DaiLo

Oh I've been trying to get to DaiLo for quite some time.  We were in Toronto when it was in its infancy, but didn't get a chance to visit.   In fact, I missed it once again earlier in the year while we were in town.  However, this time, I made a reso so we would finally dine there!  Meaning "Big Brother" in Cantonese, DaiLo is headed by Chef Nick Liu.  His French influences on Asian cuisine are evident while still honouring the classic dishes he grew up on.  Seeing how many items we wanted to try on the menu, the best solution was having their Premium DaiLo's Choice tasting menu for $155.00 per person.

This started with an Amuse Bouche consisting of a Tom Yum Custard.  This little gem was only a taste of what was to come, but it was a loudspeaker of a beginning.  Silky and light, the egg custard was merely a blank canvas for the classic Tom Yum flavours including a hit of bright lemongrass and the tangy brininess of kaffir lime and fish sauce.  Some spiciness appeared from the chili oil and of course the usual bite from the galangal.  We found some smoked tomatoes, butter poached shrimp and pickled chilis which added more layers of impact.

Something a bit out of left field, we had the Spanish Tortilla with sesame crème fraîche, Kaviari Osetra Caviar and chives.  This was a beautiful rendition of a tortilla with tender pieces of potato sandwiched in between fluffy egg and onion.  There was a ever-so-slight nuttiness coming from the sesame crème fraîche while the salty brininess of the caviar provided that umaminess for the little bite.  Sure, this wasn't Asian, but it was beautifully executed.

One of my favourite bites of the meal was the Crispy Octopus Taco.  This was pretty ingenious with a thinly sliced piece of jicama as the "taco shell".  This totally kept things light and fresh.  That was necessary since the red braised pork belly was sinfully delicious.  The richness of the meat melded perfectly with the equally tender octopus.  Providing some spice and depth was the sambal aioli.  Once again, the bright crunch of the jicama really balanced things out.

Moving onto the next item, it could very well be an Amuse as well since it was a one-biter.  The Smoked Trout Pomelo Betel Leaf reminded me of the Thai Miang Kham which literally means many things in one bite.  However, this one had different components such as cold-smoked trout, lime leaf, lemongrass, shallot, nut crumble, puffed rice and coconut caramel dressing.  Lots of things going on here, but the textural crunch from the ingredients provided a nice mouth feel.  In addition, the lemongrass really came through while the smokiness came on a bit later.

In addition to the Tom Yum Custard, the Soft-Shell Crab Banh Xeo was another off-menu item.  This featured turmeric-battered crab sitting on a betel leaf and lettuce while complimented by pickled bean sprouts, chili oil and sambal vinegar.  This was inspired by their recent collaboration with Montreal's Street Monkeys.  I found that the soft shell crab was super light with a crispy and earthy batter.  That crunch was reminiscent of the crisp banh xeo texture.  In addition to this, the bean sprouts provided the veggie crunch as well as some acidity. 

We were served 2 items next in the Sweet & Sour Pork Hock as well as the Vietnamese Phaux Beef Carpaccio.  The 2 large nuggets of pork hock were nicely marbled giving it a meaty texture with intermittent butteriness.  Lots of crunch on the outside while the fat was full of umaminess.  The accompanying sweet & sour sauce had a light viscosity but still clung onto each cube beautifully.  It was appetizingly tangy with just enough sweetness.  As for the beef carpaccio, the meat was buttery soft while exhibiting rich beef flavour that wasn't as sharp as I would be expecting from a 90-day aged ribeye cap.  There was spot-on pho flavours including meaty saltiness accented by star anise and cloves with background sweetness.

Next, we were presented with something that was a bit odd at first.  I really didn't know what to think of it, but alas, it was described as the Bonito Potato Espuma.  Okay, so it was a potato foam of some sort and the best part, it had bonito in it.  Hence, it was briny and full of umami.  It was super light and airy while the exhibiting an appealing smokiness.  If that wasn't enough, we found a piece of anchovy on top with some chili crunch. That afforded even more briny saltiness and some spice.

We finished with the small plates with a pair of dumplings including the Pea Dumplings and Hakka Brown Wontons.  The pea puree filling was absolutely money with a creamy sweetness that was elevated by the rich brown butter.  The dumpling wrapper was super thin and delicate while retaining a chew.   As if that wasn't enough, there was some creamy bone marrow to make the duck bacon dashi nage extra rich and silky.  We found some chanterelles, pea shoots, peas and summer truffle in the mix to add woodsiness and some freshness.  As for the Wontons, they were filled with tender and juicy pork.  They sat in a mix of house XO sauce, toasted sesame oil and almond crumble.  The result was something quite nutty, briny and somewhat spicy.  Although I we enjoyed these, this was probably the most "ordinary" dish of the meal.

What we had next was genuinely awesome in the Singapore Chili Lobster.  It was truly a masterpiece consisting of a decently-sized lobster bathed in a nutty, spicy, briny and savoury sauce.  The addition of peanuts and lemongrass really gave this a SE Asian punch that was finger-licking good.  The lobster itself was live before cooking, hence, the meat was bouncy and sweet.  Sandwiched in between the pieces of lobster, we found fried noodles doused in the same sauce.  What a nice crunchy snack of sorts in between pieces of lobster.  On the side, we were served some Gai Lan with black garlic tofu dressing, oyster mushrooms chips and chili oil.  This was a fairly simple preparation but the steamed gai lan were still crunchy and were fully seasoned by the umaminess of the dressing and the nutty spiciness of the chili oil.

As a palate cleanser, we were served an Aloe Vera Sorbet with pickled ginger.  After the spicy lobster, it was very much welcomed as it cooled our tongue and got us ready for the Olive Oil Cake with a white chocolate crémeux, caramelized white chocolate and mango.  This was a nice fruity and light way to finish the meal.  The cake was ever-so-moist and the sweetness was just right.  Nice contrast of textures.  Overall, the tasting menu at DaiLo was really good and we weren't left wanting for any more food.  Nice array of dishes that were mostly unlike each other and kept things interesting.  Sure, DaiLo isn't the shiniest new thing in TO, but it is still a solid choice amongst all of the great places to dine at.

The Good:
- Good combination of elevated dishes and rustic ones
- Impactful flavours
- Wonderful service

The Bad:
- Some dishes were bordering on salty, if not salty

Jing Tan Grill House

I've had my eye on Jing Tan Grill House for quite some time.  Looking over their 3-tiered AYCE (All-You-Can-Eat) menu, it seemed like the Deluxe for $39.85 looked like the sweet spot.  You basically have everything you would want except for Wagyu Beef, Lobster, Lamb, Scallops and Oysters.  However, upon sitting down and eyeing the menu, I decided I needed to do the Supreme (with the aforementioned items) for $68.85.  They use charcoal grills here without the benefit of temperature control.  However, nothing cooks like charcoal as it really chars meats better than gas.  Ventilation is quite good, so it wasn't smoky at all in the restaurant.

In addition to the AYCE menu, there is a self-service bar that features Potato Salad, Wakame Salad, Tofu Skin Salad, Woodear Salad, Edamame, Fruit, Spring Rolls, Fried Dumplings, Shrimp Chips, Fries and Dungeness Crab.  I actually enjoyed all the salads.  Good flavour and texture.  I didn't try the potato salad though.  I was a little surprised to find crab there, but it was "okay".  Not live crab for sure, but it wasn't mushy though.  Was overcooked a touch.  Would've liked to see the fried food kept warm somehow.

So the Supreme menu has certain items that may make you rethink whether you want to spend more money (like me...).  The A5 Miyazaki Wagyu was absolutely buttery and delicious.  They did limit this to only 1 order per person.  We also found SRF Wagyu which was obviously less buttery, but still tender.  Yep, they also had whole Ribeye Steak that was limited to 1 per person.  This was only average as the meat was tender, but not marbled enough (despite having lots of fat around the edges.

We actually got another order of the SRF Wagyu (max 3 per person) along with the Premium Boneless Shortribs (also max 3 orders per person).  I thought these short ribs were quite fatty and if you like the fat, this is for you.  I tried eating multiple pieces with all the fat, but it was just too heavy.  We actually preferred the regular short ribs in the Deluxe menu.  On the bottom, there was some Wagyu Beef Tongue.  The trick to these was to cook them for a long time to help activate the fats (as in rendering it), so the meat would be tender enough to eat, rather than being chewy.

We had some other meats from all parts of the menu including Marinated Pork Shoulder, Pork Neck, Lamb Rack and Beef Short Ribs.  Really enjoyed the tender and flavourful pork, especially the sweet pineapple.  The pork neck was at its bouncy best with great marbling.  The lamb rack chops were pretty good, as long as you don't overcooked it.  Now for the aforementioned short ribs.  They were tender with the classic short rib chew.  Nice sweet and savoury marinade on them.

Disregard the Wagyu beef tongue in this picture as it was a repeat, but below, we had some Chicken Knees and New Orleans Chicken Wings.  I thought the chicken knees could've benefited from some better trimming as there was more than cartilage in each bite.  We had unchewable pieces of bone.  The wings were split and cooked quickly as a result.  The meat was juicy and tender from the savoury marinade.  The Unagi was fantastic, but was hard to cook on the grill as it stuck to it.  It was buttery and well-sauced.  The Abalone was the typical small ones you'd find at the supermarket.  With that being said, they were nice texturally having that dense squishy chewiness.  Added some Shrimp for good measure.  They were your typical frozen white shrimp.

As part of the Supreme menu, we could order the Lobster Tails (limit one per person).  These were par-cooked and needed to be finished on the grill.  We found them already fully done from the kitchen, so warming them up on the grill overcooked them.  Still nice to have some lobster!  The Oysters were also par-cooked, so it didn't take too long to finish them off on the grill.  They were buttery and briny with some sweetness.  A bit of sweetened soy on top added some saltiness and the garlic did its aromatic thing.

We got some shellfish in the form of White Wine Mussels, Clam Vermicelli and Scallops with Garlic. All of them were par-cooked as well and needed to be finished on the grill.  The problem with these is that they take up a lot of real estate on the grill and take some time to warm up.  Since there is a 2-hour limit, you might want to order these only once.  They were good though with fresh shellfish that were all the right textures.  Good flavour for all of them as they were topped with garlic and sauce.

As you can see, the amount of space on the grill is typical, so you need to cooked strategically.  Also, since it is charcoal, there was some hotspots and some coldspots.  Needed to move things around to get some char or to prevent burning.  When done right, the stuff is delicious.  We ended off with some complimentary Ice Cream which was more icy than creamy.  But whatever, it was included and helped cool our mouths from the barrage of hot food off the grill.  Overall, we quite enjoyed the experience at Jing Tan as the charcoal grill produced some great searing.  Also, the food quality was above average while the service was fantastic.  Would come back.

The Good:
- Above-average food quality
- Surprisingly good service
- Real charcoal grill

The Bad:
- Grill size is average, but some of the items take up a lot of room and slows the cooking down
- Limited parking spots

Wonton Hut

After an average wonton experience at the ol' skool Swatow, we made our way to the Downtown location of Wonton Hut.  Sure, the name seems to indicate that "these are the wontons you're looking for".   Well apparently, they were indeed what I was looking for, but not for everyone else because this spot is now permanently closed.  However, I'm still going to do this post as their original Markham location still exists.  So that also means I have to head out to Markham next time I'm in town for my wonton fix!

So before we get to the wontons, we had to try some of their other offerings too right?  We went for the Braised Brisket Noodle Soup with round noodles.  This could be had as a lo mein as well.  We thought the soup was quite good with plenty of natural umaminess from the beef as well as the braising juices.  Hence there was also background licorice notes from the star anise.  The brisket (or beef finger meat in this case) was super tender and somewhat fatty.  Noodles were al dente.

The same couldn't be said about the Bun Rieu though.  Yes, I realize that this is not a Vietnamese restaurant, so I should go easy on them right?  Well, I'm going to do that here, but I'm not sure why they were offering this when it wasn't done right.  Okay, let's get to the positives first.  So the broth was their own take on things being more of a tomato broth with not enough brininess.  It was good in a vacuum though where there was tang and depth.  The biggest issue was the pork and crab meatballs.  They were more like just pork meatballs that were far too firm.  Okay bowl of noodles but not a Bun Rieu.

So everything was good in the world again when we had the Wonton Noodles.  I've had many a bowl in my lifetime and this could be described as legit.  The broth itself was a bit briny, nutty and full of umami.  This was quite concentrated, hence it also lightly flavoured the noodles.  About those noodles, they were firmly al dente with that desired chew and rebound.  This was achieve by the use of lye water.  As for the wontons, they were mainly shrimp and huge.  Sweet and briny, the shrimp had a juicy bounce texture.

Just because the wontons were so delicious as they came didn't mean further enhancement wasn't necessary.  For me, I love to douse them in a bit of Chili Oil Sauce.  The one provided at the table was pretty good with noted spiciness, nuttiness and smokiness.  It really did compliment the briny and sweetness of the wontons.  Since I don't live in TO, I'm not one to declare anything, but I would say these are very good wontons.  Spoiler alert, I did visit Congee Queen a few months later and no, they weren't as good (but still very acceptable).  So too bad this location is closed because one needs to travel to Markham for these wontons.  In that case, if you want to remain in the area, Congee Queen is a good substitute.

The Good:
- Legit Wontons
- Good noodles too
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Well, the menu is different than the Markham location, but I'd stick to the stuff they are good at

Jojo Hot Pot

I'm sure most of you have either visited or heard of Big Way Hot Pot where you grab your own ingredients and are charged by weight.  There are a variety of broths available including some spicy ones.  Well, that concept took off and now we are beginning to see the competitors roll into the party.  I've tried Datang out in Richmond and now it is time to check out Jojo Hot Pot, in particular, the West Van location.  This is actually a rebrand of Grandma Liu Hot Pot.  Jess and I made our way to Ambleside where we found Jojo Hot Pot right on Marine Drive with its upstairs dining room.

Similar to all of the other build-your-own hot pot places, there was a selection of veggies, meats, fish meatballs, seafood, bean curd products and noodles.  Things definitely looked fresh and clean.  However, their labelling could improve as some items were not where they should have been.  I know what everything is, but for those who don't, it can be confusing.  If you look at my pot of raw ingredients, I put all of the veggies underneath and loaded up with lean pork belly, snakehead fish slices, fried bean curd, quail eggs, bean curd ribbons, lobster ball, razor clams, half-lobster, abalone and dried noodles (non-fried).  If you can believe it, this was only $37.00 even though it was quite heavy. 

I went for the Jojo Broth which was pork bone-based.  This was pretty impactful with a meaty umaminess.  It was bordering on salty, but I thought that was necessary to keep the flavour while dealing with the excess moisture from the components (such as the veggies and meat).  As for the ingredients, they cooked it nicely as the spinach was not mushy while the seafood retained their optimal texture.  Of course the broth took on some of the natural sweetness and brininess.

Jess had the Lobster Broth and yes, it tasted exactly how I would've imagined it to be.  Fragrant, briny, sweet and lobstery, this had depth and helped flavour all of the other components.  Oddly enough, she didn't pile on as many things as I did, but still ended up to be roughly the same amount as me.  I think it was the fact she had corn and a bunch of fish ball products, which are some of the heaviest things available.  Whatever the case, she still enjoyed it and the broth was excellent.

We had one more option at the table and it was the Miso Broth.  I thought this was quite impactful with the rich saltiness of the miso being front and centre.  Now it wasn't salty though.  The fermented flavour was dominant and it helped season all of the components.  That was especially true with the wide noodles.  Sure, you could dunk everything into the custom dip you make at the sauce bar, but things would be flavourful on its own.

On the topic of the Sauce Bar, it was simple but had all of the necessary items to create your custom dip.  We also had some of their drinks including the Passion Fruit Tea and Cloud Milk Tea.  I really liked the passion fruit tea because it was light and refreshing.  Perfect compliment to the hot pot.  The cloud milk tea was good too being just sweet enough while being creamy with nice tea flavour.  I liked it by itself, but probably not with my hot pot.  In the end, Jojo hot pot was solid with flavourful broths including lobster.  This is a great alternative to Big Way.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Flavourful broths

- They have lobster broth!

- Fresh ingredients

The Bad:

- This particular location has limited space, especially in the ingredients line

Datang

We've been through many food crazes in and around Metro Vancouver over the decades.  There has been bubble tea (still going on apparently), poke and more recently, "build-you-own-hot pot".  Big Way started the trend and in fact, it was a copy of something that started in Australia. The concept gives the individual the ability to select their own ingredients and then pay for the hot pot by weight.  Broth is included and there are many options (even dry mix without broth is available).  Soft-serve ice cream is also usually included at the end.  So you know that Big Way wouldn't have a monopoly for long since copycats would arrive on the scene.  One of the newest is Datang in Richmond.

Unique to this location, Datang is a stand-alone restaurant with its own parking lot.  Since it was a Greek restaurant many years ago, the renovated dining space is both spacious and modern.  Jackie and I were invited to try the place out where we decided to try 4 different broth combinations.   The selection of ingredients was quite extensive and things looked fresh.  It was easy going back and forth between items as there was a decent amount of space to walk around.

The great part of the broths is that you choose your base (pork, beef, fish, mushroom or tomato), and then the flavour (Mala, Tomato, Tom Yum, Laksa, Korean Kimchi, Thai Curry, Pickled Mustard or Original).  The first one we tried was the Malaysian Laksa Fish Broth.  Combined with the seafood-heavy selection that I chose along with the usual things you see in Laksa, this was impactful and flavourful.  Nice creamy sweetness to the broth with a touch of spice.  With the added seafood, it upped the brininess quotient as well.

Another intensely-impactful broth was the Tom Yum Pork Bone Broth.  If I had to compare with Big Way, I think the one at Datang is less sour and more fragrant.  That in itself made it more appealing.  With the right items (such as shrimp, tofu and mushrooms) in the mix, it really gave Thai soup vibes.  Nice lemongrass aroma going with a balanced amount of tang and brininess.  I particularly enjoyed the noodles that soaked up the broth.

As for the Tomato Broth, it looked a little on the light side in terms of colour.  Again, if I had to compare, it looked a lot like the one at Big Way, but it did taste more impactful at the same time.  I felt it could've been a tad more salty, but in the end, it did taste like tangy tomato with appealing sweetness.  This broth went best with veggies, tofu and beef.  The tomato helped enhance the natural sweetness of the veggies.

The last broth that we tried was the Spicy Mala Pork Bone Broth.  I really enjoyed this one as there was a good amount of heat while not being painful.  The numbing spice was appealing and this was great with meat, in particular, lamb slices.  Even some seafood worked well with this, including snakehead fish slices.  I enjoyed the noodles in this broth, but for those who are sensitive to that, I would recommend against putting any noodles in this.

Now Datang is more than just hot pot as they have a selection of cooked items as well.  I found the Crispy Chinese Burger filled with chicken to be one of the better things I've eaten lately.  Super flaky and crispy with a savoury and tender meat filling.  Their Lamb & Beef Skewers were also pretty solid with a slightly spicy (can be mild or spicy) and earthy seasoning mix.  The meats were tender with a balancing amount of fat.

  

They also have a selection of drinks and we tried 4 of them including the Cheese Foam Osmanthus Milk Tea, Lemon Lychee Green Tea, Floral Trio Milk Green Tea and Panda Milk Tea.  If I had to choose again, I'd go for the first one as it was creamy, cheesy and full of sweet jelly.  The floral trio was good too being milky, aromatic and lightly sweet.  Of course we ended off our meal with a Strawberry Soft-Serve Ice Cream.  This was a bit sweet for me, but a nice finish anyways as my mouth was still feeling the spicy mala broth.  Overall, the broths at Datang were great and more flavourful in comparison to Big Way.  Definitely a good alternative.  Hope they open more locations.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Flavourful broths and lots of combinations
- Ingredients were fresh and refilled quickly
- Loved the hot food, in particular, the Crispy Burger

The Bad:
- A little bit of a bottleneck near the sauce bar
- I think the ice cream should be served instead of self-serve, it got messy and people used it when the ice cream wasn't ready