Beff Pan Steak and Roll House

Prime steak

Going to a steak house is not something we can do often with a toddler, come to think about it, we haven't gone to have a steak since she was born.  So, when a friend recommended Beff's, we knew we wanted to try it out.  It's not your traditional steak place, instead the steaks are grilled on a cast iron pan but still very enjoyable and for the price, excellent!

They serve you some side dishes (common in Korean run restaurants) which I always enjoy getting.

And we ordered the cheesy corn which came with quite a bit of melted cheese as an appetizer.

We ordered two types of steak the rib eye and the prime, both were under $20 and comes with some veggies, a side of fries and bread.  I must say, their 8 oz steak was actually fairly good quality and quite filling - the perfect size for me!  It was tender and juicy and slightly seasoned.  The one thing that you'll have to do is once it arrives, you need to check if it's cooked to your liking.  If you need it cooked more, you leave it on the pan as it's still very hot.  If it's perfect, you'll need to either start eating or place your meat on the bean sprouts to stop the cooking.  Mine did cook a little more even though it was served to my liking, the pan was still sizzling.

Beff also offers a few pasta dishes, sushi rolls, and some fusion dishes like Kimchi poutine but we didn't try any of those.  Square wooden stools are the only seating option (except at the bar) so I'm not sure what you would do with your coat in the winter, but it was well spaced out.  They do have a high chair though if you have a little one.

Service was also very polite and fast (but we did go on a slow night).  Definitely recommend!


Beff Pan Steak and Roll House
Unit 17-100 Steeles Ave. W.
Thornhill, ON L4J 7Y1
T: 905-597-7288
https://www.facebook.com/thebeff/

Peking Duck at NCE BBQ (Northern China Eatery) - One of the Best in the City!

When I saw NCE a few weeks ago and then read a review on Zomato, I was really eager to try it out.  So about 2 weeks ago we did...just the two of us plus toddler.  The Peking duck was very good and luckily it was just us or we'd probably have to order another one if we there was another couple with us!

兩個星期前我們...兩個加一個小童...試試看 NCE BBQ.  北京烤鴨非常好吃! 好財沒有第三第四位詪我們一起吃飯,否則要點多一隻鴨子!

The duck skin was crispy and flavourful and the duck meat was tender and moist.  I've had duck at various places across the GTA and this one is the best I've eaten in recent memory!  I would definitely give this place a 5/5 if I was just eating Peking duck.  What makes this meal a cut above others are two other things, the wrappers and condiments.  The wrappers are very thin, sometimes we would pick up one, but it would actually be two thin ones.  They still held up and did not break.  The condiments are the usual but they give you a good amount.

However, for those that are used to having 2 or 3 courses of duck, example lettuce wrap as the second course, they don't offer that here.  Most of the duck is cut up and can be eaten with the wrapper or as is.  The second course is what they do with the bones, either in a soup, fried with salt and pepper or fried with cumin and chili pepper.  We chose the cumin.  It was very spicy!  I'd say it's good as a snack to accompany a few drinks.



They started us off with some banchan...

And here are the other dishes we tried.  Unfortunately they weren't the best choices as they weren't typical Northern Chinese dishes, but we needed noodles and non-spicy items for our toddler...so we ordered Shanghai noodles and garlic stir-fried broccoli.  Both were average.

Service was pretty quick and courteous but we went on a weeknight just before 6pm so it was pretty empty.   Glad they have lots of tables though, especially if this place gets very popular!

NCE BBQ
180 Steeles Avenue W
Unit 20A
Vaughan, ON L4J 2L1
T: (905) 597-1885

Why the occasional duplicate sentence written in Chinese?  

One of my goals starting in 2016 is to improve my Chinese language skills so this is one way I'm going about it.  
Please comment if you noticed I've totally messed up!  Thanks!