Wasabi - Japanese Buffet

Wasabi - Richmond Hill @ West Beaver Creek & Hwy 7 (location makes a difference, this is a franchise)
Now let me tell ya... Sushi on 7 was my favorite japanese buffet, until NOW. Wasabi... oh man, this bad boy is by far my favorite buffet. We've got scallops, crab legs, beef, garlic beef steak, lots and lots of prepared foods. But thats not all folks, we've also got a long list of sushi's to order. Man oh man it was awesome, and to top it off they have a chocolate fondue going with strawberries, marshmallows and fresh fruit to dip. Make a reservation b/c there's always a line up! Newly opened, clean place thats the new buffet in town. A must eat. I rate it at 9.0 with Lucy coming in at 9.0 as well.

Life is not about the breath we take, but the food we eat.

(Review courtesy of JV)

Amuse Bouche - www.amuseboucherestaurant.com

For our second official dinner, with everyone there this time, and a few new members (welcome Neal, Michelle, Jay!) we went to a quaint little restaurant in downtown Toronto, it's one of those hidden gems. Tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood in a small little house was Amuse Bouche. The restaurant was buzzing and our group of 11 took up about 1/3 of the restaurant....our pile of gifts for KK took up a good corner too! :) Three bottles of wine later, some gift stealing and awesome food...we were definitely satisfied. Great recommendation Louisa!

First course (Appetizer): "Ris de veau a la poudre de noisette, fricassee de cuisses de grenouilles a l'ancienne, financier a la citrouille, sauce au madere" ..or simply put, Hazelnut crusted sweetbread with sauteed frog legs. This dish was to die for.. I admit, frog legs didn't sound too appetizing, but it was delicious!..my favorite dish of the night.

Second course (Main dish): "Magret de caille farci 'en surprise', petites courges, spatzle cannelle girofle, reduction au pineau des charentes et raisin".. Stuffed breast of quail baked in a filo-type pastry. The main dish was a little different, very tasty, however the pastry did take away from the full-flavour of the quail.

Third course (Dessert): Five dessert degustation - taster menu. Jeff and I couldn't resist and decided to go big with the 5 selection desert taster menu...mmmm....was it ever worth it! Presentation was nice, but the unique taste of each desert was soooo good! Definitely a must try!

Overall rating for Amuse: 9/10 .. I would go again just for appetizers and desserts...or even the taster menus!

After dinner, we had our Christmas Gift Exchange/Stealing. Some very good gifts given the $20-25 limit. At first everyone was being soo polite and there was barely and stealing happening...but that didn't last long. With a few bottles of wine and alcohol in the pile, the stealing began!

All in all, it was a great evening...great food, great friends, great conversations, great gifts, great laughs! Happy Holidays!


Til next time...

Fine Dining Club Kickoff

Our Fine Dining Club's first official dinner kicked off at Reds Bistro on Adelaide &York in downtown Toronto - http://www.redsbistro.com/. A little rain out, but not enough to stop us. The ambience was beautiful, my first impression was wow... and then I'm like... "Welcome to the world of Louisa Kwan".. so posh. Waiter escorts us to the second floor in a private area, "Your usual table Ms Kwan". It wasn't too busy but enough to fill just less than half? Louisa ordered us a Merlot, bin 255 a personal favorite. Very nice wine that complemented my dinner. Dam I forget the name, jus the bin..is that techy geek or what?Lu & I started off with this amazing appetizer. Smoked cherry tomatoes, grilled octopus, with yellow fin tuna. mmmm, by far thebest dish of the night for us. I overheard tammy asking about it..and I was sold! presentation was nice, and every bite was worth it!Most memorable was Tammy's appetizer, a churro thing, a 10 for presentation. For my main course as well as Teresa... the Lobster & shrimp w/ sweetcorn. It was alrite... (gotta be critical, or my opinon means nothing!) temperature wise, it was cooler then i'd like. Taste was still good, as well as the shrimp. The sweet corn was good as well. I think the sleeper dish was the Venison ordered by Louisa & Lucy. Definitely a new dish for my taste buds. "Orgasmic" as Louisa put it... I offered some protection but no takers. Other main dishes included the steak & fish for tammy & Will who were also pleased w/their choices. For dessert, Lu & I had the fresh fruit with pistaschio merengue(wrong spelling i think). Another new dish for me, and really good! So all in all, a great meal I'd give it a 8 / 10 (probably higher if I ordered the venison dammit). Points lost for temperature of food...not as hot as I'd usually like it. An evening with good friends good food and great conversation. Ya can't go wrong! Next Dinner...December 8th. Can't wait!
(Review courtesy of JV)

Rex Saigon Buffet

Rex Saigon @ Brimley & Sheppard
Yet another buffet, oh boy. What I mean, is... lately the meals I remember are the buffets. So the newly opened Rex Saigon in Scarborough is another must eat. With various Vietnamese and Thai cuisines, you'll definitely go home full (if not hurting). Lots of spicy foods, and authentic vietnamese/Thai dishes, it's definitely different from the usual. Create your own soups, lots of skewered meats. Another plus, was the 25% off coupon from the entertainment book. So gonna cut this one short, go check it out. I give it a 8.0, with Lucy coming in at a 7.0, boo for her, I really like this place.
A man's character is measured by ones experiences... memories define who we are, and food is what drives the soul.

(Review courtesy of JV)