Category: Restaurants [之牛牛心得]

Jun 06 2013

PhoPadThai (越泰盞)

PhoPadThai (越泰盞) is opened not long ago in that Asian food plaza at Apple Creek and Woodbine Ave Markham. where it used to be called WoodStone (森石).  As you can tell by their name, they serve a combination of Vietnamese and Thai food.  I am never a Thai food fan but instead, I love Viet Pho, since it is not very far from my work place, I had already been there twice and I would say they are actually not bad.  If you order their Viet Pho noodles, you get to choose fresh or regular noodle which you won’t find that in most Vietnamese restaurants.  Taste wise, ummm, there are really a lot of other competitors out there in Toronto really but usually what I look for is the details of the way they sliced their food, just take a look at the pictures below, they all taste the same really, if they are under the expectations, then their business will not last.  But I can say, this place is really not bad, at least I didn’t taste any MSG and their stir fried beef, spring rolls and my noodle made my stomach very satisfied 😛

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Rating: 8.0/10 (2 votes cast)

May 29 2013

GUU IZAKAYA

GUU IZAKAYA, yet another very popular izakaya place in Toronto.  What is izakaya?  The name “izakaya” is a compound word consisting of “i” (to stay) and “sakaya” (sake shop), indicating that izakaya originated from sake shops that allowed customers to sit on the premises to drink.  I haven’t been to a lot izakaya restaurants tho but this one is probably by far the best one I have tried so I don’t think I really have to mention anything about their food.  Location is really not bad because there is a pay parking right across the street and it is not far from Eaton Center if you want to get to downtown early and do a little shopping first then eat 😛  Price wise, ummm, it really depends, I went with 3 other people and at the end was like almost $45 per head including SAKE but I think it was totally worth it since it was my very first time there 😛  Also, one thing I have learned, if you go there, go early or there will be a HUGE lineup anytime after 6 which includes weekdays and they don’t accept reservations.  Anyways, I really had a great time there and here are some of the pictures I took while I was there, enjoy!

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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

May 23 2013

丹羽亭 NIWATEI Japanese Ramen restaurant

Yet, another Japanese restaurant located in J-Town again, 丹羽亭 NIWATEI, like the previous J-Town restaurants I posted, this place is also a well known Ramen place in uptown.  OK OK, call me a noob like the other posts, it was my first time again hehe, not a lot of choices but it seems like a pretty cool place.  Compare to other Chinese owned Japanese Ramen, of course this is way way better, but I was told the ones in downtown are a lot better, well, I guess I will just have to wait and see because I am not a Ramen person and this one taste pretty good already 😛  For the price around $10, it will fill you up pretty good with their wonderful soup base and noodles.  Oh oh, I almost forgot to mention, they do not do takeouts FYI

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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

May 14 2013

Izakaya Ju @ J-Town

I am pretty sure a lot of people has already been to this restaurant already but it was actually my first time.  Izakaya Ju @ J-Town, a Japanese style bar and grill. It’s the equivalent of an English pub, where they serve snacks to accompany your drinks. They have many small dishes which are comparatively inexpensive and classical. People can enjoy casually eating and drinking.  Located at 3160 Steeles Ave E, Markham ON, right at the corner of Woodbine and Steeles Ave. east, a perfect Japanese grill in uptown if downtown is too far for you 😛  Price wise is alright, since everything is like snack size, you could end up paying a lot like what we did but you are looking at around $30 with a beer and you are good for the night  😀

I have to admit most Japanese grills taste really good, but after trying a few, I have to say I could only have it once in a while because everything is very salty really…  I guess the whole meaning to these restaurants is snacks and drink a lot 😛  Anyhow, I am still willing to go if anyone is up for it, hehe.

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Rating: 9.5/10 (2 votes cast)

May 05 2013

樂園 (Nak Won) Korean Restaurant

樂園 (Nak Won) Korean Restaurant has a few locations in Toronto area but I had never been to one until now.  A new location was opened a few months ago at Weldrick rd. and Yonge st. and I finally got a chance to try this place out.  Same as a lot of Korean restaurants, this one has all you can eat BBQ and normal fine dinning to choose from.  Since I/we wanted to try their different varieties of food, we chose to order dishes separately.  We were quite happy with everything we ordered really, the beef was tendered, the kids loved the yummy noodles and the presentation on everything was perfect, just take a look at the mouth watering pictures below.  I would definately recommend this to everyone if you are looking for a mid grade Korean Restaurant.  Why mid grade?  Well, food is really not bad compare to the a few others but service wasn’t the greatest…  We had our food on the table and we got no bowls or plates, BBQ ribs arrived with no knife or scissors and other little things…  Maybe my friends didn’t notice while we were there but it is something that I am looking for in a restaurant really, maybe the other locations are better, I don’t know 😛  Anyways, this is really another option if you are looking for Korean food in that Richmond Hill area, tho other ones are at least a few blocks away I think!?

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Rating: 7.5/10 (2 votes cast)