Destination Thailand is Canada’s largest Thai festival and will be held this Saturday (Sept 10th) at Yonge and Dundas square. The all day event, running from from 11am to 8pm, celebrates the country’s cuisine, culture and of course Signha beer. Organized by the Royal Thai Embassy and the Thai Trade Centre, the event will feature delicious food from Toronto’s top Thai restaurants. All of the restaurants are Thai Select certified, a mark of authentic Thai food around the world. Globally, there are 1429 Thai Select restaurants and 88 are in Canada. 8 of these restaurants will be at Destination Thailand including my favourite, Pai Northern Thai Kitchen.

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

I had the chance to visit The Thai Trade Centre in Toronto last month and preview some of the tasty food that will be available at this year’s event. From curries to desserts, each vendor showcased their take on classic Thai dishes. I started my food journey at Pai, where Chef Nuit plated up Chicken Skewers with Grilled Pork Jowl and Sticky Rice wrapped in a banana leaf. The skewers and sliced pork jowl were grilled right before serving, which meant the amazing aroma of grilled meat filled the air. My mouth watered as I eagerly watched my plate come together.

Soi Thai was serving up Khao Kha Moo, a stewed pork hock dish, over rice with a side of pickled veggies and half a hard boiled egg. This bowl was savoury, hearty and the pork hock wonderfully tender. I liked the contrast of the acidic pickled veggies to the super rich hock.

Bangkok Garden offered a Vegetarian Curry and Toasted Cashew Chicken, while Golden Thai had a pot full of creamy Lamb Curry and fried Tempeh Skewers. Linda Modern Thai’s chef put together bites of Beef Salad and Lemongrass Chicken. Both of these dishes used fragrant herbs and were strong in flavour.

To me, the most interesting dishes I had tried that night were the selection of sweets from Patchmon’s, a shop specializing Thai desserts. These included cookies, layered cream pots, and custards. Patchmon imports many of their ingredients directly from Thailand and all of their desserts are handmade by the owner. Some of the flavours heavily featured were coconut, taro and tapioca. I loved the Sweet Tapioca with Coconut Cream and Steamed Flower with Coconut Filling.

With dance performances, muay thai demonstrations, Thai massage, refreshing Signha beer and amazing food, the 3rd annual Destination Thailand event will bring an authentic taste of Thailand to the heart of Toronto.

Ramen joints have been popping up all over Toronto the past year to great popularity and demand. The trend is a welcome addition to the foodscape of the city as a low-priced, delicious and quick meal, but really…how sustainable is it? Personally, I adore ramen and am enjoying the new options available. Hopefully, any new noodle places continue the trend with high quality food and a true understanding of the depth of flavours involved in a good bowl, not just jumping on the bandwagon for quick buck.

Atmosphere: After waiting for an hour outside in January, we were happy to just get inside. Our part of 6 shared a communal table with two other diners. The interior space is small, at most seats 25 but not crowded with a lot of wood decor and clean feel. A few people had luggage with them (coming/going from the bus station across the street??) which was a little awkward but still manageable.

Service: Since it seems there’s always a line outside, it’s hard not to feel rushed. Also, with a limited menu, there’s little time needed between the order’s placed and the ramen’s ready; my table was in and out in under an hour. The servers didn’t precisely rush us, but they were efficient and cleared the table as soon as a plate was clean, and then proceeded with the bill. This isn’t a place to linger and chat for sure.

Food: I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen with thin noodles and a Chashu Don (bbq pork belly on rice) was split for the table. The ramen broth was thick and creamy, not over salted and I liked the texture of the noodles. The soft boiled egg was also cooked well and I liked the added black fungus. There was no added garlic paste  and the pork itself was a bit bland but the tasty broth made up for that, which my empty bowl attested to. For the Chashu Don, the sauce was good and the pork belly was crispy, it’s a good order for anyone who wouldn’t be satisfied with just the ramen, but not a must have

Lil Baci is located within a few blocks of work for me and has been picked up into my roster of lunch venues in the area. The menu is within a good price range for lunch ($15-$25), the portions aren’t oversized but filling and of course delicious.

I usually order the soup (made fresh daily)  and ½ sandwich combo and have tried the Ragu Boy (pictured below) , Italian BLT and Lil Baci Hero. A side salad is served with each plate, very lightly dressed. Some of the lettuce pieces were still full leaves, which I didn’t mind but I did have to cut it up myself a little. As for the sandwich itself, I love the fresh baked bread. It’s soft, airy and just soaks up the sauce. For the Ragu Boy, the pork was tender and fell apart easily. I would recommend any of the three sandwiches I’ve tried. The side soup of the combo is served in a small espresso sized mug, this portion could be bigger. The service is always excellent and our water jug was always full.

Next Visit: The pizzas

The fresh pasta at Campagnolo is one of the best I’ve had in the city, this is a restaurant I’d highly recommend.

Atmosphere: Since my friend and I stopped by the August, the weather was nice enough to sit on their enclosed and shaded patio. Tables were spaced out and I really liked the clean lines of the serving ware.

Service: Personally, the service fine during my visit, we weren’t rushed or ignored. However recently I have heard mixed reviews from friends who had poor experiences. I would say for the quality of the meal, it’s worth it to be patient if needed.

Food: For appetizers, we started with the steak tartar and roasted bone marrow with plum marmalade, both of which were delicious. I liked that the tartar came with a truffle egg sauce rather than a straight raw egg. Many restaurants in Toronto now have bone marrow on their menu, what differentiates the dish at Campagnolo is the use of plum, which really compliments the richness of the marrow.

I had the house made pappardelle with rabbit and mushrooms while my dining partner had the spaghetti all’amatriciana. The texture and flavour of the pasta was excellent and cooked al dente, the serving size was filling and the sauce was well proportioned. The rabbit was also tender and flavourful.

It really was a great meal. We finished off splitting the salted caramel budino, which was a great combination of sweet and salty, crunchy and smooth. I can’t wait for my next visit.

The Distillery District is one of my favourite areas in Toronto. The older architecture, cobblestone paths are charming and warm. I love spending the afternoon Window shopping with a wonderful selection of specialty stores and small galleries, seeing a show at the Soulpepper theatre or enjoying the delicious gelato and fresh chocolate at Soma. There’s usually events going on in the area during the summer, and it’s a great busy location to visit. The Mill St Brewery Pub offers all of their beers on tap as well as their special seasonal brews.

Atmosphere: It was a super busy night, luckily we got a table near the bar instead of having to wait for room in the dining area. The decor’s very industrial and there’s a souvenir shop off to the side. It’s not tacky and set up unobtrusively.

Service: Our server was great. It may have been because we were closer to the bar and didn’t have an assigned server, but we got a lot of attention and it was food arrived quickly. Our main server was personable and chatted with us about the menu.

Food: My dinner partner and I opted to share our dishes and try their sampler drink selection consisting of four 8oz glasses. I had the (left to right) Original Organic, Lager, Ginger, Lemon Tea and Raspberry beers. I’ve always liked the Organic, very light and it was good palate cleanser between the other beers that had stronger flavours, like the Ginger. The Ginger was overwhelming, so much ginger flavour and a bit bitter. I really liked the Lemon Tea and the Raspberry beers. My friend thought the raspberry flavour was really strong but I didn’t taste it as much. She also ordered the Cobblestone, which grew on her as we ate but it didn’t agree with my tastebuds, super bitter.

For food, we shared the Pulled Pork Tacos and the Lobster and Avocado Club sandwich. The size of the tacos were just right, with a good portion of pulled pork. I liked the corn, but the guacamole was too creamy for my taste. I prefer a chunkier texture. The avocado lobster club was very good. It had a lot of seafood, didn’t skimp on the protein with a nice multi-grain bread, fresh tomato, lettuce and avocado. The coleslaw on the side was also very crisp, not too much creamy and a good bite, sour kick.

My friend had a great Groupon for Insomnia, which included a cheese plate, entree, dessert and a drink along with each course. The cafe’s located right on the south east corner of Bathurst and Bloor and was very easy to find.

Atmosphere: We made reservations for a Friday night and they were ready with the table. The seating areas were varied with a bar area, traditional tables at the front, a lounge area with couches in the back and where we sat, two armchairs set up with a small round table in between. The table was really small, it would’ve been sufficient if we were just having drinks, but for a full meal, the room was tight. The armchair were also far away from the table and we had lean forward to eat as well as hold a conversation. It was a Friday night, so the noise level was loud and the restaurant was full capacity. The lighting was dim, and would’ve very romantic with the isolated tables. I also liked the art on the walls, there was a lot of variety and themes.

Service: The service was attentive, there wasn’t any wait time between courses and our drinks were brought right away. For the cheese plate appetizer, each different cheese was introduced. The server patiently listed our drink options several times while we decided.

Food: Overall the food was pretty good, the entrees were pretty normal. We ordered the steak, medium rare, which turned out nicely pink. The salmon flaked easily and wasn’t overcooked. The grilled vegetable skewer that came with the salmon was kind of a write off, not very much vegetables, and it also came with a huge dollop of garlic butter. We actually used the garlic butter to eat the mashed potatoes with that otherwise, would’ve been a bit too dry.

I did really enjoy the flat bread and cheese platter. The flat bread was warm and toasted, and I loved that they served a selection of fruit with the cheese. There was a soft cheese, a mild hard cheese and one that was more aged. I don’t know my cheeses very well and don’t usually like it, however the choices were all mild enough, especially accompanied by the fruit that we polished off the plate.

For dessert, we finished with a creme brulee and chocolate cake. The creme brulee was delicious, perfect burnt top, the chocolate was a little much. It was a lot of chocolate and very sweet. We also enjoyed a lovely glass of sparkling champagne, on top of the two glasses of white wine I had already enjoyed.

I liked the restaurant and the atmosphere was fun. I would love to re-visit to check out their promising brunch and extensive drink menu.

Coquine is a French Bistro, just south of Eglinton on Yonge with an amazing covered patio. It’s one of a few mid-range restaurants in the area, which I will be adding to my lunch rotation when in need of finer fare.

Atmosphere: We opted to enjoy our meal outside, on their patio and it was a beautiful day. Tables were well set, although a touch small for all the cutlery and dishes. The cover was nice, as it provided fresh air and sunlight, without baking in the sun.

Service: Service was pleasant. The server opened with introducing the daily specials and bread was delivered to the table promptly. The bus girl also tried very  hard to arrange all the dishes (bread plate, fries, main, etc) on the limited surface area.

Food: The omelette of the day sounded very appetizing, with bacon and dried blueberries, however we were looking for something more filling. I ordered the Moules Frites (mussels and fries) in a white wine sauce and my companion the Grilled Salmon. The white wine sauce was delicious, I may have polished off a lot more bread than necessary because of it. The mussels were really fresh and not over cooked. I personally like fries that aren’t crispy (a la Swiss Chalet), and these were perfect. The portion was also quite large and I only finished half the bowl myself. The ketchup and mayonnaise served with the fries were fine, nothing out of the ordinary though. All in all, a good meal, a higher price point for every day lunch but perfect for a treat.

Moroco Chocolat

• Address: 99 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto
• Visited: 04/21/2011, Dessert
• Cuisine: Dessert
• Rating: C* [$]
• Website: http://morocochocolat.com/

Bite-Size Review

I visited Moroco Chocolat in April specifically to taste their Macarons as I had heard quite a bit about the dessert boutique and entered with high expectations. We arrived close to the end of the day and had to wait for the last batch of macarons to arrive from the kitchen. 10 flavours are offered in total, so we opted for the package of a dozen. The flavours were strong, almost overpowering, and didn’t leave your taste buds confused. However, nothing was a standout for me.

The classic pistachio macaron was good, but not earth-shatteringly amazing. The amount of filling used was a good ratio to the size of the shell, which were on the chewy, denser side. Since I do prefer a lighter shell, Moroco didn’t live up to the hype and I was a little disappointed.

~$35 for a dozen macarons, this was on the pricier side and because the quality of the macarons was nothing to write home about, Toronto has better macarons to offer.

La Bambouche

• Address: 4 Manor Road East, Toronto
• Visited: 07/06/2011, Dessert
• Cuisine: Dessert
• Rating: A* [$]
• Website: http://labamboche.ca/

Bite-Size Review

The macarons at La Bambouche suit my taste pretty much perfectly. The flavours have an Asian twist (with flavours such as yuzu lemon, ume and green tea) and the shells are delicately light and crunchy. The yuzu macaron is delightful with a hint of sourness. The caramel sea salt macaron smartly uses caramel buttercream filling, not actual caramel, which would be hard to eat and too thick for the light shell.

I have tried all of the flavours offered, but am always surprised with their “mystery” macaron that changes daily (so far I’ve tasted strawberry and vanilla). I also love that their pistachio macaron isn’t comically green. In general, I love how subtle, yet distinct the flavours are. These are the best macarons I’ve had in Toronto so far.

Lucky for me (or not), La Bambouche is within a 5 minute walk from work. Their macarons have now become my go to for an afternoon pick me up.$2.50 each, buy 6 or more to waive the sales tax.