Legend Pot *.

Hot pot on a hot summer day? Yaaas..

We came to Legend Pot for an individual hot pot session - one pot per person. 
Service was great - we had multiple servers ask us how our food was / what we needed etc.

Once our servers figure out we can speak Mandarin, they only spoke to us in Mandarin LOL.. 

Interior of the restaurant is like a fusion between ancient and modern China lol. 

Cleanliness here is also a plus.

Here's a bunch of sauces we ordered for dipping :O

Highlights:

* Fatty beef
* Lamb
* Mango pudding 
(There were two options, one is fried milk which is a spring roll with milk inside - not a big fan of that one)

Legend Pot

$$$  Chinese, Hot Pot

7030 Warden Avenue
Markham, ON L3R 5Y2

Pukka *.

I came to Pukka with PB on a weeknight. 

We made reservations beforehand but it wasn't too busy so for those who decided to walk-in, there were seats available right away. 

We sat near the patio and thought we were getting it bad with the bees flying around but we saw another couple move closer to the patio because apparently those inside the restaurant were getting it worst LOL. Good thing the bee invasion occurred closer to when we got our desserts.. or else I'm outtt haha

DRINKS:

* Estrella Damm Beer [PB's]
* Pomegranate Palmer (iced tea, lemonade + pomegranate juice) [Mine!]

Service was excellent. We kept asking our server what's popular on the menu :P

TAPAS set of 3 (4/5)

* Chicken tikka (herb-infused + tamarind chutney)
* Stuffed paneer (Indian style cheese, spinach & mushroom filling + mild cashew korma)
* Gunpowder king prawn (moong bean salad + pineapple chutney)

I loved all three choices as part of the tapas set. The chicken tikka was very tender and juicy. This was actually my first time trying a paneer, it tastes like fried tofu haha - It's really delicious! The king prawn was very fresh. What caught my attention more was the moong bean salad that was paired with it, loved it!

BEEF SHORT RIBS (4/5) + naan bread on the side 
(braised with black cumin, Kashmiri chilli, garlic + onion)

Mm! The short ribs were delicious! The meat was very tender and it soaked all the flavours in. Our server told us this dish comes with a lot of sauce, so we ordered naan bread to dip on the side. 

NAAN BREAD (2.5/5)

We ordered the garlic flavoured naan breads - as a personal preference, I like naan breads with a thicker crust. Their naan breads were a little too thin for my liking.

OKRA FRIES (3.5/5)
(comes with mustard raita)

I love okras so we chose this dish. The okras were very crispy. It was shredded and deep fried with their house sauce. Very appetizing! 

MANGO PANNA COTTA (2/5)

It tasted like mango pudding with caramel sauce (with a few pieces of cookies on the top). Not that special.

MASALA CHAI (3/5)
(black tea brewed with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger + warm milk)

PB decided to order this as a "dessert drink" after seeing another group order a bunch of them. What a cute display! There's a very strong cinnamon taste to this drink. I'm 'okay' with this drink, P loved it though.. and even compared it to lai cha.. HOW DARE YOU!! Tastes nothingggg like it -_- hahaha

Pukka

$$$  Indian

778 St. Clair Avenue W
Toronto, ON M6C 1B6

Cactus Club Cafe *.

I came to Cactus Club Cafe with my friend on a busy weekday, we sat at the bar area. 
It was really packed in the restaurant.
Service was great. Our "bartender/server" checked up on us in good intervals.

Drinks:

THE BELLINI (4.5/5)
(peach schnapps, champagne, bacardi white rum and sangria)

This was recommended by my friend :D
I really liked this because it's sweet - no bitter alcohol taste (for light drinkers like me)! :D 

Appetizers:

* EDAMAME
(steamed soybeans, sea salt)

This pretty much tasted like all the other edamames I had in the past lol - nothing special!

* TRUFFLE FRIES (4/5)
(truffle, herbs, grana padano, garlic aioli)

Loved the truffle fries! I've always loved the truffle flavour and the taste is quite strong in this dish. It was a big portion, great for sharing.

Mains:

PAN ROASTED LINGCOD (4/5)
(lingcod, roasted mushrooms, brioche croutons, pearl onions, truffle butter)

Similar to the truffle fries, I ordered this because of the "truffle butter" description to this meal. The display was very pretty, the fish was served in the middle of a big pot with ingredients spread out on the side. It was very filling!! I really enjoyed the fish - it was fresh and flavourful because it soaked in a lot of the sauce.

I tried a bit of my friend's order, the Sablefish (shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, peking duck broth, fingerling potatoes). I liked it better than my dish, even though mine was already very good.. haha I'll probably order this the next time I visit :P

Cactus Club Cafe

$$$  Cocktail Bars, Canadian (New)

77 Adelaide Street W
Toronto, ON M5H 1P9

Kyouka Ramen - Markham *.

Ehh what's with the low rating so far.. I liked this place! haha 

I came to Kyouka Ramen on a weeknight with my family to try out their ramen. 

Service was great. The location of the ramen place is kind of.. far off and random.. LOL
It's at the corner of a strip mall kind of plaza so there's limited parking here.

GRILLED CHICKEN WINGS (4/5)

I liked the sauce they had for the chicken wings. I think they marinated the chicken wings before grilling it because the meat inside had a lot of taste too :)

KYOUKA RAMEN (4/5)

I had the original soup broth with mild spice. I liked this because it wasn't salty. Very flavourful soup base. It was a bit oily but not to a point where I felt icky afterwards. I chose this ramen because this is supposed to be their signature ramen from the menu.

SHIO RAMEN (3.5/5)

[my mom ordered this!]

Note: 

The portion for the "donburis" are pretty small.. my dad had to order another ramen because he wasn't full off of the rice bowl itself haha so be warned! :D

Kyouka Ramen

$$  Ramen

8384 Woodbine Avenue
Markham, ON L3R 2N8

Don Don Izakaya *.

I came to Don Don Izakaya with PB for lunch on a weekday.

Weather was greeeat! Still great right now actually :D

I think I prefer coming here during lunch than dinner because when it gets crowded, it gets way too loud. I've been here for dinner before and it's too stuffy. 

Service was excellent - they offer a lunch special which comes as a set meal.
We both ordered the GRILLED MACKEREL lunch set. 

We were going to order an appetizer with it but the waiter was so honest and told us that our lunch portion is more than enough. And he's right! We appreciate your tidbit!! :D

GRILLED MACKEREL lunch set (4/5)

It came with a huge bowl of rice, gyoza, 3 different dishes of veggies, miso soup and salad. The portions were huge and worth the price of the lunch set! The grilled mackerel was delicious. 

We will revisit for lunch another time :)

We fatties went for Chatime afterwards too - conveniently located beside Don Don :P

DonDon Izakaya

$$  Japanese

130 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON M5G 1C3