticed a lot of the other patrons had ordered either the nannettes (oven baked naan bread) or the scrolls (crepe style roti) which looked absolutely delicious. I think I would return and give that a try next time.

TOTAL BILL $12...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Fynn's of Temple Bar

$5 APPETIZERS!!!

Enough said.

On Mondays at Fynn's of Temple Bar they have a list of appetizers for $5 each. What an awesome deal.

Me and my girlfriend wanted a quick snack and while passing by this pub there was a sign that read $5 appetizers. That appealed to us.

We got four starters and for that price it wasn't bad at all.

TOTAL BILL $ 23...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Novello Desserts

Upon entering Novello Desserts, me and my girlfriend were just standing there staring in awe salivating at all the goodies on display.

After much deliberation we decided to purchase the gingerbread cookie, some hazelnut pastry, cannoli with vanilla filling and carrot cupcake.

My favorite was the cannoli. My friend tried to break it in half and well didn't succeed. It was hilarious as she was breaking the cannoli the powdered sugar flew straight up and it looked like it had snowed all over the table. For a moment we just stared at the after effects and was slightly confused and shocked at what had happened. Note to self. Never split a cannoli again.

The carrot cupcake was cold since it was refrigerated so it wasn't fluffy but it tasted good. I'm pretty sure if it was straight out of the oven it would've tasted even better.

The hazelnut pastry had some sort of hazelnut filling inside as well and it was a delight.

Wish I could say the same for the gingerbread cookie. This I did not like at all. It was dry and had no flavor whatsoever. It was like all the ginger flavor was sucked right out of it and this was the final result, a bland tasteless cookie. It was a huge disappointment.

After we finished our first round of treats we couldn't help ourselves we wanted gelato as well. Especially since we were seated right next to the counter. It was just staring at us in the face and taunting us. We got the hazelnut gelato and another cannoli but this time with ricotta filling since our server told us it was the most popular cannoli. We ate the gelato first since we didn't want it to melt. It was creamy and full of nutty flavor. So good. The cannoli was good as well although since we had the gelato first I think it kinda ruined our palette a bit. I couldn't really taste the ricotta filling at all. Think I was all sweetened out from everything.

Here are some other pictures I took. Here is the store front. I can't remember what shop was next to it. Then again I don't think there is much in the area to begin with.

Here are some pastries and tarts. At first my friend had her eye on the red velvet cupcake but we settled on the carrot since it was their regular cupcake. The red velvet was a new flavor they were testing out.

Here are some cookies although I'm not sure what kind of cookie they were. I wished they labelled everything so it would make things a lot easier.

Here is the display of gingerbread cookies. See why I had to buy one. They looked so delish. Sadly, it was a failure.

Here is the display of gelato that kept calling out to us.

Everything is freshly prepared at the back of the store. They even serve some sandwiches, pasta, and some other food as well.

TOTAL BILL $10...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Loui's Kouzina

Definitely a hidden gem in the town of Markham.

If you want a home cooked Greek meal then head over to Loui's Kouzina.

It's a cozy little restaurant located in the plaza at Woodbine and 16th. The place is filled with pictures of Greece hanging on the walls and there's an open kitchen at the back of the restaurant where you can see the cook prepare the dishes.

Me and my friend wanted something from the breakfast menu as well as an item from the lunch menu so we got the best of both worlds and ordered one from each menu.

For out starter we couldn't decide between the spanakopita or whether to try something new. Our waitress told us everything on the menu was homemade including the dips. The only exception was the spinach pie. Upon hearing that we decided to opt for the biftekia which is grilled beef balls. It was a good choice. Although at first glance it looked like 4 burnt black balls nonetheless, it did not taste scorched at all. It was juicy and savory. I never tasted meat balls that flavorful before. It was a hit.

Next is the moussaka. This was my very first time trying it and it was absolutely delicious. It had crazy layers of texture and flavor comprised from potato, eggplant, zucchini and ground beef all topped with bechamel sauce and served with a side of Greek salad. It tasted light despite the look of it and yet hearty and comforting at the same time. I will certainly be remembering the word moussaka from now on.

From the breakfast menu we chose the french toast. It was a great way to end off the meal. It was pretty much our dessert. At first it just looked like regular toasted bread but once again looks are deceiving. This was yummy.

I definitely have to return to try out the remaining items. You can feel the passion and love put into the food. The waitress was very friendly and knowledgeable on all the food items. Excellent quality, generous portions and great service. All in all a perfect place for an authentic Greek dining experience. OPA!!!

TOTAL BILL $33...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Loui's Kouzina

9255 Woodbine Ave.

(close to 16th)

905-887-6464

Cho Sun Ok

BEST tofu soup in Thornhill EVER!!!

Located at Yonge and Clark, Cho Sun Ok is the place to go to for a hot steaming bowl of tofu soup. Perfect on a cold winter day.

My boyfriend ate here on Monday night and he rated it 10 out of 10 which sure means a lot since he's a very picky eater.

Today I asked him to bring me and my friend along so we can see if it deserved the rating he had claimed.

Once again, he was right.

He said the most popular dish is #6 which is the seafood soft tofu soup. We ordered 2 of this. One mild and one regular. Me, on the other hand, didn't want to order the same dish and decided to try #7 instead which was some sort of stew.

Here is the banchan. My boyfriend's theory is if the side dishes are good then the entrees will be good as well. Let's just say, in this case, he was right again. My favorite dish here was the fish cake. It was tasty.

Here is the infamous soup. I think it looks suicidal. This was for my girlfriend. I think she got a bit intimidated when she first laid eyes on the firey red color but she gulped that soup right down to the last drop. Guess it wasn't so spicy after all for her.

Here is the same soup but stirred so you can actually see the chunks of tofu floating about. Doesn't look so scary compared to the previous picture. My boyfriend had this as well but he chose the more mild version since he was saving his stomach for another dish which you will see later on. I tried the mild soup and it was insanely delicious. I kinda wished I had ordered the seafood one instead since the broth was very flavorful. It smelled like seafood but in a more pleasant savory way and not the disgusting fishy way if you know what I mean.

Here is the dish I ordered. Doenjang stew which is soy bean paste stew with tofu, beef, squash and onions. It was good but I still think the seafood one was better. If I hadn't tried the previous one I would have claimed this as one of my top fave soup.

Here is the dish my boyfriend was saving his stomach for called chulpan sundae bokkeum which includes traditional Korean style sausage with cabbage, clear noodles, rice cakes, green onion, carrots, kelp, spicy red bean paste, and last but not least pig ears. I don't think I have ever tried pig ears before and I still don't know how it taste. I ate everything in one bite so not sure what was even in my mouth. All that matters was it was good but too spicy for me. I was in need of cold water. Hot tea seemed to just increase the heat more in my mouth.

The dish is stir fried on the table until the sauce is thick and caramelized. Here is the final outcome.

We satiated ourselves at dinner. Maybe a bit too much. Niggaitis was creeping in slowly. We were ready to jump into bed. We couldn't finish the last dish since technically it can feed a family of four (man we're pigs) so we had to doggie bag it. We were given these yummy candy with our bill. I have never tried it before. I still don't know what it is. At first it tasted like pure sugar but since I was impatient I bit into it and it was hard. Tasted bits of nuts and the rest I still don't have a clue but I like them. I stole my boyfriend's candy since I liked it so much.

Portions were great. Food was delish. It was a full house when we left. Patrons were lining up by the doorway. It's a small place so be sure to arrive early if you don't want to wait.

TOTAL BILL $63...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Cho Sun Ok

7353 Yonge Street

(close to Clark)

905-707-8426

Joons

It was hot! Hot! HOT!

I'm talking spicy hot.

To others like my boyfriend it will be nothing but a tickle to their taste buds but not for me. I, on the other hand, cannot handle the heat but boy do I try.

I went to Joons today for some Korean cuisine. Located right next to the busy intersection of Yonge and Sheppard we were pretty lucky to find a free parking spot right behind the restaurant.

I wanted to try the dish called HaeMool Dak Galbi. It includes boneless dark chicken meat, baby octopus, shrimp, mussels and some veggies such as sweet potato, cabbage and green onion. It is all stir fried together with some sort of chili paste sauce. There were 3 types of sauces to choose from which were non-spicy teriyaki sauce, Joons original spicy sauce and the last choice is suicidal spicy sauce which actually costed an additional 50 cents. My boyfriend chose the original sauce and let's just say when I was done my belly was scorching. I could feel it burn in my stomach. I don't even want to know how suicidal is. We also added rice cake and noodles to the mix.

Here is the food when it first arrives to our table.

Here is a picture of the food just simmering in the spicy juices. The waitress goes around to each table stirring the mixture so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

About 10 minutes or so later they add in the noodles and here is the finished product. Finally we can dig in. It was delicious. Although it was spicy it was a tasty spicy rather than just pure heat spicy. The more I ate the more hotter it became yet at the same time the more tastier it got so even though my mouth was screaming "STOP! PLEASE STOP!" I just couldn't since it tasted so good.

Here were the accompanying side dishes. My favorite was the mashed potato. It was sweet and creamy and very refreshing on my scorched tongue. However, I didn't really like the kimchi since it was too sour for me.

One more thing the dish is served by portions that is one portion per person. The seafood one we ordered was $9.25 per portion. We ordered 2 portions which was just about perfect for me and my boyfriend, surprisingly. The add ons, rice cake and noodles, were an additional $2 each.

Overall great food although my tummy is still burning but it was worth every tear.

TOTAL BILL $26...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Joons

4852 Yonge Street

(close to Sheppard)

416-840-0589