Taste of Peru: Celebrating the Pan Am Games Handover to Lima 2019

Written by Henry Truong aka @foodhubtoronto (Good Food Toronto guest writer)

The Taste of Peru Private reception hosted at the Stirling room was an amazing event of sorts. The event was held to celebrate the handover of the Pan Am Games from Toronto to Lima, Peru, where the next Pan Am Games will be held in 2019!

Chef Dennis Palma Cedeño and Chef Giancarlo Colombaro were on site to prepare delicious peruvian dishes/ Hord`oeurvres such as: Ceviche, Huacatay marinated lamb chops, Cocoa-macastriploin medallions, Peruvian quinoa prawns with ajipanca aioli, and Mango & Chia mousse.  The drinks were another wonderful addition - Pisco Punch and Pisco Sour were extremely popular amongst the crowd at the Stirling Room.

Approximiately 200 people were in attendance, including Pan-Am athletes and dignitaries from Peru it provided a very welcoming and fun experience. Thank you Mark S. for the invitation to this great event!  The Pan Am and Para Pan Am Games were a huge success in Toronto, so we're expecting great things in Peru in 2019!

Group of 7 Chefs X TABASCO Sauce

Last week, TABASCO Canada held a party featuring some of Toronto’s top chefs who served dishes inspired by TABASCO Sauce. When I arrived at Propeller Coffee, I was surprised to walk into a mini food festival! The “Group of 7 Chefs” who were featured included Scott Vivian (Beast), Nick Liu (Dai Lo), Chris Brown (Citizen Catering), Bertrand Alepee (The Tempered Room), Steve Gonzalez (Valdez), Dustin Gallagher (416 Snack Bar/ Peoples Eatery) and Anthony Walsh (Canoe). These guys recently took a trip to Avery Island, Louisiana, the birthplace and home of TABASCO sauce. Using this trip as inspiration, each of the chefs created a delicious dish with TABASCO as a feature ingredient. The food festival atmosphere was really cool as guests could speak with the chefs as we tried their tasty food.
The event was TABASCO everything! There were bottles of TABASCO everywhere I looked. There was also a huge barrel of super spicy pepper mash, which TABASCO is made from. Silver Spoon necklaces were awarded to those brave enough to sample a spoonful of this raw pepper mash! Throughout the night, guests sipped on crazy TABASCO inspired cocktails including a Jalapeno Mojito and a Smoked Caesar. There was also a endless supply of TABASCO infused rum shots to keep the party going all night.
My favourite dish of the night was the Crab and Duck Gumbo that Chef Anthony Walsh made. It was a ridiculously delicious gumbo with salted TABASCO Sauce cornbread, smoked duck and crab meat that he covered in butter and flame torched in front of us.
Here’s the full lineup of the Chefs and Dishes that were featured at the #FeedYourOriginal event:

Chef Bertrand Alepee (The Tempered Room)- Croissant Po’boy with TABASCO Chipotle Sauce, Pulled Chicken and Apple Remoulade

Chef Steve Gonzalez (Valdez)- Caesar Ceviche with Snow Crab, Tomato, TABASCO Sauce, Clam, Black Pepper, Horse Radish, Raw and Pickled Vegetables, Latino 5 Space, Corn Chip Cilantro Chef

Dustin Gallagher (416 Snack Bar/ Peoples Eatery)- Olive Oil Corn Cake with Corn Sorbet, Salted TABASCO Sauce and Caramel Corn

Chef Chris Brown (Citizen Catering)- Avery Island Salt Crusted Wild Boar with Biscuit, White Gravy and Slaw

Chef Nick Liu (DaiLo)- Avery Island Salt Cured Pickerel with Tomato and TABASCO Dashi, Pickled Honey Mushrooms and Wasabi Green Peas

Chef Scott Vivian (Beast)- Boudin Balls with TABASCO Sauce, Pickled Celery, Chilled Collared Greens, Potlicker Aioli Chef

Chef Anthony Walsh (Canoe)- Fogo Island Crab and Duck Gumbo with Salted TABASCO Sauce Corn Bits

Thanks to all the Chefs for the great food and also to TABASCO Canada and iYellow Wine Club for organizing a super fun party!

Group of 7 Chefs celebrating at the @tabascocanada #FeedYourOriginal event last night! Cheers! @chefanthonywalsh @latino5spice @ninjachef @scottvivian @thetemperedchef @dusty416 @chrisbrowntoronto @iyellowwineclub #goodfoodtoronto #toronto #tabasco #torontochefs #chefs #groupof7chefs #propellercoffee

A video posted by Hubert L (@goodfoodtoronto) on Jul 8, 2015 at 9:00pm PDT

Kamayan Feast at Casa Manila

The Kamayan Feast at Casa Manila is a truly beautiful dining experience. I recently attended a media tasting at Casa Manila for the launch of their new Kamayan Menu. The 9 course menu features massive amounts of delicious Filipino food laid out on Banana Leaves and eaten with your hands! The Kamayan feast is a Filipino tradition to celebrate the joy of eating. Eating to celebrate eating... amazing! Owner Mila Nabor Cuachon is very passionate about her food and culture, with interesting, fun stories behind every dish.
When we sat down, the long table was already covered in fresh Banana Leaves, which would be our plates for the night. We started off the night with Calamansi Mojito Cocktails, a rum Mojito made with the national citrus of the Philippines. San Miguel beer (from the Philippines) was also served and the Kamayan feast is the perfect setting to drink and be rowdy with your friends and family. For the non-drinkers, try the Filipino root beer- Sarsi.
A few appetizers were served to being the meal. We tried the Sinigang Baka, a flavourful sour soup made with ground Filipino Tamarind and loaded with veggies. We were then treated to the Chicaron Manok aka deep fried chicken skin! This chicken crackling was topped with adobo seasoning, pickled green papaya and served with garlic aioli. We then tried the Lumpia Shanghai, a Filipino take on the Chinese spring roll with a meatier filling than it’s Chinese counterpart. Ok, so that was just the appetizers.
The tables were completely cleared away, and the sound of a gong/drum could be heard. This was followed by huge platters of food on banana leaves being brought out. There was a mountain of deliciousness in front of us. Truly epic... I almost cried. There were big chunks of pork belly with crispy skin, among a ton of beef ribs, chicken skewers and a giant fried Flying Tilapia fish. All of this sat on top of 3 different types of rice: white rice, brown rice, garlic rice. In addition to this, everyone was given different types of sauces to dip and mix into the food, including a creamy coconut ginger sauce, adobo garlic sauce, peanut sauce, shrimp paste and some others that were all part of Casa Manila’s Mabuhay collection of sauces. The sauces enhanced the dinner with delicious flavours, especially the shrimp paste, made of crushed dried shrimps (really tasty with the garlic rice!). There were no utensils and it was very satisfying to pig out on all this delicious food with my hands! At the centre of the Kamayan feast was the giant Flying Tilapia, an entire fried fish that we ripped at with our hands. For a balanced meal,there was also a tangy green mango salad to eat with the grilled and fried foods. This was made with jicamas, tomato, red and green onions. We were also served Kamayan add-ons including the Pork Sisig (crispy pig face parts on a sizzling plate) and Milk Fish dish. Most people at our table were pretty full at this point, as the Kamayan feast without add-ons is already a ton of food, but I highly recommend the Pork Sisig... so good!
The 9 course Kamayan feast also includes the Halo Halo (mix mix). This was a shaved ice dessert covered in cream, topped with assorted fruits, sweet beans, custard, purple yam, puffed rice and Ube Taro ice cream (Casa Manila teamed up with Marble Slab to make this ice cream). A giant version of the Halo Halo was brought out... a beautiful sight to behold. We shared it among ~12 people, but I dare anyone to take on the MEGA Halo Halo on their own. This was a very impressive dining experience that was both fun and delicious. The new Kamayan Dinner menu is $28/ person, and you have to have at least 4 people. The more the merrier, as food portions depend on group size and the Kamayan feast is a fun, social dining experience to enjoy with friends and/or family!

Casa Manila 
879 York Mills Rd.
Toronto, ON 
M3B 1Y5 
(416) 443-9654 
www.casamanila.ca

McDonald's next legend: The CBO Sandwich.

A few days ago, I received a mystery box in the mail! When I opened the package, I immediately recognized the McDonald’s® logo on the wrapping paper, and was hoping they sent me a Big Mac as I was pretty hungry (McNuggets would have been good too!). To my surprise, the box contained some very random items: French Fry gloves, a selfie stick and an invitation to the launch party for #THENEXTLEGEND. I was very confused, but very intrigued. As a long-time McDonald’s customer and fan, I have often contemplated new items that should be added to the menu or even retro items that need to be brought back (McPizza!).
The day after I received the mystery box, I headed to the secret location for the McDonald’s party! There was security at the door and a guest list... not your typical McDonald’s experience. We were told to relax, have a good time and more importantly, that the newest McDonald’s product would be unveiled soon. Most of the people who attended the event were McDonald’s super fans. We enjoyed some fancy snacks, free flowing cocktails and beer (in typical McD fashion, free refills LOL). Speaking with some of the super fans, many were speculating the new product would be a new burger or low calorie healthy item. My guess was that the new item would be Fish Tacos... Filet-O-Fish Tacos to be exact. I even pitched this item to the head of McDonald’s menu development! Make it happen!
The wall that made up one side of the room was actually a large curtain that was pulled away to reveal a fancy, fine-dining restaurant set-up and their new product, the CBO® sandwich! Behind the curtain was also a ridiculously large cake made to look exactly like the new CBO to celebrate the launch. The CBO stands for Chicken, Bacon, Onion and it is originally a product found at McDonald’s in France. McDonald’s Canada took the CBO concept and adjusted the flavour for the Canadian market to have bacon in every bite! We were seated at candle lit tables with satin table cloths... it was truly a McDonald’s fine dining experience.
McDonald’s crew then brought out plates with the CBO sandwich + fresh McDonald’s French fries and you could see the smiles on everyone’s faces, knowing that they would be among the first in Canada to try the CBO. The CBO sandwich consisted of toasted artisan-style sesame and onion bun with crispy seasoned chicken breast topped with hickory-smoked bacon, leaf lettuce, crispy onions, creamy onion and black pepper sauce. The first bite I took was very satisfying, especially after all the anticipation. The CBO was delicious and definitely a more premium sandwich than the McChicken. The onion bun and onion pepper sauce really stand out and each bite is accompanied with a smoky bacon flavour. If you try the new CBO, let me know what you think of it. Stay tuned, as I will be holding a contest for some fun McDonald’s giveaways to celebrate the launch of the CBO. #THENEXTLEGEND

Bro Brunch at Aroma Espresso Bar

"Bro Brunch" featuring @goodfoodtoronto, @hypebelly, @feedmyphone, @ctfillah88

Aroma Espresso Bar is the only coffee shop chain in Toronto that I know of that has a liquor license (only at some locations). I teamed up with Aroma to organize a fun “Bro Brunch” with a few of my foodie friends who love to drink and we had a chance to sample their whole line of boozy cocktails along with some delicious food. The group at this brunch were all guys, with a common interest- eating and drinking everything...and taking pictures of it (yes, guys do this too LOL).

Last Saturday, We met up for the “Bro Brunch” at Aroma Espresso Bar at Shops at Don Mills around 11 AM, a perfect time to sample their cocktails! Highlights included the Ice Mojito, Ice Aroma with Baileys, Iced Berry Tea Lemonade with Rum and Irish Cream Latte with Baileys. Each drink came with 1.5 oz of alcohol, a fun way to get the party started on a Saturday morning! I especially liked the Ice Mojito, which was a blended lemon and mint slush with either vodka or rum. The more we drank, the more pictures we took. The more pictures we took, the more drunk we got. Bro Brunch!!!

On to the food! We ordered a few items to share including a few Fig and Goat Cheese Croissants and Shakshukas. The Shakshuka is a hot tomato and pepper stew, served with 2 sunny-side up eggs and fresh baked bread on the side to dip! They also give you Tahini sauce to drizzle into the bowl. It’s a nice hearty brunch item for a cold winter day. The Fig and Goat Cheese Croissant is a new item on the Aroma menu and I hope it stays for good because the flavours were on point! The croissant was filled with Fig Jam, Goat Cheese, Red Onions, Arugula and Balsamic. Others items we devoured included the Bureka Treat, a savoury Bulgarian cheese pastry sandwich, and the addictive Alfajores short bread cookie sandwiches.

The S’mores Hot Chocolate and the Affogato with Baileys are also must trys.  The S’mores Hot Chocolate had chunks of chocolate melted in steamed milk with marshmallow flavour, topped with giant marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs!  The S’mores Hot Chocolate was delicious, especially with a shot of Baileys!  The Spiked Affogato was a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a shot of espresso + 1.5 oz of Baileys poured on top of it.  With or without Baileys, Affogatos are definitely my favourite way to enjoy coffee. 

Aroma is a nice casual place to not only grab a coffee, but also for brunch! The “Bro Brunch” was really fun and you can see more pictures on Instagram accounts of "The Bros" who attended: Hubert (@goodfoodtoronto), Chris (@ctfillah88), Alex (@hypebelly), Patty (@feedmyphone). Honorary Bro: Jess (@jellymean). 

Special thanks to Loren from Aroma Canada for believing in our Bro Brunch and to Wassim for the hospitality at the Shops at Don Mills Aroma Location. 

Aroma Espresso Bar 
1090 Don Mills Road 
Toronto, ON M3C 3R6 
(416) 443-1430 
www.aroma.ca