Light Cafe was one of those restaurants that looked stunning on the screen. With a vibrant live wall, whimsical drinks and colourful desserts, the menu defined Instagrammable. Since we don’t eat only with our eyes, I had high hopes that my tastebuds would be equally delighted, and for the most part they were. Light Cafe proved that they were more than just visuals with fresh ingredients and creative combinations.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

To start, our group ordered a couple of drinks including the Berry Iced Tea, a Grapefruit Italian Soda, Tiramisu Latte and we couldn’t resist the Cotton Candy Coffee. Light Cafe also offered a selection of smoothies, espresso drinks, and loose leaf teas. I sipped on the bubbly Italian soda myself and liked how many slices of fresh fruit my glass came with. Similarly, the Berry Iced Tea was topped with lots of apple slices, sliced grapes and blackberries. I really liked the Tiramisu Latte, but it was unsweetened and a little hard to add sugar without getting cocoa powder everywhere. As for the Cotton Candy Coffee, a drink designed for Boomerang, the presentation of the drink was adorable. Two small milk bottles filled, each with milk and coffee, were served with a glass mug topped with a fluffy cloud of cotton candy. Pouring the coffee and milk through the cotton candy into the mug melted it and sweetened the drink at the same time. Fun and whimsical. Personally, I like my coffee a little sweeter than the level of sweetness provided from just the cotton candy.

As for food, we tasted at least one item from each section of the menu. For myself, I ordered the Lobster Bisque ($6.50 for a single bowl) and really liked the savoury, creamy soup. The warm cup was served in a copper measuring cup and was very comfortable on the chilly day. Continuing the lobster trend, I also ordered the Lobster Roll. At $15.50 for two buns this was pricey for a sandwich but pretty good for the amount of lobster on the plate. The cold chunks of lobster, tossed with a creamy dressing, was served on two toasted hot dog buns, perfect. I still dream about the hot butter lobster rolls from Boston, one day I hope to find one in Toronto.

The next few dishes were shared at the table. The Truffle Mushroom Croissant was visually interesting with the mushroom heads spilling out and had a generous drizzle of truffle oil, adding even more earthiness to each bite. If you like mushrooms, this would be the sandwich to order. With the Smoked Duck Breast Salad, the duck was incredibly flavourful and well seasoned, but only 5 slices were included. The salad itself was fresh with greens, a few chunks of citrus, tomatoes, cauliflower and radish. When ordering a salad, diners can choose from 4 different dressings. I picked the sesame, which was creamy and fragrant. Both the Yuzu and Mustard Soy dressings also sounded interesting.

I only took a few bites of the next two plates, the Creamy Shrimp Mini Pizza and the Smoked Salmon and Caviar Baked Potato. Between the two, I preferred the baked potato. Both dishes were weak in comparison to the other items I tried that night. The texture of the mini pizza was more like a flatbread and difficult to cut through.

When it came to dessert we tried three different waffle flavours, the Strawberry Waffle, Charcoal Black Sesame Waffle and Mango Waffle. The strawberry and mango waffles were more traditional, topped with whipped cream, fresh fruit and ice cream. I liked the idea of the flavour shot inserted in the scoop of strawberry ice cream, but it was hard to drizzle out. Both waffles were crispy and a great base for the topping. The black sesame waffle was cut into individual hearts and used actual (food safe) charcoal in the batter to achieve the dark, black colour. A little pitcher of black sesame sauce was served alongside.

Overall Light Cafe would be a great place for any type of meal, from a full dinner, to coffee, to dessert.

Tendou Matcha and Dessert is a relatively new cafe in Markham that has quickly gained popularity for their premium matcha soft serve ice cream and drinks. Using high quality matcha powder imported directed from Japan, Tendou’s desserts have a strong natural flavour and mild sweetness, letting the matcha shine. Although I crave ice cream year round, not everyone feels the same. As temperatures outside cool, Tendou’s menu has expanded to unveil a host of new desserts that feature more Japanese flavours, which will surely keep them busy through the fall and winter season.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

At the media preview for Tendou’s Fall Menu I had the chance to chat with Rylen, the owner of Tendou, and learn about the different grades of matcha powder. Similar to coffee beans, based on the origin and grade (from food to ceremonial), cost and taste of matcha varies greatly. Tendou only uses matcha sourced from the south of Japan, which was vibrantly green in colour.

I tasted 4 matcha desserts that night, the mille crepe, cream puff, fruit tart and opera cake. Everything about the cream puff was perfect. Filled with an airy matcha flavoured cream, the cream puff was flakey with a cookie crisp topping that created a very satisfying contrast in textures. All three of the cream puffs we tried that night were phenomenal. The opera cake had layers of matcha sponge cake that was fluffy and lightly sweet. Rylen’s goal was to bring out the natural flavour of the ingredients without overpowering them with sugar, a goal I think he was successful in. When it came to the mille crepe, I enjoyed the flavours of the matcha, which was consistent throughout the evening, however the ratio of cream to crepe leaned too much towards cream for me.

The two black sesame desserts featured were the mille crepe and cream puff. Similar to the matcha flavoured desserts, the black sesame cream puff was delicious. The cream of both items had such a strong black sesame flavour that it tasted almost nutty. We also tried a Hokkaido Milk cream puff and Hokkaido Milk fruit tart. This was my first time tasting Hokkaido milk, which has 3.6% fat content, and the flavour was incredibly rich and milky. I would love to see this Japanese flavour be the next trend in Toronto.

Apart from the three main flavours, we also tried Tendou’s Tofu Cheesecake and The Hubby promptly fell in love. The cake had a mild cheese strong tofu flavour, reminiscent of tofu flower dessert. In fact, The Hubby liked the cake so much, he requested a full size cake for his birthday this year. I was lucky Rylen was able to fill my order.

Bake Code is a bakery specializing in Taiwanese style baked goods with locations in North York and Hillcrest Mall. Bake Code combines French baking techniques with Asian flavours to create delicious sweet and savoury treats. Bake Code has also partnered with Chatime to provide a reduced menu of Chatime’s most popular drinks (including roasted milk tea with herbal jelly!) Since the North York location opened last year, Bake Code has quickly become a regular stop on my way home for both a snack and my favourite bubble tea. I was recently invited to check out a new assortment of baked buns and desserts being introduced at a blogger event. In addition to tasting the new menu items, we got to go into the Bake Code kitchen and create our own speciality buns.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Two of my favourite breads at Bake Code are both sweet, the Multi-Grain Lychee roll and Sweet Taro roll. With the lychee roll, I love how the strong the fruit flavour is throughout the fluffy dough and I really enjoy the mochi like filling of the taro roll. The 4 new breads being introduced were all savoury.
Bacon Cheddar Twist – Long twisted bread with bacon, onion and cheddar cheese
Baked Pork Floss Puff Pastry Sandwich – My favourite, a sandwich made of puff pastry with a layer of pork floss and a layer of cheddar cheese
Sausage and Corn Bloom – A fancy twist on the classic sausage bun, sweet and salty
Pork Rou-Song Roll – A basic bread bun topped with a generous amount of pork floss and filled with mayonnaise

Any bread from Bake Code would make a delicious and filling snack. I like to buy 3 or 4 buns at a time, cut up half to munch on and freeze the other half for later. For diners eating in, Bake Code now offers a new toasting service.

Bake Code has also introduced an entire menu of desserts, including cakes, tarts, roll cakes and cream puffs. All of the cakes were soft and moist. I liked the lightness of the tiramisu cream puff and the matcha green tea roll cake. The natural flavours really shined through without being overly sweet. The lemon tart made with freshly squeezed lemon and lime coulis was also a good balance of sweet and tart with a great flakey crust. All three of the new roll cakes had an equal ratio of airy whipped cream to spongy chiffon cake.

While tasting the new menu items was already a treat, what made the evening extra special was getting to go into the kitchen at Bake Code and bake my own bread creations along with 5 other Instagrammers. Bake Code’s head baker, Chef Xiang from Taiwan, demonstrated how to put together two buns and we were then left to our own devices with 4 rounds a dough and a plethora of filling ingredients. There were sweet ones like red bean and savoury ones like shredded chicken and asiago cheese.

I tried my hand at creating 2 sweet and 2 savoury buns, which were baked while we sampled desserts. Once the buns came out of the proofer, doubling and tripling in size, we topped them with as many ingredients as we could layer. My most successful invention was a kimchi chicken filling topped mayonnaise, sriracha and green onions. Seeing the effort, and imagination that goes into creating each of Bake Code’s breads gave me a better appreciation for the bakers behind the scenes.

Back in July last year, I was invited to check out a new Taiwanese dessert shop in North York, Sweet O’clock. With a wide selection of desserts and bubble teas, I really enjoyed their specialty taro balls, the flavour of the fresh ingredients used and generous portion sizes. Since then, I’ve stopped by several times to indulge my sweet tooth after a meal. When Sweet O’clock invited me back to try out their new food menu, I was excited to taste the new additions.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

I visited Sweet O’clock with a friend who recently moved to North York. After studying the extensive menu, we decided to stick to the more simple “Taiwanese” dishes, the ones I would likely order myself for a quick, well-priced dinner, or snack along with bubble tea/dessert.

For drinks, my friend ordered the herbal jelly wintermelon tea and I tried the mango pomelo juice. Both drinks were refreshingly, lightly sweetened with subtle but strong flavours. Not a bit artificial tasting. From the appetizer page, we chose the Taiwanese style popcorn chicken (only $6.99 for a huge plate), and grilled scallop skewers ($5.99 for 2). Marinated with five spice powder before frying, the seasoned chicken was addictive. Served with mayo, each piece of dark meat was coated in a thin batter and the plate was garnished with deep fried basil leaves. The scallop skewers, brushed with a sweet soy sauce, also included green peppers and fish cakes. I liked the char on fish cakes but found the scallops dry.

Sticking to our theme, we ordered the Taiwanese Style Fried Pork Chop and Taiwanese Sausage and Minced Pork Rice Bowl for our mains. The pork chop dinner plate was served with a cup of rice, some veggies, pickled radish salad and slices of spiced, pressed tofu. I found this plate was super satisfying and the pork chop was crispy and light. The food was homey, comforting and filling. I felt the same way about the meaty rice bowl, that had plenty of minced pork fried with preserved vegetables, slices of sausage and marinated tofu.

No visit to Sweet O’clock would be complete without dessert. Even though I was full from dinner, I made room to try two of their new dessert items, the Matcha Snowflake and Mud Pie. The snowflake was made up with layers of matched flavoured shaved ice, topped with red bean, pineapple jelly and a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream. Again, a large portion. I would recommend splitting this with a friend (or two). The shaved ice had a rice matcha flavour and melted on contact. The Mud Pie was close to a deconstructed tiramisu with bonus banana slices. While I liked the flavours, I had to make sure each spoonful had a bit of cookie or banana, otherwise the abundant cream was overwhelming. Overall, a neat interpretation.

Sweet O’clock’s new food menu is more reason for me to keep visiting and enjoy a full meal with them. There was a whole page of appetizers, skewers, Japanese bento boxes, noodle bowls and rice dishes. Prices ranged across the board from $5.99 deep fried squid balls to $17.99 steamed garlic shrimp.

Located within walking distance from Ryerson and University of Toronto, Jule is an Asian tea room offering bubble teas, herbal teas and desserts. Recently, the cafe has added a food menu with noodle and rice dishes based on their customer’s feedback. Tina, one of the owners invited me to check out Jule and chatted with The Hubby and I while we enjoyed lunch.

Disclaimer: All food and drinks reviewed below were provided complimentary. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine.

Jule aims to provide their customers with high quality, good value food. In the short time they’ve been open, Jule has become a neighbourhood gem with a loyal following of regulars and was voted one of the best bubble tea shops in Toronto on BlogTO. The cafe decor was modern and clean with plenty of greenery creating a warm, comfortable environment, perfect for an afternoon of sipping tea and homework.

Before coming to Canada, Tina was an elementary school teacher in China. Her natural affinity for taking care of students has transferred now to her customers. Tina works with her vendors to source a tasty selection of cheesecakes and macarons. Most of Jule’s staff were friendly and efficient university students.

The Hubby ordered a pot of roasted Japanese green tea while I tried one of Jule’s signature drinks, the hazelnut chocolate. The hot tea was served in a glass pot, kept warm with a candle below. With the generous amount of tea leaves, our pot lasted through two refills of hot water. All of Jule’s signature drinks are blended ice drinks and my hazelnut chocolate was rich and creamy.

From the food menu, we tried the House Special Noodle Soup and the Stewed Pork Rib soup on rice. With chunks of red braised pork belly and a marinated egg, my noodle soup reminding me of something my mom would whip together for me after school or on the weekends for lunch. Both dishes were homey and comforting. For dessert, we tried a slice of the mille crepe cake and passionfruit cheesecake. The cheesecake was really amazing, rich and topped with real passionfruit jelly. The selection of cheesecake flavours change daily and all 9 sounded tempting during my visit.

Be it sweet or salty, Jule has a treat that will satisfy your tastebuds.

On a Thursday afternoon, my brother and I had some time to kill before picking up my cousin at Union station. After a quick Google search, I found Roll Play Cafe, a boardgame cafe within walking distance of our final destination. I’m a big fan of board games and have been visiting Snakes and Lattes since they opened. Since then, many similar establishments have popped up in Toronto with varying business models. After this visit, I have to say my favourite is still the original.

Atmosphere: Roll Play Cafe aims to be more upscale with a large wine selection and dark sleek furniture. The space has lots of booths for 2-4 people (each equipped with a set of Connect Four) and tables in the centre of the room that can accommodate large groups. Two shelves at opposite ends of the space housed a decent selection of board games. They did have lots of popular games and we found plenty to keep us occupied (Zombie Dice, Love Letter, Tokaido and Kingdom Builder), but nothing really new or hard to find. At Roll Play Cafe, the board games felt more casual, entertainment but not the focus. Kind of like the magazine selection at a bubble tea place.

Service: Honestly, service was over the top friendly, to the point of suffocating. Our server checked in on us constantly, hovering close by, asking we needed any more food or drinks. When I’m engrossed in a game, I’m not really looking for friendly banter with my server. Food did arrive quickly, and we had no issues getting the bill. Complimentary wi-fi was also provided.

Food: My brother and I were at Roll Play Cafe from about 5pm-7:30pm, just shy of 3 hours. Without a food purchase, 3 hours of game usage is $20/person. With a food purchase per person, the game usage fee was $5/person. Our total bill ended up being >$50, pretty steep for the amount of food we ordered and the time we spent there.

In total, we ordered a Hawaiian flatbread pizza ($18), Wild Boar Bites ($8) and two Americanos ($4). The americanos were very good, had a strong and rich coffee flavour. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Wild Board Bites and it turned out to be a sausage, cut up and served with a cheesy, tomato, sauce. The sausage had a lot of strong flavours, savoury and the sauce was tasty. I’m not sold on the price. Also considering the only other snack options were $5 for nuts, $6 for olives or $12/person for charcuterie, the choices were limited.

The Hawaiian pizza was a good size, but again overpriced. I did like the crust and the spicy sauce, but there was little cheese and the toppings were fine, but not noteworthy. I wasn’t visiting Roll Play for a gourmet meal and was looking more for snacks to be enjoyed while I played. A selection of cakes were on display and I’ve been craving cake for weeks, but when I found out the price tag was $10 for a slice with some added flair, I chose the skip dessert.

Reading reviews online, it seems that Roll Play Cafe has changed how they bill guests several times since they’ve opened. Personally, I’m not convinced the latest iteration works. We could’ve easily stuck to ordering just the americanos and kept our bill below $20, but I would’ve been happy to spend another $20 on reasonably priced snacks, and naturally increase my spend without being forced to. As is, the menu offerings were limited, with hefty price tags and doesn’t encourage ordering. I believe they’re trying to attract an older crowd, more office workers with larger wallets than students and it may be working. For me, I’ll have to pass.

Usually my visits to Montreal centre around food. Thus to maximize the experience, I like to plan stops at cafes and bakeries en route from one meal to the next. We stopped at Pikolo Espresso Bar to grab an afternoon coffee and croissant. Ok so only I had a croissant. Both The Fiance and my cousin were still full from breakfast, amateurs.

The independent cafe is located in between universities and is a small space. They’ve crammed in tables, bars and a small seating area on the second floor but on a Saturday afternoon, most seats were filled with students and laptops. We managed to find three barstools together and settled in to sip our drinks. The Fiance ordered an iced Americano while I went with a classic latte. My latte was foamy and super rich in flavour. One of the best lattes I’ve ever had and quite a step better than a certain popular coffeehouse chain (whom I still hold near and dear). The Fiance also enjoyed his iced drink, but the cafe only had honey (which didn’t dissolve with the ice) and no liquid sugar or simple syrup.

My croissant was satisfying. Each layer was buttery and the pastry was flakey. Overall, Pikolo Espresso Bar is a great rest stop with really good coffee.

Since having high tea in London, I’ve been enamoured with the concept. Sipping tea while munching on scones and clotted cream is a pretty awesome way to spend an afternoon. While most hotels in Toronto only serve tea from 2pm-5pm, the Tea Room at Windsor Arms offers Twilight Tea with seatings at 5:30pm and 6pm; perfect for 9-5’ers.

Atmosphere: While the decor in the Tea Room is refined, elegant and traditional with a fireplace and heavy armchairs, I was comfortable and relaxed. Dark walls and white linens created a stark, modern contrast in the room that housed an impressive chandelier. Conversations were contained at each table and was little distraction. My friend and I visited on a Tuesday night and only 4 tables were occupied. Each corner of the room was set up to accommodate larger groups.

Service: There was one server taking care of all the room, who was quiet and unobtrusive. Once we settled at our table, he took our tea orders and provided steeping instructions on the pots arrival. He also described each sandwich and petite four when our tower of treats arrived. While we were quickly offered our first refill of hot water, while we lingered, the server was busy clearing tables and we weren’t comfortable asking for a second.

Food: When I’m at tea, I’m really there for the clotted cream and scones, then the tea and then the sandwiches and petite fours. Based on these priorities, Twilight Tea at Windsor Arms scores well. On scones alone, they’d be top notch.

Separated by types, the selection of tea in their menu was impressive in its breadth. I ended up choosing a Japanese green tea while my friend went with Snow White, a white tea with apple. Each place setting had a personal strainer and rest. Our meal started with a slice of quiche that was savoury and cheesy but seemed like it was made much earlier in the day.

For a table of two, we were served two bites each of every sandwich type. The portion size was plenty for us but I have seen larger squares. Each bite of the rolled up creations were fine, the bread a little soggy. I liked the salmon the best and would have loved an airier bread. The goat cheese tart was soft, strong in flavour and more satisfying.

I did love the perfectly flakey scones. A generous portion of clotted cream was served along with fresh currant and strawberry preserves. This was my favourite part of the meal. The scones were dusted with powdered sugar, the cream was rich and the preserves tart. After these, we were pretty full and only nibbled on each of the remaining sweets. There was no real memorable bite of the petite four and we were so satisfied by the scones that this wasn’t disappointing.

For my visit to The Windsor Arms Tea Room, I was able to grab a Groupon, making the total cost for two ~$85 vs $120 normally. I would come back based on the discounted price (for the scones!), but the full price is more daunting.

Located in Northtown Plaza next to Dumpling King, Sharetea is a bubble tea chain that originated in Taiwan. With locations all over the world, I’m lucky that their Toronto outpost is within a short walk from home. With my frequent check-ins at another popular bubble tea chain, friends on Twitter (@janetkwan) suggested I check out Sharetea as well.

The shop itself is cute, little and consists mainly of the ordering bar; it was a grab and go kind of tea shop. I have to point out that I love their carrying strap! The design is simple but so useful, creating a plastic handle to easily carry your drink. Sharetea also has a stamp card and offers a free drink for ever 10 stamps. Stamps are received for every full priced drink purchased.

I ordered a matcha bubble tea with red bean topping, 30% sugar and less ice. Being able to choose my levels for sugar and ice is now a must for when I order bubble tea. The matcha flavour was strong, natural and you could still taste the base tea flavour. The red bean topping was a touch overcooked and a few grains didn’t hold up well to being poked with the straw. Overall, I thought the drink was comparable to other popular bubble tea places in the city. The menu is focused, consisting of classic flavours, and not overwhelming with choice. If you live in the neighbourhood, Sharetea is a great spot to grab a tasty, good quality bubble tea to go.

November 12th was cold, one of the first nights to dip below zero degrees in the city and I was meeting a girlfriend for dinner and a Coupland reading at Ryerson university. Being in the neighbourhood of my favourite ramen place, Sansotei, dinner was set. We agreed to meet early to avoid the dinner rush. Ramen’s a quick meal though and we had some time to kill before the event. On my walk over I had passed by Kung Fu Tea Shop and their hot tea sounded like the perfect way to stay warm.

All of the drinks at Kung Fu Tea Shop are sweetened with honey and can be ordered with different levels of sweetness. Cold drinks can also be customized with different jellies, tapioca, red bean topping and choice of ice levels. The hot drinks only come in the large size. I ordered a hot rose milk tea, half sweet and my friend had the same with taro flavour. The colours of the tea were pretty pastels and mine had a light rose flavour, that wasn’t overpowering. The honey really brought out the floral taste and was sweet even at the half sweetness level. My friend’s taro tea was more mellow and had a stronger taro taste vs. sweetness. Both drinks were rich and milky.

When I was taking pictures of the shop, the girl behind the counter informed me if I showed her a picture of their ninja mascot on any social media outlet I could get a discount off my next drink. The chubby guy’s so cute, I’m sure he’d be popular even without the promotion.