  |
mexican food!... My friend Park recently told me about a new mexican restaurant, so we went to check it out! I headed over to La Mexicana just after lunch and Park introduced me to the owners, Jon and Alex. This is the newest of their family's chain of mexican eateries in Toronto, as they also run 3 other restaurants (2 other La Mexicana's and their downtown location, Cocina Lucero). The newest La Mexicana restaurant is on Clark, just East of Bathurst where you wouldn't typically find authentic mexican food. I learned about La Mexicana's history in Toronto, a restaurant their Mexican mother Lucera, started in 1988. What really caught my attention was how much they stressed using fresh ingredients to make all their dishes from scratch! We were given the menu and the first thing I saw were the Baja Fish Tacos ($16+ tax/tip)- had to try that! This plate came with 3 tacos with pieces of battered and deepfried fish, topped with cabbage and chipotle mayo. These taco's also came with a small plate of cheese + gaucomole + pico de gallo, which I loaded onto each taco, adding to the deliciousness! Each plate also came with a heaping serving of refried beans served in a small tortilla chip bowl.
  |
After eating the fish Taco's, Alex insisted that we had to try one of their more authentic mexican house specialty dishes. I had the Pescado a la Tropicana ($20 + tax/tip)- a fish filet poached in coconut cream with spinach + jalapeno. This was a savoury dish, with lots of fresh flavours from the cocount and fish! The fish was the highlight, with simple sides complementing it nicely (Rice/ salad/ refried beans). La Mexicana is a great new addition in Vaughan and definitely a place to check out for quality, authentic, fresh made mexican food in Toronto! I was also told they serve a Mexican Brunch and on my way out I saw deep fried ice cream being served. The owner, Alex is also a professional arm wrestler- Mexican Food makes you Strong!
La Mexicana
441 Clark Avenue W
Vaughan, ON L4J 6W7
905-597-7272
shaved ice cream... The first time I tried shaved ice cream was in Hong Kong around 2 years ago and saying that it impressed me would be an understatement. I literally ate every flavour from different HK dessert shops including one called Tong Bak Fu (糖百府). The dessert is called 雪花冰 in chinese and is basically a mountain of shaved ice that tastes like flaky, crumbly ice cream (no lie)! Check out my friend Janice's blog for a mouth watering review of these shaved ice cream desserts in HK. As you'll see in her epic review, the flavours offered in HK range from Sesame to Green Tea to Chocolate to even Horlicks! They also usually come with flavoured sauce and bubble tea like toppings (jelly, exploding tapioca, etc.).
Lucky for people in Toronto, you can try this crazy dessert out this weekend at the Night It Up! event at Markham Civic Centre, which takes place July 13-15, 2012 (formerly known as Toronto Night Market/ Asian Night Market). A friend of a friend has worked long and hard to bring this delicious dessert to our great city. They have renamed the shaved ice cream dessert as "Igloo Shaved Ice" and will have a booth (L7) at the Night It Up event.The booth will be open Friday 7:00 pm to 12:00 am; Saturday12:00 pm to 12:00 am; and Sunday 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Igloo Shaved Ice will be offering these following ice flavours: milk (traditional),strawberry, mango, and coconut. They will also have many toppings for you to choose from: condensed milk; fresh strawberries, mangoes and blueberries; lychee, mango,and green apple jelly; lychee popping bobas; and also sweetened soft red beans,taro, and peanuts. MMM! it really is as delicious as it sounds. Unfortunately, Chocolate is not being offered as a flavour. After eating ~20 of these in a week in HK, I can safely say that Chocolate is hands down the greatest flavour (see picture above!). Once you have experienced the decadence and richness of Chocolate Shaved Ice Cream...mmm.. I can't even finish this sentence while thinking about it!
food festival!... I just wanted to share another event called Restaurantacular that I heard about from my brother. Restaurantacular 2012 is a doors open event being held today from 12pm- 9pm, in Mount Pleasant Village area. Select local restaurants, patisseries and cafes on Mount Pleasant between Eglinton and Davisville will be featuring sample foods for $2, $4 or $6. This will be good chance to check out different local shops and restaurants in that area, while satisfying your hunger. There are a wide range of participants including Cheese Emporium, Hero Burger, The Friendly Thai, Lollicakes and even Second Cup (hopefully it's not a $6 coffee. LOL!). You can see a full list of participating stores here. There is also a map (PDF file) to help you plan your eating adventure!
free lobster contest!... An event for lobster lovers, appropriately named "Lobster Love" is being held at Evergreen Brickworks on July 19, 2012. Earlier this year, I enjoyed great seafood and lobster during another event held at Evergreen Brickworks. The event runs from 6 PM - Midnight and will be a night full of delicious lobsters prepared by Toronto's finest chefs. Tickets include admission and also food, with guests selecting a main course of a 1.5 LB lobster prepared in one of the following ways: Lobster Roll, Lobster Thermidor or Boiled Lobster. There will also be warm drawn butter for dipping, garden fresh side salads and steaming golden cobs of corn-organically grown. Tickets are $39 (+ $4 service charge) per person and can be purchased here, but here's your chance to get in on this event for free...
"Good Food Toronto" will be giving away a pair of tickets for the "Lobster Love" through a random draw on Facebook. Follow the instructions below and on Friday July 13, 2012, one winner will be selected and contacted on Facebook. See Good Food Toronto Facebook Page for full details.
To enter the contest, all you need to do is:
1. "Like" the Good Food Toronto Facebook Page
2. "Like" and "Share" the Good Food Toronto "Lobster Love" post to your Facebook Wall
3. In the comments of the Good Food Toronto "Lobster Love" post, write down your favourite way to eat lobster (ex. Lobster Roll, Boiled Lobster, Lobster Thermidor, Lobster Bisque, Chinese Style... the list goes on.)
Lobster Love, July 19, 2012
Evergreen Brick Works
550 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, ON
M4W 3X8
Lucky for people in Toronto, you can try this crazy dessert out this weekend at the Night It Up! event at Markham Civic Centre, which takes place July 13-15, 2012 (formerly known as Toronto Night Market/ Asian Night Market). A friend of a friend has worked long and hard to bring this delicious dessert to our great city. They have renamed the shaved ice cream dessert as "Igloo Shaved Ice" and will have a booth (L7) at the Night It Up event.The booth will be open Friday 7:00 pm to 12:00 am; Saturday12:00 pm to 12:00 am; and Sunday 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Igloo Shaved Ice will be offering these following ice flavours: milk (traditional),strawberry, mango, and coconut. They will also have many toppings for you to choose from: condensed milk; fresh strawberries, mangoes and blueberries; lychee, mango,and green apple jelly; lychee popping bobas; and also sweetened soft red beans,taro, and peanuts. MMM! it really is as delicious as it sounds. Unfortunately, Chocolate is not being offered as a flavour. After eating ~20 of these in a week in HK, I can safely say that Chocolate is hands down the greatest flavour (see picture above!). Once you have experienced the decadence and richness of Chocolate Shaved Ice Cream...mmm.. I can't even finish this sentence while thinking about it!
