Friday, February 15, 2008

In the Garden Of Eden...(The REAL Garden)

Spadina Garden - Bay & Dundas

The one and only...

For all occasions, this Spadina's for you. They must know us by first name, as we are there, daily.

Spadina Garden has recently renovated their restaurant, as their decor is elegant yet simple. This is not by any stretch a fine dining establishment, but at the same time it's no hole-in-the-wall. Subtle touches of lanterns and artwork give Spadina just enough ethnicity to feel Asian, but not overbearing. There is a private room on the side, that gives us enough space when we have large parties, and more importantly, when Winson lashes out obscenities we can somewhat contain him. We also saw minor-yet-regular-celebrity "funny guy" Russell Peters there with his family. Every brown person who knows food, knows Spadina is the spot.

There's nothing better than being greeted by an Asian man in Hindi. Kiddah? Always recommending Singha beer, and taking down our orders in our native language. Character at Spadina Garden is in overdrive. It's great. Welcoming, friendly and warm are all signs of a place one would frequent.


Soup It Up
I'm such a fanatic of soups, you can call me the soup knotsy. My favourite one in particular, no, not plasticine shrimp bisque (see- Waitress Makeover), is Hot & Sour. I've had many a Hot & Sour soups in my day, and I make it a point to always try H & S at every Asian establishment possible (the ones I trust, that is). A good Hot & Sour soup can generally dictate the quality of the rest of the food in a restaurant. Since some/many Asian restaurants are known to be shady, and thus have a bad reputation, try the soup first. If its bush, leave immediately.

It is in my Culinary opinion, that Spadina Garden makes the best Hot & Sour soup in Toronto.

Whenever I'm downtown, which is quite often as our friends who live adjacent to Spadina, conveniently, always force us to "reach". Whenever I'm even remotely in the area, my tastebuds' radar start to salivate for Hot & Sour. Spadina has perfected their soup, as the owner states "There's two recipes, one is mine, and the other is my sister's". His sister's stuck.
The makings for a proper Hot & Sour are complex yet simple, but in this case, more is less. The proper combination of raw and cooked vegetables, the thickness, of course the right spiciness (sorry 40), are all key factors that make or break the soup. Spadina earns top marks as they exceed all categories, and their soup is phenomenal. Most times I will eat at least 3-4 bowls of soup before our meal, and I am truly satisfied to just eat soup.



On top of their amazing soup, there is an array of famous dishes, 'staples' as we call them, that cannot go unordered.

Here's the thing...don't be too adventurous, even though Spadina has a HUGE menu, and everything sounds great, a word of advice is to stick to your guns. Order what you know, and don't be too brave. Tried and true is always best, saving yourself from disappointment. Spadina's portions usually feed 3-4, so we usually all order one dish and run some share-age. That always works best. Our ordering method usually incorporates:

1- Hot and Sour (a given)
2- Spring Rolls
3- 2-3 'staples'
4- 1 newbie

This gives us the chance to come across a new found classic, and still does not ruin our meal if the newbie turns out bushy.

A few of our usual 'staples':
- Chili Chicken (dry, saucy)
- Chicken w/ Hot peppers
- Crispy Ginger Beef
- Curried Shrimp
- Garlic/Spicy Eggplant (it's Bangin)
- Chili Paneer
- Shanghai Noodle

A few 'not so much':

- Shanghai Beef- in a red sauce- nothing special

- House shrimp - way too much batter, shrimps are minimal

Spadina Garden comes into a class of it's own in my opinion, and shares the spotlight with the Top 3 Hakka establishments in Toronto- sharing company with the likes of China Cottage and Tangerine. These three definately put shame to places such as Lee's Wok, Lin Garden, etc...Maybe its because their food takes longer than 3 minutes to prepare...

All in all Spadina tops the market in the Hot and Sour Soup category by far- no contest. Their other dishes are great but at times can be hit or miss. Here's a tip, don't go after 9. If you see the chefs eating in the back corner, you know you've come too close to closing time, where food may be sub-par. Apparently at lunch you cannot get a table. Which means that's the best time to go.

Rating:

Decor/ Atmosphere: 3.5/5 -There is something to be said about a simple, yet classy restaurant. One in which you don't feel overwhelmed but at the same time you're not eating on a brown paper table cloth. The walls are a bit sterile- white is not the best colour for a large square room in my opinion, but that's just me. Remember- you're here to eat, for the most part.

Service: 4/5 - Great friendly people make the service here top notch, except that one time where they didn't refill our water. Again, the later you go, the less you're gonna get. Go at decent times and you'll feel special. What I like the most is that the owners are also the workers/servers, giving you that extra touch of "I care". There's something to be said about the true owners who really put their all into their establishment. Kudos to that.

Food: 4.5/5 - The soup really gives Spadina that extra .5, but in general we are never really disappointed with their standards of food. Quick yet flavourful food is a sign of confidence you can trust. Their kitchen staff knows what they are doing. Again, don't stray too far from the usual suspects.

Price: 4/5- Nothing is overpriced at Spadina, in fact, more so things are under priced. Usually $20 will get you a full meal including a drink and tip, which is decent in my book. Can't complain about that.

Overall: 4.5 STARS 5

Spadina, we love you.

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Keg? Its no Bonacini's, but...

The Keg- Leslie & 401


After being re-routed from Oliver & Bonacini's to The Keg, I have to say I was really looking forward to something a little different. Let's be serious, everyone's been to The Keg, many a time. Steaks, yeah they have them, amply. Seeing that we're on a bit of a budget, we couldn't splurge on the likes of Hy's or Ruth Chris'.


So this Keg was newly renovated this summer, with the addition of a new large patio. I must say it looks nice inside. I have never been to this one before, but from what I remember from the Kegs' that I have been to, they all have a general theme to them; dark, musty (no pun intended), and somewhat cottage-ish. The last Keg I went to was the one in Markham on East Beaver Creek, and it was bush.


That being said I was really impressed with the large fireplace in the entrance, which is cylindrical in shape and can be enjoyed from all angles. Nice touch. The 'lounge' we were seated in housed comfortable and elegant low back leather chairs, and also had nice round leather booths with low tables. Flat screens in each corner were key as us guys needed to watch the Raps lose it in the end, while the girls oogled over tabloid mags (Carrie- ugh, who'd hit it?).

Getting into the thick of things, service here was very good. Our waitress was on point, timely and courteous, not to mention very accomodating. This is something we haven't really been used to lately. So this was a nice surprise. In one instance, when members of our party had "gone to the car", our steaks had arrived. Noticing that the two weren't present, she quickly scooped up their steaks, and offered to keep them warm until they returned. Very nice, I like.

On to the good stuff...We all ordered steaks, naturally. I had the New York Striploin Bone-In, which was fairly priced at 29.95, came with the standard baked potato and topped with some onion rings/crisps.
The steak was good, cooked perfectly, not a bad cut of meat for The Keg standards. But, lets not forget, the meat is always better on the bone. I ordered a side of sauteed mushrooms as my meal was lacking one element- a vegetable. And no, those onion thingies are not considered a vegetable. Especially since they were only crispy for 5 seconds. Then they became pure sog-ra, as they say. Aside from that the mushrooms were very nice, I assume a mild porcini lightly sauteed in olive oil (I would have preferred butter, but thats just me).

We ordered a trio of vegetables since no meal came with any, and we got a mix of minner button mushrooms, 'spicy snowpeas' and green beans. This was blah. The 'spicy' was just a mix of plum, honey mustard and red-hot sauces. The mushrooms were just meh. Come on, Keg.

One of our steaks was a bit salty, but it was a large cut of meat. Still, over-seasoning is a sign of poor grilling skills. Somebody ordered a steak with a side of garlic shrimp, which were massive, and had been cooked perfectly.

Lastly, dessert. We opted for an ultimate brownie with ice cream and good 'ol creme brulee. Both were decent, but nothing spectacular. Yes they are both classics, but come on Keg, soup it up a bit. This isn't Kelseys. Or is it? Maybe the same owners. Apparently the orderer of the creme brulee said it tasted nothing like the one he had at Sotto Sotto...but he couldn't really taste anything since his tastebuds were absent due to some muddhiness (that's another review all together).


Scoresheet:


Service: 4/5 - Top marks to the waitress who held it down, as my motto is "Good service makes the food taste better (most of the time)"- although come to think of it we didnt get any water until we were all dehydrated after dessert and had to ask for it
Decor: 4/5 - Nice place for a party as it is HUGE, lots of space, not crowded between tables, nice bar area

Food: 3.5/5 - Definately exceeded my expectations, and gave me new found hope for the Keg, aside for a few slight miscues

Price: 3.5/5- $300/6- including drinks, communal apps and dessert- pretty decent considering we all had steaks, at $50 a POP

Overall Rating: 3.5 STARS out of 5
All in all we had a good experience, a nice cozy place that was welcoming, had good service and pretty good food. Aside from a few culinary faux pas', I would definately reccommend and dine here again. Let's be honest- you can't always mission it downtown to have a good steak. Even though its "only 15 minutes away". Next time we are going to Bonacini's.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Thai One On...And One Sauce For All

Thai One On (Kennedy & 14th)

There's been a lot of hype about this restaurant, and it's been a while since it came to Markham, so it was just a matter of time until we finally made it thru their doors. People have been raving about it, but that doesn't mean a thing until we've actually dined there.

This place is small, and I mean shoebox small. Theres only about 8-10 tables, so quaint-ity is there. Not a problem, as some of the best food comes out of the smallest kitchens. Decor is simple, with a few random but still Thai-influenced touches. One thing that struck me was the TV in the top corner showing TVO. No wonder Navin recommended this place. I shared my table with Steve and a dude named Robert Reich.

So my rule of thumb for all Asian restaurants is to judge the food by the apps. So naturally we ordered their Hot & Sour soup. As everyone that knows me knows, I'm obsessed with Hot & Sour soup. At the top of my list comes Spadina Garden's H & S, with everyone else's coming in at a distant second. But their's was not bad. Very Spicy. Even for me, and I love spice. Aside from that, taste, texture and heartiness was there. Good start.

So we ordered 4 dishes, and 3 rices;

Thai Basil Chicken:
Chicken with peppers, sauce was nice, but no Basil. Only one small leaf. And it wasn't Thai basil (which is Purple), it was just regular basil. No biggie, still a nice dish. Apparently, according to my sister, "Salad King's is better". I thought it was good.

Thai Spicy Eggplant:
My personal Fav, even though the eggplant was a little over cooked (almost soupy), still had a nice base sauce (but was the same as the Basil Chicken), also with peppers. Not really spicy. Good call Navin.

Beef Pad Thai:
Meh. Very nice presentation, interesting concept serving the Pad Thai in the middle, with portions of Bean Sprouts, Green Onion slivers, and crushed peanuts all around the periphery. Too bad the Pad Thai was blando. The beef was a bit tough and the sauce was nutty, almost too sweet.

Shrimp with Lychee:
This one sounded so exotic on the menu that we had to go for it. Ithinkwemadeabigmistake! Over-battered scrimps made this dish very unappetizing. What can I say, I've been spoiled by China Cottage's house shrimp. Now nothing else will do. I think this dish was a good concept in theory- but its' execution was poorly developed. Canned lychees do not make for a good sauce. And you cannot sauce something that has been deep-fried, it negates the whole idea of deep-frying. The shrimps cannot be crispy when doused, it's just not gourmetically possible.

Coconut Rice:
Very Sweet! This tasted like a dessert, like a Thai version of Kheer (Indian rice pudding). I wouldn't mind this after my meal, but not with it.

Wild Rice w/ Peanut Sauce:
This was horrible. It was like a log of rice. We sent this one back.

Jasmine Rice:
Just rice.


Stardom:

Service: 4/5- Nothing to complain about, service was quick (we were the only ones there). Ample water- toppage.

Decor: 2.5/5- Not too fancy, but not bushy either. Just right.

Food: 3/5- Definately a large menu that needs to be explored a second time.

Price: 3/5- Pretty decent considering how much food we got.


Overall: 3 STARS out of 5


Overall, their portions were large, which made for good value. We paid about $60 for 3 of us, no drinks, and ample leftovers. Food quality was good, and I would definately give this place a second chance. 2/4 good dishes means I'll be back. Service was good, the waitress was friendly and accommodating, and the place was clean. Nice minner diningware also.

Sippi would love this place, as they "amply Sauce it UP".

Note: You can not actually Thai One On at Thai One On, as they do not serve thullard. Go figure.