Chatime recently opened another location in the Annex and I went with my friend Janice aka @bluntfoodreview to celebrate the launch of their new store! In Toronto, there's basically a bubble tea shop everywhere you look. What really sets Chatime apart from all the other bubble tea shops is its strong tea taste, creamy milk teas and the ability to customize the sugar and ice levels (like Starbucks, but for bubble tea!). If you have ever experienced the line ups at other Chatime locations, it is clear that bubble tea is alive and well in Toronto after all these years.
Chatime is a global franchise chain of tea shops with locations around the world. The first Toronto location at Bay and Dundas was opened ~3 years ago by Kenton Chan. Kenton grew up in Toronto, when the bubble tea trend first hit over a decade ago. He first experienced Chatime in Sydney, Australia a few years ago and saw an opportunity to get in to the bubble tea game in Toronto. Fast forward to today, where he and his business partner, Thomas Wong, now lead the entire Chatime Ontario team, with 8 locations in Ontario and more on the way.
We sampled about 13 different drinks from their menu, ranging from the most popular drinks to hidden gems that people tend not to order. Like everyone else waiting in those Chatime lines, I usually order grass jelly roasted milk tea 99.5% of the time! The owners made it a point to highlight some of the other delicious drinks Chatime carries. The highlight for me were the red bean milk tea and the tea espressos, which actually have no espresso in it but are brewed to order in a speciality espresso machine. I also really enjoyed the Wintermelon Milk Tea with Mousse. The Wintermelon tea is refreshing and goes surprisingly well with the savoury Mousse that covers the top 1/3 of the drink. Don't mistake the mousse for regular foam, as it is a delicious sweet and savoury treat on its own.
What's better than a regular Chatime bubble tea? A GIANT Chatime bubble tea cake. The best part of the afternoon was having a bite of that giant Chatime cake!! It was a deliciously moist chocolate cake with green tea buttercream.
The Chatime Annex location is now open for business. It is located near St. George station, so it can be expected that hordes of students from U of T will be getting their bubble tea fix in between classes!
Chatime Annex
337 Bloor Street West
Toronto, M5S 1W7
416-901-5660
www.chatime.com
poutine... The delicious combination of fries, gravy and cheese curds is often known as Canada’s national food and this summer marks the opening of Poutineville’s first location in Toronto. Based out of Montreal, Poutineville has taken poutine concepts to another level! The menu consists of a variety of signature poutines with customizable toppings and their famous All You Can Eat Poutine deal! I was recently invited to preview their new location in the Annex near Bloor and Brunswick. When I first got there, I was surprised by how nice the restaurant itself was. Unlike the usual take out poutine joints, Poutineville offers a full service sit down dining experience focused on Poutines! They definitely know how to have a good time, as we were happily sharing shots and cocktails and stories with the owner, Kosta within minutes of entering the restaurant. We were then ready to eat some poutine!
I had a chance to try their signature “The Poutineville,” ($12+ tax) a poutine topped with five-hour braised beef, cheese curds, mozzarella and red wine gravy. One thing you immediately notice is that they use special crushed potatoes for this poutine, giving it a little more crisp. The “Filet Mignon Poutine” ($18+ tax) was another memorable one- fresh crispy home fries, topped with cubed tender AAA Filet Mignon, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, cheese curds, blue cheese and pepper sauce! The steak cubes were perfectly tender and juicy! “The Montrealer” ($12+ tax) was another amazing poutine with smoked meat and a giant fried pickle! We barely had room for more poutine and then they brought out “The Heart Attack" ($100+ tax). 2 of the servers were dressed in white doctors' coats and brought out this poutine mountain…a GIANT 15 LB POUTINE, easily the largest poutine in Toronto. It is also one of the most insane food challenges, as they offer the entire poutine for free if you can finish it in 1 Hour. It is a mountain of deliciousness, loaded with crispy potatoes, chicken, bacon, hot dogs, minced beef, ham, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese curds, mozzarella and gravy! “The Heart Attack” would be a challenge for even the craziest competitive eaters (1 person in Poutineville’s history has completed the challenge). If you and your friends love poutine, this could be shared with a group of 10-15 people!
It is a unique take on Poutine, as Poutineville focuses on giving Poutine lovers a fine dining experience in addition to epic Poutine concepts. They even welcome you to make a late night reservation (open til 4 am Fridays-Saturdays) to get your fix of poutine after a night of drinking! Poutineville already has 6 locations in Montreal, Quebec City and now Toronto.
Poutineville Toronto
296 Brunswick Ave.
Toronto, ON
M5S 2M7
647-349-2345
