100° Hot Pot Restaurant

100° Hot Pot Restaurant
Date: January 29, 2009
Address: 650 Highway 7 East, Richmond Hill (Hwy 7 & Leslie)
Phone: (905) 370-1981

it's located just next to Esso on Hwy 7 & East Beaver Creek (just in front of Sheraton Hotel), where K Box used to be.. we think they didn't renovate the place at all, i.e. keeping the existing K-Box setup..

GF urged that we should go try this Hot Pot Restaurant, as she heard that they have Japan Wagyu Beef 日本和牛 & Shark Fin 魚翅.. but well, the Wagyu Beef is free if customers come before 7pm..

the price for AYCE Hot Pot is $18.99 each ($2 extra on weekends).. we were given a glass of 酸梅湯 each & the waiter will refill it once a while.. other drinks not included..

here were the sauces given to us..

the price included a Seafood Platter 海鮮盤, with Shrimps 蝦, Salmon 三文魚, Scallops 帆立貝, Enoki 金菇, Shitake Mushroom 冬菇, Shark Fin 魚翅群, etc.
..it said on the menu that there will be Oysters, but they gave us Scallops; & the Shark Fin was one piece per person.. it's small & ZA said it looked like 豬皮.. hmm.. nothing special with that.. GF said the seafood platter was just so-so as they gave us Frozen Salmon..

we ordered 4 different soup base: 皮蛋芫茜, 濃沙嗲, 麻辣, 栗米豬骨..
..GF, LG & i think that the soup base was just so-so.. their flavor were not strong enough..

Beef 肥牛 (see pic above), Lamb 羊肉, & 手切牛肉, which was marinated.. tasted good & tender..

there will be a lobster 龍蝦 for free if there are 4 or more people.. this was the highlight.. very fresh & 多膏.. (but they didn't give it to us until we asked for it towards the end of our meal..)

there were also homemade meat balls, e.g. 墨丸,牛丸,豬肉丸, ZA liked them all.. (but i still prefer the ones in 金稻, esp. the 魚蛋!!).. they liked the 醉雞翼 too.. the dumplings were good..

they have late night special 宵夜火鍋, which starts at 10pm..

the food in general was ok.. the beef was fresh.. (but i guess i will go back to 金稻 next time.. hee hee..) the restaurant was pretty clean.. but one thing, the floor could get very slippery, esp. in snowing days.. their service was just so-so.. we ordered some items but they never show up.. such as 煲仔飯, 福州魚丸 & 粿條.. + there is a 12% mandatory gratuity.. (i didn't notice that until looking at the menu now!!)

here are the menus..

Timothy's Patisserie

Timothy's Patisserie
Website: http://www.tim-pastry.com/
Contact: (416) 710-6789 or email

Timothy is a friend of mine, who loves baking so much.. (we are so glad that we can have yummy cakes all the time!) he's now doing the cake business & i would like to take this chance to promote for him!! yeah!!

we did attend a birthday party once, & we were amazed at the Dora cake that Timothy made.. he did it all by himself!! the kids just love it!!

some other cakes that Timothy made.. (& some customer's reviews!!)
(Copyright © Timothy's Patisserie)

Mango Mousse Cake
..Vanilla sponge layered with whipped cream mixture of mango puree

Customer's review (by CP): In Summer 2007, that was my first time trying out Timothy's cake, the New York Cheesecake, the taste I will never forget. The cake was so "cheesy", "creamy", "sweet but not heavy"....just so.....YUMMMMMMM! A year later, we ONLY order CAKESSSSS from Timothy for any occasions. Why bother to try others if we know Tim will provide the BEST cakes in Town!

New York Cheesecake

Customer's review (by GF): It is very good, very good new york cheese cake, especially the 餅底; the cake has very rich cheese taste, creamy & smooth; and the guitar was so beautiful; + very good customer service!!

Fresh cream cake

Fresh cream cake with Chinese style decoration

Tiramisu - 10"
Customer's review (by DC): It's very soft & moist.. we had another strawberry shortcake made by Timothy before & the strawberries & cream were very fresh.. love it!

Strawberry Meringue

Almond Mocha Mousse Cake
..Almond sponge layered with mocha whipped cream, decorated with chocolate curls

there are more pictures & info on Timothy's website: http://www.tim-pastry.com/

(Special Thanks to CP, GF & DC for their valuable comments!)

西貢星 Saigon Star

西貢星 Saigon Star
Date: January 25, 2009 (Sunday)
Address: 330 Hwy 7 East, Richmond Hill (Hwy 7 & Bayview)
Phone: (905) 731-7221

i suddenly wanna have Curry Crab for our 團年飯, so LG & i decided to go to 西貢星 for our dinner.. (i did hear from friends that their service was very bad lately) i still wanna give it a try as i haven't been to this restaurant for yrs..

hmm.. it was full house.. the service was ok.. i could feel that the waitress was trying to be friendly..

anyway, here comes the food..
咖喱蟹 Signature Curry Crab
..LG said the crabmeat is very 鮮嫩

辣椒膏炒蜆 Fried Clams with Chili Paste
..i like this one!! the sauce tasted VERY good!!!

蒜蓉白菜苗

Ichiban Fish House

Ichiban Fish House
Date: January 24, 2009 (Saturday)
Address: 15 & 17 Spring Garden Avenue, Toronto (Sheppard & Yonge)
Phone: (416) 512-7899

we actually wanna went to another restaurant on the same street, but i mistakenly thought this is the one (& turned out it's not!!!) Oops! anyway, here's what we tried..



these were on the house..





Tempura Udon $9.95
..LG liked it.. he said the tempura was very crispy (鬆脆)..

Uni Handrolls $5.5 each
..but the laver (紫菜) was crispy, but it didn't have a strong Uni-flavor..
Spider Maki $9.95
..there were more than 8 pieces..


P.S. we were watching Delicious Japan 2 (和味無窮2) on TV last night & the hosts were having 函館無添加海膽.. made us soooooooooo envy!!! i wonder if we could ever find something similiar here in Toronto!!!

Up

Title: Up (Official Site)
Directed by: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson (co-director)
Writer: Bob Peterson (screenplay)
Release Date: May 29, 2009

i was attracted by all these colorful balloons.. it seems to be an interesting animation by Disney Pixar.. & this is the 1st Pixar film to be made for the Disney Digital 3D format..



can't wait to see this movie!

歡天喜地

《歡天喜地》 歌詞中的「你」，可以是情人，親人，或者是上帝..
這是農夫很少唱的抒情歌.. 非常喜歡它的 melody 和編曲!!


歌手：農夫
作曲：鄧智偉 /填詞： 6 Wing, C Kwan / 編曲：莊冬昕 / 監製： 鄧智偉

或者有幾個知己好難得
有個鍾意你嘅人更加難得
但係我覺得最難得
係可以 認識你　我算最有福氣
所以有乜嘢都好　可以當乜事都冇
只要有你喺度我就富有過億萬富豪
係得你　你永遠冇得比

天一光　到細看日落這樣美
怎麼講　世界萬物也因你起

漆黑之中仍然有你　這一分鐘和誰講起
本世紀　最重要的你
你重要過所有道理 你重要過我自己
一天一天而仍愛你　一點一點而仍想起
這個比　我重要的你
我只要你喺隔離我只要見到你
我　歡 天 喜 地

如果真係可以一世同你喺埋一齊
乜都肯制　放棄一切　都冇所謂
係得你　叫我每秒歡喜
永遠有人話你對我唔係真　唔係咁o架
有人可以為愛人死　我諗我係因你而生
淨得你　帶我去你心扉

天一光　到細看日落這樣美
怎麼講　世界萬物也因你起

漆黑之中仍然有你　這一分鐘和誰講起
本世紀　最重要的你
你重要過所有道理 你重要過我自己
一天一天而仍愛你　一點一點而仍想起
這個比　我重要的你
我只要你喺隔離我只要見到你
(一天一天而仍愛你) 　我　歡 天 喜 地
(一點一點而仍想起) 　我　歡 天 喜 地

德福海鮮酒家 Wonderful Seafood Restaurant

德福海鮮酒家 Wonderful Seafood Restaurant
Address: 633 Silver Star Blvd., Unit 102, Scarborough (Steeles & Midland)
Phone: (416) 293-2979

i remember my mom told me several times that the food in 德福 is good, but we just never have the chance to try.. so, here came the chance..

this combo is supposed to be for 6 people, but the 4 of us still ordered this 魚翅雙龍蝦套餐 Six Courses Shark Fin Soup & Loster Combo, for $68..

紅燒雙喜翅 壹窩 Shark Fin Soup

..very nice Shark Fin Soup, with "visible" Shark Fin..

薑蔥雙龍蝦 Stir Fried Double Lobsters with ginger & green onion

..十分入味!

招牌貴妃雞 壹隻 Steamed Whole Chicken

菠蘿咕嚕肉 Sweet & Sour Pork with Pineapple

..we think that this is better than the one in 銀星小廚..

班腩豆腐煲 Fish & Tofu in Hot Pot

..this one came with lots of 班腩..

清炒時蔬 Fried Vegetable

Smoked Ham with Cranberry Chutney

Smoked Ham with Cranberry Chutney

got this recipe from JK & we just love it! so easy to make & it's delicious!


Ingredients
1 cooked/deli/smoked ham, 1-2kg

Cranberry Chutney (for 4-6 lbs ham)
15 oz whole berry cranberry sauce

8.25 oz crushed pineapple, drained

5 oz prepared horseradish (i use the one with mustard)

Instructions

Ham: Bake at 375 F for 1-1.5 hours for small ham (1kg)
Or, do it on stove top: Put the ham in the pot/sauce pan, add some water, cover the pot/pan & heat it with lo heat for an hour till the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Slice to serve.

Chutney: Combine & chill before serving.

Green Thai 清邁

Green Thai 清邁 (Closed!)
Date: December 30, 2009 (Tuesday)

Address: 8750 Bayview Avenue, Unit 14-15, Richmond Hill (Hwy 7 & Bayview)

Phone: (905) 886-9188

Opening Hours: Sun-Thurs 11am-11pm / Fri-Sat 11am-12am

this is where 燊輝 used to be.. it's a Viet Thai fusion (as it stated).. however, it's quite a disappointing meal.. the food was not good.. i guess there's lots of MSG in the soup base.. didn't taste good..

(left) Penang Laksa Noodle 檳城喇沙米王 $5.99

(right) Raw Beef Vietnamese Noodle Soup 生牛肉湯河粉 $6.99

Banana Loaf from Amish Friendship Bread

i think this is probably the 1st & the last time i'm making "bread"..

got the "starter" from a friend during Christmas; & by following the recipe & instructions, i baked a banana loaf (& luckily it tasted good)!

here's the recipe/instructions:

start with 1 bag of live yeast starter..

Day 1:
Do nothing with the starter.
Days 2-5:
Mush the bag.
Day 6:
Add to the bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Mush the bag.
Days 7-9:
Mush the bag.
Day 10:
Pour the contents of the bag into a non-mental bowl & add: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends. To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 bananas (mashed)

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Happy New Year!

this is so cool!! it's MY Disney World!!