Baking - October and November

Starting from Top L: 6" chiffon cake, olive, parmesan, rosemary sables, cheese and dill scones, mini choux puffs filled with pastry cream, mushroom shaped meringue, banana muffins, coconut jelly filled papaya, lemon chiffon cake

I've been sporatically baking  or making dessert but just haven't had time to post pictures or a little blurb. Here's a snapshot of some of the items.

Most of the items were quite simple to make and I wouldn't necessarily have anything much to write about except to document my baking progress.  But, I'm especially happy that I got to make mushroom shaped meringues (usually made for Christmas logs)!  They were fairly simple but took a lot longer to dry in the oven then what the recipe stated...maybe I made them a bit larger than stated...but I didn't care :D

Leaf de Tea - one of the best bubble tea deals in Markham!

Leaf de Tea has been around for years but last weekend was my first time trying out their tea.  We were at the First Markham food court and I wanted a milk tea after lunch and noticed Leaf de Tea.  It had the shape of Taiwan in their signage so I wanted to take a closer look. 

I was really surprised to see the prices were so...I don't want to say cheap because the word also has the connotation that the quality is not there...but, you get exceptional value!  How do you beat $2 for a regular bubble tea?! 

Got a regular milk tea and the jasmine milk tea, both without tapioca.  The regular milk tea was quite good, I forgot to ask for half sugar and it wasn't too sweet.  I may ask for less sugar next time but this was definitely pretty good as is.  Tea was flavourful and smooth.  The jasmine milk tea was also good but quite a strong floral taste.

This has got to be one of the best bubble tea deals in Markham, taste and price are both very good!  It doesn't have the youth appeal or social media marketing of Chatime, but it's definitely a good option for a tea drink if you're at First Markham.  And if you're hungry they also have food, also for a great price.  One special included 10 curry fish balls and a bubble tea for $5!!  Anyway, will be back to try other teas and their tapioca for a better review...and their food!

Oh, and free wifi offerred?!  Interesting for a food stand in a food court.

 

Leaf de Tea
First Markham Place
3255 Highway 7, Unit 250
Markham, ON L3R 3P9

December: I'm Dreaming of...

Hot chocolate at Maman Toronto :)

December started out a bit rough for me but I'm glad to have finished writing this post!

 

Christmas shopping, party planning, baking shopping lists have all started.  December is usually when I spend huge amounts of time shopping, baking and eating and it'll likely be the same this December.  However, this December, in the midst of everything festive, I'm Dreaming of...

 

- de-cluttering before the year ends. 

Is that even possible?!  I recently bought a bunch of reading material and plan to add more shortly so I am in immediate need of space!  Hopefully I can de-clutter more than I'm expecting to buy, lol!  But in all seriousness, I tend to hold onto things because I think I'll need something later, but really I should start thinking about what brings me happiness, what things I'll use regularly and what things I use on occasion but will use for mamy many years.  It's probably a good time to donate things too.

 

- an array of side dishes.

I have always looked forward to side dishes at Korean restaurants and about a month or two ago I came across two blog posts (here and here) highlighting places with side dishes that looked so healthy and yummy.  Perfect for balancing out all the sweets and treats this season.  Side dishes are not meant to be time consuming but do take organization to pull off.  Hoping this December I could be just a little bit more organized to make a few!

 

- looking to embrace the coming winter. 

I usually hate the coming of winter because of the cold, snow, slush, and ice.  I was watching an episode about bento boxes and it mentioned that Japanese people take pride in the fact that Japan has 4 distinct seasons and they embrace each season.  This is not a new philosophy and I'm sure not every Japanese person feels that way, but I thought to myself, yes...winter is a season that I should embrace and not lament over the cold.  A lot has to do with perspective.  There is beauty in winter and I love sipping on hot tea while it's cold out; just makes the tea even better!  (Or hot chocolate, coffee, or even hot soup!)

 

Enjoy December!

Kekou - Gelato in Asian Inspired Flavours

Sorry, ate some of the top before snapping! 

I was really tempted to get the whiskey green tea gelato (a combination that all karaoke-goers should know, lol), really, really tempted but alas, I opted for 2 other flavours to top my sugar cone.  I still had work to do, lol!

Kekou specializes in gelato with Asian inspired flavours and their first location on Baldwin was always talked about.  So, when they opened one on Queen West and Spadina, I knew I had to visit. I initially went in thinking I would get their roasted oolong tea gelato (hoping to find something reminisent of the strong tea flavoured ice cream I had in Taiwan), but because you can sample the flavours before purchase (very big plus!), I decided it was a little too sweet for me.  Would have preferred more tea and less sweet, but I could see it being very popular!

In the end, I chose the soursop and black sesame ice cream.  Yummy!  The soursop was sweet and slightly sour while the black sesame had good sesame/nutty flavour and although some people might not like the actual whole sesame seeds in the gelato, I was okay with it.

Service was friendly and they also have a stamp card.  Buy 9 gelatos and get a medium one free or buy 9 drinks and get one free.  And, they also have happy hour, Mon - Fri 3-5pm you get double stamps, sweet!  Oh, AND if you are looking to have other sweet treats or just a hot tea/beverage, all are quite reasonably priced.  My next visit just might involve a lot more than gelato!   

I was tempted to get the milk oolong tea (the only oolong on the menu) as this tea is actually a more unique tea and in Taiwan it is more commonly called "Jin Xuan" (金萱) which is one of the four major cultivars grown there. But, I was headed to Nohohon after.  Being a bit hung up about tea terminology (skip this is your not finicky about terminology), I did notice that when they described oolong tea, they said semi-fermented tea which is not the correct English term.  It is semi-oxidized because the leaf is being oxidized (like how an apple turns brown) rather than fermented which involves yeast or bacteria. In Taiwan, they still use the Chinese characters (發酵) which translates to "ferment" to describe the process, but that was how they historically described it so I can see how it is still used.  Anyway, just a small thing.

Space is quite open with lots of room for customers to stand and stare at the menu, or sample flavours or pay for their products.  There are also 3 large communal tables since eating gelato out in the cold especially during winter is, well..unlikely.  Overall, great place for gelato!

Kekou
394 Queen Street W.
Toronto, ON M5V 2A6
(416) 516-0637
www.kekou.ca

 



Paradise Fine Chinese Dining - Not Worth the Price

House Cold Appetizer: Spicy pickled cloud ear fungus

A month ago we had gone to Paradise Fine Dining for dinner as we were in the mood for something fancier in terms of Chinese cuisine and it was close to home.  When it comes to eating Chinese food, I can be quite picky...especially if they are charging a premium price.  I'm definitely more lenient towards HK Cafes as they are what they claim to be; quick service value restaurants.  So I expect higher end restaurants to serve food and provide service according to their claim that they are "fine dining" and "higher end".

Although the food tasted okay and I was happy to have tried out this restaurant, I don't think the portions, tastes, or service match up with the price they charge. I really had a hard time writing this as I hate spending time on negative things, but I have to tell it like it is.  I did like the cold appetizer they provided free of charge, the spicy pickled cloud ear fungus but, had the prices been more aligned with the taste, I would think more highly of this restaurant. Maybe we didn't choose the "right" dishes or dim sum is much better, but all three dishes we tried just didn't justify the price. 

Steamed fish...ended up being almost $50 for an okay tasting steamed fish.  Nothing wrong with it but it wasn't the best I've had in the city.



Diced Garlic Beef Tenderloin...$22 for beef that tasted good but not spectacular.  The accompaning zucchini pieces were undercooked and lacked flavour as I assume they thought the beef would add flavour to these pieces.  The portion size could have been better.



Braised Tofu and Vegetables...$16 for blocks of tofu and shitake mushrooms that were pretty standard. 

Anyway, if you have deep pockets and want to give them a try, the decor is nice, service was more attentive when we were paying the bill, and food was okay.  They do have a set meal for just over $100 containing lobster and roasted duck (by the way, roast duck alone was $50) that might entice me to return, but right now if I want some high end Chinese food, I'll be looking elsewhere.


Paradise Fine Chinese Dining
5505 Leslie St
Toronto, ON M2H 3B6
(416) 490-8828
http://www.paradisenorthyork.com/

 

 

Nadege - Financial District

I've heard good things about Nadege but have never been to any of their outlets, so when I wanted to pick up a snack I decided to try them out.  The financial district location in the Richmond Adelaide Centre (underground PATH) is a bit of a walk for me, but I figured I needed the walk.

Nice large and open space for downtown. 

After much perusing, I ended up getting a chocolate praline croissant which was pretty tasty.  Good dark chocolate flavour and the layers of laminated dough were good, crispy on top and slightly denser than your traditional croissant which I liked.  The praline didn't play a starring role though.

Pastry section with entrements/tarts was okay looking but nothing enticing enough to buy that day.  I got a chocolate macaron to sample and was a bit disappointed.  The chocolate filling was not very uniform, a bit dry in parts and not really a dark chocolate flavour, more milk chocolate.  The outside did not have as nice a crisp as others. Maybe this was an off day or something because I have heard good things about their macarons.

Had an iced tea (ginger lemon green tea) which was brewed from the brand Kusmi Tea (a French tea brand).  It was okay.  The cup was a bit leaky at the top though and I think the hot cups were a little nicer.  Service was efficient and friendly though.

 

Other offerings include sandwiches, a variety of sweets for gift giving, and chocolates; more specifically Alphabet Chocolate which caught my eye, the P for parmesan chocolate sounded interesting.  Despite the macaron, I'd go back again to give a few other things a try as I did enjoy the croissant or maybe I'll stop by one of their other locations. 

Nadege
THE PATH - Richmond Adelaide Centre
120 Adelaide St. W.
Toronto, ON M5H 1T1
416-368-2009

November: I'm Dreaming of...

Fall is a beautiful time of year and I always feel like apple picking, but this year I didn't make much of an effort to plan an outing.  I've been too obsessed about a few things...one being a milk frother.  I've mentioned before that I've wanted one but the brands I looked at were a little too pricey for me and in the past I tried a battery operated handheld one that didn't work. Then I came across Kuissential and eventually I couldn't resist and bought one off Amazon. 

 

Why a milk frother?  Well, I've always had the desire to make tea lattes and it's perfect for the cold weather that is with us for many months out the year.  And yes, you could just use warmed milk from a saucepan but I want that extra element of froth and the ability to froth cold milk as well...something I've wanted to do ever since seeing some iced tea/coffee drinks in Taipei that look like this:

 

@ La Douceur Patisserie in Taipei - very cute space and the pastries were well made!

 

So, with my new kitchen gadget in hand, I'm dreaming of...

 

...many tea lattes and frothy milk iced tea drinks.

 

And, while I'm making these said tea drinks, I'm dreaming of...

 

...capturing the beauty of the tea leaves. 
I haven't taken pictures with a DSLR for awhile.  I had borrowed my sister's camera once for a few weeks and these were the results:

 

 

 Like them but I remember taking forever!  Hopefully, I'll be able to spend some time practicing my photo taking.





 

Something a little off topic, this month I'm still reading the book 'My Day' The Best of Eleanor Roosevelt's Acclaimed Newspaper Columns, 1936-1962 which is quite a departure from the usual books that interest me. My partner is more knowledgeable on the political scene in America than I and I thought it would be good to do some learning, plus, I liked the aspect that she wrote these columns daily, almost like a blog today, but included her thoughts on political and social issues.  It has been quite interesting as there is so much about American politics during that time and WWII that I never spent too much time learning about before now. Eleanor Roosevelt is definitely a woman that was amazing. 

 

So, I'm thinking of reading other books that differ from my usual.  Maybe about Madame Chiang Kai-Shek who was mentioned in 'My Day'.  Or maybe short stories from Haruki Murakami who's name I came across on 2 different occasions in the last 6 months, one being here, at TheThousandthGirl. I'm definitely going to be on the look out for something else to read after I finish 'My Day'.  Hope it will be just as interesting.

 

Enjoy November!