Sasaki Pastry - Second Location

Newly opened in North York!

Sasaki Fine Pastry offers a selection of freshly made daifuku or filled mochi and they were very well made!  YUM!  The original location is in J-Town but I rarely go there so it's great they have opened in my neighbourhood.  Picked up a sakura cream and a houjicha cream mochi and both were billowy soft, had a good ratio of filling to skin and perfect as a small treat with tea.  They're not as QQ or have as much of a chew as some Taiwanese mochi but I think a lot of people prefer this soft texture.

The sakura was more subtle in flavour while the houjicha was much stronger which I liked quite a bit.  The houjicha cream was surrounded by a layer of red bean and worked well.  

I love making mochi myself but when I don't do it often, the uniformity can be a challenge.  It also takes quite a bit of time to make a small batch (cream filled is also finicky) so I'm quite happy that I can get it ready made and in various flavours.  They do cost $2.50 each but considering I haven't had much time these days and I also don't have to wash up, it's worth it!

I was in a rush unfortunately and couldn't stay to take pictures of the interior but the space is small with a few tables; this would definitely be more a take-out place.  They also have some beverages and sell dorayaki.  Service was friendly.

Sasaki Fine Pastry

112-10 Northtown Way
Toronto, ON M2N 7L4

T: (647) 349-2288

Sansotei Ramen in North York

Hello Sansotei!  Welcome to North York!

I'm a fan of Sansotei Ramen and when they opened up shop in North York, a 10 minute walk away, I had to go!  They have two downtown locations, one in Markham and one in Ottawa.  I've been to all except Ottawa but downtown and Markham locations are not always convenient.  The space here is not too bad, several rows of bar height tables and at the back there were regular tables with what looked like cushioned seating along the back wall.

Started with the chicken karaage which was crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside...not really salted though.

Then I had the tonkotsu ramen pictured above which was very good! Pork belly was tender and had just the right amount of meat to fat ratio.  Other toppings were okay; the soft boiled marinated egg was done very well. The tonkotsu broth was very flavourful, rich, and not overly salty...no problem finishing the soup.

We didn't have dessert but picked up a bar of chocolate.  It was an organic and vegan dark salted caramel chocolate bar.  Made in Vancouver by Fitzys Chocolate.  Three square pieces for $4.50, it was a bit expensive but I wanted to try it out...not bad, very smooth, but I'm not sure I'd buy it again.  I guess taste wise it wasn't that special, but if you're vegan, this would be a good option.  But strange that a pork based broth ramen place offers vegan chocolate though...maybe for those that require a dairy free diet?

Anyway, I'm sure if you're going to Sansotei it's not for the chocolate but for the ramen and it is very good!

Sansotei Ramen

13 Byng Avenue

North York, ON, M2N 5R7

T: 416-901-1160

http://www.sansotei.com/

Mabu Generation

Mabu Generation, a Taiwanese bubbletea restaurant and bar (yes bar) at First Markham Place has been open for a few months now.  I believe they are the same owners as Mabu Station at Yonge and Finch who have decided to expand and include alcohol on their menu of drinks and more food options.  This definitely sounded intriguing and with the modern design, I wanted to try it out even though I'm not drinking right now.

Besides offering Taiwanese food like Mabu Station, they also offer a number of Japanese dishes and hot pot for one.  Their dessert selection also is a bit different and includes a variety of matcha items.  However, this next generation is also more expensive than Mabu Station.

I was disappointed.  Well actually, the service was quite good but the food...ahhhh, needs much improvement!

Unfortunately the place is dim because of the hipster lighting so the pictures didn't turn out very good.  My meal was a Grilled Chicken Donburi (or House Special Don) but looked nothing like the photo in the menu.  The chicken tasted good but there just wasn't enough meat or seasoning for the rice; the presentation was quite poor, like someone just slopped it together.

Braised Taiwanese beef noodle...poorly done as well.  Meat was not tender and the noodles were too soft and the soup was not up to par.  Given that Taiwanese beef noodle is almost like the national dish, I would have expected at least average but sadly it wasn't.

My friend ordered the curry pork cutlet and she said it was okay but very salty.  Nothing to rave about.  Nor was the mini hot pot another friend had ordered.

I also had the mochi waffle with ice cream pictured above.  This was better than my meal.  The waffle was entirely mochi, a good size and tasted okay, soft and chewy.  Part of me expected a wheat based waffle stuffed with mochi filling though...I guess I've been seeing too many pics from cafes in Taiwan that make a mochi waffle but the mochi is a filling inside so you still get a nice crisp exterior and a chewy centre.  

As I said, decor was really nice (too many people to take a picture of the inside, sorry) and I think for an evening with friends it would be an okay place to chat with friends over tea and dessert.  I say this because our experience with service was good so could be worth giving them a try if you're in the area.  But for lunch or dinner I would pass, there are much better places.

Wall mural of the popular tourist and day trip town Jiufen.

Mabu Generation

Unit #23-26, 3235 Hwy 7 E.  (First Markham Place)

Markham, ON L3R 3P3

T: 905-604-8358

http://mabugeneration.com/english

Hello March: I'm Dreaming of...

The wonders of technology!

I did not draw or paint the above picture.  Rather I took a picture on my camera and with a free app converted it to the above sketch/watercolour.  Absolutely love this app.  Of course hand sketching or hand painting would be even better but I really don't have those talents, nor can I spend time cultivating them

...maybe in a decade or two :)

So what does this have to do with March?

Well, my thoughts for March began with this rare picture I took.  Most of my pictures are up close of food or tea.  But there were a few times recently where I would have to stop my tea session and do something else and while at a distance I began to admire my tea setting from afar. 

I love every piece there.

As I drink more tea, a good tea drinking experience is one of the things I'm after...the tea, teaware, and your surrounding setup are important.  Doesn't mean I don't just drink tea as a beverage because there are days where a mug of tea is great.  But every tea lover has their own philosophy on tea drinking and I think I'm still developing mine.  Before I focused on only the tea, then I started to really think about my teaware. I love acquiring teaware but if I just had these pieces I would still be happy.  Even a simple five dollar gaiwan is fine if that's all I had, but teaware is a luxury I've come to appreciate and will save for pieces I adore.

So now comes the surrounding setup.  I don't have a special room or table...this is just the dining table.  The bamboo tea tray is useful but I've been considering using a tea cloth (chabu) to change things up.  Besides this, many people will also have some sort of greenery to enhance the atmosphere.  I'm really, really bad with plants so I never thought of it or never aquired vases because they would be empty if I did.  But the mandarin oranges on the table was a pop of colour, an element of freshness that I liked.  

So, with signs of Spring often showing up in March, in March: I'm Dreaming of... 

Something green to add to my tea space.

Kim's Nature is a place I recently was told about and plan to visit since they look like they have a great selection of plants, particularly succulents and bonsai.

I'm not capable of owning a bonsai, but for those that are looking for some inspiration and for some really lovely pics, here is a new kind of bonsai, aqua bonsai.

For more inspiration, I've found it through various Instagram pics

...@a.light.thing...all are great but here are some recent ones I like: this one dated march first and one feb twenty-third.  She sometimes matches a quote or poem to her picture which I love.

...@pekoeandimp for the consistently lovely setup

...simple outdoor tea setups like here.

There are so many more and propably people I don't know about but thought I'd highlight a few.

Making my own chabu/tea cloth.

I have a hobby of making little coin purses and have acquired a bit of fabric.  Most are small pieces of fabric that are actually too small for this project, but I have a couple that might work.  I'm not certain if this will be doable but that's what this series is about isn't it :)  

Bitterleaf Teas' Raw and Ripe Puer Gift Pack

A little while back I made the decision to start drinking more puer tea so this post is an update.  Bitterleaf Teas was the brand I decided to start with for several reasons...the first being I wanted more than half of what they were selling!  Their teas sounded great and their teawares were so beautiful.  If you check out their website or Instagram, almost every photo gives off a feeling of serene calm, beauty, and quality.  I have to admit, I can be swayed by pretty things (lol!). But, I also like to read reviews and there were also many positive online reviews.  What I also liked was how well they described the teas and steeping suggestions which makes it a little easier for someone new.  Prices also seemed reasonable - I'll have to buy and taste more teas from different sources to really made a judgement though.

Thus, I ordered a number of teas from Bitterleaf Teas and one of the items was a gift pack containing a raw (sheng) and a ripe (shou) puer.  These teas were a great introduction to puer for newbies like me and thought I'd share my experience.

First up was the ripe puer, Black Beauty 2009 Meng Hai Imperial Ripe Puer.  I'm still getting familiar with the different areas/mountains as each area produces certain characteristics but I have to admit it's been slow learning for me right now.  If you're new like me, Teadb is a good resource and here is a link to some info about Menghai County.

I'm not exactly new to ripe (shou) puer but am new to quality ripe puer so this was an easy one for me.  For those that have not tasted ripe puer before this one would still be nice to drink but would be unlike the usual teas available in the North American market.

Brewed using 1g per 30ml as suggested.  

Boiling water.

Rinse: quick.

1st steep: 3 secs.

Subsequent steeps: +3 secs and then +5 secs.

First off, this is very fast brewing!  I'm used to brewing at 45 secs to 1+ minutes for other teas so it took some getting used to.  The colour of the tea soup is very nice deep red. The tea was earthy, malty sweet, and smooth; very refined.  My personal experience is each infusion wasn't too different except the first was lighter than the 2nd and 3rd as expected, but my palate is not as sensitive as more experienced drinkers.  By the 3rd steep my tongue was tingling!

3rd steep, beautiful deep red tea soup

I brewed this for my mom but at a much higher ratio of leaf to water, just extended the steeping time and it still was very good.  Even oversteeping doesn't yield a bitter cup which she again was surprised at as she was for sure thinking it would be bitter.

Definitely recommend this ripe puer for easy brewing and the smooth refined taste.  Very drinkable!

Now onto Hummingbird 2013 Meng Hai Old Arbor Leaf Sheng Puer.

Love the initial smell of the leaves...they are so fragrant and sweet, I couldn't wait to get started on the brewing!

I haven't had sheng puer in a long time and the first time I didn't really have much guidance or knew what to do.  This time after reading more blogs and reviews on steeping and since a guide is provided with the tea, my tea session went pretty well.

The tea was pressed into mini cakes which made it easy to brew as well, about 8-9g per mini cake.  I brewed this following their instructions:

1g to 20ml water
Boiling water
Rinse: 10 secs
1st steep: 7 secs
2nd steep: 10 secs
Subsequent steeps: + 5 secs

1st steep:  Really lovely!  Light apricot colour tea soup.  Floral, mildly sweet taste.
2nd and 3rd steep: The bitterness hits but there is an underlying sweetness.  
4th steep:  The bitterness starts to mellow down and the sweetness is rising.
5th steep:  Sweet notes of apricot or maybe raisin, it's thicker and the huigan is stronger.  Really nice!  Slightly more drying in the mouth though.

Paired with sugar cookies at about steep 6.

6th steep: Similar to the 5th.
7th steep: Grassy and sweet.

Unfortunately I had to stop here.  The aroma of the wet leaves was very sweet like raisins so I'm sure it could have given more.  Loved this raw puer as it changed several times in taste and feeling!  The bitterness was also not too strong that someone new to raw puer could still enjoy this tea.

Pretty nice looking leaves

If you're new to puer this would be a good starter pack. They also sell each individually and the Hummingbird is offered in mini cakes or a full sized cake.  There are a few other starter packs I've seen and also sets that have been curated to give you a sense of what different mountains/regions taste like.  Thinking about getting those too.  Especially good since there is so much out there that it's hard to decide what to get.

So far this has been a great beginning!

Dyeing Tea Towels with Natural Dyes

I've been in the need of new tea towels, especially to wipe up all the tea and water I sometimes spill as I brew tea.  Then just before Christmas I came across "flour sack towels" which were inexpensive lint free cotton towels and my mind started thinking...thinking of numerous DIY projects I could do!  The reason being is these are almost always white, a blank canvas pretty much.  I love white towels but sometimes having various colours or a print is also nice.

Interestingly enough someone on Instagram that LIKED one of my photos posted a picture of some lovely coloured towels dyed with various colours made from food...and a wonderful looking mauve made from avocado skins and seed!  Yes, mauve from avocado. She got the idea from the moneycrashers site which referenced another site, pioneer thinking.  

Anyway, I started reading more and started to think about using tea but of course the avocados were stuck in my head and I knew I had to experiment.... So, does the above towel look mauve?  

NO.  FAIL.  

More peach I would say but that is the colour I got when I used avocados...(sad face!).  Peach is still nice but not really the colour I was going for and in some lighting could look like a grimey towel unfortunately.  Not sure if the avocado has to be a certain ripeness or a certain varietal, but I should have known that the liquid just didn't look right. 

Back to colour experimentation.

I got my initial set of towels from Walmart, 5 for $7.  They are quite thin like muslin but actually soak up quite a bit of liquid and was great for wiping down a table.  Then I got a thicker set from Amazon, Aunt Martha's brand.  They cost quite a bit more per towel but are thicker which I think will be better for printing on...another bunch of experiments I'm planning.  Wish me luck!!

Kiu Japanese Restaurant

Kiu Japanese Restaurant is a newish sushi and ramen restaurant located in the downtown Markham complex.  We went on a Friday for lunch and it was busy but they have quite a bit of seating so we got a table easily.

The restaurant offers sushi (not too extensive), raw oysters, small appetizers, and ramen from Ramen Isshin (located on College St.).  I've been to Ramen Isshin and it was good so we thought it'll be good to try their uptown location since we're uptown more than downtown.  

I had the Kotteri Rich Shoyu Ramen and made it into a combo with karaage for an added $3.  Not too bad, broth was flavourful and rich...just what I was looking for.  The egg was done nicely and the noodles were good, could be chewier but still enjoyed it.  The pork slices were very thin, too thin if you're paying $11 a bowl.  We got two large pieces of karaage but they weren't seasoned enough, good crunch though.

I also have to mention the tea, if you order green tea they serve houjicha tea (roasted green tea) which was enjoyable.  They refilled my cup without asking which was good because I think I drank the first cup pretty fast!

Side order of takoyaki...yum!

Black Sesame Tan Tan Noodles...this wasn't that spicy and does taste like dan dan noodles you get at Chinese restaurants.

Kiu is spacious and clean and lots of natural light. Too many people to take a photo of the tables though. The service was good, no complaints.  

We also found out there is underground parking so it makes this a good choice for winter months.  Overall, the experience was good.  Not the best ramen in the city, but I'd come back to try their sushi and other ramen bowls.

Kiu Japanese Restaurant

169 Enterprise Blvd, 2nd floor

Markham, ON L6G 0E7

T:905-513-6368

http://www.ki-u.com/