Stonegrill on Winchester

Note: All above photos belong to Superwoolu. Please notify the owner of the blog if photos are reused.

Stonegrill on Winchester is located in old Cabbagetown, a part of Toronto filled with rustic and interest buildings. I think this part of the city used to be filled with Spanish and Greek immigrants before they migrated to Danforth. I visited Stonegrill in the summer because it offered an interesting way of cooking food - on a heated stone! The restaurant actually offers two methods: you can grill your own meat on the heated stone or have the chef cook the meat on a stove (inside the kitchen). But obviously cooking your own meat sounds more thrilling.... Stonegrill is smart - they get you to pay a premium for the unique experience and have you cook/serve yourself!

The price is affordable but it is by no means cheap. The pricing is mid-range so it gets pushed into the fine dining category as prices start at $30 for the main course (if you want to grill the meat). If you visit during the promotional seasons (i.e. Summerlicious or Winterlicious), it would be worthwhile, but otherwise, I would consider it a splurge. I had a decent time but would have probably enjoyed my food more if I had better culinary skills....(I have to admit, grilling salmon to perfection is quite difficult)

If you ever decide to visit Stonegrill, let me know what you think of it! 

Ratings:

Food: ♥♥♥♥♥ (or more depending on your cooking skills :p)

Price: $$$

Service: ♥♥♥♥♥

Ambiance: ♥♥♥♥♥

Located at: 51B Winchester St. Toronto ON

Owl of Minerva and MIA

Hello lovelies (:

I will be MIA for the next two weeks because I'm going on vacation!! The destinations will be Vegas and Florida ^___^. Does anyone have any recommendations for Vegas? I'll be seeing the Grand Canyon and doing some shopping!

On a side note, did any toronto bloggers also go to the Shiseido warehouse sale?? When I am back from vacation my next post will detail what I purchased and how much cash I saved by going to this sale =D

Before I take my leave I wanted to share information on a korean franchise that I tried this week called Owl of Minerva in the Greater Toronto Area.

Food: ♥♥♥♥♥ - I would prefer appetizer refills! I ordered the bulgogi in glass noodle and quite enjoyed it!
Service: ♥♥♥♥♥ - really cute korean boys serving you!
Atmosphere: ♥♥♥♥♥ - it's hard to find parking but once you're inside, there's a lot of customers and the chitter and chatter will fill the restaurant
Price: ♥♥♥♥♥ - the prices are comparable to other places I've tried ~about $10/person including tax for a meal

There are several locations in the GTA. The one I visited is located at 5324 Yonge Street North York, in uptown Korean town. 

Have a wonderful week and talk to you guys soon! I will not be updating during the time I'm away but may be updating on my travel adventures through my twitter (if you follow me you will know!) I will be back in two weeks time (:  


♥

Sultan's Tent and some Belly Dancing

First off, I'd like to apologize for my lask of posts..... I've just had so many backlogged errands to run that I didn't have time to prepare any posts... okay no excuses! XD I have sooo many blogs to catch up on (I'm afraid to look at my google reader... there's probably more than 600 unread posts!). I'm slowly catching up but forgive me for my tardiness as when all taxes need to be filed within 10 days, work is overbearingly painful... =P Anyway, rant over!

Several weeks ago for my friend's birthday, we attended a restaurant that brought the delectable traditional Morrocan foods to our tastebuds. Sultan's Tent, which I believe is also available in Calgary now, is like a harem, with exotic and beautiful women performing/teaching belly dances during the dinner (I use exotic and beautiful gently though because, well, these are just Canadian girls (maybe of Moroccan decent?) dressed in saris and the usual headgear).

A lot of the Moroccan foods had light spices that are probably only identifiable to Moroccans. The Harira (photoed above) is a popular starting dish that is described as a hearty tomato broth with chick peas and kidney beans. It looked more to me as chicken noodle soup in tomato soup :P It was good, but a tad spicy for my taste buds. I really wanted to try the sliced smoked duck salad but that did not come with the course meal and was considered a premium dish (at an additional cost of $5). Come to think of it, the dishes that were recommended or looked really tasty were premium dishes.....

Overall, it was a really fun experience especially when the dancers came out, or rather the energy of all the male in the room increased significantly.

Food: ♥♥♥♥♥
Service: ♥♥♥♥♥
Atmosphere: ♥♥♥♥♥
Price: ♥♥♥♥♥ It's on the pricey side at $40/person for a four course meal (or $70 or so after tips & taxes... you may think the math is not correct, but they charge 20% gratuity and $8/bottle of water you order).

Sultan's Tent is located at 49 Front Street East, Toronto.

The Cupcake Shoppe

This Saturday I ventured to The Cupcake Shoppe (yes with two P's and an E!), even though it was raining cats and dogs, to purchase a cupcake for my friend's birthday. The cupcakes sold by The Cupcake Shoppe is considered somewhat of a novelty in Toronto because of their variety and delicious flavors. They make nut-free cupcakes and are popular for their butter cream toppings. 

 

(credits: thecupcakeshoppe.ca)

These are 16 of their different flavored cupcakes available. I've never been to the Cupcake Shoppe, so I was very intrigued by all these flavors, as well as the additional personalized cupcakes on their website gallary. However when I went on Saturday, there were probably only 5 flavors available - that didn't put me off one bit because I was curious about the cupcakes and would have purchased any one. 

 I purchased Curious George and Pretty n' Pink. Curious George was the birthday cupcake and I believe it is chocolate cake with banana butter cream. I treated myself to the Pretty n' Pink, a chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream.

 

However, what was disappointing was the service and the actual cupcake. The fact that I broke TWO umbrellas and spent $2.50/cupcake plus tax, my expectations were much higher. Reviews online were correct that service is medicore because the girls working behind the counters were unfriendly. Also, even though the butter cream topping has a very buttery texture (and not put on sloppily like some other places), the cupcake itself was not moist. I thought by going earlier in the morning I could score myself some moist cupcakes, but they were slightly disappointing. Even my sister could make more moist cupcakes!

To be honest, I think sometimes cupcakes can be a hit-or-miss, given the time of the day or on a certain batch made. So I think I will give The Cupcake Shoppe another go, on a.... sunnier day.

Overall verdict:

Product: ♥♥♥♥♥
Price: ♥♥♥♥♥

Packaging: ♥♥♥♥♥
Service:♥♥♥♥♥

If you are interested, The Cupcake Shoppe is located at: 2417 Yonge Street, two blocks north of Eglinton Ave, or check out the website for custom orders.

Domokun and Perfume love......

I've been so busy that I did not have time to post up photos of the goodies I won from Ann&Mich's giveaway!

Annie and Michelle are identical twins from Singapore. They sell really cute and funky items imported from Korea and Japan which I think is fabulous.

The goodies came in a hello kitty ziplock bag... how adorable is that!!

The Domokun camera case (which has so many multipupose functions)... as you can see I placed my cellphone inside because well... I'm using my camera to take the photos! The sewing craftmanship is impeccable and something that I can NEVER replicate (unless I become a master with glue!). By the way, my comments are in no way influenced by it's adorableness... okay maybe just a little!

 

It also comes in a variety of colors!! It's so cute and matching for a couple ^___^ 

I also received the Perfume Love square bottle necklace. It's such a neat little trinket to wear around your neck! And the touch of rose emitting from the bottle is a nice touch. It's very romantic and baroque style.

Last weekend my friends and I went to Zen, the Japanese Restaurant. The sushi was pretty good but I still think Mi Ne is the best! Too bad it's so far....

Food:  ★★★★☆/★★★★★
The sushi and sashimi were fresh but not the best I've eaten, but I give it more credibility because it's actually made by Japanese people unlike other japanese sushi restaurants in the city ... O___O

Atmosphere: ★★★★☆/★★★★★
I like! It's tiny overall but you can feel the closeness of the people around you so carrying conversations is not an issue. You're also far enough from other tables that neighboring conversations will not impede your own.

Service: ★★★★★/★★★★★
Great service and so attentive.  Our waitress (and the owner) even took time to teach us japanese!

Pricing: ★★★★☆/★★★★★
I think the prices are competitive (approximately $30/person depending on what you order)

 THIS WAS SO GOOD.... It's black sesame icecream with a strawberry pocky stick on the side... SO DELISH!!! 

Zen is located at the major intersections of Brimley and Eglinton, if anyone in Toronto is interested!

Winterlicious in 2009 (Photo heavy!)

This year for Winterlicious, Mr.W and I visited two restaurants; both were of Italian cuisine, had similar menus but gave drastic food experiences.

Winterlicious is a culinary restaurant program that is held across the city in some the top restaurants

This year Winterlicious was held in 130 of the city's top restaurants offered fixed price pre-set lunch and dinner menus. For example, some restaurants offer a three course lunch anywhere from $15.00 - $25.00 and three course dinner menu from $20.00 - 35.00.    There is tax and gratuity on top of that of course and beverages are not included, but usually this meal would cost much more than that.

Mr.W and I visited Pallucci and Joe Maggiano this Winterlicious. Both offered a $25 three course dinner meal.  I had a wonderful time at Pallucci but I cannot say the same for Joe Maggiano Steakhouse....

Pallucci:
 Food: ★★★★☆/★★★★★

The usual bread with balsmic vinegar - this was tasty! I usually don't like my bread with vinegar

 

This is fresh scallop in a bed of various vegetables. This is not actually on the menu but Mr.W likes his share of seafood.....the scallops were really fresh and cooked to perfection - neither raw or undercooked.

 

Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Puree

This is Pallucci's famous soup dish that they've won an award for, so I HAD to try it! It was sweet tasting (because of the pears) but so heart warming because I love butternut squash :p It wasn't so thick that the texture put me off either.

Hot Italian Sausage 

roasted with garlic, extra virgin olive oil and salsa fresca

This was Mr. W's appetizer, which I did not enjoy because the sausage was too spicy! But I can see why some people would love this because it would simply give you a heartburn in a yummy way.

 Maple Glazed Atlantic Salmon
served with roasted potato and fresh daily vegetables

All I can say is that the salmon was very succulent and the maple was a nice tough since it added a ting to the savory taste. Not the best that I've tried but was well done for the price of the dinner. Though it's definitely not filling enough for someone with a big appetite.

 Steak Frites AAA Striploin of Beef
served with Yukon gold frites, fresh broccoli and a peppercorn demi glaze

Mr. W had the steak, which I thought was a tad overcooked even though he asked for medium rare. But I thought the frites were just scrumptious. I think Pallucci made it themselves, and reminded me of Lays Ruffle Chips.... mhmmmm

 

Biscotti 

with fresh crème anglaise and fresh daily berries

So good!! It was so savory and hard (good thing because you don't want biscotti to be too chewy!)

 Tartuffo

I preferred my Biscotti to the chocolate icecream with raspberry filling. Actually it was not as creamy as icecream... more like frozen yogurt. Though the raspberry filling was very tasty! 

Atmosphere: ★★★★☆/★★★★★
I loved the atmosphere! The server allowed me to choose where I wanted to sit and I chose the two love seats that were sounded with pillows. It was so comfy! The only thing I did not like was that the interior walls of the restaurant was red.


Service: ★★★★☆/★★★★★
Great service and the servers we had were courteous and so polite. Even when a woman whipped her purse too quickly and broke some wine glasses they told her it was all right! 

Pricing: ★★★★☆/★★★★★
Not bad for $25!



Joe Maggiano Steakhouse:

Food: ★★★☆☆/★★★★★

Bread with virgin oil

I have to say that though it was good, it was wayyyy too oily!! You can definitely not pick up the bread with hands otherwise oil will drip EVERYWHERE.

 

Golden Maple Butternut Squash Soup (vegetarian)
Slow roasted butternut squash pureed with Quebec maple syrup & a touch of cream

Similar to the Butternut squash and pear puree at Pallucci that it's slightly sweet, but this tasted like it was not brewed long enough because the maple syrup was too strong and haven't absorbed fully into the butternut squash. I neither hated nor loved it.

 

White Wine Mussels
Fresh P.E.I. mussels steamed in the shell then sautéed in a light white wine basil sauce

 This was a good dish! The mussels were fresh and for an appetizer they gave a good amount that made you wishing for more.

 

Black Pepper Rainbow Trout
Seared Rainbow trout filet crusted with fine herbs and black pepper, topped with a light honey pecan glace. Served with seasonal vegetables and roast potatoes

 I. WAS.SO.DISAPPOINTED. I think this was the driest trout I've ever tried. Swallowing it down took a lot of effort and there was hardly any vegetables. Maybe it was a bad night for the Chef...

 

Lobster Tail and Shrimp Arrabiata
Lobster tail & jumbo black tiger shrimp, sautéed onions and hot pepper in a spicy tomato sauce served over pasta

This sounded so fancy but it's almost like tomato pasta! The lobster tail was super dry thereby making it too chewy and the entire seafood taste was covered by the overly bearing spicy tomato sauce. The only thing that I can give credit to is the jumbo shrimp that was still fresh tasting (but not really that jumbo!)

 

Truffle Royal
Topped with chocolate sauce

If I had another chance I would have chosen the panna cotta....It was too sweet and so flakey!

 

Cheesecake
Creamy and rich, topped with strawberry coulis

Didn't like or dislike it, but indifference is not necessarily a good thing....

 Atmosphere: ★★★☆☆/★★★★★
The atmosphere... sucked. Our table was super tiny and was situated right next to the bar! It's not romantic at all (guys do not take your SOs there for special occasions....). I guess it also did not help that it was superbowl night so there were avid fans shouting, drinking beer and eating their hot dogs.


Service: ★★★☆☆/★★★★★
The server was polite and provided the typical service, but nothing over the top. It also felt like they were rushing us out of there even though there were not much customers sitting in our area.... they did not even ask Mr.W and I if we wanted coffee/tea after our dessert and just hurriedly to pass us our bill!

Pricing: ★★★☆☆/★★★★★
I don't think I would pay $25 for the food here... I mean, this is a steakhouse, and there was no steak on the menu for Winterlicious?!!

Mario Badescu & Korean Cuisine

Last month I signed up for some Mario Badescu samples because there was a huge hype on this line of product and I was curious if whether or not its reputation holds up. 

I filled MB's questionnaire and the samples I received was catered to my skin type. I received samples of moisturizer, mask, a scrub, toner and a special eye cream. 

(some samples received are not photographed here)

I have not been consistently using the mask/scrub (or rather, it's avoidance) because it is a littlle unhygenic for me to scoop it out with my fingers out of the little jar... however I am hooked on the moisturizer!!

I received the Hydro-Moisturizer with Vitamin C and it's definitely hydrating. I have normal skin, but lately because of the harsh and dry weather, my skin is lacking freshness and is in need of some pampering. On MB's website, the moisturizer is described as a "lightweight, antioxidant moisturizer suitable for normal, combination skin. Vitamin C formula restores clarity and health to tired, dehydrated skin. Non-greasy".

The ingredients are: Deionized Water,Propylene Glycol,Carnation Oil,Squalene,Isopropyl Myristate,Glyceryl Stearate,Myristyl Lactate,Cetyl Alcohol, Ascorbic Acid,Cetrimonium Bromide,Methylparaben,Stearic Acid,Propylparaben.

I can only describe the consistency of the cream as watery-like and non-greasy. I really like that it feels so light on the skin and has not been clogging my pores. Also I like the fact that it's scentless. The only thing I wish it had was SPF! The cost of a normal 2oz bottle is $18, which I can still afford.....BUT I'll most likely try out their other moisturizers with SPF (nothing against the sun, but I don't like to tan!)

I've also used the MB eye cream daily, the Special eye cream V, described as: rich and creamy formula made with essential oils and antioxidant Vitamins A and E. Best for dry and mature skin types. Simple, effective and gentle for sensitive eye area". I'm not sure if I have mature skin (O_o).... but it definitely keeps the area around my eyes moisturized. It actually feels a tad bit "greasy" and stays that way until the rest of the day! I guess that's how it maintains the moisture. I feel that it works great for when your eyelid goes wonky, you know those days when you get THREE creases instead of the normal two/double eyelids. The cream actually  minimizes the multiple creases.

Cho Won Restaurant:

17 Drewry Avenue, North York

Mr. W and I decided to try another korean restaurant instead of our normal favorite, Nak Won up in Richmond Hill. We tried Cho Won Family Restaurant, which is located at 17 Drewry Avenue. The intersection is Yonge and Cummer (which becomes Drewry) in North York. The atmosphere and food is decent, but for those in the GTA vicinity, I do not recommend going on Friday nights because you will not find parking and there will be a rather long line up all the way out the door....

When I first entered the restaurant I thought the place was the tiniest place on earth, because it seemed like it could only seat 8 people (and these 8 customers would not even be sitting comfortably), but my eyes were deceived. The restaurant actually has two parts and Mr. W and I managed to score ourselves a table on the inner part of the restaurant, otherwise I would have been so upset to have waited 45 minutes before getting seated!

The prices are normal and not extremely expensive in comparison to what you would normally get (but in comparison to Nak Won, I think it still pales in comparison!). You get all the normal korean appetizers and it's relatively fresh.

We ordered a Udong vegetable hotpot

Kimchi pancake

The Kimchi pancake was done well but portions are huge! The hotpot soup base tasted a little salty and very similar to chicken instant noodle soup base. I got terribly sick of the taste after several bowls, so I definitely recommend sharing any hotpot dish from Cho Won among at least three people. I'm not sure if I will be returning to this restaurant mainly because of the turnover rate and mediocre dishes. To be fair, I did not order  their best dish, the Bimbimbap, so perhaps I will give Cho Won another try.

What's your favorite korean dish?