La Maquette

Last weekend, we used another one of those voucher for dinner, this time it was a $35 voucher for $80 of food at La Maquette.  I called to make a reservation a few days ahead of time but was told that the only time available on that Saturday night was 5pm or 8:30pm.  I selected the 8:30pm time slot but when we arrived the restaurant was not full at all.  The atmosphere was very romantic and it has a super classy environment. 

For appetizer, we ordered the Flash Fried Calamari ($14.50), it was served with sour cream yogurt and caper dip.  I actually loved this dish because the calamari was only breaded slightly so it seemed like only the outer part of the calamari was deep fried.  This dish is very different from calamaris from pubs and bars for sure since those are usually overly breaded.

My main course was the Mixed Seafood Risotto ($32).  The seafood included lobster, scallops and shrimps, and they were tossed in tarragon cream cause. At first, I thought that the portion was tiny.  However, it was actually very heavy and rich, so I ended up not finishing it up.

Mr. Y ordered the Roasted Muscovy Duck Breast ($38), served with blackberry, apple reduction and sweet potato.  It was very satisfying because it was cooked very differently than how I normally have duck (fried, in a Chinese-style). 

Overall, food was great, not amazing though given the prices.  However, the service was way too slow, we were there for almost 3 hours, considering we only had appetizer and main course. 

Cafe Green Tea

Cafe Green Tea located in the supermarket at JTown is definitely another one of those non-Traditional Japanese dining places in Toronto.  The environment was extremely casual due to its 'food court' style.  The way it works is you order your food by the cashier, she gives you a number and she'll bring you your dish when it's ready. 

I ordered the Curry with Breaded Chicken since I read some positive reviews about it earlier.  When the dish arrived, I thought the curry was too watery, however it seemed to be just right when you mix it with the rice.  The dish is a very 'homemade' style dish, so it felt as if there isn't much you can complain or complainant about it.  I will definitely try something different if I ever go back to Cafe Green Tea in the future.

Shiso Tree Cafe

This is my second time visiting Shiso Tree Cafe.  The first time was last year before I started blogging and I thought the concept of having Japanese-Italian style food was pretty unique.  However, I never went back until today.

My sister and I arrived at Shiso Tree Cafe located in J-Town at around 6:30 pm.  The restaurant was pretty quite but it started to filled up very quickly.  I love the environment there because it was bright, quiet and modern.  All these combined makes you want to stay there comfortably and enjoy yourself for the rest of the night.

Both of us ordered one of the Shiso pasta served with Shiso Tree Salad and Garlic Bread.  We didn't go for the set meal for an additional $8 that comes with soup and a slice of Japanese-style cake as well.  However, we regretted it when we saw the soup served to the table next to us.  I am not sure what kind of soup it was but it just simply looked delicious.  The Shiso Tree Salad was served with mixed greens, cucumbers, carrots and miso-based vinaigrette.  The salad was awesome because it was cold enough so it seemed fresh; however, some of the veges at the bottom didn't physically look fresh to me.

The pasta that I opted for was the Shrimp Okonomiyaki pasta served with shrimps and bacon bites.  The sauce cooked with it is different than the tomato or the cream sauce that we always get from Italian restaurants.  It was simply amazing!

My sister ordered the Shoyu and Mushrooms pasta that was cooked with Japanese soy based sauce and served with enoki, king oyster and shimeji mushrooms.  The sauce used for this pasta was a lot more mild compared to the sauce for my pasta.  Taste buds certainly calmed themselves when I took a little bit of this to try but it tasted absolutely great.

The dinner was excellent at Shiso Tree Cafe.   I will certainly come back again since the food is unique and it is close to my home.  The pasta was cooked just right and the thickness of the pasta matches the dish amazingly well.  To.live.my.life grants a rating of 8/10 to Shiso Tree Cafe.  Next time I will try their fries for sure because I came home and read some very good reviews about them!

Dukem

For our monthly special 'cultural' dinner, we chose Ethiopian food this month.  I looked through some blog reviews and comments, and decided to try Dukem on Danforth.  The restaurant was small with only 7 tables and we really weren't sure if it was an authentic restaurant. 

We didn't know what to order, so the safest way to go was to opt for a combination dish to try a wider variety.  We chose the Tibs Combinations with Vegetables served with beef.  The quantity of the dish didn't look filling to us at first, but we were very fulled with some of the wraps leftover at the end.  It was a nice and different experience because no utensils were used at all throughout the meal. In our opinion, the meat and the vegetables were overall not too special even though it was cooked in an Ethiopian way. 

We ended with a Traditional Ethopian Coffee Ceremony as well since it is one of the special ceremonies in an Ehtopian restaurant.  For $10, we were provided popcorn and apporximately 6 small cups of coffee.  Both of us drink coffee on a reguarly basis, but are not experts of coffees.  We were not able to taste the difference of it.

Overall, it will be a long while until I will have another Ethopian meal because once is enough for the experience.  However, the food was great at Dukem, a rating of 6/10 will be provided due to my personal opinions in Ethiopian food.

Paese Ristorante

Before the TFC vs. LA Galaxy last week, I had dinner at Paese Ristorante on King Street W because I wanted to use the wagjag $25 for $50 food and drinks deal before the voucher expires this month.  We got there around 6pm and the restaurant was still pretty quite.  The atmosphere was quite relaxed and chilled.  We were lucky that we got there early because it was completely full around 6:30.

We decided to share our dishes as we usually do, starting with an Antipasto, the Grilled Octopus ($14).  It was served with potato salad, grilled escarole, mint, lemon, and chili oil.  We were surprised because the portion was tiny, there were only two slices of potatoes and four pieces of octopus.  It tasted really soft and more like fish than octopus, but it was quite different from the way I used to eat octopus.  This is different in a good way :)

For our main dishes, we ordered a pizza and a pasta.  The Prosciutto Bianca ($17) was the pizza we opted for, it was served with prosciutto cotto, arugula, fior di latte and tomato.  The pizza was actually served with prosciutto cotto which is a cooked ham instead of a smokey ham, which we had in mind when we ordered.

The pasta that we ordered was the Veal and Spinach Ravioli ($20).  The ravioli was stuffed wtih veal, pork, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, sage and butter sauce.  The portion was just right but the ravioli was a bit too thick.  It wasn't as tasty as thought to be.

Overall, the meal was satisfying.  Nothing too extraordinary, nor disappointing, so a rating of 7/10 will be given to Paese Ristorante.  

Il Fornello @ Bayview Village

Never been to, but seen and heard of Il Fornello through a few media locations before. On a Sunday girls night out dinner, my two girlfriends and I decided to try it out.  The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, our waitress and service were excellent.  All of us wanted to try different things on the menu, so we decided to share all our dishes.

We started with the Calamari for appetizer.  We opted for the 'grilled alla puttanesca' served with tomatoes, black olives, capers, lemon, olive oil.  If one likes spicy and sour mixed in a dish, then this will be a perfect appetizer for them.

Next, we decided to get a pasta and a pizza.  We weren't sure what to get so the waitress recommended us  the Penne Capri served with grilled chicken, mushrooms, spinach, cherry tomatoes, white wine garlic and grana padano.  It is one of the lighter pasta on the menu.  It was definitely worth a try because it tasted delicious with quite a few slices of chicken mixed in the pasta.

Last but not least, we opted for the Fichi pizza.  It was served with mascarpone, prosciutto, figs, shaved grana padaneo, honey, and arugula.  This pizza was also recommended by our waitress and I like it very much.  It was a bit sweet and fruity which made it very special.

To.live.my.life was extremely satisfied with the dining experience from Il Fornello, and will recommend and dine there again in the future. A rating of 8.5/10 will be given due to the highly rated food and service qualities. 

Niwatei Japanese Restaurant

Normally I won't buy Groupons for a noodle or a burger place but since Niwatei Japanese Restaurant is so close to where I live, I bought a $10 for $20 coupon.  However, after dining there, I figured I should of bought a few more for nights that I am lazy to cook :p  I made a reservation for Miss J.Lui and myself that night because usually it is a requirement for the usage of a Groupon.  I am glad I did that because the family owned restaurant located at J-Town was packed when we got there at 6:30 until around 8-ish when we left.

Both of us looked through the menu and opted for the $12.80 Ramen Set that comes with appetizer, ramen and dessert.  For appetizer, I ordered the Gyoza and Miss Lui ordered the Steam Rice with Mixed Vegetables.  Nothing too special or bad about them.

For our ramens, both of us went for the Tonkotsu Ramen in pork-bone based noodle soup.  The soup was tasty, it does not taste like it was made with any or too much MSG.

As for dessert, we ordered the 'Dessert of the Day'.  Miss Lui got the Cheese Cake, which was baked with sponge cake instead of cream cheese.  I got the Earl Grey Cake.  The cake was quite special because the earl grey flavor was very strong in the cake and I never had that before.

Overall, dinner was casual and filling.  To.live.my.life gives a rating of 7.5/10 to Niwatei Japanese Restaurant .  We were both very satisfied with our dinner and mentioned that we will return again.   We thought it will be better if they have more variety of ramens because after a few times one might get bored of the same ones.  The pricing is pretty good too (especially with our Groupon :D)