Posts filed under 'Food and Drink'
The list of restaurants that are participating in this year’s Winterlicious is really long, so I started by checking out the menus of Italian restaurants (coz I love Italian food) and those that had catchy names.
Kit Kat Italian Bar & Grill is one of my choices. One reason is that they have Risotto on their Winterlicious menu. It is one of my favourite dishes, but not many Italian restaurants offer Risotto…… so this makes it more precious to me. Moreover, their risotto comes with smoked chicken, portobello mushrooms, asparagus, sundried tomatoes and fresh herbs…. unlike others that come with seafood (I’m not a big fan of seafood) or simply mushroom, which I find a bit boring.
So how did it turn out? Really good! The taste is excellent, but the whole dish would be perfect if all the rice was fully cooked.
Chap picked “Mussels with tomato, wine & garlic” instead of risotto. He liked the sauce, but he was a bit disappointed that the mussels were a bit undercooked. We were not sure if that was done on purpose as many people liked eating raw mussels.
Anyway, the whole experience was wonderful: quality “Soup of the Day” and the desert was not bad — though not very impressive. It is definitely a restaurant I would recommend.
P.S. Note that their main menu doesn’t have risotto, so hurry up! This year’s Winterlicious ends on February 8, 2007.
January 31st, 2007
Found some comments about Ajisen Ramen when looking up information about Kenzo Ramen online.
Although I’m working part-time at Ajisen, I haven’t really tried their noodles; but I heard that the soup base was too salty.
Well, I personally like their Fried Chicken and Gyoza.
(Kenzo’s Gyoza taste a bit better than Ajisen’s, though.)
Funny that I never try Ajisen’s Fried Pork Cutlet Curry Ramen, my all-time favourite — something that I would order whenever I went to a Japanese restaurant that offers it.
Anyway, working part-time at Ajisen is quite a pleasant experience… so far.
Thank you everyone who makes my job so enjoyable!
January 15th, 2007
Chap and I went to have lunch with an old friend today.
Old friend suggested going to a Japanese ramen restaurant that was opened by Koreans near Yonge and Steeles.
Chap actually had heard about this restaurant from a co-worker, but we never made the time to try it out.
Anyway, we finally made it there today.
How was it?
Well … not bad!
I had Ji-Su-Men (thick ramen with sliced chicken and egg) — it tastes okay; but I dun like it.
Chap and Eric had The King of the Kings Ramen (hot Netsu Ramen with 5 toppings) — Chap liked it but Eric found it so-so.
We also ordered Gyoza (Japanese fried dumplings ) and Takoyaki (octopus balls).
Their Gyoza tasted really good. I like it.
Takoyaki … not bad… but I’m never a big fan of octopus balls.
All in all, Kenzo Ramen is worth-a-try.
P.S. They’re opening a 2nd restaurant near Highway 7 and Kennedy.
January 14th, 2007
This is Hilarious, and the so-called motto at the end of the article
is definitely worth a thought or two… though it’s absolutely wrong.
LOL
=========================================
A little something to keep in mind for Christmas.
You’ve probably all seen this before, but it’s time for a reminder …..
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it’s rare. In fact, it’s even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can’t find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy . Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6 Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.
Remember this motto to live by:
“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”
=========================================
Source: Funny Emails
December 15th, 2006
So here are 5 inventions by Dr Hryhory Chausovsky, a well-known Ukrainian scientist, that help you keep your New Year’s resolution. Which is your favourite?
I’d love a talking plate, a musical plate, a sensitive belt, and a smart-fridge.
1. The talking plate
It is 15 centimetres in diameter and connected to a palm-sized computer.
Weight sensors allow the diner to load up his plate with a fixed volume of food, and
if he piles on more, a recording informs the diner of his impending sin.
“Where’s your willpower?” demands the plate.
2. The sensitive belt
It monitors expansion of the wearer’s stomach as the meal proceeds,
and peeps a discreet alarm when maximum allowable extension has been reached.
The idea behind this device is that we only start feeling we are full twenty minutes or more after we start eating,
and in that time period it’s time enough to eat two or three times the proper amount of food.
The belt tells the wearer he has reached ‘fullness’ before the person’s own body will tell him he is full.
3. The musical plate
Equipped with a contact sensor built in the food containment area, and a mini-synthesiser,
it plays music each time the diner’s fork or spoon strikes the plate.
If the utensil strikes are too rapid, the plate will play fast and aggressive music
while if the person eats more slowly, the music will be calmer and less stressful.
The natural human tendency to avoid stress and find calm will therefore slow down the eating process.
3. A lightweight arm band
A motion detector on the arm-band counts calories by the individual bite.
It is especially suitable for the really enthusiastic gourmand who are unable to limit himself.
4. The smart fridge
A simple contact magnet and recorder are connected to the refrigerator door, and
it demands of the user every time the door is opened
“Are you here because you are really hungry, or is it just your emotions?”
5. Scent-ring
The wearer puts on the jewellery, “scent-ring”, which emits a strong perfume partially masking the smell of food,
and so reducing the desire to overeat.
6. Food spectacles
It is a pair of tinted glasses which turns the sight of even the most appetising goody, visually anyway, into something quite possibly inedible.
Source: iol
December 12th, 2006
I love chocolates and milk but not chocolate milk.
I love chocolates and I drink alcohol, but I dun eat liquor filled chocolates.
I dun drink beers, but I take shots.
I dun smoke, but I smoked pot.
December 2nd, 2006
I tried these Combos snacks long time ago in Hong Kong, but then later they somehow disappeared from the snack aisles of all major supermarkets in HK (at least I didn’t see them).
It was until last night at Shoppers Drug Mart that I found their trails again.
Therefore, I bought home both the cheese cracker and pretzel.
Guess what? I nearly finished a whole bag of cheese crackers (241g), which amounts to nearly 1000 calories.
Of course I’m not happy about it!
I’m gaining weight now, and it seems that I’m eating more and more.
It’s really scary to see my tummy getting bigger and bigger, but
I guess it’s not scary enough to actually stop me from eating so much.
Arrrrr…… anyone help?
P.S.
Other than Combos, I should also blame the one person who keeps saying that I’m too skinny and that I need to eat more.
November 12th, 2006
There’s nothing worse than feeling that you’re unable to take control of your life.
This happens to me when my long-term health problem comes bugging me or when I can’t seem to stop eating junk food.
Recently I have something new to add to my List of the Uncontrollable. It is caffeine.
I used to drink about a cup of coffee everyday — sometimes none, at most 2; and I usually chose European coffee (those with Espresso), which usually contains less caffeine than a regular American coffee.
However, my caffeine intake started increasing last summer as I started drinking energy drink.
Things got even worse this semester. I switched to American coffee since it was cheaper; and I’m now drinking an average of 2 cups of American coffee + 1 cup of tea. Sometimes I even drink 3 cups of coffee! Compared with 5 years ago, when my caffeine consumption was zero, it is definitely tooooo much!
It finally came to a point where I felt like crap all of a sudden last Wednesday, and I couldn’t even finish my cup of Earl Grey.
It wasn’t that I physically felt sick of it. It was more a mental discomfort.
I never felt so addicted to caffeine before, and the idea that too much caffeine was bad for health and that I would have a shaky hand when I got older really bothered me a lot.
On the other hand, however, I dun want to fall asleep in class or in the library when I try to study.
Well, people say that tea is better than coffee; and after some googling, I found that black tea contained only about half the amount of caffeine as that of a regular coffee, and green tea has even less.
Therefore, I’m now trying to drink tea when I feel like drinking coffee.
Earl Grey is my favourite. Starbucks’ Zen, which is a scented green tea, also tastes very good.
By the way, I didn’t drink any coffee last Saturday. Am I a good girl or not? And I only have one today …… so far …
Next time if I ask you to help me go get a cup of coffee or tea, secretly order a decaffed one for me.
I’m not sure if I can tell the difference between a regular coffee and a decaf one coz I’ve never tried any decaf coffee or tea, but I’m sure that psychological dependance has quite a big role in my addiction to coffee.
October 30th, 2006
I like ramen, but I have no particular preference on soup base. Chap really likes Tonkotsu (porked based soup), so everytime we went to T&T supermarket he would shop for some imported Japanese instant noodles, which are usually more expensive than “normal” Nissin instant noodles that you can get from virtually any supermarkets.
I didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with those “imported” instant noodles. They didn’t taste particularly better than Nissin’s to me. However, these two by Sanyo Food(I guess) are really impressive.
I like the white one more (Tonkotsu), but both are “must-try” if you like (instant) noodles.
January 21st, 2006