Tastes of the Hill

(J) Like last year, local Richmond Hill restaurants gave out samples after we paid an entrance fee for charity. There weren't long lines this year and I got full pretty fast. I really enjoyed the shepherd's pie, steak, cookie and butter tart. Unfortunately Nando's and Turtle Jack's didn't give out chicken and wings respectively.

(S) I was disappointed that Nando's didn't have the chicken from last year. I always enjoy Moxie's steak, mushroom and blondie dessert. Unfortunately, we had too much sweets and cake the night before, so we passed on most cakes from Costco and other stands.

Location: Richmond Green Sports Centre
Website: Tastes of the Hill


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Whitby Yacht Club

John & Andrea's Wedding

Greek Salad (J) I ate around the onions so people wouldn't have to smell my breath. (S) Haha, me too...

Chicken Florentine with Herbed Cream Sauce: broccoli, carrots & red skin potatoes. (J) I really liked the creamy sauce and spinach inside the chicken. (S) The stuffed chicken was pretty tasty.

Strawberry Swirled Cheesecake: with fresh berries. (J) This was surprisingly filling. (S) I can't believe I still ate the wedding cake after eating this. For some reason I thought this was the wedding cake at the time.

Wedding Cake (J) I would have missed the cake if we weren't hanging around the bar. There was raspberry (?) in between the layers. (S) I ate around the raspberry, but the chocolate was yummy.

Candy (J) Candy table! Chocolate caramels, Reese's Pieces, Kisses, gummies and more. Nice little boxes to hold your loot. (S) Great idea for a party favour! AYCE candy!

Location: 701 Gordon Street, Whitby ON L1N 5S4
Phone: (905) 668-1391
Website: http://www.wyc.ca


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Tako Sushi

Soup & Salad (J) We're here again after failing to eat at Ikea due to their ridiculously long lineup. (S) This is our go-to sushi place if all else fails.

Unagi Don: (J) Mmm eel. Came in a cute lunch box. Too bad they didn't give double portions of eel like they did with their chicken. (S) I was weary that there would be little eel when I ordered this, but oh well, it was nice and soft.

Chirashi Don: (J) I liked the vinegar taste of the rice, but not the small pieces of ginger scattered throughout. (S) We picked around the ginger. Fish was good though!

Ice Cream: (J) Red bean as usual. This time we were able to finish all the food. We didn't order any sides, and these dishes were relatively small.

Location: 1300 Don Mills Road, North York, ON M3B 2W6
Phone: (416) 391-9188
Website: http://www.takosushi.ca


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Golden Regency

Team Fatty's Wedding




















Dinner Banquet: Roasted whole suckling pig, baked stuff paste with mushroom in conch shell, stir fried jumbo shrimp & scallop with veggie, braised swallow's nest with crab meat in supreme sauce, braised whole abalone with special sauce, deep fried crispy chicken, stir fried lobsters with ginger & green onion, steamed seasonal fish, house fried rice & braised e-fu noodle, sweeten dessert, fancy pastries & cupcake.

(J) I didn't get to enjoy the food as much as I would have liked. The conch shell was new and enjoyable for most people. We opted for bird's nest soup instead of shark fin due to ecological reasons, and it tasted about the same. (S) The roasted pig had sparklers...ooooh! I thought the food was pretty good. The conch was a surprise, I wasn't expecting it...but maybe I only glazed over the menu. I <3 the cupcakes, so yummy! They were taro (purple) and lemon (yellow) flavoured.

Location: 4300 Steeles Avenue East, Markham ON L3R 0Y5
Phone: (905) 948-8811


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Tako Sushi

Appetizer: spider roll. (J) We had a blackout in our area so we had to go out for dinner. I ate all the crispy crab legs. (S) Good excuse for some crunchy-goodness.

Vegetarian Dinner: salad, miso soup, avocado rolls, cucumber rolls, vegetable tempura, croquette, tofu and broccoli. (J) I liked the croquette and fried tofu, although all the fried food wasn't so good for us. (S) I felt like veggies, crunchy, fried veggies.

Take Dinner: miso soup, salad, California rolls, salmon rolls, teriyaki chicken, pasta salad, vegetable & shrimp tempura and broccoli. (J) I like this place because you get more chicken than other places. Pasta salad was new.

Dessert: red bean ice cream. (J) Even though we had a takeout box full of leftovers, we still had room for ice cream! (S) Red Been!

Location: 1300 Don Mills Road, North York, ON M3B 2W6
Phone: (416) 391-9188
Website: http://www.takosushi.ca


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Taste of the Danforth

Centennial Alumni Pre-Taste of the Danforth

Free Food 1: sausage, baklava, cheese pie and random naan. (J) We weren't planning on going to the Taste of the Danforth this year, but Centennial College had this alumni event with free food and parking! That naan was out of place. Baklava was sweet, but not too big so it was just right. (S) I saw naan so I picked it up...I've been leaning towards sausages vs burgers because the sausages are always so much juicier. BBQ burgers seem to be so thin and lifeless. Yay for free! Least amount of money spent @ Danforth yet!

Free Food 2: chicken souvlaki, baklava and cheese pie. (J) Chicken was hot and fresh off the grill, and really moist. (S) Chicken souvlaki was oh so juicy. The sauce made it taste even better.

Taste of the Danforth

Greek Yogurt: free samples of strawberry and honey flavours. (J) I liked the strawberry better. (S) Agreed, strawberry is better. Free samples!

Cream Pie ($2.50): from Athens Pastries. (J) Flaky dough filled with hot custard. (S) I always have to get this. I like that the custard isn't too too sweet, and that the pastry is so flakey.

Kataifi ($2.50): dough strings with some nut filling and soaked in honey (J) First time trying this. It was really sweet, so don't think I'll eat it much. Interesting texture, like fried noodles and honey. (S) One bite was way too much for me. I'm not a fan of the honey-drenched pastries.

Location: Greektown
Website: http://www.tasteofthedanforth.com/


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Moe's Southwest Grill

Tofu Rice Bowl: rice, bean, tofu and various toppings. (J) I prefer the rice bowl at Fresh because it has bigger pieces of tofu and vegetables. (S) I preferred this rice bowl because it wasn't as salty and tasted more refreshing. Guacamole makes everything taste better.

Art Vandalay: vegetarian burrito with tortilla chips and queso. (J) We tried to eat healthy again and ordered vegetarian dishes. The burrito was creamy. (S) The burrito was very good. I enjoyed it a lot. The chips were addicting too.

Location: 35 Eglinton Ave. E, Toronto ON M4P 1A1
Phone: (416) 489-6637
Website: http://moes.com


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