Mr. Tonkatsu: Dedicated to its Craft

Interiors of Mr. Tonkatsu

Have you ever had trouble deciphering the difference between tonkatsu and tonkotsu?  Well, you're in luck because Mr. Tonkatsu will set you straight.  It's a shrine that worships the Japanese fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu), not the milky broth of ramen (tonkotsu) that some, the unfaithful, would confuse it with.  Their pig mascot dressed in Japanese garb and armed with a sword is yet another subtle hint that pork clearly is their specialty, but you are welcome to choose other fried Panko-battered cutlets (or "katsus") such as chicken, beef, or fish as part of your set.

The Tonkatsu Sampler
(From left to right: pork sirloin, pork tenderloin, chicken)

The tonkatsu sampler consists of pork sirloin and tenderloin katsus as well as chicken katsu, a great set for the indecisive.  The waiter explained that the pork sirloin is the most popular katsu and also has the "softest" texture.  As expected, the pork tenderloin was "firmer" but it was still quite tender in its own right.  Regardless of preference, both cutlets were juicy.  The chicken cutlet was on the bland side but there was a sweet and sticky sauce in a teardrop vessel to remedy that.  As an added novelty, you grind your personal supply of sesame seeds with a mortar and wooden pestle to give your sauce extra flavour and aroma.

Salad Dressing and Sesame Seeds

How to Enjoy Tonkatsu

The best feature of the katsu is still the crispy and far reaching deep fried Panko batter exterior.  Admittedly, although tasty, the batter holds a good amount of oil.  It's not as light as it could be but at least the katsu sits on a metal rack to allow excess oil to drip through and to preserve it's crispiness.

Accompanying the katsu is a bowl of miso, shredded cabbage and steamed rice, sides which are all refillable.  The shredded cabbage is incredibly dry and bland, perhaps to absorb all the grease from your katsu?  It's a moot point though, because you end up drenching the cabbage with sesame oil dressing anyways.  

The Fish Katsu Set is accompanied with Tartar Sauce

Nevertheless, the wait staff are friendly and attentive.  Without even looking up, our waiter replenished our sauces by squirting them directly into our bowls!

Japanese Style Deep Fried Chicken

You can't say Mr. Tonkatsu is not dedicated to their craft but be prepared for a heavy meal.  It's a relatively good option when you have a craving for fried food but it can be off-putting otherwise as everything on menu, including the appetizers, is deep fried.  Unfortunately, the cabbage doesn't help...

Mr. Tonkatsu

520 Bloor Street West

Toronto, ON M5S 1Y3

Canada

Date Visited:  March 30, 2015

The Fry

So it's basically summer, the NBA Finals are on, the World Cup is on, the US Open is on and it's hot outside. Hot, muggy and often rainy. So what can you eat? The patio is sort of off limits, the bars are an option but the food is usually not great. I still want to watch the games though so what can I do? Enter The Fry! Newly opened at Yonge and Sheppard (in the old Armando's) the Fry has expanded down from Yonge and Cummer, offering Korean style fried chicken, soups, alcohol and TVs. Best of all is they generally offer all of those things in the form of combos. Fried chicken and beer in a frozen mug? Garlic and soy sauce fried chicken and soju? Spicy rice cakes, fried chicken and a Coke in a frozen mug? All with a side of special World Cup friendly hours? That's a recipe for success in my mind.

Delicious, golden, juicy, crispy chicken

The chicken was freshly fried, juicy and crispy. The chicken came out golden brown and not the dirty brown indicative of a slacking kitchen not changing the fryer oil. The service was friendly and fluently English despite only having one waitress for the packed resto - perhaps less attentive than normal but we had enough napkins and drink so not much more attention was necessary for the devouring of fried chicken.

Pickled cabbage, salad,
macaroni salad

Spicy rice cakes with cheese,
chicken and cabbage

Garlic soy sauce fried chicken

The bill came to about $55 for three of us. We ordered a half and half combo of garlic and soy fried chicken and original fried chicken along with a spicy rice cake and chicken dish (which was delicious). We had the usual palette cooling side dishes of pickled radish, salad and (maybe not so usual) macaroni salad. We also had one I've never seen before - seared corn with some kind of buttery, mayonaisse-y, cream sauce on it which was actually delicious. The right amount of sweet and salty without being overly greasy or heavy. With the aforementioned drinks in frozen mugs, we were very full but very happy by the end of the meal so I'd say the price was reasonable.

All in all, it was a great experience and I'd definitely expect to be back there soon!

Peace,
B.

Thai Noodle Night

Thai Noodle Guay Tiew Thai

62 Vaughan Road

Toronto, ON 

416-652-0200

Date Visited:  February 21, 2014

Once called Taste of Thai House, the space at 62 Vaughan Road at the intersection of Vaughan Road and St. Clair Avenue West, is now Thai Noodle.  From the Yelp reviews, the renovations occurred early in November of 2013 when it was still Taste of Thai House.  So some questions arise... Is the new Thai Noodle owned by the same owners of Thai House?  Is this Thai Noodle Guay Tiew Thai related to the one of the same name that closed recently on Baldwin in Kensington Market?

Whatever the case may be, the Urban Foodie decided to check out the new Thai Noodle.

One of the dishes that were ordered was the Home Style Pad Thai ($11.99).  It is on the sweet side but not as sweet as the Pad Thai offered at the often lauded Sukho Thai.  It comes with the standard Pad Thai ingredients such as chicken, peanuts, been sprouts, tofu and green onions.  On top were two jumbo shrimp.  Tiny dried shrimp, not a usual ingredient, were a welcome addition scattered throughout.  The salty dried shrimp cut through the sweetness.

The Pad Thai was small in quantity

Beef Khao Soi ($11.99) was also ordered.  Northern Thai Khao Soi is a dish that contains fried and boiled egg noodles in a curry-like sauce containing coconut milk.  This particular preparation also had red onions and pickled mustard greens.  Artistically speaking, the fried noodles could have been stacked higher.  The friend noodles were also way too salty.  The curry was rich however and infused the tender beef pieces with flavour.  Some of the beef pieces had a gelatinous, cartilage layer which just made the beef even better (if you like that kind of thing).

It was surprising that the Chicken Panaeng Curry ($10.99) did not come with any rice.  But it was definitely the best dish of the night.  The curry was rich and thick.  It was aromatic with excellent flavour.     

The Jasmine rice ($1.99) that was ordered was creatively served in a star shaped format.  

While there were hits and misses, a trip to Thai Noodle can be warranted for a casual night out.

Turducken Feast!

Despite an ice storm causing power outages leading up to and on the day of the Turducken, nothing could stop the feast!

The Turducken was cooked breast down for the first few hours in an attempt to infuse the white meat with flavour and lock in moistness. 

In addition to the rub that was frozen with the bird, a rosemary, butter and oil mixture was used to coat the outside.  During the roasting process, broth and the bird's natural drippings were used to baste it. 

In the meantime, guests enjoyed the always phenomenal 7 layer dip with nacho chips as well as a salumi and Brie platter (pictures below):

The Turducken had a nice golden brown coating when cooked.  The internal temperature of the bird reached the required 170 degree Fahrenheit mark after 7 hours of roasting despite 2 power outages!  Miracles do come true!

In a cross sectional slice, you can see the spicy Italian sausage and chicken: 

Drippings from the bird were also mixed in with store bought gravy powder to yield an amazing gravy to go with the Turducken. 

So... Turkey? Check. Duck? Check. Chcken?  Check. 

But what about the beef?  

Being the foodies that we all are, we also prepared tender, melt in your mouth prime rib for our feast!

Many classic turkey sides were served up such as sweet corn, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts with bacon. 

The hearty stuffing had pork, mushrooms, leek, celery, sage, rosemary, and carrots to accompany the bread. 

So the question on everyone's mind:  How did the Turducken stack up?

The turkey was moist and the pieces of duck found within were a great compliment to the white meat of the turkey and the chicken due to the high fat content in the skin. 

The disappointment was actually in the  Italian sausage stuffing. There was too much of it and it was too salty. It also was artificial tasting and overpowered the flavour of all the other ingredients. 

It didn't live up to the hype. But, it was excellent excuse to meet up with great company and so the feast was a success! 

Ocean Seafood Restaurant

Ocean Seafood Restaurant

328 Highway 7 E

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1A1

(905) 889-0829

I am often intrigued by Hong Kong style cafés because their dishes are influenced by the British Empire.  Having been a British colony for over 150 years, Hong Kong culture has typically been called, "East meets West."  The food is no exception. What other Chinese establishment has Westernized breakfast items such as bacon, eggs, macaroni, spaghetti, and luncheon meat?  

I personally crave those unique baked rice dishes - rice on the bottom, meat and vegetables on top, all smothered in a rich sauce and baked to perfection.  When done correctly, the sauce bubbles and has burnt brown spots which add a "crunchy" texture to every bite!

A popular choice is usually baked pork chops on rice with a tomato sauce. This visit, I opted for baked chicken with Portuguese  sauce on rice ($5.99). The Portuguese sauce was delicious - it tasted like a mild curry coconut sauce. 

You get amazing value with these dishes as they are all in the $5 to $6 range. Included in your price is a coffee or tea - an extra charge of $0.70 is added for a cold drink. I requested for a black milk tea. 

During my visit, I also ordered a fried rice noodle with beef and soy sauce ($5.99 - which also includes a free drink). It was up to par in taste when compared with most Chinese establishments but it was noticeable more greasy than desired. 

The service is typical for most Chinese establishments - efficient yet usually not very personable. This visit, one of the dishes came significantly later than the other, which took away from the experience. 

All in all, I would still return for those signature baked dishes - the next time I get a craving.