Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration with a New Tea Set

The Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday celebrating the moon and harvest, is September 8th this year.  Every year I buy moon cakes for my mom and my family and this year will be no exception.  But, for best selection, you have to buy your moon cakes in advance of the 8th.  Chinese bakeries and supermarkets all over the city have them for sale now and in so many different versions from traditional lotus seed paste ones to "snowy" ones (冰皮月餅) that are frozen (will have more on this later).  I'll drink tea when I have moon cake, so when I saw that T&T Supermarket was advertising 50% off a tea set with any purchase of a box of moon cake, I jumped!  I already have a number of tea sets but I love collecting tea sets and it does fill a gap in my small collection.  The tea set ends up being $12.99 for a pot and 6 cups in a traditional motif, and at this price I wasn't expecting a high quality tea set.  For a few reasons, it's not perfect...

There is also one in pink, different design though.

Metal strainer included.

The set is a basic set and I like the floral design.  However, the teapot when full did not pour very nicely.  Tea leaks out from the top and I should have expected this as the lid was not snug, with and without the strainer.  I also think this is because the opening where the tea drains is also at the top so you have to tilt the pot quite a bit.  When the tea pot is not as full, it pours fine.  It also drips slightly at the spout unless you pour quickly.

Normally if something doesn't work well I wouldn't bother writing about it but I do like the cups.  I really like how the cup fits in my hand and the edge of the cup is made thin compared to the body of the cup.  This is done to enhance the tea tasting experience.  The body of the cup also doesn't get too hot so you can hold the cup comfortably when the tea is hot.

So, the cups are great in this set,...the pot, not so much.  The pot's volume is about 1.5 cups of water when filled to the brim so you can adjust the amount of tea leaves you use to this volume.  This is perfect for tea for two or enough for a few friends to enjoy a taste, hence 6 cups.

This offer is until September 8th or while quantities last so if you want to pick up an "okay" traditional Chinese tea set, you can get this at a discount at T&T Supermarket with the purchase of any box of moon cakes.

Lee Namjang - Mixed feelings

We came here a while ago but I haven't posted because I wasn't really sure what to say.  But, one of the dishes we had stood out, so it deserves a mention here.  It's one of the few Korean restaurants at Yonge-Sheppard as most are closer to Yonge-Finch.

Lee Nam Jang
Address:  4846 Yonge St., Toronto, ON, M2N 6B1
Phone:  416-512-1345

Food

First of all, the banchans were very good, a good sign.  You receive a good amount and selection but if you ask for a refill, they didn't refill all the dishes (disappointing).  Fish cakes were made spicy (yummy) and the potato salad although simple was also quite good.

a. soy bean sprouts b. marnated tofu c. fish cake d. kimchi napa and radish e. spicy cabbage strips f. potato salad

The menu is not too extensive but does weigh heavier on more pricier items.  For example, they serve braised oxtail and ginseng chicken soup (but we didn't try it).  We ordered the braised beef ribs which was very well made, lots of caramelization and flavour but portions were soooo small for the price!  At Song Cook's, you get double the amount for the same price!  But, they do make it differently, Song Cook's version is more stew-like, and different in taste too.  Here, you can see the thick dark sauce sticking to the meat.  Instead of daikon, thick rice cake sticks are added.  This was definitely a winner.

And now the reason for my tardiness in uploading this post - my soup with beef and rice noodles.  It was not particularly to my liking, but it wasn't bad.  Maybe I just don't know how to enjoy this dish and I'm used to the Taiwanese style heavy braised beef noodle soup; it just lacked flavour.  The beef slices were nothing special and the rice noodles were the same. It was the other end of the spectrum compared to the beef ribs.  The soup stock looks like it would be nourishing...maybe it's supposed to be light on taste but good for you...I should really look this up.

Service/Atmosphere

Service was okay but scattered as we didn't get any utensils until we asked (after our meal arrived).  Restaurant was actually bigger than it looks from the outside, decor was nothing special.


In general, this place is quite expensive for Korean food but their braised beef ribs dish would be one to splurge on!  And judging from their banchans, some of their other dishes may be worth a try even though my soup wasn't as good as I hoped.

"Pear" Dim Sum @ Premiere Ballroom and Convention Centre

This was my second time visiting Premiere Ballroom and Convention Centre for dim sum but this time was with a larger group so we got to try many more dishes.  I was definitely impressed by several dishes this time around but unfortunately did not take pictures!!  Except for one cute, cute one on my plate.  It's very hard to take pictures of food in large groups at dim sum as one, people are hungry, and two, you may be in a conversation when the dish comes that you miss the opportunity to yell "Wait!!  I gotta take a picture!".

So...here is the cutest dim sum dish yesterday ^-^

(鹹水角 variation, picture taken with my phone)

Their version of 鹹水角 or fried mixed pastry with pork or fried crescent dumpling (didn't remember the name on the menu); shaped like a pear!  It was the cutest dim sum of the day and tasted good too.  The pork filling was well seasoned and the glutinous rice dough was slightly sweet.  Fried lightly but not greasy.  The amount of filling is less than in the traditionally shape it seems, but there are 4 per order vs 3 at other places.  I think I enjoyed this the most because it was visually appealing, it probably took a little more time to shape, and tasted pretty good; salty, slightly sweet, crispy, and chewy at the same time.  If you're wondering what the stem is, it's a small carrot piece...cute idea!

Other dishes that got a thumbs up were:  siu mai (steamed pork dumplings), fried tofu which was delicately fried and seasoned (so not greasy), beef tendon, shrimp rice roll, and honey beef ribs (but may be a bit on the sweet side for some).  

There were quite a bit of dim sum dishes that were unique or they made a variation to the standard which makes for an interesting experience.  My first time having dim sum here, I thought it was okay, overall good but it seems like this most recent time it was better.  Maybe it was the variety?  Or maybe we ate after 11am, paying full price opposed to before 11am where S/M/L are $3 each and quality differs?  I really don't know but, we do want to go back and hopefully I'll be able to take more pictures! 

Simple Cookies

Sometimes a simple little cookie is all you need with that coffee or cup of tea.  I have been making these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for several years now, it's kinda my go-to cookie.  Easy to make, a little healthy with the oats, a little bit of a treat because of the chocolate.  It fits most of the time and goes well with coffee or tea.  From Food & Drink magazine, here's the basic recipe; I'll often use dark chocolate chunks, omit the nuts, and use a combination of brown and white sugar.  If you want a crispier cookie, melting the butter is another modification I might do to change it up.

Most recently, I've been wanting to make more simple cookies.  We're so accustomed to over-the-top creations that sometimes it's nice to enjoy something very simple but still good.  So what I'm thinking about is a cookie that looks simple, is a nice little treat, but tastes great.  Essentially, better than it looks.  In Asia, some cafes might serve you a little cookie, biscotti, or cracker on the side when you order a coffee or tea.  (I was reminded of this after I read this blog post.  See picture #8, the blog is in Chinese though.)  I've always found them to be so cute and often they are quite well made.  In a way, getting a little extra treat makes the experience so much better.

Ten Ren's Tea Time - It may be farewell the next time

Ten Ren's Tea Time (111 Times Ave & Hwy 7 location ONLY) was one of my favourite tea houses in Toronto/GTA.  The atmosphere and decor is quite elegant and it was a great place to have a drink, snacks and chat for hours with friends.  The tea drinks were also better, most of their fruit + tea drinks were made with real fruit or juices and not just powder.  You can also taste the tea flavour, drinks were well balanced.  My favourites were the apple high mountain slush tea and the pineapple dragonwell slush tea.  The meals were also presented really nicely, combos were offered, and their Taiwanese salted crispy chicken (鹽酥雞 yan su ji) was the best in the city in my opinion.  But, all this does come at a price though, prices for drinks or food were always higher than other places.  The price of a tea is at least $1-2 more expensive (i.e. 25% higher) than other locations, as are the food.  You had to find it was worth the price to go regularly and several years ago I did.

But in the last couple of years I stopped going; there were several personal reasons that prevented me from going, much more other places to go to now, and it started to get more expensive.  This past Civic holiday we decided to go for lunch as I was craving a shaved ice dessert and thought it would be good to revisit.  Unfortunately, the meal was just so-so.

I ordered the pu'erh beef noodle soup (with green tea noodles).  The beef was still tender as before but the portion size has gotten smaller, less beef and less noodles.  The soup also was lacking in flavour; maybe they were trying to be healthier with less fat and salt but this made for some bland soup.  The noodles were always soft, not chewy, so that was the same.  The price is also higher and you can understand with inflation that prices do rise, but when prices rice and portions drop, you have to think, is it worth it?!

I didn't order a drink as I was having crushed/shaved ice (my main purpose for going).  Their special pineapple and red bean crushed ice was not available, they were out of the pineapple which was disappointing...so I got the green tea ice cream and red bean snow ice dessert.  This was okay, a large portion but reflective in the price ($8.99).  The green tea ice cream was strong in green tea flavour so enthusiasts would be happy.  They use the green tea powder they sell to make the ice cream which was fine tasting, but I think I prefer the taste of matcha green tea slightly more.  I only wish there was a single serving size as I was the only one eating the crushed ice dessert (these desserts are huge!).

My partner had a classic milk tea, still decent, just on the sweet side, we're used to ordering our drinks with half the sugar but forgot this time.

Service in the past was always great, you didn't have to wait long but the last few times have been slow.  Servers are polite but not the same, there used to be more care to the service offered.  Maybe it was just lunch and a holiday, whatever it is, it just didn't leave a great impression.

On a positive note, for families looking for a baby friendly place, they do have high chairs and the restrooms are equipped with baby changing stations.  So this was a plus.  I did notice that there were a lot of little kids at this location.  Maybe it's summer, the time of day, or maybe there's a change in clientèle...maybe this Ten Ren's is drawing a different demographic of people than other locations; families and more affluent adults?  Whatever the case, I think I'll be back another time to revisit their tea drinks and crispy chicken which I hope has not gone downhill!  But, it'll be a while and hopefully I don't have to say farewell.

Jung Soo Nae Korean Restaurant - Yummy Banchans

We're always on the look out for good mom & pop type restaurants and have always wanted to try Jung Soo Nae.  Based on the exterior, this looked like it could be a "home-y" type place.  The restaurant is located at the bottom of an apartment building just north of Yonge and Finch, if you weren't paying attention you'd surely miss it.  We finally tried it a few weekends ago.

Jung Soo Nae Restaurant
Address:  5754 Yonge St., North York, ON M2M 3T6
Phone:  416-222-4267

Exterior of restaurant 

Interior

About 10 tables of decent size, most people were locals as we were one of the only patrons that drove and parked (parking at the back spots 32-50).

First Impression:  Very home-y and quiet
Second Impression:  Good quality and ample banchans (side dishes) are served!

Food:

1. Fish cakes  2. Soy bean sprouts  3. Seasoned seaweed (made from dried seaweed sheets)  4. Potato shredded
5. Seaweed stalks  6. Kimchi napa cabbage  7.  Peanuts with mini dried anchovies 

Upclose view

They served us 7 different banchans and they were all fresh and well made.  The fish cakes had the most fish flavour of any that I've had without being too "fishy".  The seasoned seaweed is one that you don't often see so it was nice to have something different.

I usually get Gamjatang (pork bone soup) but it was a hot day so I opted for cold noodles called "Chik Naengmyeon".  The noodles were made from arrowroot flour and had a nice chewiness to it, not overly chewy that you have to pull and pull  with you teeth to break it, just light enough.  The beef broth was cold as it should be, with a vinegar tang to it, mildly spicy.  Since this was about the noodles and cold soup there is very little of anything else.  You can opt to have the noodles in a sauce instead of the broth.

Half an egg is hiding near the top

My partner had the Galbijjim (braised beef short ribs) which came with purple rice.  Tender beef but not fall off the bone unfortunately.  Taste was decent though.



Service:

Staff were polite and seems to be a Korean family run place, limited English.  But at least one staff member also speaks Mandarin surprisingly.

I usually rate a place based on how well their banchans are made and Jung Soo Nae does a good job.  Overall, the food was quite good, not the best Korean food, but because of the banchans I'm sure we'll be back to try other dishes!!

August: I'm Dreaming of...

Peach season is upon us and Ontario has got some of the best!!  So of course I'm dreaming of ... peaches this month!

- peaches: my favourite are actually white peaches, the taste is a lighter kind of sweetness, some might say more "floral" and usually they are a little less fibrous...but peaches of all kinds are delicious...and of course Ontario peaches are so sweet and juicy!

For the past few months I've been dreaming about ice cream...I still am, but when I think of August I also think of very hot and humid days. And these hot and humid days call for ice.  Yes, ice.

- shaved ice desserts!

Several years ago I was in southern Taiwan in the middle of summer.  Hot and humid were understatements.  Sweat poured from every pore in my body.  I drank 1.5L of water in under 2 hrs while walking outdoors and did not have to use a bathroom for many, many hours later!  When the walking was done, we found a local dessert place that was packed with other patrons taking shelter from the heat.  A few minutes later, sweet relief had come...a large plate of cold shaved/crushed ice with 8 toppings, called eight treasure (shaved/crushed) ice 八寶刨冰 appeared...ahhhh.

I'm dreaming particularly of Taiwanese style shaved ice with either a mix of toppings to include tapioca bubbles and grass jelly or just fruit or shaved green tea ice with red beans...old standby Ten Ren's Tea Time or the lesser known Cha Me Cha?  I've also read that there is also a Korean version?  May have to check that out!

- Italian gelato and ices...I saw a book in the library that had some lovely recipes...didn't borrow it at the time as I had a few other books on loan and wasn't sure I'd have the time...maybe I'll borrow it or maybe I'll be lazy and enjoy it at one of the many in the city ^-^


Clearly my mind is only on food this month!