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

Fresh Burger Toronto Grand Opening

Fresh Burger recently opened its first location in downtown Toronto and I had the chance to attend the Grand Opening event. Fresh isn’t just their name, as they already have many happy customers for their Richmond Hill location. Ran into fellow food bloggers Alex (@hypebelly) and Diana (@TorontoCafeFood) at the event, who were busy snapping pics of the event (+ burgers!). I tried the 4oz Fresh Burger and a Poutine. It’s a simple burger, with simple quality ingredients that speak for themselves. Although I would prefer the meat to be a bit more seasoned. Props to Fresh Burger for giving out FREE Burgers that night to anyone willing to line up!

Fresh Burger
542 Church Street 
Toronto, ON M4Y 2C6
http://www.fresh-burger.com

Aroma Espresso Bar- Bureka Treat, Alfajores Cookies & Chai Tea Lattes

I first heard about Aroma Espresso Bar back in 2007 when they opened up shop in the Annex. 7 years later, they now have 19 different locations in Toronto and surrounding areas. I always thought of them as a place to grab coffee, and was surprised by how tasty their food was when I recently went to Aroma for lunch with a friend. I was recommended the “Bureka Treat” and I fell in love with this pastry/sandwich hybrid. This was a savoury Bulgarian puff pastry made with feta cheese and they stuff the pastry with slices of hardboiled egg, tomato, pickles and tomato. It was like a super charged croissant. If you want this loaded pastry sandwich, make sure you order the Bureka Treat and not just the plain Bureka pastry. Aroma makes their food fresh in house, including sandwiches, soups and different pastries. If you like sweets, try the Alfajores Cookies... a shortbread cookie sandwich with dulce de leche filling, covered in coconut and powdered sugar. So damn good. They should sell these by the dozen. The tasty Chai Tea Latte is my drink of choice at Aroma. In addition to their many Toronto locations, they recently opened a new location in the King East area.  Like their other locations, its got a relaxed feel and is even a chill spot to grab a beer with a friend (yeah.. they even serve beer!).

Aroma Espresso Bar 250 King Street East  Toronto ON  M5A 1K1  (416) 365-7662 www.aroma.ca

Love Food Fest 2014

Kid Food for Grown-Ups! There is a new food festival in town on Oct. 7, 2014 at Wychwood Barns. Food festivals took over summer in Toronto summer and food lovers can continue the fun at “Love Food Fest”! The event is being put on by Action Against Hunger Canada and the goal is clear: raise money to help put an end to child deaths from hunger. It looks to be a fun night, as the theme of the food will be “childhood classics.” I am expecting some unique twists on foods we loved as kids, although a giant tub of Nutella + Spoon often takes me back to my childhood.

The best part is that many of Toronto’s top chefs will be cooking up their own interpretations of these childhood classics, with a grown-up twist. The chefs and restaurants are actually competing for a trip to Peru, so food can be expected to be top notch. The winning dish will be selected by a panel of Judges with the help of Love Food Fest guests. A panel of children judges would be fitting. Thirsty? Fuel up on delicious local wines, craft beer and fine spirits! 

Tickets for Love Food Fest are on sale now ($125/ Ticket) if you want to support a great cause, and indulge in a night of delicious food and drink from some of Toronto’s brightest food creators! With the ticket, you’ll receive unlimited access to the event, sampling items from over 20 chefs plus 20 boutique wine, beer and food vendors (full list of participants here). 

Love Food Fest
Date and Time: Tuesday, October 7, 2014 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. 
Venue and Address: Artscape Wychwood Barns 601 Christie St, Toronto 
Tickets: $125 A portion is tax receiptable. Ticket gives you unlimited access to the event, sampling items from over 20 chefs plus 20 boutique wine, beer and food vendors. 

Here is a list of the Chefs and Restaurants that will be competing to make the best “Kid Food for Grown-Ups!” 

Ayse Aydemir (Anatolia) 
Matt Basile (Fidel Gastro / Lisa Marie) 
Matt Blondin (Junk Bar) 
Rodney Bowers (Hey Meatball on College) 
JP Challet 
Howard Dubrovsky (Fonda Lola) 
Alexandra Feswick (The Drake Hotel) 
Claudia Gaviria (Cruda Café) 
Trish Gill (The Dock Ellis) 
Brook Kavangh (La Palette) 
Sang Kim (Sushi Making for the Soul) 
Yumiko Kobayashi (Wind up Bird Cafe) 
Shahir Massoud (Levetto Restaurant) 
Josh Molot 
Jacob Sharkey Pearce (Ursa) 
Tyson Porcellato (Rasa) 
Ivan Tarazona (Celestin) 
Eric Wood (Port) 
Shinji Yamaguchi (Gushi) 
Vanessa Yeung (Aphrodite Cooks)

Chatime- New Annex Location

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

Hanging Out with Susur Lee: The Veggielicious 101 Experience!

A few weeks ago I received an invitation to attend the Veggielicious 101 workshop at Bent Restaurant with the legendary Chef Susur Lee. I had witnessed his skills on TV and now I was super excited to meet the legend in person. We had a chance to taste the New Veggielicious Tasting Menu that is being featured NOW (Sept 9-20, 2014) at Bent! Here’s a quick timeline of how the awesome experience went down...

12:45PM I headed over to Bent Restaurant with my 2 friends Clara (@foodsisterhood and thefoodsisterhood.com) and Alex (@al3xxxx). Hyped!!!

1:00PM Arrived at Bent. We were the first of the bloggers to arrive and we were met at the door by the legend himself! Susur Lee shook my hand and I was star struck by this Food Network Star. All I could say was.. “wow...Susur Lee!” Susur laughed and told me to feel welcomed as he considers the restaurant his “home.”

1:10PM Champagne was served! (champagne time is all the time!) as around 15-20 bloggers walked around the restaurant taking pictures of the restaurant

1:20PM Let the feast begin! Before the Veggielicious workshop began, we get to sample some of Bent’s signature items including the Crispy Chicken Dumpling + Vegetarian Goat Cheese Tacos! YUM! Everyone stops to take pictures, flashes go off for 5 minutes.... time to dig in!

1:25PM Susur gave us a brief talk about Bent and the flavours his restaurants are known for. 

1:30PM “Fresh ingredients are key!” Susur says. He’s wasn’t joking! He took the entire group for a quick walk outside to his neighbour’s house. His neighbour is also a long time friend who grows the freshest veggies that Susur often uses at the restaurant. Cameras continued to snap pictures as we soaked in more culinary knowledge from Chef Lee. 

1:40PM We headed back into the restaurant and we were given a quick rundown about the Veggielicious tasting menu from bent. This was a 100% vegetarian tasting menu by Susur Lee that I was about to indulge in, so yummy!

1:45PM The main part of this event was a workshop on how to make French Meringues infused with Golden Licorice! This is actually the dessert featured on Bent’s Veggielicious Tasting Menu available Sept 9-20! 

1:50PM Making the meringues! Susur did all the work. Like a pro, he spoke thoroughly about the ingredients and pastry techniques. He encouraged us to get hands-on with the piping of the meringue, and everyone joined in on the fun! We scribbled our initials on the parchment paper before popping them in the oven, so we could see who had the best (or worst) meringue piping skills!

2:00PM Meringues go into the oven! Ready for more food! We were surprised with another dish: Chef Susur Lee’s Singaporean Slaw! It was a delicious salad with 19 ingredients of epic textures and flavours. This dish is also known as “Lo Hei” in Chinese and it was cool to learn of the influences that led to one of the most colorful and tasty dishes! Chef Susur Lee, Kai Bent-Lee (Susur’s Son) and Christian (Manager of Bent) put on a show for us as they tossed and mixed up the 19 ingredient salad in front of us, the same way it is done when served to customers at Lee or Bent. 9999999 pictures were taken by the bloggers- see instagram! HAHA

2:10PM First course of the Veggielicious menu was “Dip Three Ways.” Got to try some delicious fusion dips with chips! 1. Hummus of Romano Beans w/ Salted Chilis & Sherry Vinegar, with roasted olives on top. 2. Indian Spicy Mustard Seed Tomato Stew w/ walnut and curry leaf. 3. Carribean Eggplant Babaganoush w/ Cilantro. The Carribean Babaganoush was out of this world, with strong hints of tropical fruits (next level babaganoush!)

2:20PM The event moves over to the bar, where Bent bartender Manuel showed us how to make one of their signature cocktails, the Karate Kid 2! This was a sake based cocktail with jasmine tea infused gin, yuzu, egg white and coriander! So good I snagged the sample glass for myself as everyone was busy taking pictures of the next dish.

2:30PM Second Course was the Tingly Chilled Soba. Another beautiful dish with a mountain of different ingredients including a shiitake, shiso leaf, nori crisps and a spicy Taiwanese vinaigrette! Susur expertly mixed up the ingredients for us before we feasted. Wait.....gotta take pictures of the dish first! 

2:45PM A dish that looked kind of like fancy fried chicken was brought out. This was a vegetarian tasting menu though! Turns out it was a Chickpea Tempura Tofu. So many delicious flavours were in the air as the dish sat there and everyone took more pictures (#foodporn). The chickpea tofu was topped with pickled brassica, fish mint, shisito peppers, Korean sweet chili sauce and braised burdock root! aka The whole damn garden! 

2:50PM I am a serious meat lover, but I was loving this all veggie menu so far! No meat, no problem. 

3:00PM Just as I was thinking about needing another drink, we headed back over to the bar. This time, Manuel made a bunch of “Asian Caesars”, another delicious signature cocktail from Bent! 

3:00PM The last course before dessert was the Wild Mushroom Quinoa Risotto. This smells of mushroom, cheese and butter literally made me melt! This was one of my favourites, and I did not realize quinoa could be made this tasty! 

3:00PM Our meringues were finally ready! Some looked super ugly. Some more similar to the ones pre made by the restaurant. We topped them with fresh fruits: lemon curd, wild blueberry, peaches, passionfruit syrup and raspberry coulis!

Golden Licorice infused Meringue with Fresh Fruits.

Susur made the nice one on the left I made the ugly one on the right!

3:05PM I wasn’t overly stuffed, but my taste buds had been fully satisfied. Susur Lee’s presence continued to captivate all the bloggers as everyone listened closely to the chef’s insight on his own dishes. More Pictures!

3:10PM Susur Lee is a super cool and down to earth dude. I was genuinely impressed to see him speak individually with each blogger to get to know each of us and also to hear about our opinions on the current Toronto food scene. The team behind Susur Lee and Bent, including his son Kai Bent-Lee look ready to take on whatever the dynamic food and restaurant landscape in Toronto has to offer! 

3:10-3:30PM Everyone wanted a pic with Susur! He took his time to take pictures with each and every blogger there. Chef Lee definitely knows how to have fun, as we all take funny/stupid pics around his restaurant! Overall, I had an awesome experience at the Veggielicious 101 event. It was a great preview of the Veggielicious 5 course Tasting Menu available at Bent from Sept 9-20 ($45/ person). 

Special Thanks to Chef Susur Lee, Kai Bent-Lee, Kelsea Knowles and Manuel for showing a meat lover how vegetarian food can be amazing!

Chef Susur Lee with Toronto Bloggers! Photo Credit: Mary Tang (Mary's Happy Belly)

Bent Restaurant

777 Dundas Street W 

Toronto, ON M6J 1V1

www.bentrestaurant.com

(647) 352-0092