Dim Sum.  One of my all time favourites...Sipping tea and slowly enjoying a variety of small dishes ranging from crispy or soft, steamed or fried, buns to cakes, meats to veggies...You really can have it all!  In Hong Kong, seniors are a common sighting in the early mornings enjoying earlybird discounts.  Families tend to crowd in for weekend lunches and the leisure ones enjoy the afternoon tea discounts. 

If you picked up anything about my character from reading this blog; you'd probably be able to guess my preferred dining times...That's right!  Afternoon tea from 2:30pm - 5pm...Ahh, it signals a life of leisure.

Since returning to Toronto, the parents have taken to Milliken Bar & Restaurant (the name is kind of mis-leading...No way you would think of this as a bar) near Kennedy and Finch.  The prices are good and the selection and quality reasonable...But, the Scarborough area has many nice dim sum places around.  It may not be the fanciest of locations but good food at good prices score high on my priority. 

A few of our favourites from this particular dim sum place: steamed spareribs and rice rolls, egg custard sesame balls and preserved egg pastry.  The usual standard of pork siu mai, shrimp dumpling 'ha-gow' and beef balls are tasty but similar to other locations.

At $17.00 per admission ticket, it does seem a bit dear.  However, with admittance to both the National Home Shoe and Canada Blooms event, you are sure to have a busy day.  Fortunately, we were given a few free tickets and so decided to take advantage of it.

I worked at the CNE for about 5 summers as a youth and everytime I see Prince's Gate, I always remember fondly of my adventures while working there.  Fortunately, in this cold weather, the two events are hosted in the same building and connect into each other.

The National Home Show first.  It was HUGE and covered everything from booths promoting windows/doors producets and services, flooring, tiles, kitchen counters, patio furniture, home furniture, alarm systems, sinks and taps, lighting fixtures etc.  The massage chairs were awesome and once you're all laid out comfortably in one, you just don't want to leave...I had be pulled out one :p  There was a booth promoting sewing classes and I had a lot of fun making a small cosmetic bag.  There were also live cooking demonsrations and other small home-improvement demonstrations. 

I entered a few lucky draws...I know, I know...They just want your info to do marketing but I play along...Maybe, just maybe I'll win  something!   Don't mind the Canadian Tire cash card; a car, a VIA train trip or maybe even the portable sewing machine like the one I worked on!

After stopping for a little snack...A large order of freshly deep-fried onion rings washed down with a large free sample of iced tea from Keurigs; it was time to tackle the Canada Blooms exhibition.  Unlike the National Home Event, things were spread out more so it was less claustrophobic.  There were numerous vendors selling seeds and bulbs, floral care items, artisan crafts made with flowers or based on a floral theme. There were many different types of floral arrangment competitons...Two of my favourites were on the themes of wedding cakes and shoes. 

I do enjoy the big-name eateries but every now and then, I like to venture into the smaller establishments and I rarely regret my choices.

Francesca Bakery at McCowan and Sheppard seems to have always been there (I measure this against my pre-and post-disappearance to HK for 10+years) but I've never paid it a visit before.   It's unassuming and you can't see much for the outside.  But feeling the need for a baked treat and possibly a coffee, I popped in one day.  Had the most delicious custard-filled croissant that I went back the very next day to sample more.  That croissant was sooo good that I didn't even get a chance to snap a quick picture.  Unfortunately, on my second visit, it was already sold out.  Probably a good thing too, so I could sample some of the other lovely baked treats they had.

Francesca is an Italian bakery cafe.  Now, as much as I love my Asian food, when it comes to bakery...I generally prefer western ones (unless I'm in a serious mood for eggtarts).  Francesca's food is roughly divided into four sections; cookies, cupcakes, cakes and pies; deli; hot food (pasta, pizza bread etc.) and pastries.  They also have a selection of fresh bread, olive oils and other similar items for sale. 

On this second visit, I had a regular croissant...Oh so flaky and buttery! A small rice ball from the hot table...Delightfully crunchy and savoury with a mix of rice, meats, peas and carrots and I just couldn't pass up trying the Italian canneloni...A crisp pastry wrapper filled with a ricotta cheese filling and topped with chopped pistachio.  This was all washed down with a lovely cup of latte.  This is a terrific bakery cafe and perfect with afternoon tea or if you just want to treat yourself to some exquistely baked treats. 

The Chinese love their soups and differ from western soup in that ours is never creamy.  It may be thick and chunky but never creamy.  Most often they will resemble broths.  Growing up, mom would always remind her bamboo girls to drink soup as it will nourish body and face.  

The Chinese have this idea that if one is having stomach problem, one makes soup with a pig's stomach; if it's your liver or kidneys, make sure to make a soup with liver or kidneys.  I'm not sure if a subscribe to this believe 100 percent but I do love soups.  

Feeling particularly dry; perhaps from the dry winter weather or from having too much fried food; it was time for a pot of soup.  A couple of bruised apples and carrots and some chicken was quickly boiled down and simmered into a nourishing soup.  I usually use lean pork or pork bones for a more flavourful soup but there was only chicken in fridge so chicken it was. 

INGREDIENTS:
4 apples - cut, cored, quartered
1 large carrot -  peeled and cut into 3-4 pieces
quarter chicken or a large thigh (the more meat, the more flavourful)
a handful of dried apricot kernals

DIRECTIONS:
1. Boil a pot of water.  If using pork bones, blanch the bones briefly to remove any dirt.  Throw out the water and boil another pot of water.   Add the blanch pork bones, lean pork or chicken.  Bring to boil.
2. Add apples, carrots and apricot kernels.  Bring to boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for an hour. 
3. Add salt to taste.

**NOTES
This soup is tasty with whole corns (broken in halves or thirds).   Makes the soup even sweeter. 

Ohh..What a feast.  We had some coupons for The Fish House and with everyone home from afar, it was time to celebrate!  Still thinking of my low-carb diet, I thought, 'no problem'...It's just fish after all.  Oh, but then there was the appetizer and then the dessert...Guilty!

Fish House, located on Woodbine Ave. serves up all sorts of seafood.  It'll cost a pretty penny but thanks to mom's quick thinking, had purchased some promotional coupons in earlier in the year.  Tonight, we ate like kings but did little damage to the wallet.

The place is suitably decorated with fishes decor dotting the walls.  There are wide booth seats as well as regular seats and a bar area too.  It was a busy day and our server was kept quite busy.  We ordered from both the regular menu and the special dinner menu.  There's Early Bird menu too for those who dine from 4:00pm - 6:00pm.  Seems like quite a good deal, including appetizer, main and dessert.  Next time.

Now check out what we had!  Most of the fish was salmon or tilapia and seems like the specialty here is for it be 'crusted' which is a topping of crushed pastachio or macademia nuts and served with two sides.  We had extra asparagus, daily vegetalbes (carrots, peppers, zucchini) and my favourite, sweet potato mash.  Warm crunchy bread was served together with our drinks.  We then sampled the clam chowder and fried calamari for appetizers...The chowder was thick and chunky and full of yumminess but the calarami I found to be too salty; actually I did find the overall meal a bit heavy on the salt side.  A lovely ley lime pie helped round of the meal.  It's tartness was refreshing of such a big meal. 

After spending a good few days in New York; my low-carb diet went out the  window.  Running around, enjoying cheap thrills and eating burgers, cakes and  coffee have left me feeling guilty.  I did find a couple of nice cafes/restaurants but now that I'm back, it's time to go back to basics. 

Asians eat congee when feeling cold, blue or under the  weather.  It's warm and soupy texture makes it perfect for colder days and is truly enjoyed year-round (except when I'm in Hong Kong on a typical hot, muggy summer day).  I guess it is sort of like western porridge or oatmeal though it's just for breakfast.  Congee can be had any time of day.  I like it best on cold winter afternoons or late-night  snacks. 

But here is yet another difference I share with my sister  (I'm thinking paricularly of Bamboo Girl #2 here); I find it interesting where I would gravitate to congee as comfort food and she would probably choose chicken noodle soup.  One late night, she called for late night snack suggestions and I immediately thought of congee, rice rolls, wonton noodles and the likes.  She came back with McDonalds; not to say I didn't mind munching on a few french fries but it left me thoughtful about food choices and how it is a reflection of our characters.  I'd say my family is quite muliculturally diverse when it comes to food. 

But about Congeetown in Scarborough; now this is my kind of place.  For less than $5 you get a huge bowl of congee, enough to feed 2-3 people depending on what other dishes are ordered.  I had one of the most typical version of congee today, Lai Wan congee.  It's a mixture of squid, pig's skin, shredded lettuce, a bit of meat and topped with spring onion and a bit of roasted peanuts. 

Now I know I talked about cleasing the palette with a simple rice congee...But seriously, one cannot have congee without something crispy to go with it.  Usually, I go for the deep-fried doughsticks, or sweet cruller.  But today, Rice-noodle covered doughsticks and minced beef caught my eyes. 

The minced beef tender and flavourful but the fried dough could have been a bit crispier.  It came sprinkled with toasted sesame and small dishes of soy sauce, sesame sauce and sweet sauce.  Although it was interesting and tasty, I think I prefer having it separately...Rice Rolls with Fried-Doughsticks and Rice Rolls with Beef. 

Who doesn't like to travel in style? Forget what people say about character building or how they get to see the real world...Hand them a big fluffy towel and point the way to where a steamy bath is waiting and they'll be dashing off before you could even say 'bye'.

This blog is focused on my year-long stay in Toronto and the fine things I am discovering or re-discovering; so I'm not going to elaborate much on my travels here. However, I'm finding out that one doesn't have to fly to New York...One can bus for over 10 hours and still make it there, a little stiffer perhaps but safe and sound and with more money left to go shopping...And isn't that the point of New York?

I have a sweet tooth.  A terribly big sweet tooth.  Fortunately, I am also reasonbly disciplined with this tooth of mine.  But after a week of this low-carb diet and avoiding wheat, starch and carb, this girl needed cake.  And cake that she can have seconds without guilt or regret. 

A quick search of on the Internet produced two good news.  1.  Flourless Chocolate Cake and 2. Clementine Gluten-Free Cake. 

Munching thoughtfully on some Godiva dark chocolate, I decided to try the Clementine Cake first.  Apparently you need to boil 4-5 clementines for at least 2 hours.  We normally have some poor forgotten clementines at the bottom of our fruit basket.  But as Murphy's Law would have it; the one time you truly need some bruised and battered clementines, it is the one time you don't have any.  So what is a cake-starved girl to do?  Buy fresh ones and kill them in the pot.  I did feel a little bad for the clementines.

This following recipe is taken from 'A Dash of Sass' who modified the cake recipe from one of Nigella's.  I sort of combined the two recipe and ended up with that lovely cake in the photo above.

The cake turned out delicious despite it being made with just a few ingredients.  It was moist, flavourful and had such a vibrant colour.  The nuts added a lovely overall crunch.  Very delish!

INGREDIENTS:
-4-5 clementines
-1/2C honey
-1 1/3 C almond malt (finely ground almond which I bought from Bulk Barns)
-3 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tsp baking soda

Chocolate Glaze (optional)
-3oz dark chocolate -chopped or grated (I bought the darkest there was at Bulk Barns and it too bitter!  Had to sweeten with 1 1/2tbsp of honey/sugar. Better to mix with some semi-sweet chocolate)
-1 1/2 tbsp butter (this makes it creamier but can be omitted depending how gluten-free you need to be)
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 tbsp table cream/milk
-chopped nuts
- icing sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Rinse/scrub the clementines.  Place in small pot and cover with water.  Bring to boil and then reduce to medium heat and gently boil for minium 2 hours.  This is to take the bitterness out of the rind.

2. When cool to touch, cut in half and remove seeds.  Place in food processor/blender and puree. 

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

4. In bowl, beat eggs until frothy.  Add almond malt, honey, vanilla and baking soda.  Stir until well mixed.  Mix in the clemetine puree.

5. Grease cake pan or muffin tins depending on how you want your cakes.  For cake, you will need to bake for about 1 hour.  Cover the top of the cake with tin foil after about 20 mins to prevent top from burning.  This is what I made.  In 'A Dash of Sass', mini-cakes or muffins were made and apparently it takes only 30mins.  Will try it this way next time. 

I suggest testing the done-ness of the cake every now and then by sticking a bamboo skewer into the middle of the cake.  If it comes out clean, your cake is done!

6. Glaze: While cake is cooling (we stuck it out in the porch...Toronto in March is still very cold!) Melt chocolate with the butter in a double-boiler.  Remove from heat.  Add vanilla and cream. If your chocolate is too bitter, add some honey/sugar.  Stir until well combined.  Spread of cake.  Finish of with chopped nuts and powdered sugar. 

This was a delicious cake; made with just a few ingredients.  The cake was moist,  flavourful and had such a vibrant colour.  The nuts added a lovely overall crunch.  Very delish!

Ahh...Brunches.  Nothing says indulgence like brunches on the weekends...Or Afternoon High-Teas...Or Dessert Buffets...Or maybe even Mid-night Snacks (more of an Asian thing I think).   I believe that any time you are enjoying one of these meails, it means you're off from work, free and don't give a nilly as to the time of day.

This is my third visit to Panagios.  It's an unassuming all-day breakfast spot dishing up the usual suspects...Omelettes, sausages, eggs benedict, breakfast wraps etc with a small lunch section as well.

I went with scrambled eggs and sausages and asked for the toast and home-fries be substituted with more fruit.  While they readily agreed to it, it wasn't that much more fruit. The toast and home-fries make for a better deal.  Coffees came with refills.  My friend ordered the Eggs Benny and commented the tasty Hollandaise sauce.  While we enjoyed ourselves today...The food this time 'round wasn't as good as my previous visits.

On this Saturday, the place was full but not fully packed and so we enjoyed our meal slowly and chatted away.  Every girl needs a few great girlfriends to chatter with and to go shopping with...Which we did!  But only to work off the calories...