Top-notch, approachable Modern Canadian food (COVID-19 takeout edition)
Just a block south of Queen subway station is Richmond Station. Except it’s a restaurant, not a subway station. The choice of name is deliberate. Its logo even features a subway train. Think of Richmond Station as a stop on the metaphorical culinary train.
Richmond Station
It’s difficult to put a finger on the cuisine served here. It ranges from pasta to braised meat to ethnic inspirations like mulligatawny (British-Indian curry soup). They are dishes that you might have seen in other restaurants but with Canadian twists. The menu changes seasonally. So, I would say Richmond Station is the exemplar for Modern Canadian cuisine.
Yonge-Dundas Square is a mixed bag when it comes to food choices. There are a few great restaurants but there are many more mediocre chains that survive on tourist and shopping traffic. Well, if you are in the area around lunch time, it’s worth seeking out Elm Street Italian Deli for their subs.
Elm Street Italian Deli
They sell Canadian-Italian subs, or at least that’s what I call them. They are not traditional Italian panini because they come loaded with more meats and ingredients. Also, the ingredient combinations are not something one finds in Italy. It’s closer to American/Canadian-Italian sandwiches. Regardless of origin, I recommend them for a quick, quality bite.
It’s been just over a year since COVID-19 exploded in Toronto. For future historians, here’s a retrospective of how the restaurant scene changed over the last 12 months.
Order fulfillment changes
Of all the changes, those regarding order fulfillment are the most likely to stick around after the pandemic. Order fulfillment is everything between making an order and receiving food.
More contactless payment and ordering
Cashless restaurants existed even before the pandemic, with places like iQ FOOD accepting only card payments and online orders. The pandemic drove more places like Baguette & Co and PG Clucks to go cashless.
2020 saw the introduction of two automated cubby restaurants. Diners order and pay at a touchscreen kiosk. They pick up their order from one of the cubbies (compartments) at the back of the restaurant. No human interaction necessary. Regardless, both restaurants have one human staff to help confused customers. The concept has been around in other countries for years, but these are the first in Canada.
Finished orders are placed in open cubicles at Cubby Smart Kitchen
Touchscreen cubicles at Box’d
Human-free ordering, payment, and pickup at Box’d
Automated restaurants make their appearance in Toronto
Increased online presence
One positive outcome of the pandemic is how it has pushed businesses to digitize. When I did a refresh of my restaurant list at the end of 2020, nearly all the restaurants that did not have a website in 2019 had one now. Or at least a Facebook page.
Even old school restaurants like Wei’s Taiwanese Food created a shockingly modern website. Customers can pick up orders at designated spots around the GTA, an innovation I haven’t seen elsewhere. It makes the best of a small delivery team.
Online store of Wei’s Taiwanese Foods
More convenient ways to order
During the early months of the pandemic, there was a scramble to get on delivery apps. Foodora exited the Canadian market in May 2020, leaving behind Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, and DoorDash as the only big food apps in Toronto. Deterred by high commission fees of up to 30%, some turned to smaller alternatives like Ambassador AI, Ritual, Tock, and TouchBistro. Tock is especially favoured by high-end establishments. Not all these platforms offer delivery though.
A few resourceful restaurants set up their own e-commerce stores using Shopify, Square, or their own bespoke site. Mandarin and Cafe Landwer rolled out their own digital ordering services, complete with phone authentication and online discounts.
These apps make it easy to order, pay, check availability, schedule orders, discover new restaurants, and reduce miscommunication when ordering. I hope that restaurants continue to invest in them after the pandemic.
Pre-ordering enters mainstream
With online ordering, it’s a breeze to plan a restaurant pickup after an outdoor stroll. No time wasted on waiting.
Another use of pre-orders are for special meals. You know, those that have to be ordered a few days in advance. High-end restaurants like Alo and Edulis switched to this format for their multi-course meal kits. Restaurateurs benefit from forecasting demand so they don’t end up with wasted produce.
Product changes
When the pandemic struck, many restaurants were suddenly in trouble because their business model could not be sustained by takeout. Fine-dining restaurants, buffet restaurants, bars, and any restaurant that sold quickly-perishable food (e.g. tartare, sundaes, soufflés) were hit hard. They had to turn to the buzzword of the startup world: pivot.
How a buffet restaurant adapted admirably in the times of COVID-19
Mandarin is known amongst Toronto residents for their all-you-can-eat buffet, with vaguely Chinese dishes and mishmash of dishes like sushi and pizza. Long-time Torontonians still bemoan the loss of crab legs from the line-up. Despite online criticisms, food quality is decent and is perhaps the best place to try Canadian-Chinese food. People don’t go there just for the food. Nostalgia plays a factor too. Mandarin prides itself as a family restaurant and surely many a celebratory meal went down at its restaurants.
Mandarin restaurant, on the ground floor of Canada Square
I was curious about how Mandarin was doing at a time when buffets are not allowed to operate. They held back during the initial months of the pandemic but quickly pivoted to takeout. Is there still a reason to patronize Mandarin when they have lost their main value proposition? Thankfully, the answer is yes.
For this review, I went to the closest Mandarin downtown, at Yonge and Eglinton.
If you didn’t know, the best time to get ice cream is in the dead of winter. Go during the night if you can. That way, you can avoid summer lineups. It might sound like a joke, but not until you see the queues at Bang Bang Ice Cream during warmer months.
Bang Bang Ice Cream
Bang Bang seems like any other boutique ice cream store on the surface. Indie, takeout only, free samples, some creative flavours, but not eyebrow-raising like Death In Venice. Their strength lies in perfecting what they do. I am no ice cream connoisseur but Bang Bang is superior to chi-chi ice creameries I’ve tried in foodie American cities.
Their unique claims to fame include ice cream cradled in Hong Kong egg waffles (鷄蛋仔) and signature flavours like Totaro (ube and coconut) and London Fog (Earl Grey). “Bakery” is in Bang Bang’s full name, though they really only produce confections that can be slathered with ice cream. This isn’t a knock on their baked products. They are good but ice cream is really Bang Bang’s raison d’être.
Butter tarts are one of the few food specialties of Ontario and indeed, Canada. It’s not famous because it’s not much different from other tarts nor is it a craveable food. But if you want to taste what the fuss is all about, head to The Maids’ Cottage or anywhere that carries their goods.
The Maids’ Cottage
Butter tart components
Although butter tarts contain butter, the predominant flavour is indistinct sugar. A butter tart is made of shortcrust pastry and a filling of butter, egg, and lots of sugar. It is almost identical to sugar pies from Quebec or American pecan pie. From this basic recipe, it is not unusual to add other ingredients like pecans or raisins. At commercial bakeries, they are usually palm-sized so that customers can mix and match flavours.
The most difficult component to pull off is the filling. Nobody likes a liquid filling, so the key to getting a right consistency lies with temperature control and ingredient mix. Personal preferences may vary but I think the best consistency is one where the filling has just set. No liquid should run out when one bites into the tart, but the filling should bulge a little.
The pastry is just standard shortcrust pastry. Any decent baker should be able to create a crumbly shell while still being solid enough to hold the filling and withstand slicing. Traditionally, the pastry shell is thick.
The food
The Maids’ Cottage has the largest variety of butter tarts in the country. They have seasonal specials and gluten-free (GF) options. When I went, there were these flavours:
This restaurant closed in April 2022. Thanks for the memories!
Nova Scotian chain has finally arrived in Toronto
For some reason, donairs have had a hard time surviving in Toronto. Places that had good donairs, like Fuzz Box and Hopgood’s Foodliner, only lasted for a few years. Here’s hoping that Jessy’s Pizza will have a more successful run.
Jessy’s Pizza is a chain from Nova Scotia that opened 2 years ago here, marking its first outlet outside Atlantic Canada. Sure, it sells pizzas but its main draw are donairs. They are the most authentic I have tried here.
Canada’s own shawarma
Sorry Ottawa, Halifax deserves the title of shawarma king even though it doesn’t have as many shawarma restaurants. While Ottawa’s version is mostly Lebanese, Halifax’s variation is a weird Canadian invention. The donair looks like a Greek gyro pita sandwich. The twist is in the sweet donair sauce made from condensed milk. Also, a classic donair is topped with diced tomatoes and onions. Nothing more. The meat used for grilling is finely minced and packed into thin strips. This results in a mystery meat texture—great if you like Spam.
Only a few regions outside of the Middle East have their own take on rotating meat slices on a spit. Mexico has al pastor, Greece has gyros, Turkey has döner kebabs, and the Middle East has shawarmas. Canada’s very own donair is celebrated on a dedicated website where you can find out where to get it in the country. It hasn’t been updated in a while though.
Blowtorched Canadian-Japanese sushi for a treat (COVID-19 update)
JaBistro is one of two famous aburi oshizushi restaurants in Toronto. The other is Vancouver transplant Miku. While Miku has the edge over variety and is slightly better executed across the board, JaBistro has better prices and the single best aburi sushi dish in Toronto: the JaBistroll. Both offer more than aburi sushi and have traditional nigirizushi as well. They also have entrees and lunch specials but Miku has more variety and offers desserts too.
Before we go on a detour about what aburi oshizushi is, I want to complain. Why do so many high-end restaurants try to look invisible? JaBistro looks like an abandoned steel workshop from the outside. If you are not looking for it, you are likely to miss it. Whether it is to keep the riff-raff out or to maintain an air of secrecy and prestige, it clearly doesn’t work in the world of Yelp and Tripadvisor. When a restaurant is outstanding, people will come.
JaBistro with an industrial exterior
Canada’s own sushi: aburi oshizushi
Most people associate sushi with two forms. Nigirizushi (握り寿司) is a rice mound shaped by hand and has a slice of seafood pressed on top of it. Makizushi (巻き寿司), also known as maki roll, is encased with seaweed and rolled with a bamboo mat. The fillings are in the centre of the maki roll.
A lesser-known sushi type is oshizushi (押し寿司). It is formed with a rectangular mold and requires the least amount of skill. But if you are into geometrical shapes, this looks the prettiest because everything is angular and precise. This form of sushi has really taken off in Canada in the past decade, starting in Vancouver and spreading to Toronto.
To be precise, it is aburi oshizushi that is a Canadian specialty. Aburi (炙る) means scorched. Aburi sushi is blowtorched on top to give extra colour and flavour. This is not new. Aburi nigirizushi has been around in Japan for a while but remains a novelty there. The Canadian twist is to apply this technique to oshizushi and use non-traditional ingredients like jalapeños.
Some people say that aburi sushi is a way to mask poor quality seafood and shoddy knife work. I say aburi has a more tangible impact on flavour and a better test of cooking skills. Knife skills can make something pretty and mold texture but it won’t help a lot with taste. If aburi sushi allows chefs to use lower grade seafood and reduce prices accordingly, I am all for it.
Oh, and if you are wondering why sushi is sometimes spelled as zushi, that’s because the Japanese s sound changes to z when it appears before certain words.
Elevated classics with a touch of fusion (COVID-19 takeout edition)
Aloette is the more approachable sibling of Alo, the best restaurant in Canada. It takes at least a month to get a reservation at Alo, so Aloette is a reliable fallback that gives a glimpse of what to expect. It has long operating hours, walk-ins are welcome, prices are within a good lunch budget ($20 – $40 mains, after tax), and best of all, food quality and service is similar to Alo. I actually prefer Aloette because the quality/price ratio is heads and shoulders above its competitors.
Aloette is on the ground floor of a nondescript building. Alo is on the top floor.
Both Alo and Aloette offer takeout in light of COVID-19. Honestly, only Aloette makes sense because Alo’s fine dining tasting menu doesn’t translate well for takeout. People go to Alo for the ambience, the plating, the “complimentary” dishes, and the interaction with the chefs. Even at a lower price point of $73.45 per person for its “Alo at Home” multi-course menu, it’s still a lot of money. Aloette’s casual à la carte menu works better for takeout. They have also reduced prices for most items, so take advantage of the opportunity to try them. When I visited in the evening, the restaurant was slammed with orders. I guess that’s a good problem to have in an economic slump.
Takeout bag
Aloette’s menu looks boring. It reads like the usual gastropub fare: burgers, pastas, salads, and pies. There is the occasional twist thrown in like yuzu honey for fried chicken. Don’t let the unexciting descriptions put you off. Aloette’s strength is in execution and presentation. They succeed in elevating these common dishes and inject a bit of their personality in it.
The food
Take the fried chicken, for instance. The accompanying yuzu honey jam was a contemporary combination of sweet sauce in Korean fried chicken and lemon sauce in pseudo-Chinese lemon chicken. The zing from the yuzu zest was potent and lighted up the chicken. The hot sauce was decently flavoured, but not as good as that from Korean fried chicken specialists. The spice was gentle.
Fried chicken (right) with bibb lettuce (left)
The star of the show was the chicken itself. When I was bringing the package home, the aroma tempted me to sneak a bite multiple times. The pieces are de-boned for convenience, another thoughtful departure from traditional Korean fried chicken. Meat was moist and seasoned, though most of the spices came from the batter. The batter remained crunchy even a few hours later.
This restaurant closed on 30 June 2020. Thanks for the memories!
Pioneers of East Indian roti and still the best
Gandhi is one of the first restaurants to serve East Indian roti in Toronto (and also the world). The East Indian roti might even have been invented here in the 1990s.
From India to the Caribbean to India to Toronto
A bit of terminology. East India refers to India, the country, as opposed to the West Indies in the Caribbean. Roti is a generic Indian term for bread but here it refers to the version in Trinidad, Guyana, and the windward islands. The life of a roti starts with a bread dough made up of maida (wheat flour). Then, ground dhal (split peas) are filled in the dough and the dough is rolled out to a thin disc. The result is a flatbread with a layer of dhal crumbs sandwiched in the middle. The semi-hard dhal doesn’t add much flavour but it provides textural contrast to the soft bread. This flatbread is known as dhalpuri roti and is a Trinidadian creation.
When people talk about West Indian roti, they usually mean a meal involving the flatbread and not the flatbread itself. Take a dhalpuri roti, put your choice of curry, meat, potatoes, and vegetables in the middle, and then fold it up into a rectangular parcel. Lightly toast it on a tawa (hotplate) and you get a West Indian roti. The fillings are usually Caribbean entrées like chicken curry and goat curry.
Gandhi takes the concept of a West Indian roti and uses traditional Indian fillings. The most popular filling here is butter chicken but you can also find other North Indian curries like jalfrezi, vindaloo, and korma. Another departure from the West Indian roti is that they use a chapati instead of a dhalpuri roti. It’s mostly the same thing except the chapati doesn’t have dhal and is much thinner.
