granola

I'm really picky when it comes to granola and it took me a while to come up with a recipe that I love. I can't stand granola that's sticky or god forbid, chewy. It must be crunchy and there must be clusters. And please, no raisins.

I'm not ready to reveal my recipe to the world, but over the years I've replaced most of the fat and sugar in my recipe with olive oil and brown rice syrup making it that much better.

dim sum king

Ever since Bright Pearl closed down for "renovations" I've been searching for a good dim sum place with carts. Over the weekend I decided to check out Dim Sum King, a new-ish restaurant on the third floor of a random Chinatown mall on Dundas St. Funny enough, I recognized a lot of the cart ladies from Bright Pearl (maybe they got head-hunted for their cart skills?). I got there just before 11 a.m. and by noon the tables were filling up quickly. The usual dim sum fare was offered up hot and fresh and I happily walked out stuffed. 

Top to bottom: sweet beef ribs; char siu bao (bbq pork buns); deep-fried shrimp dumplings; har gow (steamed shrimp dumplings) and siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings); haam sui gok (savoury deep-fried glutinous rice dumplings); black bean spareribs; rice flour roll with shrimp.

Dim Sum King

421 Dundas St. W, 3rd floor

momofuku confetti cookies

Since the first of January, it's been all vegetables, no meat and little sugar over at my house. And while that's been all fine and dandy, and my body has been thanking me after stuffing my face throughout the holidays, I decided it was time for a treat. Momofuku Milk Bar's confetti cookies it is!

These cookies have the best texture: crispy and chewy (a bit like a cross between a snickerdoodle and a sugar cookie). At first I thought they were a bit too sweet, but I let that go pretty quickly after I scarfed down my second cookie.

You can find the recipe over at Serious Eats.

ancaster mill

I've been wanting to go to the Sunday brunch buffet at the Ancaster Mill for a while and this past Sunday I finally got the chance to experience it. Here's the view looking down at the restaurant. 

We got a table looking out at this waterfall.

The executive chef at the Ancaster Mill also owns Bread Bar in Hamilton (you can read about the meal I had there here), so I knew the food would be fresh and delicious and not like typical steam-table buffets.

If you're in the mood for a gluttonous couple of hours of eating, this is the place to go. I loved the fresh-baked focaccia, cheese board and made-to-order Belgian waffles, but there was just so much to choose from that I didn't even try half of what was offered. Which means I'll just have to go back! 

Ancaster Mill

548 Old Dundas Rd.

Ancaster, ON.

le select bistro

Joe and I recently went to Le Select Bistro for an impromptu Saturday night dinner. It's one of my go-to restaurants in the city and is the perfect place for a classic French meal. Hope you don't mind the candle-lit photos, I really don't like using a flash when there are other diners around.

Our starters: vol-au-vent d'escargots (a puff pastry tower filled with escargots in a creamy white wine and herb sauce) and duo de gravlax et de tartare (salmon gravlax and tartare)

Our mains: steak frites and seafood bouillabaisse

Le Select Bistro

432 Wellington St. W

bread in a pot

Jim Lahey's famous no-knead bread recipe is all over the internet and a lot of people swear by how tasty it is and how easy it is to make. You basically start the dough a full day before you bake it and let it sit at room temperature to ferment. Here's my dough ready to ferment:

When the dough is ready, you plop it into a dutch oven (though I'm sure any heavy oven-proof pot will work)and bake it for 45 minutes. Here's my bread after baking:

This bread was such a surprise. Crackly crust, bubbly innards and a nice yeasty flavour. It will definitely go down as one of the easiest breads I've ever made. I'll be happily making paninis with this loaf all week.

tofu village

When I need my soon dubu (spicy Korean soft tofu stew) fix, I usually make a beeline for Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu or Tofu Village. Both restos offer really good soon dubu (admittedly, I favour Buk Chang’s more because I can get kimchi soon dubu), but Tofu Village has a more diverse menu for those who want more than just soup.

My favourite part of Korean meals is the banchan. At Tofu Village you get sesame tofu, seasoned soybean sprouts, candied potatoes and really good kimchi.

Unlike at Buk Chang, you don't get to chose what kind of soon dubu you get. All come with a mix of seafood, beef and plenty of soft tofu. I get mine medium spicy. Crack in a raw egg (the soup is boiling hot so it cooks the egg), give it a stir and you're ready to eat! 

If you get a combo, go for the kalbi (Korean ribs) and soon dubu meal. The ribs are nicely marinated and come out on a sizzling hot plate. 

Tofu Village

681 Bloor St. W.

lunch in j-town

I only go to J-Town maybe once or twice a year, but when I do go, one of the highlights is having lunch at Cafe Green Tea. The menu is pretty simple with dishes like udon, soba, curry and tonkatsu, but the food is always piping hot and delicious. 

Pork tonkatsu + Japanese curry:

I find it hard to resist picking up some bread at the adjoining Bakery Nakamura. Unlike the savoury buns you get at Chinese bakeries that are soft and sweet, the bread here is very French influenced and baguette-like. The toppings are also mixed into the bread so you get bits of flavour in every bite. 

Clockwise from top left: cheese bun, bacon stick, cheese and onion bun, sausage wasabi bun. 

J-Town

3160 Steeles Ave. E.

nak won

My first dinner out in 2012 was at Nak Won's downtown location on Dundas St. We've been eating a lot of Korean food lately (I'll have a post on another Korean restaurant later this week) because it's the perfect type of food when the weather's cold and dreary.

I love getting a large assortment of banchan (little complimentary side dishes). Clockwise from top left: seaweed, seasoned soybean sprouts, candied potatoes, pickled radish, soybeans, jap chae (potato starch noodles), fish cakes, and kimchi.

Broiled mackerel and kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew).

Tang Soo Yuk, the Korean version of sweet and sour pork.

Pretty much every table at the restaurant had at least one bowl of this pork bone soup. Messy (you got to get your hands dirty to get at the good stuff), but so worth it.

Nak Won

473 Dundas St.W

books, books, books

Here’s a pile of books that my bro gave me for Christmas this year. It’s a mix of novels, manga and, of course, cookbooks. I’ve been on a self-imposed cookbook-buying ban since mid-October so it felt good to get some new food porn.