Woo Buffet, Restaurant and Lounge

On the top floor of the formerly Toronto Life Square, Woo is an asian fusion all you can eat buffet.  The decor looks like I walked into a bar lounge, it's dark, fushia with sleek lines. It's not as comfortable as I would like.  The clientle is also not what I expected.

I've been here before, but it was late, and not much was left over, nor did they want to refill anything. i wasn't impressed at all, but where can you find an affordable ($20.95 Sun-Thur Dinner, $24.95 Fri-Sat dinner) asian buffet downtown?

Round 1:

Pho. With added Wontons. The pho was prepared and the beef broth was to be added. However, the sign above the beef broth said Hot and Sour Soup, and vice versa. I feel sorry for anyone with out the common sense to NOT use the beef broth.  The soup was a little bland, but nice for a beef noodle soup.

  

Hot and Sour Soup. Very hot and very sour. Didn't finish.

I was very pleased with the sashimi.  Smooth and buttery Salmon and white tuna.

Round 2:

Alexey got (clockwise, starting on the top left), some rolls, Hargow shrimp dumplings, Shrimp cocktail (cold), Egg custard bun, Vietnamese Spring Rolls.

The Shrimp cocktail was terrible. I was impressed that each shrimp was de-veined, but the sauce was a little gross, too much of a flowery taste.

The Egg custard bun was okay. It should be in the dessert section, and there was too much bun vs custard ratio.

The Vietnamese Spring rolls "tasted like small fingers". Well, it had that consistency.  The skin (expecting it to be crunchy) was tough and rubbery. I had a hard time biting into it.  It was filled with Shrimp and Pork, and tasted a bit 'fishy'.

Bottom to top...

Shanghainese noodles were oily and plain.

The Tempura was good, but again the signs were all messed up at the buffet and I had to fix them.

The Pineapple Fried rice had potential. The rice was hard (but i like it that way), but WAY too much pepper in it. I couldn't finish it.

The Edamame could have added salt.

The seaweed salad was very good.

Round 3:

Clockwise starting on left..

I really like the braised ox tail. Not sure what it's supposed to taste like, but there was tendons and tender meat all over that bone. I should have gotten more.

The pork rib. It was cold by the time I ate it.  The meat came off easy, but the glaze was a bit too sweet.

The hor fun was plain and oily.

The Honain chicken rice, without the chicken. They had it but it was gross looking. The rice was okay, but didn't taste anything like it was supposed to.

Sweet and sour pork.  I figured that if they can't make a decent s+s pork, they have problems.  It was okay actually.

The shrimp fried rice was okay.

Mussels were not good or fresh.

The Roasted chicken (bottom left corner) was very good.

So was the fillet of steamed sole beside it.

The Snow crab legs were also very good, and came with butter to dip it in.

Round 4:

Apparently this was butter chicken....hmmm...

I quite liked this deviled egg, but who knows how long it was sitting there in the buffet.

Round 5, dessert:

From top to bottom....

Apple tart, with some blueberry or bumbleberry. It was pretty yummy.

The Sago + I think Mango soup. Was terrible. A bit too sour, and some solid bits floating in it. Barely touched it.

I fully enjoyed my greentea and chocolate ice cream. It tasted like a green tea kit kat. I think the chocolate on it's own tasted too artificial.

The sugar croissant filled with cream. It was good. Flakey, crunchy and some cream that didn't taste fake, but it might have been.

The chocolate cake was actually okay. It tasted like a mccains cake. And i finished it all! booo :(

Overall

The place is hit and miss. Great selection, but the quality was poor. They really need to step it up a notch, and this could be really good. Could involve chefs that care about the food, and actually taste it.

The service was good, as everytime we came back our plates were gone.  The place isn't huge, but lots of huge parties there.

Just like how I feel about the restaurant, the plate on our table to put our utensils, shows how I felt...

Hoof Cafe

I didn't realize how small this place was until my mom and I walked in around 12:15pm on a Saturday afternoon.  Barely enough room to stand without bumping into someone, the place was packed. The hostess (super nice Tess) took our names, we were third on the list, and told us the wait will be about 30mins, and that there's a small coffee shop down the street- get coffees to go, and she'll call us when the table is ready.

We went down the street to the Common Mule, a small espresso bar with big communal work tables, and very good coffee (but I'm partial to the soy milk they served with it).

Sure enough, half hour later, I get a call from the personal cell phone of Tess. Our table was ready, but the people haven't left yet.  There were 2 other spaces at the bar, we took the one at the back. It was cozy. and not squished once you get in. I think I actually preferred this to the table.

The place has character. Like someone's small kitchen, and felt cozy.

There's no menu, but it's written on the chalkboard menu near the front wall. I should have took a pic of it.
It included, Rabbit and Buckwheat pancakes, and tongue grilled cheese, two other things I'd want to try one day.

We were told that today's doughnuts was Marrow and Strawberry. After reading the blogTO profile, I had to try it. $5 sugar coated doughnuts were amazing! I don't know what bone marrow exactly tastes like, but sure made the doughnut work. and they were very hot and fresh.

My mom ordered the Broiche French toast ($9) with added Foie Gras ($14) her favourite. It's a very good portioned Foie Gras for that price. The brioche was soft, and cake like. Served with some peanut butter and jam artistically smeared on the plate. Very filling

I got the suckling pig benny. It was good, but I guess I kind of expected a saltier, smokier taste to the pork. It was kind of like a hash type texture, served on a briochey english muffin. The simple salad, with some oil and salt tasted good, with I think fried pig fat and spices. Still, perfectly cooked eggs, but also wish the hollendaise was richer. Or the pork more flavourful, one or the other.

My mom was quite impressed with the place and wants to take my dad here. I also found out that they also serve dinner, but the menu didn't seem as spectacular as the brunch.  Although, deep fried turkey neck looks tasty and interesting.

I think a better bet is to check out the Black Hoof sister restaurant across the street for some real charcuterie.

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On Dundas between Bathrust and Ossignton.

Small little brunch place but serving Charcuterie type food including.
 -small sugar donuts with bone marrow (must try)
 - foie gras seared on top of a french toast ($8+$14)
 - pancake with rabbit
 - blood sausage crepe

http://www.blogto.com/restaurants/hoof-cafe

Enoteca (Hong Kong)

I'm having a hard time catching up with ALL the restaurants that I ate in, in Hong Kong. But I'm slowly getting there.

This great little tapas restaurant is on Elgin, in Soho.  My friend Fanny picked Enoteca, and it was a nice surprise.  I'm usually apprehensive about tapas that it will be expensive per plate and not filling at all, (from some other experiences in Toronto)

It was pretty affordable and ended up to be about $40-50 per person CDN.

We started with a melted brie appetizer. The brie was warm and melty, with a steamed/roasted garlic on the side (that didn't taste like garlic at all). The Toasted brioche type bread was crunchy but soft in the middle.

We also got an appetizer platter. Shrimp, Calamari, Olives, garlic pesto bread, and some other seafood.

This was my favourite. The lamb chops with a goat cheese on top. It was smokey and juicy.

This was a fish with creamy sauce. It's been so long I can't remember :(

The Blackened Salmon, with a Aioli. It was really good, crunchy, but soft and semi cooked in the inside.

For dessert, we got a molten chocolate cake.

Jacob and Co. Steakhouse

http://www.jacobssteakhouse.com/

So tonight I was dining with one of the owners of Jacobs, and so as to not look like a complete dork, I was convinced that I shouldn't bring out my camera and start taking artsy shots of my food. I was so tempted to sneak shots from my blackberry, but resisted.
But alas, I still must share.

I learnt a new word today when I was looking up reviews of the place.  They staff someone called a Sommelier  A well trained wine professiona, who specializes in wine and food matching.  Didn't get to experience their skills though today.

Once we ordered, it took about another 20 mins before the 'bread' arrived.  Granted, they were completely booked, but it's still a long time.

Arriving was a very delicate and crisp, but moist pastry/bread in what looked like an exploding muffin.  It was filled with air. Imagine a cream puff, savory, not sweet, but no cream instead.  Served with an garlic butter it was soft and buttery.  I didn't eat much I was saving space for what was ahead. I was dying to take a picture of this.

Next was the appetizers.  If you order a caesar salad ($14) they come on a little cart to make the salad from scratch in front of you.  Interesting, but quite gimmicky.  He took some garlic, pepper, lemon juice, anchovy, worchester and tabasco sauce (among other things), and mashed and stirred awkwardly in a big wooden bowl for all to see.  Then the croutons and salad added, and lastly cheese and bacon.  I didn't get to try the salad, and although it seems like a novelty, I'd try it again next time.

Instead we split a Lobster Cobb Salad.  Cooked Lobster, avacados, grape tomatos, bacon and egg.  The bacon was the best bacon I've ever tasted.  Thick, and smokey it made a great complement to the salad.  The egg, somehow, was cooked to a nice creamy perfection. Good salad, HUGE portion.


For an appetizer as well, we split what I thought was the $92 Waygu, between the 5 of us.  Now I remember, and it was the Flatiron. Still around $70~.  The menu changes, so what is on the website, may not be the type of steak they decided to serve today.
This Kobe beef was very flavourful, and each bit oozed with a 'gamey' taste. The meat was a bit tough. Seems very heavy as a single main course.

Also shared a lobster risotto. Not on the menu, but served as a side for one of the other mains.  The rice was a big undercooked and crunchy.  It was creamy, but again must save room.

Our mains finally arrive. Each steak on a small skillet, and we ordered a bunch of sides to share.  I think it's a good idea to do this, as the sides are quite big on their own.

I got a 6oz Striplion ($34). It was more than big enough to eat.  The meat was SO tender, the knife almost melts through. I'm not a  big steak fan, but I finished this up (okay, 90% of it) and was very pleased. I ordered medium, and the outer edge was cooked, and inside was pink.
The steaks are served with a ponzu sauce, some olive oil based sauce, blue cheese and bacon spread and 3 different types of salts (sea salt, smoked salt and a charcoal salt). But to be honest, the steak was so flavorful, no salts were required.

As for the sides, let's start with the Duck Fat French fries.  The fries themselves are cruchy and fried nicely, however, I'm not sure how much the Duck fat adds to the taste.
Baby carrots, a mixutre of yellow and orange baby carrots.
Mushrooms, a mushroom medley in a creamy sauce
Aparagus with bacon hollendaise sace.

Finally dessert.  In additional sorbets and rum raisin ice cream, i couldn't eat anything cold.  Got the Vanilla Creme Brulee. It was amazing. Super crizpy and not as sweet as it could have been on the creamy inside.

Overall the experience was very good, and would recommend it to parents night out ,or to have a good hearty steak.



 

Escada - Macau

While walking around the old city near Senado Square, we passed by this restaurant while looking for Caravela.  We went back to it for a quick lunch before heading out of Macau.

I don't know much about Macau/Portugese cusine to know what to expect, but we heard that African Chicken in Macau is a must try.  It didn't seem prevalent in any menus, so we thought that Escada is special enough to serve it.

The chicken was covered in a type of spicy peanutty paste.  It was really good, and I wish I wasn't sick so I could have enjoyed it. If someone out there knows if this IS authentic, or what it's supposed to look like/taste like, please comment.

We also ordered a salted codfish.  I saw this in most menus, and thought we would try.  There were different dishes, but the waitress was suggesting for 'asian' people we would like 'wet' version, rather than the dry.

It was very very very salty. Too salty. Difficult to eat with out the side of white rice.

Is it supposed to be like this?

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Haagen Daas Cafe - Venetian, Macau

After having dinner at City of Dreams, we wanted to find a place for dessert.  Hoping to go to the food court at the Venetian, there were no dessert stands, nor anything that was open at 11pm. Not sure why.

We found only one place , a cafe in the middle that might have potential, but the menu was sparse, and only things like waffle and tea.  Next door was a Haagen Daas cafe, ice cream, some desserts and seats!

I've tried the ones in Hong Kong before, and they usually have a huge menu.

We got a cheesecake.

And I got the Chocolate Love (?). They said it was milk with chocolate ice cream melted in it.  I expected the ice cream to be floating in it but they actually mixed it in, which was disappointing.  It was very good and sweet, and lighter than a hot chocolate.

Ji Xiang Yuan - Macau, City of Dreams

After receiving a lot of coupons for 15% off dining in the City of Dreams, we thought we would go check it out.  Unfortunately, the coupons work only in restaurants OTHER than the Japanese place, and the huge food court upstairs.  The rest of the restaurants aren't of much choice (a  Chinese place, some cafes etc) and tough to find something to eat.

Aside: went upstairs to check out the big food court. It was only 8pm, but it was EMPTY. It seemed dead, and desperate for attention.

There are other restaurants inside the casino, that's if you want to sit under a cloud of smoke.

The City of Dreams hotel complex consists of the Hard Rock Cafe hotel, Hyatt and the Crown. The mall underneath has the same stores as most. It also has a distinct smell of flowery perfume that really irritated my cough. Their main attraction is the Bubble, which is a 3d show of some dragons, as the casino sits atop a mystical land.

The casino was okay. Less pretentious than the Venetian, and friendlier, as they constantly hand out small flyers that give you discounts on food, spa and a free spin on this giant wheel (we got a 15% coupon and a key chain)

We found a restaurant to our liking that served not cantonese food but 'hk style chinese food'. Essentially it was like Congee wong without the congee. I liked the confort food after a long day of walking around in the smoke.

It was set up like a small hk style tea house. I liked the decor, despite it was empty (okay, we went on a weekday, but still seemed like no one eats)

You choose the food from a menu on a clipboard. I guess trying to look authentic. Everything was in english.  We ordered a noodles, some veggies, and this rice mixed with mushrooms and abalone sauce. it was yummy. 

The waiter talks to much and some reason wasn't impressed with us. I really liked the rice.
Not so much the casino...

Caravela - Macau

According to Frommer's this place got 3 stars for a restaurant pick in Macau.

"This local Portuguese hangout serves as a bakery, cafe, restaurant, and informal gathering spot for friends, with both sidewalk seating and a small dining room. Professionals stop by for breakfast on their way to work, old men peruse newspapers over cups of Portuguese coffee, and office workers take advantage of the MOP$55 (US$7.15/£3.55) breakfast or the daily set meal for MOP$70 (US$9.10/£4.55) including soup, a main dish, and dessert. The menu itself is limited, offering a few dishes like chargrilled codfish and steak, but the bread is homemade, the pastries are irresistible (a typical Christmas dessert that resembles French toast is always on offer), and the atmosphere is a slice of Portugal in the heart of Asia. It's located in downtown Macau but is a bit hard to find, on an alley 1 block northeast of Avenida Do Infante D. Henrique, between Avenida Da Praia Grande and Avenida D Joao IV."

After walking around for a bit trying to find the place, we found in front of a store called JP, in a small alley that also had a small indian place.

We never saw many caucasian people or westerners around Macau, especially non tourists, but these locals seem to all gather at this place.  Friendly hellos, and chatting made the place seem like an authentic place to eat. Price was pretty good too.

Since I was craving eggs and breakfast (it was 12pm) I ordered the American Breakfast. I also misread the above review, and when the menu said the breakfast came with 'French Toast' I expected this Christmas dessert he was talking about.  I just got Toast.

It also came with a very fresh squeezed orange juice

Alexey ordered a fried rice portugese style (i think). i don't quite remember the listing on the menu. It was so good. We ended up switching.

For dessert, we took at the menu and as well as the ones displayed around the cases. The place is a bakery, so we wanted to try something baked.  We found the French Toast looking thing and I got an egg tart (so addicted).

French Toast was good, and sweet, but not as flavourful as I'd like. The egg tart, I asked them to heat it up, and it was SO GOOD.

The Grand Buffet, Macau

My mom's friend found out about this 'mile long' buffet that was in the Grand Lisboa casino.  Skeptical whether it was really one mile long, or if the food would be even good, we decided to go try it.

Longest Buffet Ever.

Walking down the aisle, it never stops. There's a salad bar, ridiculous amounts of seafood, soups, curries, beef, ham, chicken, mongolian beef, noodles customized, fruit bar, rice, dimsum, sushi, crepes, cakes, mousses. There's probably more, but I can't remember it all.

Check out the fresh shrimp you can grab yourself.

The Tempura was the best tempura I've ever tasted.

These were satay chicken cartiledges! It was soo yummy

Alaskan King Crab Legs

Crayfish

Scallops

And all for around $220HKD!

ThreeSixty Food Court

ThreeSixty is Hong Kong's Whole Foods, a supermarket dedicated to selling organic and natural foods. I've come across it at Landmark in Central (hidden in the top corner) and here at Elements.

They have a mini food stand that will cook you up fast food in seconds and of course are quality natural ingredients and not too expensive. For about $100HKD we ate for 2 people.

We needed something cheap and quick so we could make our movie. We ordered at 7:42 sat down, and were out of there, paid and full by 7:58

I got the Ton Katsu

Alexey got some type of ramen. Not instant noodles.

Anytime Cafe

Looking for a quick bite to eat for dinner, Causeway Bay is a never fail.
We went to the plaza with the movie theatre, and you have to take the escalators up.

Theres a Hokkaido Rice Pizza, Taiwanese place, thai place, spaghetti house, but the only one that we were in the mood for was Anytime, HK style tea house foods.

I love Chinese style western food. I don't know what it is about this distinct taste and dishes, but only found in HK Style Tea House (cha chaan teng) places.

Almost everything on the menu is a set that comes with soup and a coffee/tea.

And WARM toasty bun. One each.

We got an Ox Tongue. Tender and yummy.

And a baked ham and cheese spaghetti. It fulfilled my creamyness craving.

I really enjoyed the dessert. The Tapioca baked pudding with Sago. VERY filling.