Edulis

Sitting at #2 on Canada's Best 100 restaurants for 2024, Edulis is also the recipient of a Michelin Star.  It is truly a destination restaurant tucked within a cozy bistro on Niagara in Toronto.  The Manager, Philip Shaw, welcomes and warmly guides you throughout the tasting menu that takes a journey though in-season seafood, vegetables and mushrooms.  Viv and I were fortunate enough to snag a reservation for this exquisite experience.

You must be quick when the resos are available and also need to prepay.  We had a 7:00pm reservation and began with the Snacks consisting of Edulis "Gilda Matrimonio" with Cantabrian anchovy, Valentine Radish with Liptauer cheese, Profiterole of Winter Parsnip & Black Truffle and Coppa di Testa of Mangalista Pork with Eggplant Sott'Olio.  A very nice introduction to the menu where we literally whet our appetites on the tangy and briny skewers with stuffed olives and anchovy.  Our favourite of the bunch was the profiteroles as the choux pastry was perfectly crispy with an airy centre.  The sweet parsnips were creamy and gave off foie mousse vibes.

 

As a supplement added at the table and not part of the original tasting menu, we had the Jamón Joselito for an extra $50.00.  This was well worth it though as each slice of ham was super buttery and richly salty, yet still a bit sweet as well.  On top, we found some Picos (Spanish bread sticks) that were a bit dense. This is the best ham in the world coming from a small company founded in 1868 and based in Guijuelo.  I would agree that this is one of the best I've had and would gladly have more!

Seemingly simple but complex in flavour, the Roscoff Onion Pannacotta was delightful with a rich creamy texture.   Mildly milky, the pannacotta served as a canvas for the sweet & earthy onions.   Although there was no curry to be found in this dish, there was a faint curry finish.   I loved the addition of crunch to the mix that added textural contrast.  Of course we couldn't forget about the generous dollop of Oscietra "Prestige" caviar.  That provides pops of salty brininess.

 

In between courses, we were served the Red Fife Bread with 84% fat cultured butter.  We went for the black truffle supplement and they went nuts with it on top of the butter.  The bread itself had a nice crunch with the crust while the inside had a heavy fermented flavour.  It was densely fluffy (if that makes sense).  We didn't go easy with the butter and that made all the difference in the world.  It was creamy and a bit gamy with lots of truffle woodsiness.    

One of our favourite courses was the Wild Red Sea Bream that was lightly cured and sandwiched in between sheets of kombu.   The slices of fish were supremely bright and naturally sweet with a kiss from the sea.  With Buddha hand citrus, we had all the acidity and fragrance the fish needed.  We had a bit of licorice finish from the fennel seed but also some slight brightness and bitterness from the cardoon.

Keeping the hits going, the Dungeness Crab was a beautiful dish where the main ingredient was allowed to shine.   Fluffy, briny and sweet, the crab sat in a sweet macadamia cream that featured crab butter.  It was full of umami and of course, crab flavour.  This made the flavour profile extremely crab-forward (which would've been the point).  We found some wild bears garlic finishing off the dish with delicate aromatics.

If crab and sea Bream wasn't a seafood treat already, we had the Just Shucked Mahone Bay Scallops next.  These were lightly poached in dashi that firmed them up but left the scallop raw.   They were buttery and naturally sweet.  This sat atop fermented aji verde which was bright, herbaceous and slightly spicy.  We had some Ontario ginger and pickled ramps which added bite and tang.

Moving onto something a bit different and more robust, we had the Smoked Eel "Schnitzel".  We found a piece of eel that was coated in breading and fried until golden brown.  It was crispy and aromatic while the short-finned eel itself was firm (like it should be) and lightly sweet.  Underneath, we found some white asparagus sitting in a stinging nettle vichyssoise with mustard seed mignonette and red wine reduction.  This was a fairly mild dish overall.

The next course featured diced BC Spot Prawn Crudo in saucy bomba rice with Mangalista sobrassada spread.  I thought the saucy rice was the best part of this dish as it sported concentrated flavours of prawn shells.  It was super briny, aromatic and pleasingly salty.   There was some meaty spiciness from the sobrasada that provided depth.   However, the delicate spot prawn was lost in all of this.  The good news was that the texture was as still there.

Our last course was the Dry-Aged Mangalista Pork with hedgehog mushrooms, cabbage sausage, roasted apple, celeriac & mushroom puree and cider sauce.  The pork was absolutely delicious where it was barely cooked through.  Each piece was juicy and succulent with natural sweetness.   The mushrooms help add some woodiness and the apple and cider sauce provided sweetness and slight tang.  really enjoyed the roasted pork rib on the side.  Such succulent and well-seasoned meat!  

Onto dessert, we ordered 2 of them including Niagara Baby Gold Peaches sitting in vanilla crème Anglais and raspberry sauce.  This was a simple dish, but was truly a refreshing way to cleanse the palate after all those fabulous courses.  But the real dessert was the Dark Chocolate Layer Cake with Soma kokoa kamili chocolate, Niagara apricot preserves and hazelnut praline. Oh this cake was so rich and chocolatey while being only purposefully sweet.  This was lighter than it appeared and was super fluffy.  Loved the crunch from the pralines on top.  As you can see, this tasting menu was a lot of thoughtful and well-prepared dishes.  Really great experience, especially with the personable service we received from Philip.  We can see why it is ranked so high on Canada's Top 100 Restaurants.

 

The Good:

- Outstanding service

- Good use of fresh Canadian ingredients

- Delicious

 

The Bad:

- Super hard to get a reservation

- With all the supplements and wine, it can get pretty expensive 

Fusion Delight

Rounding up all the relatives for one meal, we ended up having a party of 16 people.  Now we all know that means only one thing...  We met for Chinese food!  One of my cousins suggested Fusion Delight out in San Leandro.  She had recently attended a wedding there and was impressed with the food and the spacious dining room.  As its name suggests, there are some fusion elements to their cuisine.  As you can see in the picture, it was pouring rain...  I guess we brought that to Cali from Vancouver in December...

We kicked things off with the BBQ Pork with honey BBQ sauce.  On looks alone, this was completely legit.  The bark was so charred and caramelized that we could smell it.  Of course, that meant not only an intense smokiness, there was nuttiness and impactful sweetness.  If that wasn't enough, they made sure of things by drizzling a good amount of the honey BBQ sauce on top.  It wasn't overly sweet since it was a mixture that included maltose.  The meat itself was a mix of lean and fatty portions, so it was juicy and tender.

Since all of the kiddies enjoy Peking Duck, we had no choice but to order it.  Turns out the adults loved it too!  the skin had an appealing rich mahogany hue while being crispy and low on the fat.  Beyond that, it was also aromatic and flavorful on its own.  Underneath, the meat was tender and juicy with a mild brine.  Rather than the usual steamed flour crepes, we found steamed bao instead.  These were fluffy and provided a nice contrast to the crispy skin.

One of the most expensive items we had was the half of a Suckling Pig for $158.00.  I guess it was worth it because it was a significant portion and at first glance, it looked to be roasted beautifully.  That it was when we bit into the crispy crackling.  It was so light that it broke apart on contact.  Really great texture and aromatic.  As for the meat underneath, it had a balanced amount of fat where it helped keep things moist and provided natural flavor.

Keeping the meats coming, we had the Braised Short Ribs.  These were majestically plated with the meat sliced off the bone and presented on the bone.  With the meat being fatty in the first place, it was a good start in terms of the flavor and juiciness department.  Combined with a proper braise, the meat was fall-apart tender.  To literally top things off, a sweet, garlicky and sticky glaze was poured over the meat.  Really delicious and highly-recommended.

To get the obligatory veggies into the meal, we had a pair of dishes in the Stir-Fried Pea Shoots with Garlic and the Stir-Fried Yau Choy with Garlic.  As you can imagine, the flavor profile of both dishes was very similar.  There was enough seasoning in both so that the veggies has some salty sweetness to them as well as the aroma of seared garlic.  Naturally, the pea shoots had a different texture with tender leaves with a crunch.  The yau choy had a slightly more robust texture with more moisture.

One item we ordered sounded great even before we got it.  The Salted Egg Yolk Chicken Wings also looked great when it hit the table too.  Many times, this dish has all the promise, only to fall down flat due to a variety of factors.  Those didn't happen there as the amount of salted egg yolk sauce was enough to properly coat each wing and to provide that unmistakable salty, nutty and aromatic flavor.  Futhermore, the skin was crispy and slightly rendered while the meat inside was juicy and also seasoned.

Continuing the same theme, we also had the Whole Garlic Fried Chicken.  This was a variation of the classic Cantonese dish where a whole brined chicken is deep fried until crispy while the meat is still juicy.  The brine on the chicken is the key as it not only flavors the meat, it keeps it from drying out.  This was exactly the case here with rendered crispy skin with an added element of fried garlic as well.  A nice and simple twist of a common menu item.

So far, we hadn't tried any seafood, but that all changed when the huge piece of French Baked Sea Bass Fillet arrived at our table.  The picture doesn't do it justice as it was massive.  It was also perfectly cooked despite being so thick.  The meat was flaky and buttery with plenty of moisture.  On the outside, it was seared and slightly charred.  Hence, there was a good contrast of textures and flavors.  The outside was smoky and somewhat sweet.

So we got back on the meat wagon with the Peking Pork Chops.  Yep, this was the for the kids too and hey it was pretty solid.  Each pork chop had enough meat so that it was still tender with moisture while the outside had some crispiness.  As you can see, there was just enough sauce to coat each piece without leaving a goopy messy on the plate.  The sauce was balanced being tangy and sweet with some smokiness.  Only wished there wasn't an oil slick on the plate.

In a roundabout kind of way, we got more vegetables in the form of Wok Fried Pork Cheeks and Chives.  As you can see, this included both chives and flowering chives.  Hence there was a different in texture and taste.  These were still crunchy and vibrant from the high heat wok hei.  Good aroma and no residual moisture on the plate.  As for the sliced pork cheek, there was caramelization and proper amount of seasoning.  It had the usual bouncy tender texture.

To end things off, we had the Classic Special Fried Rice.  This rice had a little bit of everything including seafood, cured sausage, egg, tobiko and green onion.  There was good wok hei where the rice was nutty and chewy (in a good way).  Lots of aroma and enough seasoning.  In the end, we thought the meal was pretty good, especially for the portion sizes and price.  Service is a bit hit and miss since the place is super busy.  Also a bonus is the large parking lot, you will probably find a space.

The Good:

- Large portions

- Decent eats

- Reasonable-pricing

The Bad:

- Service is hit and miss

Chef Tian's

Originally, the plan was to hit up Max Wonton House for some Chinese comfort eats.  Seeing how they only take cash, I had to make a quick pit stop at the bank.  This brought me to the Central at Garden City shopping complex.  After snagging a parking spot, I looked over and thought that maybe we should just head over to Chef Tian's instead.  I've always wanted to check out their gigantic salty donut as well as their other signature dishes.  Situated in the former location of Z & Y Shanghai, Chef Tian features Hunan cuisine (which is rarely found in the GVRD).

Of course we were here for more than the salty donut, and hence, we began with an interesting dish I've never had before - Stir Fried Egg with Vinegar.  Honestly, we were both interested and a bit apprehensive at the same time.  Turns out that it was a great decision to give it a go because the eggs were super fluffy and silky.  Also, the most important part was that the dark vinegar was definitely there but not so much that the dish was sour.  It was nicely balanced in terms of sweetness and savouriness with only a hint of vinegar.  The addition of chili peppers gave the dish a slight kick.

For some people, they might be laughing at me for ordering the Sweet & Sour Pork.  Yes, we were at a Hunan restaurant, so maybe I shouldn't order it right?  Well, they do have their own version of it and I'm pretty sure they adapted this one for the masses.  However, it was unique in its own way though.  The pork came in strips and was coated with a lighter starch batter that was crispy and airy.  As for the sauce, it was pretty red, but had a nice viscosity where the balance of sweet and sour was quite nice.  The pork itself wasn't too fatty and was tender.

Arriving on a huge dish, the Spicy Diced Chicken was one of the best we've ever had.  Not only was there a good portion of crispy nuggets of chicken, we found crispy rice as well.  That was a textural delight that was crunchy and airy that took on all of the appealingly spicy saltiness of the dish.  As for the chicken, beyond the crispy exterior, the meat was actually juicy and completely seasoned.  The brine on them was on point while the outer seasoning was salty, spicy and slightly smoky.

Probably our 2nd favourite dish was the Feiteng Fish featuring slices of grouper in a spicy oil broth.  This was similar to the Szechuan spicy boiled fish, but without any broth (just oil).  This was a huge portion of delicate and flaky slices of fish.  They were buttery soft and naturally sweet.  The spicy properties of the oil from the dried peppers and the Szechuan peppercorns were soaked up by the fish and it was a impactful without being completely overwhelming.  Underneath, there was bean sprouts, Taiwanese cauliflower and seaweed.

Even our one vegetable dish was outstanding.  The Baby Napa Cabbage with Vermicelli and Garlic was super tasty.  Each leaf was perfectly steamed being completely soft, but not mushy.  The delicate texture had a great mouth feel and the abundance of garlic and chilies on top permeated through.  However, the best part of the dish was the mung bean noodles.  They had soaked up all of the flavourful goodness and the natural sweetness of the cabbage.  In addition, they were on point texturally having a slight chewiness.

We ended up getting one noodle dish in the Braised Beef Noodle Soup.  This didn't look like anything special, but believe me, it was good!  There was an overload of al dente noodles sitting a clean and flavourful broth that had concentrated meatiness as well as hits of star anise.  In fact, there was so much noodle, I think we needed more soup!  The cubes of beef finger meat was super tender with only a marginal amount of fat.

 

Finally, the dish I was waiting for - the gigantic Salty Donut!  Served hanging from a hook (so that it stays crunchy), it was cut table side.  This has to be one of the best versions I've had.  Beyond the crunchiness of the outside, the inside was fluffy and appealingly chewy with a nice elasticity.  It was also well-salted where I could just eat this without anything to dip it into.  So yes, I came to Chef Tian's for this donut, but discovered that their other dishes are just as appealing and well-portioned.  I will definitely come back, not just for the donut!

 

The Good:

- Excellent salty donut

- Other dishes are delicious too

- Well-portioned

- Good service

 

The Bad:

- Menu isn't the most descriptive, confusing for people who do not know the dishes

- Finding parking is not easy 

The Fishman

After my initial visit to The Fishman back in 2022, I really wanted to go back.  For a place that almost exclusively features fresh (mostly live) seafood, the prices are surprisingly reasonable.  Couple that with expert execution and just outright deliciousness, you can see why they are always busy.  This time around, I am incorporating 2 recent visits into one blog post.  I got to sample a few more items this time and you know what?  I love The Fishman even more so now!

On my first return visit, we started with the Jumbo Prawns.  These could be had in 2 different preparations - Sichuan or Salted Egg Yolk.   We chose the former and they were fantastic.  When they said jumbo, they weren't lying.  These giant prawns were deep fried perfectly where the shell was crispy and edible while the meat had a firm snap.  They were naturally sweet and a bit briny but the Sichaun peppercorns added numbing spice.  There was some earthiness to the dish from the use of cumin.

Next we had the Wok Fry Clams with Black Bean Sauce that also came in a pretty large portion.  Although there were a few unopened clams, most were opened and cooked well.  We didn't notice much sand either.  The clams were buttery with an appealing chewiness.  There was plenty of sauce, so we could spoon it out with the shells.  I thought the viscosity was on point.  As for flavour, there was enough fermented saltiness and garlic.  However, a bit more spice would've made it perfect.

For our larger dish, we selected from the fresh sheet and had the Live Boston Lobster with black truffle cream sauce and yee mein.   This was indeed a generous portion as there was plenty of yee mein.  It was perfectly cooked as it wasn't overly soft (despite it naturally being on the softer side).  The black truffle sauce was earthy and creamy but I wasn't sure it necessarily went with the lobster.  I felt it was delicious on its own, but ultimately overshadowed the sweet lobster meat.

To get some balance in our meal, we got the Stir-Fried Crown Daisy with red fermented tofu and Thai chili.  This was absolutely delicious as it made me go for seconds, thirds and fourths.  You see, I'm normally not a fan of crown daisy due to its pungency.  However, the liberal use of Nam Yu (red fermented tofu) helped balance the natural taste of the vegetable.  It was also cooked properly where it was completely wilted but still had crunch in the stalks.

Normally, the Sea Scallops come in an order of 4, but they only had 3 left.  Well, we weren't going to let that small detail from ordering it!  Turns out that it was a great move since they were so good.  Each scallop was large and super sweet.  They were buttery and had the contrasting chewy mantle surrounding it.   As expected, there was vermicelli underneath to soak up the natural juices.  On top, we found plenty of garlic and scallion that offered up aromatics and pungency.  Some sweet seafood soy helped flavour the dish.

On the next visit, we went for something similar to the scallops and went for the fresh sheet again with the Irish Razor Clams.  These were steamed in the same manner as the sea scallops.  Hence, the flavour profile had the sweet saltiness of the seafood sauce, the brightness of the green onion and pungency of the garlic.  I felt the sweetness of the razor clams to be equal to the scallops but maybe with more brininess.  Vermicelli was al dente and super delicious.  Clams were buttery with some bite.

We went big with the Spicy Fish Hot Pot with the ling cod option.  This was a massive bowl of food as it took up like one quarter of our table.  It was filled to the brim with tender and buttery slices of ling cod.  The fish was supremely fresh, sweet and had a taste of the sea.  It was sitting in a fairly spicy broth, but it was balanced as we could still taste the fish.  There was some Sichuan peppercorns in there for some numbing effect. We found some glass noodles, sprouts and tofu as well.

We also got a lobster for this meal as well with the Salted Egg Yolk Whole Lobster with sliced rice cakes.  Although the lobster was fried perfectly with a crispy starch exterior and bouncy and sweet meat, the salted egg yolk was a bit too dry and crumbly.  Don't get me wrong, it was still delicious with the nutty salted egg taste.  In fact, there was many discernible pieces of salted egg yolk.  However, it wasn't a sauce per se and didn't season everything equally.  This was due to the fact they used hard salted egg yolks.  Normally, this dish employs soft, almost watery salted egg yolks to create a sauce.

Going away from seafood, we went for some BBQ Skewers in chicken hearts, pork intestine and chicken knees.  I thought these were well-prepared too.  The chicken hearts were still juicy despite the charring on the outside.  They were well-seasoned with some spice, saltiness and earthiness.  Same could be said about the chicken knees as they had a nice crunch while still being moist.  The intestines were a bit more dry, but still had a moist interior to contrast the slight crispiness of the exterior.  I didn't find them particularly gamy as the seasoning did help mask it.  So these 2 revisits to The Fishman only helped validate what I already knew - they dish up fresh seafood in a delicious manner.  Considering the portion sizes and the quality of the seafood, I find the prices reasonable.  If you haven't checked them out, I recommend that you do!

The Good:

- Fresh seafood

- Delicious

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- That parking lot is woefully insufficient

- Super busy at peak times, make sure you have a reservation

- Salted egg yolk should use liquid yolks not hard yolks

Bag O' Crab

I haven't done a seafood boil in quite some time.  In fact, it was about a year ago at Pier 88 in Lynnwood.  This time around, I was in the Seattle area once again and we made our way out to Kent for Bag o' Crab.  Not sure why we didn't go to Shoreline, as it was closer to where we were staying.  Oh well!  So, this place is much smaller in size than Pier 88 but upon looking at the menu, the pricing seems rather reasonable.  We ended getting a few combos in addition to some sides.

To start off we had the Cajun Fries as well as the Cajun Wings.  Crispy with plenty of seasoning on the outside, the fries were salty and spicy.  Inside, the potato was a bit on the firmer side, but still plenty of natural texture.  As for the wings, they were pretty large and fried until crunchy on the outside.  The skin was somewhat rendered, partially affected by the batter.  As for the meat, it was super juicy and tender.  Wings were well seasoned with some spice.

We ended up with 2 combos but before that, we had an a la carte plate of 1lb of Crawfish, Mussels and Clams each.  For this plate, we added sides of corn, potatoes and sausages.  The choice of sauce for the seafood was garlic butter and hence was non-spicy.  Naturally, the crawfish was a lot of work for just a bit of tail meat.  It wasn't particularly muddy-tasting, so that was a bonus.  The clams and mussels were fresh and all open.  They were cooked properly being buttery.

Onto Combo #3 with a whole Dungeness Crab accompanied by 1lb of shrimp, corn, potatoes and sausage.  As you can probably tell, this was in a completely different sauce than the first plate.  We chose Atomic Sauce (which is a combination of garlic butter, Cajun and lemon pepper) in medium.  This was plenty spicy for us and offered up layers of spice, garlickiness and aromatics.  The crab was fresh with bouncy meat while the shrimp had a snap texture.

We also had Combo #3 with 1lb of King Crab Legs that came with the same items as with the Dungeness Crab.  Really enjoyed the King Crab Legs as they were large and full of fluffy briny and sweet meat.  We had this in Louisiana Flavor in medium.  This was spicy enough with the smokiness and garlickiness.  Loved that the corn wasn't overdone as they were plump, while the potatoes were soft and creamy inside.  Slices of sausages were tender with some rebound.  Overall, the seafood boil at Bag O' Crab was satisfying and reasonably-priced.  Seafood was texturally on point and the sauces were impactful.  Would do this again if I was in the area.

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

The Good:
- Seafood (especially the crab) is texturally on point
- Sauces are impactful
- Pricing is fair

The Bad:
- Place is a bit more bare bones, but it is reflected in the pricing
- We found it a bit cold inside