[BAMBOO] Half Day trip to Downtown Toronto

Hey guys !!! I was on a school trip to Toronto to watch Romeo and Juliet with a bunch of people from school. The play was awesome. Enthusiastic theatre fan here !! I've heard people say that Romeo and Juliet is probably the most boring literature you can read. Noooope. I loved it so much! Anyways, it won't be a trip without food . We had an hour or so after the play to walk around the downtown area before heading back to Waterloo. Soooo... I planned ahead of which places I wanted to try out. Of all, being 김밥 (Kimbap) . It's the most basic korean food but I can't seem to find it in Waterloo. I was so happy I found it!!

TenRen's Bubble Tea

참치김밥 Tuna Kimbap

Canaan Cake Centre

호도과자 Korean Walnut Cake (Custard Filling)

I found the kimbap in a Korean Mart called "M2M" but it is under the big company "H Mart" which is conveniently located on Yonge St. Maybe it was a little dry. But hey, I've been craving for it for sooo long. TenRen's Bubble Tea was ok. I opted for the egg pudding instead of tapioca pearls. The egg pudding was a little too hard. I had a hard time drinking the egg pudding part. The star of the trip has got to be the 호도과자  (Hodo Kwaja). I've always loved this walnut cake thingy since I was small. Back then in Penang, we used to have Deli Manjoo which would serve the same thing, minus the walnuts. But it closed down and the last time I got it was when I was in Seoul. It was at the subway station at my foster parent's place. Every time I got off the subway, off to the shop I go :) The cake brought back so many memories... When I first stepped into the shop, the 아저시 (uncle) was busy making fresh batches of these walnut cakes. Goshhh. The smell was torturing. I initially bought one box then decided to get one more to share with my friends in school the next day. Good things should be shared. The cakes are best enjoyed when hot but do be careful as the custard filling may burn your tongue ! The bakery is located on Spring St which is not the main street so some may not notice it. Definitely a hidden jem ! One hour was definetely not enough for even just that small area. I will have to go and discover more next time !!! 

M2M 

4885 Yonge Street
North York, ON. M2N 5N4

Ten Ren's Tea

5095 Yonge Street Unit A2
North York, ON. M2N 6Z6

Canaan Cake Centre

11 Spring Garden Av, 

North York, ON M2N 3G1

[PANDA&BAMBOO] Tim Hortons - Nutella Series

So, Tim Hortons has recently introduced 2 new treats that may make everybody even happier. Well, at least for us it has. It's the Nutella Donut and Nutella Pastry Pocket !!!! I had to go to 2 Tim Hortons to get them. But, it was worth it.

We heated it up just a little so that we would get that melting chocolate goodness. The donut and the pastry pockets are $1.25 each. Kinda pricey. The donut was a little too sweet. But if you like super sweet stuff then this will defineetely be your all time fav. The pastry pockets were amazing!! I would have more of them if they weren't that expensive. I mean, the pastry pocket is about 1/4 the size of the donut but their sold at the same price

<PANDA&BAMBOO>

Who is [PANDA]?

Hi everyone><. I'm Panda,  i'm so happy we have this website to share some good food to different country person.

Let talk about me, I'm from Hong Kong. I came to Canada last year. I'm so happy I met bamboo in Canada. Bamboo and I always share some food to each other. We will take some photo to you. If we have time, we will take some video to share to you. 

In here, we will introduce some food to you. Let talk about my country Hong Kong food.

大家好>< 我是Panda，我來自香港，我好開心可以在加拿大遇到Bamboo。我同時又好開心可以在這裡分享不同國家食物給大家。我們會盡我們的能力分享好吃的食物給大家，希望你們看完我們這個blog可以吃到更多好吃的食物。現在就等我介紹我國家香港的食物給大家

In Hong Kong, have some special food you should go to eat. 

在香港，有很多好特別的食物，大家一定要去吃

No 1: egg waffles 雞蛋仔

No 2: egg tart 蛋撻

No 3: Milk tea 絲襪奶茶

 No 4: Dim Sum 點心

If you want to eat dim sum, I will recommend one restaurant call 添好運.

如果你們要吃點心，我會推薦你們去添好運

[BAMBOO] NYC TRAVELOGUES : BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE CO

My trip is never complete without a visit to at least one cafe ! This is one of the few that I think is really good. It is tucked below the Rockefeller Centre. A hidden jewel, I say.

Cappucino

Like I said, perfect proportion of coffee and milk with good latte art !

BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE CO

1 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA,

NEW YORK, NY 10020 UNITED STATES

<BAMBOO>

[BAMBOO] NYC TRAVELOGUES : SHAKE SHACK

 A trip to NYC is never complete without a visit to the famous Shake Shack. During rush hours, a very long line is seen outside the store. They even have their own t-shirts and merchandise !

Shake Shack Cheeseburger and Cheese Fries

The burgers was juicy and covered with Shake Shack's special sauce. The cheese fries were to die for. Sexy cheese always goes good with everything. ESPECIALLY FRIES. I personally think it was worth the wait! Check them out if you ever go to NYC !

SHAKE SHACK

691 8TH AVENUE,

(8TH AVE & 44TH ST)

NEW YORK

<BAMBOO>

[BAMBOO] NYC TRAVELOGUE : GOLDEN UNICORN RESTAURANT DIM SUM

It was definitely a must to visit Chinatown in NYC. And I finally got to eat some of my favourite Dim Sum dishes !! It is really rare to find dim sum on served from fast-moving carts and this is one of them.

Egg Custard Buns 黃金流沙包

Beef Offal 牛雜

Deep Fried Sesame Balls with Lotus Paste 蓮蓉煎堆

Mini Egg Tarts 迷你蛋撻

This place is the only place so far that I have found my favourite Mini Egg Tarts !! If it weren't because I was so stuffed, I would literally order plates after plates of them. Same goes for the Sesame Balls. It is really hard to find Sesame Balls with lotus paste in them as most places usually have red bean or peanut fillings which I find too sweet. The Egg Custard Buns were really rich and creamy. Of course we had a few other dishes but nothing to "wow" over.

GOLDEN UNICORN RESTAURANT

18 E BROADWAY,

NEW YORK, NY 10002 UNITED STATES

<BAMBOO>

[BAMBOO] NYC TRAVELOGUE : DOMINIQUE ANSEL BAKERY

I got a chance to visit the Dominique Ansel Bakery in SOHO this trip! Home to the Cronuts and many more great pastries. However, I was out of luck this time as the cronuts were sold out and there was a waiting list of 3 months! Cookie shots were only available at 3pm. Anyways, I still got to try 2 pastries

Exterior of the Bakery

The creator of the cronuts , Dominique Ansel

Torching the smore

The famous Frozen Smore

Canele

The frozen smore was AMAZING. Like literally, the best smore I've ever tasted. The canele was moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. It was definitely worth the train ride to SOHO and the long walking distance. I really hope I get to try the Cronuts and Cookie shots the next time! I'll be back !

DOMINIQUE ANSEL BAKERY

189 SPRING ST

NEW YORK, NY 10012 UNITED STATES

<BAMBOO>

[BAMBOO] NYC TRAVELOGUE : HIGHLIGHTS OF TRIP

So for March Break, I had a chance to visit New York once again with my mother. New York City is my #2 favourite place besides LA. I promised myself that I would watch as many musical as I can in the 5 days trip! So, I watched a total of 6 shows. Wicked, the second time. After shows, I would wait at the stage door to meet the performers and also hoping to get their signature and a picture. I was really happy because I got a chance to watch Idina Menzel sing live for her musical "If/Then" which was closing that week. Also, I got to see Matthew Morrison in the debut of the new musical "Finding Neverland". I really recommend watching Wicked and Finding Neverland as they are 2 of the most well staged musical I've seen so far. 

Times Square

Chicken Kebab from Street Vendors

Performer from "The Phantom of the Opera"

Stage dooring for "Finding Neverland"

NYC Marathon

Playbills of musicals that I went to

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Chicken BBQ Wrap

I just wanted to briefly talk about this place I found called CARVE. It is located on 8th Ave. I have been visiting the place a few times for their Chicken BBQ Wrap which I think is really cheap given that it is located in Times Square and also very delicious. Do check it out if you are ever in NYC !

CARVE

760 8TH AVENUE,

NEW YORK, NY 10036

<BAMBOO>

[BAMBOO] K-W REGION FOOD ADVENTURES : KENZO RAMEN

A new place my friends introduced me to ----> KENZO Ramen. It is located in the UW Plaza on Univerity Ave, serving japanese style ramen. The menu is rather limited.

Miso Ramen

The ramen was served hot with a reasonable amount of noodles. The broth was not very flavourful and kind of bland. Howeer, the noodles were springy and nice. It would be great if they could extend their choices available as I found it rather limited.

KENZO RAMEN

140 UNIVERSITY AVE

WATERLOO, ONTARIO N2L 6J3

<BAMBOO>

[BAMBOO] K-W REGION FOOD ADVENTURE : CASEY'S GRILL BAR

For Valentine's Day, my uncle brought my aunt and I for dinner at Casey's Grill Bar. Obviously, I was the light bulb. But who cares, there was fooooood.

Caesar Salad

Beef Short Rib

8oz Sirloin Steak with a Grilled Shrimp Skewer

Casey's was rather busy on Valentine's Day, with couples celebrating their special day. The food took a long time to be served, probably because there were so many people. The Caesar Salad was not bad and had the right amount of dressing with a generous amount of bacon and cheese. The beef short rib was well cooked and probably has been cooking for a long time as each bite was full of flavours. The Sirloin Steak was a little dry and overcooked but the shrimp skewers were good. Overall it was a pleasant meal but I'm not sure if I'd be back for the Steak.

CASEY'S GRILL BAR

1440 OTTAWA ST

KITCHENER, ONTARIO N2E 4E2

<BAMBOO>

[PANDA&BAMBOO] K-W REGION FOOD ADVENTURES : NEW YEAR'S MEAL AT KING TIN

2015 marks Bamboo's first Chinese New Year in Canada. Along with some of our classmates, we decided to have our New Year's meal in a chinese restaurant located in Waterloo - King Tin Restaurant.

That's us (Bamboo second from left and Panda in the glasses) along with our friends

Shanghai Bok Choy 上海炒白菜

Egg Plant 魚香茄子

Stir Fried Clams 豉汁炒蛤

E-fu noodles with Lobster 龍蝦炒伊麵

Cantonese Style Fried Chicken 炸子雞

The Shanghai Bok Choy was good but a little on the salty side. As for the eggplant, it was too oily and the eggplants were mostly mushed up. The chicken was good and tasty. The lobster noodles was the dish that all of us were fighting for. It was cooked nicely and was the dish we enjoyed the most. As for the clams, they were mostly empty so it was kind of a disappointment .

KING TIN RESTAURANT

258 KING ST N

WATERLOO, ONTARIO N2J 2Y9

<PANDA&BAMBOO>

[BAMBOO] HK TRAVELOGUE : THE CUPPING ROOM

Another cafe that I have been wanting to visit in Hong Kong was The Cupping Room. Located in a small alley in Sheung Wan. This Australia inspired cafe has a lot to offer.

Three Eggs Omelet on whole wheat sourdough

Cappuccino

Flat White

Mocha

The coffee was decent but the best had to go to the Mocha. With the right amount of chocolate added. Also, the Cupping Room has some good latte art :) The Three egg omelet served on a warm slice of sourdough was cooked nicely. Impresive but the prices are more on the higher end.

THE CUPPING ROOM

SHOP LG, 287-299 QUEEN'S ROAD CENTRAL,

CENTRAL, HONG KONG