Embrujo Flamnco Tapas Restaurant

Embrujo Flamnco Tapas Restaurant
Date: April 3, 2011 (Sunday)
Address: 97 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
Phone: (416) 778-0007

we bought the fab deals coupon & wanna try different tapas so we picked this one.. the 6 of us went there on a Sunday evening for dinner.. among all the tapas we ordered, we like the Duck Confit & the Pork Belly most..

Tortilla $6.95
Not like it's French or Mexican cousins. This classic Spanish original is a thick wedge of potatoes, onions & eggs

Boquerones en Vinagre $8.95
Anchovies marinated in vinegar & extra virgin olive oil. A Spanish staple in tapas bars & nothing like the salty kind know in North America
..this one is too sour for us..

Calamares a la Romana $9.95
Fried squid with aliolo. This tapa is a timeless classic of Spanish bar-top snacking
..calamari is good as usual.. crispy & not too much flour..

Pato con Peras $10.95
Duck confit with pears
..this is one of our fav.. very juicy & tender meat.. & it went very well with the pears..

Panceta $9.95
Pork Belly served with mashed potato, cantaloupe & watermelon
..this is one of our fav.. the sauce is a sweet creamy sauce.. feel "fat" though..

Gambas en Anis $10.95
Sauted shrimps with portobello mushrooms in an anise sauce
..i like the sauce & the mushrooms.. fresh shrimp..

Classic Bomba Rice Paella $59 for two
This paella uses traditional Spanish short grain rice from Valencia, Spain, & it's served with mussels, shrimps, squid, chicken & chorizo

Arroz Negro $59 for two
(Available Thursday through Sunday)
Truly one of the most exotic paella flavours; rice & prawns, squid & fish cooked in squid ink
..i like this paella better than the Bomba one.. (maybe coz i like the squid ink sauce.. hee hee..) the seafood is fresh.. & it made us wanna visit Joso's..

during the meal, someone came up & played spanish guitar & a girl danced there.. entertaining the guests..

a very nice dinner.. it's a good experience to try something new..

韭菜餃

LG & i love 韭菜餃.. & we bought two different packs to try..
one from 天津小吃 @ FMP & one from 天天..

here are the size differences..
BEFORE COOKING
AFTER COOKING

ingredients-wise..
THE SMALLER ONE

THE BIGGER ONE

taste-wise: the bigger one tasted much better!!

so now.. guess where the bigger one is from & where the small one is from?




the bigger one is from our favorite 韭菜餃 store! yeah!!

龍騰金閣 Dragon Dynasty Chinese Cuisine

龍騰金閣 Dragon Dynasty Chinese Cuisine
Address: 2301 Brimley Road, Scarborough (Chartwell Centre)
Phone: (416) 321-9000

a quite disappointing dinner.. we went there for wedding banquet before & the food were excellent!
however, it was just so-so this time..

鴻運乳豬全體

荷芹野菌鳳片蝦仁

蜜餞蒜香金蠔
..the flavor of the oysters was weird.. it's not honey-like.. it's salty..
 
蔥油脆皮雞

北菰玉環柱甫

玉樹麒麟班柳

避風塘炒肉蟹

鏞記 Yogi Noodle Delight

鏞記 Yogi Noodle Delight
Address: 165 East Breaver Creek Road, #4-6, Richmond Hill (Hwy 7 & Hwy 404)
Phone: (905) 709-3338

this was our first visit.. food was ok but the environment was a bit dirty.. i saw food scrap on the wall.. which was quite disgusting..

黑椒燒鴨瀨粉
..i don't see much 黑椒 at all.. tasted the same as the regular 燒鴨..

肉醬意粉
..this is the reason why we went back for a 2nd time as LG said it tasted good..

we went back again the next week & the food were bad..
LG said there was only very little bit of shrimp in his 雲吞麵.. i ordered 叉燒河粉 but they gave me 麵!

Alice Fazooli's (Revisit)

Alice Fazooli's
Address: 155A York Blvd., Richmond Hill (Hwy 7 & Hwy 404)
Phone: (905) 709-4280
Opening Hours: Mon-Wed 11:30am-12am / Thurs 11:30am-1am / Fri-Sat 11:30am-2am / Sun 11:30am-11pm

haven't been here after their renovation.. they took down all the walls/rooms & made it one big large space.. the environment now is more like a lounge/restaurant.. very busy on a Friday..

Butternut Squash Soup $5.95
..it came with a hint of cinnamon.. LG likes the flavor..

Calamari  $10.95
Crisp deep-fried calamari, cocktail sauce with balsamic-basil twist, salsa verde aïoli
..i like the two choices of sauces..

Seafood Fettuccini $17.95
A sea of shrimp, scallops and mussels, waves of fettuccini, roasted red peppers, fresh spinach, green onions, cream sauce
..surprisingly, LG likes this one.. (he is not fond of cream sauce.. but guess this one was not too rich..)
LG said the seafood were very fresh..

Lamb Chops $24.95
Grilled lamb chops topped with green peppercorn sauce and fresh mint, potatoes al forno, seasonal vegetables
..very tender.. the peppercorn sauce enriched the flavor.. i like the potato wedges too!

Mascarpone Cheesecake $8.95
Mascarpone, Amaretto, hazelnut crust, mixed berry compote

7 West

7 West
Date: March 25, 2011 (Friday)
Address: 7 Charles Street West, Toronto (Bloor & Yonge)
Phone: (416) 928-9041
Opening Hours: 24 Hours, 365 Days

it's another cozy restaurant in downtown..

Rosie Ravioli (with a side House salad) $10.95
..Ravioli filled with ricotta & asparagus in a rosé sauce
..i liked the sauce.. not the very rich creamy one..

Tuna Salad $10.95
..Tuna with red & green peppers, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes & mayo, served on 7grain bread
..LW said she likes the bread!

Canyon Creek

Canyon Creek
Date: March 11, 2011 (Friday)
Address: 255 Bass Pro Mills Drive, Vaughan (Rutherford & Hwy 400)
Phone: (905) 532-0857

i got $70 gift cards for one of those restaurants & thought i should give Canyon Creek a second chance..

Butternut Squash soup
..very rich & had a strong squash flavor

Lobster Cakes $12.95

Roast Prime Rib 8oz $24.95
Aged 40 days, mustard-crusted and slow-roasted. Served with jus and creamy horseradish sauce
..i guess medium rare is just too rare for LG; should order medium next time (IF we ever come again)..

Lamb Duo $26.95
Mint barbecue lamb shank and a double-cut marinated lamb chop, served with sweet potato fries
..the lamb chop tasted better.. the lamb shank was tender but without flavor.. but i liked the sweet potato with pint of salt on it, which made the sweet potato fries tasted better!

we had Cheesecake as dessert.. it's with  a pecan crust, topped with seasonal berries in an ice wine compote..
..LG liked the cheesecake.. he said it's very soft..