Royal Teahouse was one of the first dim sum spots in Markham that I ever visited and I still remember their adorable hedgehog buns. I went to high school in Mississauga and and never ventured into the York region until university, where I met a group of friends all from Markham. During summer breaks, I made the drive east every few weeks and I’d get a taste of what the suburb had to offer. Today, Stephen and I are in Markham often to see his parents or to eat. We re-visited Royal Teahouse recently in search of fluffy hedgehog buns.

Atmosphere: We arrived at the restaurant around 10am on a Saturday and the dining room was mostly full. Small and large round tables were full with families enjoying the weekend tradition of morning dim sum. Royal Teahouse is on the smaller side and we were worried about having to wait, but my in-laws were able to grab a table for us when they arrived. The decor is a on the more elegant side and up to date compared to similar spots in the neighbourhood.

Service: Orders at Royal Teahouse were placed using ordering sheets, the restaurant was not push cart style. I found the English translation of the dish names to be a bit confusing and Stephen and I would have struggled on our own without his parents. There also seemed to be a mix up in the kitchen as steamers kept arriving before we had even handed in our sheet. Fortunately, the mix up didn’t impact any of the dishes we did order and the servers were quick to handle each error.

Food: Between the four of us, we ordered 9 or 10 dishes. While the shrimp dumplings were plump, I found the skins a bit doughy and they stuck to the parchment paper. The bowl of congee was a good portion and I liked the consistency.

My favourite dishes were the rice rolls and chicken feet. A generous bowl of sauce was served with the rice rolls along with two dipping sauces. The wrapper was thin, had a great texture and the dough fritters inside were still crispy and airy. I really enjoyed the flavour of the chicken feet and the skin fell off of the bones. A few other dishes we tried were the turnip cake, not bad but underseasoned, short ribs, savoury and tender, steamed tripe, tender but again very underseasoned.

Our meal ended with leaky sand buns that were perfect. Overall, the food was ok. Some of the plates were good, others mediocre, but nothing stood out. Hedgehog buns were no longer available. Royal Teahouse offers special pricing on weekends from 9am-11am where all plates are priced at a small size when paying with cash.

Continuing my food adventure in Vancouver, I had grand plans to visit 3 ramen shops in one afternoon. We only managed to fit in two, as both stops had a minimum order of one bowl/person. Our first stop at Jinya Ramen Bar far outshined our second stop at Kintaro, which was disappointing in both their broth and noodle texture. Jinya Ramen Bar, was delicious. Originated in California, Jinya has multiple locations throughout the US and 4 shops in Vancouver. They just recently opened a Toronto location this May and there’s a Calgary location coming soon. I’ve yet to visit the Toronto location, but was very excited to spot the restaurant under construction after our meal in vancouver.

Atmosphere: Of the 4 Vancity JInya locations, I chose to visit the Robson St. one based on its central location. The shop had a good number of seats including two large communal tables. Most of the diner were pairs or singles and turnover was quick. We arrived right as doors opened for lunch and didn’t have to wait for long, even with a group of 4. The restaurant did ask that the entire party was there before seating anyone. By the time we left, a short queue had formed outside.

Service: With the quick turnover of tables, service was efficient and professional. There wasn’t any aspect that was memorable, positive or negative.

Food: Both The Hubby and I stuck to tonkotsu broth. He ordered the Premium Tonkotsu White with chashu, wood ear mushroom, seasoned egg, and thin noodles. I had the Tonkotsu Spicy, mild. The default topping on my bowl was chashu, bean sprouts, wood ear mushroom, green onion and thick noodles. I chose to add a seasoned egg and corn. For both our orders, the seasoned eggs was served on the side.

Breaking down the bowl, first up is the broth. I really enjoyed the depth of flavour and thickness of the broth. The liquid gold was savoury, milky, and lip-smacking good. The broth was quite salty. I had a sip of The Hubby’s broth, which was a blend of chicken and pork broth. The combination was less dense but fattier. As for toppings, I liked the selection of the default inclusions and how crunchy the vegetables were. I am used to the chashu being torched and more rendered than how Jinya served it. The chashu was very tender. Lastly, the noodles were perfect, had and excellent chewiness, was a good portion size and wonderful to slurp up.

While I was in elementary school my mom packed me a sandwich for lunch everyday, but never managed to master them. I told her I liked mustard and salami sandwiches, my mom took that feedback and added mustard to every sandwich, including tuna and egg ones. Then if we were out of mustard for salami, she’d substitute with ketchup, because ketchup was still a sauce and I liked sauces. While my mom’s idea of innovation led to odd flavour pairings, Teara Lab’s creativity translated to unique and delicious fusion sandwiches. If only they were around 15 years ago to inspire my mom.

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

I was invited to the soft opening on Teara Lab, a new fast casual restaurant specializing in Japanese fusion sandwiches located across the street from the UofT St. George campus. The innovative sandwich creations come from the head chef of KaKa All You Can Eat, currently one of the most popular Japanese restaurants in Markham. The shop has been fully renovated from it’s previous incarnation with pristine white walls and modern panel molding. Black iron cafe style chairs and marble topped tables added to the elegant feel of the space.

A couple of other bloggers and I decided to split our orders, so we could try a quarter of each sandwich.

• Red Wine Braised Short Rib Sandwich – Served on a thick hotdog bun, the short rib was tender with a lingering red wine flavour. This sandwich had tomatoes, lettuce, mayonnaise and was topped with crispy onions, havarti cheese and sprinkled with seaweed powder. Of the four sandwiches I tried, this was the most savoury and filling one.
• Tonkatsu Pork Burger – A deep fried pork cutlet served on a burger bun with honey dijon mustard, shredded cabbage, tomato and cucumber. I found the breading on the tonkatsu lost its crunch under the sauce and other ingredients. While the pork was tender, the seasoning was mild.
• Teriyaki Chicken Burger – Chunks of baked dark meat served on a burger bun with lettuce, tomato, bacon and wasabi mayo. I loved the wasabi mayo that added heat and creaminess. I also liked that dark meat was used, instead of white, which I prefer and find tastier.
• Soy Glazed Pork Belly Sandwich – A thick slab of glazed pork belly was served between slices of white bread with layers of kimchi, avocado and nori. I loved this sandwich. Since the sandwich was built in layers, each bite had a variety of textures. There was heat fro and acidity from the kimchi, creaminess from the avocado and a hint of umami from the seaweed. The pork belly itself was sweet, savoury and had the fat rendered well.

Each sandwich could be ordered as a combo with a side and drink. Currently the sides available were seasoned fries (with seaweed powder) or yam fries. The drink selection is broader and more Asian inspired with fruit teas, milk teas, slushes, creamas and ramune.

My first encounter with Caplansky’s was actually at their Pearson location before I flew to Europe last April. While I was unfamiliar, The Hubby was well acquainted, having worked near their College St. location at one point and we decided a smoked meat sandwich was the perfect way to say “brb” to Toronto. We were right. So when Caplansky’s contacted me just a month later to stop by their latest Yorkville location, I eagerly replied yes..

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

Walking into the new deli location, I was welcomed by the man on the mustard labels himself, Zane Caplansky. After grabbing a fountain drink, I jumped right in line to fill my plate with sandwiches, fries and latkes (after photos of course). The restaurant was self-serve and will have a fully stocked AYCE mustard and pickle bar. The main dining area was dominantly white with an accent wall decorated with a playful pickle and mustard wallpaper.

While the sandwiches were the star of lunch, I also enjoyed the fresh salads and fries. The latkes served with apple sauce were a unique side option, but I do prefer my potatoes more crispy. When I think Caplansky’s, I immediately think of their smoked meat sandwiches. A thick layer of thinly sliced, fatty smoked meat, served between two pieces of buttered rye bread. I squeezed on a liberal amount of mustard before biting into the hefty sandwich. My only wish would’ve been for a thicker cut of the smoked meat.

I also had a chance to try the BBQ brisket and smoked turkey sandwiches and really enjoyed the turkey. This was lighter compared to the smoked meat but still had a lot of flavour.

Tito Ron’s began in 2015 as a pop-up for Chef Tristen to share her love of lumpia, a filipino spring roll, with Toronto. Run by Chef Tristan and her fiance Michael, Tito Ron’s combines Caribbean flavours with traditional Filipino comfort food. After a year at food festivals and their recent successful Kickstarter campaign, Tristen and Michael have found a permanent home in Kensington market to continue developing their recipes and sharing the delicious results. I was invited Tito Ron’s new digs for an intimate lumpia tasting.

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

Tito Ron’s has moved into the shared space of 214 Augusta Ave, where many other Kensington Market favourites had their start like Seven Lives. The space was cosy with a handful of seats near the back. A chalkboard sign listed the daily menu behind the custom, hand-painted counter. Michael hosted and introduced us to each dish, while Tristen put together each tasty bite. In general, all of the lumpia were crispy with thin wrappers and not too oily. I did prefer the sweet fillings over the savoury ones.

Jerk Chicken Adobo Lumpia – Filling of chicken thighs marinated in jerk seasoning, cooked in a Filipino adobo sauce, served with house hot sauce and achara (pickled pineapple slaw). I would say this was the safest choice on the menu with milder flavours. For me, I enjoyed the lumpia with an added dollop of hot sauce.

Channa Lumpia – Vegetarian friendly filling of chickpea mixed with Caribbean curry, served topped with sweet tamarind bbq sauce and achara. The tamarind flavour in the sauce was strong and went well with the seasoned chickpeas.

Tocino – Sliced pork shoulder, marinated with a combination of pineapple juice and soy sauce to create a wonderful balance of sweet and salty. The pork shoulder was then fried and served as sliders on a Caribbean Tennis Roll. Delicious. The tocino can also be ordered on rice.

Lechon Kawali – Tito Ron’s version of Lechon includes double frying the pork belly skin to maximizes crispiness. Pictured below is a half portion of the Lechon (we had lots of samples to get through).

Purple Plantain Lumpia – Filled with Ube Halaya (a Filipino dessert made with purple yam) and topped with mango condensed milk and plantain chip butter crumble. The filling was sweet, earth and similar to taro. While the topping was a handful to say, it was crunchy, buttery with a hint of the plantain taste. I was reminded of a caramel brittle. While the tropical ingredients were hard to discern, it was amazing.

Sweet Potato Pudding Lumpia – Filled with sweet potato and topped with a spiced coconut caramel drizzle and plantain chip butter crumble. Again, the topping was complex, but similarly mouthwatering. I liked how the lumpia itself wasn’t too sweet, creating a great base for the topping.
In addition to the food, I loved the fresh cantaloup juice, served with a frozen cantaloupe ice cube. Tristen continues to expand and refine Tito Ron’s menu and I can’t wait to see what else she comes up with. Filipino food is still one cuisine that’s beginning to come to life in Toronto and as an eater, I’m eager to learn more about it.

After Bali, the next part of our honeymoon was a 14 day tour through South East Asia. We booked a private, customized tour through Laos Tour Packages, a company that my in-laws have used before. Our itinerary took us through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, with 4 star accommodations in each city, a private driver and local tour guide. The package included all airfare in between cities, from Bali to Hanoi and from Bangkok to Hong Kong (where we were flying back to Toronto from).

This was my first experience with a tour package, and while the days were full, having the planning and research taken care of for this part of our honeymoon was a true stress reliever at a hectic time in life. We gave the tour company an idea of what kind of trip we were looking for (first time visitor, interested in food) and they put together an initial itinerary. We could then veto or add sights and attractions if we wanted to. Most days ran from morning to late afternoon with breakfast at the hotel and lunch at a local restaurant. We explored the cities on our own during the evenings and for dinner.

We arrived in Hanoi in the evening, and a representative from the tour company met us at the airport with our local tour guide and driver to bring us to the hotel. The SUV was comfortable, and again, most importantly, air conditioned. After helping us check-in, we bid our farewells and set a meeting time for the next day (9am). For dinner, The Hubby and I went down the street, to grab our first bowl of pho from a tiny shop recommended by the hotel front desk. This would remain one of the best bowls of pho we had the entire trip.

Our first day in Hanoi was a tour of the city that included visiting the Ho Chi Minh Complex, Temple of Literature, the Museum of Ethnology, a cyclo tour through the Old Quarter and a watching a Water Puppet Show. A packed schedule like this would become the norm for the next 13 days. I learned a lot about Vietnam’s turbulent history, much more than I knew before and from a perspective not common in Western culture, that was at times uncomfortable.

My favourite stop was the Temple of Literature, which felt like a calm oasis in the middle of the busy city, a snapshot in time. After walking through the serene gardens, we had lunch at KOTO on Van Mieu, located close by. The restaurant was run by KOTO, a non-profit organization with the aim to teach disadvantaged and impoverished youth English, cooking and hospitality skills. These skills allow KOTO (Know One, Teach One) graduates to find jobs and support themselves, moving out of poverty.

In addition to being a good cause, lunch at KOTO was delicious. We ate the set menu that had rice paper rolls, shredded chicken salad, duck, soup, vegetables and a stir fried beef. Our table was overflowing with plates. Each course featured fresh ingredients and plenty of colourful vegetables, mildly seasoned letting the natural flavours shine through. I love getting my fill of vegetables while travelling, a typically difficult task.

Menus were in English and service friendly. No one’s English was perfect, but we didn’t have any issues ordering iced Vietnamese coffee with some repetition and hand gestures. Lunch was satisfying and re-fueled us for the afternoon.

After touring the morning market in Ubud, we were shuttled to Wayan’s house where his wife Puspa led us through preparing a traditional Balinese feast. There were 25 approximately 25 students in the class and everyone was involved in cooking. I liked the structure of the class, preparation of the ingredients was broken up into stations and students rotated through them, students then paired up at stations and took turns cooking each dish. Each pair’s contribution was then added to a large pot and mixed together, which meant mistakes were hidden. Even if your dish was a little burnt or had a pinch too much salt, once in the big pot, the final product was delicious.

Many of the dishes we cooked had lots of vegetables, which I loved since usually vegetables are hard to fit into meals when travelling. There were also no small appliances in the cooking class, this was the traditional way of cooking. Puspa mentioned how a food processor would cut down a lot of prep time, but she wanted us to have an authentic experience. Every sauce was made from scratch, fresh raw ingredients and blended using a Bali Blender, aka by hand with a mortar and pestle. Almost all of the dishes included yellow sauce, which has close to 20 ingredients. With the tasks of mincing and grinding broken up though, it took no time at all to put together.

To start, I was at the deep frying tempeh station. One of the assistants showed me the colour I wanted to achieve for the tempeh and kept an eye on me since this was one of the more “difficult” stations. The Hubby was set to work dicing long beans before being moved to the Bali Blender to work on grinding fried peanuts. His wrist was sore, but the aroma of fresh peanut sauce was mouth watering.

After all the ingredients were diced, minced and chopped, there was a break while Puspa demonstrated how to make yellow sauce using a giant mortar and pestle. Students took turns to try their hand at pounding out the sauce. During this time, the prepared ingredients were measured out for each dish and couple. The flow of the class was at a good pace and efficient, we were always active and there was very little waiting time.

For each dish, Puspa demonstrated the instructions and then walked around to each station as we cooked. In general, one person was responsible for adding seasoning while the other cooked. With each dish, The Hubby and I switched roles. In addition to curries and salads, we also wrapped fish in banana leaves to be steamed and made skewers on sugarcane that was grilled.

Once we were done cooking, all of the food was set up buffet style to be enjoyed. The food was delicious, rich in flavours, fresh and fragrant. I had two full plates and went back for a third helping of bean salad. Creating such a tasty meal in the communal effort was incredibly fun and satisfying.

Overall, both The Hubby and I had an incredible tine with Paon Cooking Class. We enjoyed the hands-on teaching style, Wayan and Puspa’s easy-going humour made them fun hosts, and the food was really good. In fact, better than a popular traditional Bali restaurant we tried the night before. For anyone visiting Bali, I would highly recommend including a cooking class in your itinerary, even to make the time for one. 

One of the coolest days I had in Bali was spent with Paon Cooking Class. In fact, The Hubby and I enjoyed our market tour and hands-on experience so much, we’ve started researching similar classes for our next vacation (One month until Italy!). Based on Ubud, the concierge at the St. Regis helped us book a morning class the day before. Two start times were available, 8:30am, which included a tour of the Ubud old market and 4:00pm, which was cooking only. The cost was 350,000 IDR per person, about $35 Canadian with today’s exchange rates. While we had our driver drop us off at the meeting location in Ubud, Paon Cooking Class does offer pick up services. The class itself took place in a Balinese village a short drive away and a shuttle service was provided to bring us back to any address in Ubud.

We chose to go with the morning class, which meant leaving Nusa Dua at 7am. As much as I hate early mornings, walking through the market was worth the extra caffeine I needed. When we arrived at Ubud, we met up with our guide, Wayan, who was lovely. Wayan and his wife run Paon Cooking Classes and he was our tour guide for the morning. His English was accented, easy to understand and full of humour. Our group was made up of tourists from Australia, Europe and Singapore with the majority being couples, many on honeymoons, a group of friends and one solo girl who was in Bali for work.

Wandering through the market, Wayan would stop at certain stalls and explain the products being sold and answer questions. The market itself was located in a stone building with a few levels. Produce was on the lower levels while meat was in the basement. Wayan included details about how the market was deeply rooted in everyday Indonesian life and how vendors pass down their spots through generations. We sampled fresh fruits, like mangosteen and passion fruit and learned about how essential pandan was in Indonesian cooking. Throughout the tour, Wayan pointed out ingredients that we would be cooking with later that day.

In addition to fresh fruit and produce, the market also sold bales of flower petals (used in crafting daily offerings). After 9am, the produce vendors pack up and the market becomes an art market filled with souvenirs and handcrafts. As is, by the time we had arrived, all of the meat vendors were cleaning up. A blessing as the market wasn’t overly hygienic and strong odurs still lingered. Wayan actually gave each guest a flower blossom to smell if they found the meat section of the market too overpowering.

After our market tour, we piled into shuttles and headed to his house for the next part of our day, cooking.

Dumpling house on Spadina near Dundas has been an institution in Chinatown for as long as I remember. Walking by, I’d always pause at the store window and watch the ladies expertly roll out wrappers and fold dumplings at a lightning pace. Today, there’s a handful of new dumpling restaurants in Chinatown but I still like like the classic.

Decor: I was surprised walking into Dumpling house. The restaurant looked quite different, with a modern facelift since my last visit years ago. Walls were decorated with Chinese opera masks and mirrors. Bright red accents filled the room from the tables to the ceilings and created a distinctly Asian feel (along with the hanging chilis and rope knot pendants). The space was cramped but clean. Most of the tables were set up for groups of 2 or 4 and our party occupied the single large round table.

Service: Coming with 6 people, I was worried about getting a table at lunch on a Saturday. We arrived just before noon and was seated while still missing 2 people. I didn’t feel rushed to order by the servers, but with the general hectic vibe in the restaurant, I did feel guilty holding onto a table. We ended up placing our order before everyone had arrived, with the possibility of adding more dumplings if needed. Plates of food arrived quickly. Near the end of our meal, the restaurant had reached capacity and there were diners waiting at the door. The manager/owner began yelling at her staff loudly in Mandarin to settle bills and clear tables faster. It was jarring and a bit uncomfortable, the one sour note to the meal but not directly related to service. Dumpling House Restaurant is a good stop to get a meal, but not the venue to linger and chat.

Food: In addition to dumplings, Dumpling House does serve typical Chinese dishes like fried rice and stir fried beef and broccoli. The restaurant also offers noodle bowls and a good selection of Chinese side dishes (cold salads typically with a chili/sesame/garlic/vinegar dressing). We were there though for the dumplings. While walking to our table, I did pass a bowl of hot and sour soup and couldn’t resist. For only $4, the order of soup was filled with ingredients, made with savoury chicken broth, had a great balance of flavours and was a huge portion. There was enough in one serving for everyone to slurp a small bowl or two.

Dumplings were ordered steamed ($7.59 for 15) or pan-fried ($7.99 for 12). With each cooking style, you could mix three filling flavours on a plate for an extra $1. I like to order 1 plate of dumplings/person. Both steamed and pan-fried dumplings have their selling points. Generally, with steamed dumplings I like fillings that are partially meat and strongly seasoned, to be dipped in chilli oil, soy sauce and vinegar. With pan-fried dumplings, I like fillings that are all meat and fattier, which fills the dumpling with savoury oily soup when cooked.

We ordered one plate of pork and chive steamed dumplings, one pan-fried beef, one pan-fried lamb, one pan-fried shrimp and pork, and one pan-fried pork dumpling. Each plate of dumplings is fried in a single pan and served upside down to show off their crispy, golden brown bottoms. Almost better than the dumplings, the crispy fried bits in between the dumplings. This lattice of goodness is formed from the flour-water mixture used to steam the dumplings in the pan before they crisp up.

The steamed dumplings were plump, juicy and the wrappers were thin but wonderfully chewy. The pan-fried dumplings had the perfect bottoms and each filling was rich and meaty. I found the lamb dumplings very gamey, which The Hubby loved. Overall, Dumpling House Restaurant’s handmade dumplings are still one of my favourite meals in Chinatown at a very affordable price. While I’m getting better at making steamed/boiled dumplings at home, I have a long ways to go before even coming close to their pan-fried ones.

My time in Hong Kong this summer centred around The Hubby’s childhood memories and traditions. One thing he always does when in Hong Kong is pop over the border to Luoho Commercial City in Shenzhen for custom tailored suits. I tagged along to help pick out fabrics, get a foot massage and grab dim sum.

We took a train from Mong Kok to the border, passed through customs and was greeted by a the giant 5 storey shopping centre filled with small shops (think Pacific Mall) from clothing to accessories, shoes and electronics. There were no brand name stores and many offered wholesale pricing and quantities. We headed straight to the “tailor” section of the building, which was filled with small shops and packed with samples. The Hubby’s family has been visiting the same tailor for as long as he could remember. We flipped through a magazine of suit styles and settled on one before moving on to thick books of fabric swatches. Throughout all this, I assumed his aunts agreed to pricing and bargained it out in Cantonese while we focused on just shopping. The Hubby ended up ordering three suits, which his aunts helped pick up and ship to Canada.

After our main goal for the trip was done, we were rewarded with dim sum at Laurel Restaurant, located on the 5th floor of Luoho Commercial City. The large restaurant was very busy and hectic with every table filled and a line outside. We ordered a table full of dishes and none disappointed, I especially enjoyed the hot clay pot dishes and flakey bbq pork roll. I found the skin on the shrimp dumplings a little thick, but the chicken feet were tender and juicy. Of all the meals in Hong Kong, this one was the closest in style and flavour to Cantonese restaurants in Toronto. Service was efficient and professional.