Old Country Inn Restaurant *.

😻 Belated Christmas post 😻

My family and I had a lovely Christmas dinner at Old Country Inn Restaurant.

Even though the restaurant has been located at Unionville Main Street for quite a while, we haven't visited until now - glad we did! Look at the pretty decor :)

 Service was lovely. Our server was very friendly and cheery the entire night. I'd recommend this place for family gatherings.

😻 The salad was actually pretty good hahaha

* STEAK INNSBRUCK (4/5)

Very tender and juicy! Loved the gravy for our steak. It's a big portion. We ordered 3 of these to share amongst 9 people. It came with veggies on the side.

* PORK HOCK (3.5/5)

The pork hock was delicious. I was surprised at how well this was marinated because the "grilled", "non-saucy" pork hocks are fairly dry in taste. This pork hock was flavourful and the sauerkraut as side dish was a good pairing for the switch of taste buds.


DESSERTS:

* APPLE STRUDEL (5/5)

The apple strudel came nice and hot :) The crust was crunchy and the apple sauce in the middle (with real apples) were delicious. The apple filling was a mix of sweet and sour.

Old Country Inn Restaurant

$$  German, Modern European

198 Main Street
Unionville, ON L3R 2G9

Cheese Garden *.

Maria recommended Cheesecake Garden to me and said their cheese cakes tastes better than Uncle Tetsu's. I agree!! 

We ordered the 7" Japanese Cheesecake ($10.00). It was freshly baked when we ordered it so we got to try both the "fresh out the oven" texture and the "after putting it in the fridge" texture. 

If you prefer a softer texture then eat it right away. I prefer the cheesecake texture after putting it in the fridge for a while because it creates a harder "crust" on the top of the cheesecake. It is what I think differs Cheesecake Garden's cheesecakes from Uncle Tetsu's because I liked this "crust" on the top. It's also more (full)filling if you eat it after you put it in the fridge.

It's a boutique shop, intended for you to grab and go but they are a few tables available for you to sit and eat. There's also free wifi available.

To pair our Japanese cheesecake, P and I watched a Japanese film - "Your Name". We liked it! There is a plot twist... #nospoilers.. haha 

Cheese Garden

$$  Cheese Shops, Custom Cakes

5291 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M2N 5R3

Miku Toronto *.

😻  It's Winterlicious season!! 😻 

(happy belated Winterlicious - it's been busy! :P)

PB and I revisited Miku to try out their Winterlicious menu. Miku is now officially my favourite Japanese restaurant in Toronto!! The menu items were the dishes that we liked from our last visit and this was sooo worth it :) The menu was $48pp which includes appetizer, entrée and dessert (3 options to choose from each category). Service was excellent. Our server was very friendly.

DRINKS:
* Stoneburn Sauvignon Blanc (mine) 
* Underwood Pinot Noir (his)

Appetizer:

* MIKU SIGNATURE ABURI SUSHI SELECTION (5/5)
(salmon, ebi, coal harbour roll, queens quay roll, aburi nigiri)

We loved each selection of the sushis in this dish.. Our favourite was the scallop and aburi nigiris.. Their rice is so rich in flavour and creamy!! I love it!

Entrée (We ordered different mains):

* KYOTO SAIKYO MISO BAKED SABLE FISH & YUZU BUTTER POACHED HALF ATLANTIC LOBSTER TAIL (5/5)
(kale and root vegetables, cauliflower fritter, eggplant purée, quinoa, wasabi chimichurri, tomato chutney)

You know you're making the right decision when you order anything fish-related at a Japanese restaurant haha. I ordered the cod last time at Miku. And, of course, this time I'd order fish again. The sable fish was nicely marinated. All pairing dishes were also delish, particularly the cauliflower fritter - it was deep fried and was paired with the eggplant purée - perfect combo!

* PETITE BEEF TENDERLOIN AND PAN SEARED MISO FOIE GRAS (4/5)
(tamari soy veal jus, wasabi spinach purée, shiitake mushroom, charred broccoli, baby carrot, garlic arare crumble)

P ordered this. Loved the pan seared miso foie gras!! It was soo delicious - I wish we had a bigger portion haha. The beef tenderloin is small in portion but I think the amount is just right because the appetizer and dessert will definitely fill you up. Highlights of the side dishes are the shiitake mushrooms and the wasabi spinach purée. 

Dessert (We ordered two different desserts):

* GREEN TEA OPERA (4/5)
(green tea génoise, matcha butter cream, dark chocolate ganache, adzuki bean cream, hazelnut wafer, matcha ice cream)

We ordered this the last time we visited Miku as this was deemed their "signature dessert", quoting our previous server haha. Delicious! Love the different textures in the cake. It is both crunchy and soft :)

* CHOCOLATE CROISSANT BREAD PUDDING (5/5)
(miso salted caramel sauce,Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream, candied sesame pecan)

This was our first time trying this dessert - and omg, I would come back to Miku just to eat this dessert again. The bread pudding had a crunchy crust and a soft breaded interior. It's the best dessert at Miku by farrrr - LOVEE this!! P actually ordered this and when I tried a bit of it, I requested to trade desserts with him hahaha. THANK YOUU :D

Miku Toronto

$$$  Japanese, Sushi Bars

10 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M5J 2R8

Carisma *.

My boyfriend and I came to Carisma for dinner. 

This was after multiple trolling (him making me back and forth on the street because he wants to confuse me as to where we're actually going) LOL. #petersurprise well done. I thought we were going to St. Lawrence Market at one point hahaha.

The atmosphere is dim and candlelit - great for date nights! Service was excellent. 

Our server was very entertaining and checked on us at good intervals. He was great at answering the questions we had about the menu items (translating some words for us in Italian haha).

* BREAD
It was complimentary bread but I felt like I should write a note about it.. It's yummy!! I love how sizzling hot it was - the olive oil + salt was a great combo for dressing.

* TAGIATELLE IN BUTTER AND TRUFFLE SAUCE (4/5)
I loved this pasta! It was one of the pastas of the day, which was recommended by our server. Loved the truffle sauce. I've always been a fan on truffle-anything so I am picky when it comes to this! The sauce was creamy and flavourful, the cream does not overpower the truffle flavour. I'd recommend you order this if they make it available for the day :)

* BRANZINO (3/5)
(Mediterranean Sea Bass, Grilled with olive oil and lemon)

This was ok - I felt like the lemon sauce was too much. The fish tasted sour-y because there was too much lemon juice drenched over it. It would be much better if the lemon juice was toned down a bit!

* OSSO BUCO ALLA MILANESE (2.5/5)
(Veal Osso Bucco, Saffron Risotto, Herbed Gremolata)

This was too bland for my liking. The risotto was watery due to the sauce from the veal. The veal didn't have much taste to it - not sure if this was marinated. I wouldn't recommend this dish.

Overall, I'd recommend ordering the pastas at Carisma.

Carisma

$$$  Italian

73 King Street E
Toronto, ON M5C 3J6