Toronto Foodie Adventures

Exploring Toronto Restaurants

Gusto 101

After a weekend in Vegas I flew back to Toronto with my girlfriends and hung out with them for a few days before I went back to Vancouver and back to work.

This short little visit to Toronto was kind of a bonus trip - trading one city for another. My friends were hoping to convince me to move to Toronto with them by taking me to some of their favourite eateries in the city.

My first stop was a little bistro called Gusto 101 located in downtown Toronto. It has two levels, the main level is cozy with wood and brick decor. The restaurant was super busy so we sat upstairs in a covered patio with lots of natural light which I loved.

I had the Cavolo Nero - which was delicious and a great start to my meal.

(kale, zante currants, toasted pine nuts, pecorino, parmigiano, lemon vinaigrette)

My main was the Bruschetta ai Funghi
 - this was delicious I can't even describe how yummy this pasta was! I think that this pasta is what would convince me to visit Toronto again.

(wild mushroom, cheddar cheese, truffle paste,shallots compote)

Grand Electric

I adore tacos, so to get my taco fix my friends took me to Grand Electric. I love the decor of this little taco place. it's super "hipster" and I like the idea of just having the whole menu on a giant chalk board and just having the guests order off of it.

We had the fish, beef and pork belly tacos and washed it all down with a Caesar. The tacos were pretty delicious, much better then what I can get in Vancouver.

The Caesar was a tad too spicy for my taste, couldn't really finish it because of the spiciness. 

Apparently this place is always super packed and my friends love to hang out here late at night after the clubs.

There needs to be a
Banh Mi Boys in Vancouver.

You know how Vancouver has Japadogs, well Toronto has Banh Mi Boys. It's Banh Mi with a twist and I love it. I had the Kalbi Kimchi Banh Mi and it was the perfect lunch time sandwich to satisfy all my cravings. It's spicy and juicy and the pickles helped alleviate some of the spiciness from the kimchi.

They have a pretty interesting menu and I wanted to try everything on it! I think my next visit to Toronto I need to have a Banh Mi for lunch everyday to be able to try all their sandwiches on the menu.

The place does get pretty busy, but its worth the wait - Thanks A!

Korean Town

Alas, we had to visit Korean Town because S raves about how delicious and authentic Korean food is in Toronto. I can't remember what this place was called, but the food was pretty good, I am just not a big fan of the purple rice.

I did love how they provided you with a fresh egg to put into your hot soup, that added a nice touch to the whole meal. Oh and this place was super affordable to eat at. 

Delicious Soup

Instead of eating out every night while I was in Toronto. I decided to make some soup for the girls so that we can re-hydrate and get some vegetables in our diet.

Ingredients 

3 carrots - peeled and chopped

2 hairy gourd -peeled and chopped

2 candied dates

Small handful of Chinese Almonds 

One pound of pork bones - boil for a minute and then rinse with cold water to get rid of the impurities in the bones

Fill a soup pot halfway with water, bring to a boil - add all the ingredients and cook for an hour until the carrots are soft and then season with salt to taste.

Enjoy, because I sure did.

Vegas with my darlings

Vegas trip with the girlies ♥

My girlfriends and I had a small little reunion in Vegas - a much needed vacation for all of us! 

The first thing I did was drag S to Gordon Ramsay's Burgr Restaurant because I am a sucker for all things Ramsay related! Burgr is Gordon Ramsay's version of a "fast-food" restaurant (for lack of a better description).

There was still a bit of a line-up to get into the restaurant - all good things come to those who wait. Not entirely true... was my gourmet burger really worth 20 bucks...well, I guess if you're in Vegas then it is, but I'd rather spend 20 bucks at Burgr then MacDonald's.  

I don't for-see myself coming here again, but I just had to try it once, and once is enough to satisfy my curiosity. Props to the excellent service, absolutely adored our blue eye blonde hair server!

Hanging out by the pool without a care in the world... maybe just missing my cat.

Pool party with the girls and Calvin Harris was awesome.

And the rest of our Vegas trip was history ♥♥♥

Bye for now.

Dinner with Friends

Alaskan King Crab dinner with friends at Lucky Tao in Richmond

King Crab served three ways. The legs were steamed with garlic and butter (super delicious!) and the knuckle part was deep fried with jalapeno giving the crab meat a nice kick to it. The last course - the crab shell was turned into a fried rice topped with fish roe. Everything was pretty good, just a side note - the service of Lucky Tao could of been better, but I guess they're just a typical Chinese restaurant that lacks service but makes it up with reasonably tasting food. Anyways I had a great time, especially when you're eating with a group of wonderful friends who enjoy dining out just as much as I do.

Hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did!

 Enjoy folks ♥