Symposium Cafe Restaurant & Lounge *.

I love the breakfast foods here :) Very spacious and they have comfortable seating.

I'd recommend:

CAPPUCCINO & CAFE LATTE
Creamy and smooth - No need to add extra sugar, it's sweet on its own already.

EGGS BENEDICT
My fav! Their hollandaise sauce and the pouched eggs are nicely done.

ANY CAKE
They're so good - I can't remember which one I ordered unfortunately - most likely the Strawberry Cheesecake.. They give you a huge portion.. one piece is good for two people! ;)

Symposium Cafe Restaurant & Lounge

5221 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M2N 5P8

Sushi Moto *.

My bf & I came here a few times after dinner for a light snack (always sashimi.. haha) and sake :)

From the sashimi / sushi selection, I'd recommend:

UNI & TORO
Melts in your mouthh.. sooo fresh! haha

Service was excellent. We always sit at the bar and the sushi chefs were always really friendly.

Sushi Moto

4901 Yonge Street
North York, ON M2N 5N4

Town Crier Pub *.

A wide selection of beers! It was really packed the whole time. 
Loud environment - but it had a good vibe for a pub.

I'd recommend these beers:

ERDINGER (Germany)

WEIHENSTEPHANER HEFE WEISS DUNKEL (Germany)

HONEY DEW (United Kingdom)

SIR PERRY PEAR CIDER (United Kingdom)

I'll try the food the next time we visit here :)

Town Crier Pub

115 John St
Toronto, ON M5V 3Y8

Big Daddy’s Bourbon Street Bistro & Oyster Bar *.

I've visited here for Winterlicious from before and I thought it wasn't too special.. but my bf wanted to try here.. so here I was again.. 

(I give it a 1/5 stars lol)

Service was good. 

We ordered:

OYSTERS (CHEF'S CHOICE)
This was good - had a good selection of sauces.

BOURBON STREET CRAB CAKES
Way too mushy.. There were no textures within the crab cake. It's just all mushy crab meat with a bland taste.

BIG DADDY'S SHELLFISH BOIL
Over-cooked and not good at all :( I'd have to say the corn is probably the best part of this dish.

Big Daddy’s Bourbon Street Bistro & Oyster Bar

212 King Street W
Toronto, ON M5H 1K5

Banh Mi Boys *.

Interesting to find that Banh Mi Boys is a fusion of Viet & Taiwanese cuisine!

KIMCHI FRIES (with beef)
Definitely my favourite out of everything we've ordered. The sauce was really good and I was surprised how yummy the kimchi tastes with fries. A special combination!

PORK BELLY STEAMED BAO
I love the bao! This is more of a Taiwanese dish. The pork belly was also very yummy - so fatty but so good.

KALBI BEEF BANH MI
Viet buns plus kalbi - good but could use more sauce for the kalbi beef.

Banh Mi Boys

392 Queen Street W
Toronto, ON M5V 2A9

MoRoCo Chocolat *.

Had the high tea set here at Moroco Chocolat.
Cute place and had a good time here but the food could be better!

We had the high tea set with macarons, scones and finger sandwiches assortments. I only liked one of the finger sandwiches..

The tea, on the other hand, was really good :) 
We had fun picking which one we wanted - ended up picking the earl grey (safe choice!).

Service was excellent. Our waiter came back to check on us in good intervals.

MoRoCo Chocolat

99 Yorkville Avenue
Toronto, ON M5R 3K5

Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie *.

Came here for dinner. The decor and ambiance is really nice here - comfy seats too.

Service was so slow though :( 
It took 45 mins from the moment we sat down to order our food - and that doesn't  include our wait for the food. But it was okay because our group was really chatty so it didn't feel as long haha

Drinks:

CLUNY SANGRIA (3/5)

Appetizers:

SPICY SALMON TARTAR 3.5/5
I love avocado so I liked this.. would've liked it more if they added more avocado (Personal preference!)

BEEF POUTINE 3/5
The fries were good, reminded us of the hickery sticks

RICE FLOUR FRIED FROG'S LEGS 4/5
Frog legs tastes like chewy chicken for the ones who haven't tried frog legs before!
This was really good :) Would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a small appetizer.

Mains:

9 OZ TOP SIRLOIN 2/5 
I should have gotten the lamb because this has got to be the driest (and rather tasteless..) sirloin ever... The sirloin was basically the "side dish" and the fries became my main because it tasted so much better haha

Cluny Bistro & Boulangerie

35 Tank House Lane
Toronto, ON M5A 3C4

Gusto101 *.

Gusto101 has a very nice ambiance - dim and candlelit. 
We were seated on the second floor, the crowd wasn't as big when we arrived - it started to pick up by the hour.
There was some confusion with the seating arrangements but overall, service was good.

Carpaccio
Very yummy - tasted very fresh. The truffled cannellini beans were a good match with the beef tenderloin.

Mafalde ai Funghi
AMAZING :) I'd come back to eat this again.. the truffle and cream sauce were delicious!! Loved everything about this dish :D

Prosciutto e Rucola
3/5 - probably because the pasta was too amazing, the pizza didn't stand out as much for me haha

Gusto 101

101 Portland Street
Toronto, ON M5V 2N3

Little Fin *.

Little Fin is great for a quick lunch at the Financial district. 
Service was excellent. I found it funny how the cashier told me it would take specifically 6 minutes to make my crispy haddock haha

CRISPY HADDOCK - coleslaw and fries on the side
Yummy! The piece of haddock in my burger was actually pretty huge.. was so full afterwards.. will need to try other things on the menu!

Little Fin

4 Temperance Street
Toronto, ON

Frontera Grill *.

Chef Rick Bayless's restaurant deserves 5/5 stars! The hype is definitely worth it.

Enjoyed everything that we've ordered - beer included (by the waiter's recommendation. I recall it was a Mexican beer?) :)
Service was excellent - the waiter came back to check on us in good intervals and was very friendly.

CEVICHE TRIO
Awesome display of food! Enjoyed taking pictures of this dish haha
The seafood was very fresh - the trio was a combination of sour, sweet and savoury. An excellent start to our meal.

STREET FOOD TRIO
A great choice for those looking for a hot appetizer.
The enchiladas potosinas were my favourite..! The guacamole was so smooth and creamy.. Craving for this already!!

OAXACAN-STYLE CARNE ASADA
Delicious..!! The sweet plantains stood out for me as well as the black beans.. I really didn't expect these to taste sooo good!!  The Angus prime steak paired very well with all the sides included :D

Frontera Grill

445 N Clark St
Chicago, IL 60654

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria *.

We came here mainly to try their deep dish pizza - one of Chicago's must haves!

We ordered:

HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN WINGS
It wasn't anything special but I thought the ranch sauce was really good

DEEP DISH PIZZA (with extra sausage and bacon)
First bite and I was already convinced I would come back to Chicago just for more of this. But we ordered a large pizza which was way too much for 4 people (I could only eat 1.5 slices, the guys had to finish our portion hahaha).
We all got so full, we had a consensus that one try at deep dish pizza is enough for our entire trip to Chicago :P

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

439 N Wells St
Chicago, IL 60610

Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe *.

Om nom nom..!! Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe 5/5 stars!
Smells great the moment you walk into the cafe.

The wait was approximately 45 minutes but it wasn't that bad because it allowed for us to walk around Millennium park for a bit.

CARAMEL APPLE PECAN PANCAKE
My favourite out of the bunch that we've ordered! The pancakes were so fluffy and soft.. The apples were a good touch since they were a bit sour - a good contrast to the sweet maple syrup, jams and butter provided.

BERRY BLISS BELGIAN WAFFLE
Just as good as the pancakes! It comes with strawberry ice cream along with fresh strawberries and blueberries. 

EGG, CHICKEN SAUSAGES & HASHBROWN
A good combination with the dishes that we've ordered since everything else was very sweet. This was more on the salty side :D The chicken sausages were really good - love their hashbrowns as well.

Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe

$$  Breakfast & Brunch, American (New)

130 E Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60601

Quartino *.

A very classy environment at Quartino.
Service could be better... but the food was good nonetheless.

I thought the latte was amazing! The cappuccino that my bf ordered was also delicious. Very creamy and smooth.

We ordered:

SALUMERIA TASTING 3/5

The display of this platter definitely gives you a WOW *takes pictures*

But I only like a few of the selections within the 10 that were presented.

The sliced meat, cheese and marinated eggplant were my pick out of the tasting platter.

PAPPARDELLE AL SUGO DI MANZO 4/5

The pasta ribbons were very different - It's chewy! A tasty mix between the braised beef.

PORCINI & TRUFFLE RISOTTO 4/5

The display wasn't really appetizing haha.. but the taste was delicious - especially the truffle.

TORTELLINI 5/5

The Alfredo sauce was AMAZING :) Our favourite from the pasta selections.

STEAMED CLAMS - PINOT GRIGIO & RED CHILI BROTH 4/5

Fresh and yummy. The bread that comes with it is also very delicious.

Quartino

Tapas Bars, Italian, Pizza

626 N State St
Chicago, IL 60654

The Purple Pig *.

The Purple Pig definitely lived up to its hype.. LOOOVED it here :) 
Bf kept wanting to come back during our trip but I wanted to try different places instead :P
Came here early afternoon to lock in a table and was lucky enough to grab a seat half an hour later! Lines kept building up during our dinner here.

We ordered so much food for two people but we ate pretty much everything.. haha
5/5 for everything below except for the ones I've specified:

JAMON SERRANO
The ham was excellent.. their bread was what surprised us.. How'd they make it so crispy without being that oily? So good!

CHARRED CAULIFLOWER
This was the rare veggie dish we ordered to "balance" our meat intake of the evening. 3/5

WAGYU SIRLOIN
A must order. The wagyu beef was too good.. We were planning to come back the next day for just this dish itself..

MILK BRAISED PORK SHOULDER
So soft! I couldn't get enough of the fatty part..

PORK JOWL "JTL"
A must order. The duck egg made everything so creamy - different textures for each part of the combo (Crispy pork jowl, creamy duck egg, crunchy tomatoes & lettuce..)

LEMON PANNA COTTA
Best panna cotta I've had in a while.. I'd recommend this to anyone that doesn't like their desserts to be too sweet. A very savoury finish to the meal.

SICILIAN IRIS 3/5
Our waiter recommended this dessert for us.. We ordered this after the panna cotta and thought this was just "meh!" in comparison! haha

The Purple Pig$$  Tapas/Small Plates, Mediterranean
Near North Side

500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611