Metal Sound

So...there was metal sound coming from my car...*sigh*. I finally figured out what it was...here's a picture. So far I don't know which the car is giving me more of...pleasure or headaches.

What does this light mean...

I can't figure out what this means on the car....keeps flashing once then goes off, so I can't even take a picture of it...it SHOULD look like that...from what I can remember.

Spoolsv.exe

So here I am in class, falling asleep since I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before. I am resorted to browsing online since I really didn't care about discussing the Dell case.

All of a sudden my computer stops. I reboot it 4 times yet it takes forever for it to load up. I managed to get into Task Manager when I realized that spoolsv.exe is taking up 99% of the CPU. I end it and my programs start loading. I went into Control Panel to access my printers and realized there are 4 print jobs waiting to be printed -- which was weird since it wasn't me who wanted to print, it said "Guest". I deleted the print jobs, then went into their properties to change the share function so that my printers were no longer being shared. Now spoolsv.exe is down to 00%! and my system is back to "normal." Drove me crazy for about an hour :p

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself. For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself. You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you. People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

What Color Green Are You?

Man...it's been so busy lately with so many assignments due. This was a week of relaxation and I spent it sending out resumes, watching Desperate Housewives and sleeping. Not that that was bad...I definitely FEEL better...hopefully all the wrinkles that were starting to build up will go away...hehe.

Reading Week

Reading week has come and gone *sniff*. Although I did spend most of it in Montreal doing a group project. Spent the first day skiing at Tremblant's moguls --- well, to ME they were moguls! The first two runs were on greens where I tried to get back into the hang of skiing (it's been over three years since I last strapped on skiis). Then it was blues. Man --- they were like blacks at Blue Mountain! I damn well nearly killed myself 12 times (that's how many times I fell during my 4 runs at blues). There was one hill I can't seem to go down without killing myself. I also accidentally went on a black because I didn't see the sign...that was alright though, it was near the bottom so it wasn't like I had to ski 10 minutes down a black (thank goodness).

Then --- it was the last run. I was thinking I'll just go on the green and take it easy (or not ski the last run at all because I was tired and my arms and butt were hurting), but noooo, I wanted to get my money's worth so down the blue I went racing. Really, I went super fast down the slope because my thought was, the faster I get down, the faster I can go home and take a nice long hot shower...I was doing pretty well until I crashed into someone (ouch). In fact, it wasn't just any crash, I hit him (thank goodness it wasn't a kid) while he was in mid-air doing a jump (which I didn't see because I was anticipating him to go left in which case I was going to pass him on his right). So of course, he jumped straight and then BAM - down we both went. My head smashed into his leg (or something hard cause my head has a bump), my hat, goggles, skis and poles flew off as I tumbled in the slow, it must have been a hard fall since the previous falls I was able to keep my hat and goggles and poles. Don't remember much but when I finally stopped rolling, there was a second guy with his snowboard asking me if I was alright and how many fingers he was holding up. I guess they really do ask these questions! I told them I was fine...then the guy whom I crashed into asked me if I was going for a jump as well...as if. I apologized for ruining his jump all was alright. Andrew showed up eventually to see me sprawled on the snow. He didn't see my crash, which was good? LOL.

I skied down to the bottom with one more fall (at the same usual spot dammit!). I limped back to the ski rental place to change. My thumb was bruised and swollen, and I thought about putting ice on it, but it was so cold outside I don't think it would have made a difference! We finally made it back to Mike's place (Andrew's friend) and I took a nice hot shower. My poor body...I think I will stick to the Blues (maybe even some of the blacks) at Blue Mountain from now on....

Auberge du Pommier

Auberge du Pommier
Yonge and York Mills
The complete package: Romance, scrumptious food, great service...

It's great to know that you don't have to drive all the way downtown to find a romantic restaurant with amazing food. This French restaurant exceeded every expectation and was a fantastic dining experience.

The decor was classically simplistic. Two main rooms and one private dining room. The two fire places gave the rooms a 'warm' homey feel. The walls were not decorated much with paintings, but rather with small little wall lamps that gave the restaurant a rather nice ambiance. One thing I would recommend however is for the restaurant to paint its ceilings...wouldn't want chippings to fall into my food...

We had arrived a little earlier to grab a couple of drinks at the bar. FYI, they make AMAZING apple martinis!! I really liked how they carved little apples out and put them on the stir stick, really nice touch. Compliments to them!

We were then shown to our table by the corner of the restaurant. Our table was by the window looking out into the terrace, it was nice, but a bit chilly. The manager gave us complimentary sparkling rose wine (it was my birthday...it also helped that the bf was consulting for the O&B chain!). For appetizers, we had the escargots and wild mushrooms wrapped in a cabbage leaf and foie gras terrine. The foie gras terrine was the best that I have ever had and I would go back just for that! It wasn't on the regular menu but rather the tasting menu (but you can order it separately - don't know how long the same tasting menu will be there though). I really don't know how to describe it but imagine a creamy foie gras ice-cream...smooth. The escargots were good too (below)!

Then the server brought us two Cappuccino de Truffle appetizers, compliments of the chef! This was a pureed wild mushrooms soup presented in a cappuccino glass. Very very tasty, in fact I was deciding on that and the foie gras, so now I got both. But this was very filling. Everything was so rich. I couldn't finish it so I gave it to the bf.

Our main was the Homage Glacage - butter poached lobster with citrus salad. By that time, I was pretty stuffed and barely finished it. In fact, I had to pass some over to the bf. The salad added a nice touch and helped balance out the richness of the dish (they gave us citrus flavoured ice earlier to clean the palate before the main) because of the citrus and terragon mousseline sauce.
It was very sad...I couldn't have dessert because I was so full!!! I was in pain or else I would have had something! But the restaurant was so great that they brought out two bite sized desserts (size of my thumb) with "Happy Birthday" written on the plate.

I have to say that Auberge is the BEST restaurant that I have been to so far. Special treatment or not, this restaurant deserves to win "most romantic" restaurant in Toronto (and it has!). I will have to make a reservation to go back and have one of their desserts...and try out other drinks...

Winterlicious - Pangaea

Ah, another treat for myself. This is definitely the last Winterlicious this year - I'm going broke. I went to Pangaea with a friend last Sunday (okay so I'm retracting a little)...but I've been busy with the car trouble.

I thought Pangaea was a very interesting name, so I looked it up: Pangaea or Pangea (derived from Παγγαία, Greek meaning 'all earth') is the name given to the supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the process of plate tectonics separated each of the component continents into their current configuration. ~Wiki

Pangaea
1221 Bay Street
"An unpretentious charming little place...in Yorkville!"

True to its name, one will find Pangaea to be a very natural looking place. Its decor is simplistic with dark wooden chairs and soft coloured walls that seems to be striving to bring out the earth's elements. What I really liked about the restaurant was the down-to-earth service (and we had a really fun and easy-going waiter)! Notorious for its desserts, I was anxious to find out whether Pangaea can live up to this reputation. Guess I will find out after the entree and main!

For the entree, I had a very delicious Pear and Endive Salad. If you've never had a cooked (roasted) pear before you should definitely try it! Coupled with the pear were Stilton cheese (mmm, cheese...), watercress and mustard dressing. The pear was sweet and succulent (yes, even when roasted, does that sound strange?) and makes me start eating more fruit (I'm not really a fruit person). Although I have to say, the best cooked/roasted pear that I've ever had was at a little restaurant named Verona (on King St) but this was pretty close.

My friend had the Lobster bisque soup - I guess it must have been really good because he scooped everything out of that plate!

For mains, I opted for the Ocean Trout since I felt like I've been eating too much red meat lately (steak, grilled meat, lamb shank...). I'm not a fish person but I didn't feel like eating Sweet breads as a main...my friend ordered the Grilled Lamb Chop. For wines, he ordered the Australian Shiraz and I ordered a Niagra Sauvignon - it's also been a long time since I've had white wine. This night is a night of eating food that I'm not a fan of it seems!

The Ocean Trout was surprisingly good, although I found it a little bland, but Pangaea is also known to use very natural ingredients and aims at retaining its 'true' taste.' Since I wasn't a fish person, I would have preferred a slice of lime. If I had to compare it with other fish, it was 100 times better than the salmon that I had at Far Niente (I will never go back there), which was dry and seemed like it came out of a Hi-liner box (no offense to HL). The trout was presented on a bunch of lentils...I ate some of it, but I don't like lentils, or any sort of beans except maybe refried beans (lol). Fine onion rings were added on top of the trout.

Don't know how the lamb tasted, but again, my friend seemed like he enjoyed it. He enjoyed it all except the lingot beans. He hates beans and there were a lot of it!

Finally, it was dessert time and according to my friend, he's not a dessert person (...!). So, we got the Passionfruit pot de creme and the Ginger cake - what can I say, it lived up to its reputation. I especially enjoyed the passionfruit pot, but the maple candied pecans that came with the ginger cake was mmmmm....good! This was definitely a pleasant fine dining experience! Will have to come back for sure!

So that's all for Winterlicious...next round would be Summerlicious....hehe.

Public Transportation

So I'm resorted to taking public transportation now because the car is in need of a lot TLC. So here's my yucky morning on my first public transportation in a long time (not including subway):

6:30am: Wake up - that was brutal. I got cleaned, dressed, said hi to the dog, packed lightly (meaning no laptop or heavy course kits)

7:05am: Left the house, 5 minute walk to the YRT bus stop, which is ok, a little exercise. Waited at the bus stop on Bayview and Briggs.

7:20am: It shows up 10 minutes later, late. I get on, pay $2.75 (wow, it went up 50 cents last time I took it), it moves at 30km/hr and I'm here thinking I'm going to miss my connection at 7:40am.

7:35am: Finally the bus gets to the transfer point at Bayview and John (note - this distance is literally a 5 minute drive in a car...), I get out (remembering to ask for a transfer ticket) then crossed the street to the other side.

7:40am: A bus with York U shows up, I ask to be sure, he says no, sign is wrong (then you should change it darn it!).

7:45am: 3B shows up - this one actually goes to York U. I hop in showing my transfer ticket - I think I was supposed to add another dollar for a new zone or something but I didn't because he didn't ask. I sit on the bus, did my readings so that was a plus. The bus continues on some weird route but I don't care, as long as it gets to York U. On the way to the school, the bus did a completely USELESS loop wasting 3 minutes of my life (lets face it, this bus trip wasted an hour so I guess the 3 minutes was negligible).

8:28am: Bus stops at York U (class starts at 8:30am)

8:33am: Get to class --- for once he starts on time (great)

So that was my morning. There are some plus and minuses of course, but seriously, lets do the math.

Bus:
Round trip tickets: $3.75 each way x 2 = $7.50 (holy sh*t)
4 trips per week = $23/week
4 weeks = $23x4 = $92

Car:
I fill the tank up every 1.5 weeks - 2 weeks, average fill is $35~$40
Twice a week = $70~$80/4 weeks
Parking = 440/4 months = 110/month
4 weeks total cost = $180

Parking's the killer, if I could get parking back, it's cheaper to drive, saves lots of time, less cold and is more convenient. Mind you, I drive to other places too so the gas allocation is not just for driving to school. So lets say 50/50, which means 4 week cost is approx. $130. Of course, it's not environmentally friendly and I can't read. Technically speaking, parking is a sunk cost so I should take the bus...but time and cold...and sleep...

The alternative is to wait for a cheap head to go on sale then buy it...in the meantime there is a cheap car for sale, I think I can bargain it down to $100-$200, but it's a 1990 Mazda and who knows how long that will run or how safe it is to drive...it is cheaper than renting a car...

Popped Spark Plugs

So after passing the 100,000 miles mark, the engine decides to play "I'm gonna die on you now!" One of the spark plugs popped out of it's socket and now a new one doesn't seem to want to go in. Dunno how or why it happened, perhaps you can help me figure it out...here are some pix for you engine experts! Click on pictures for a full sized viewing.

(Above) The last one on the right is obviously new, that is what I bought to replace the old ones.

(Above) Another angle for your analytical pleasure.

(Above) Don't know if this view helps with the diagnostic...

New Addition to the Family

It's been a week now and Corey has settled in nicely in our home. He is about 10 weeks old and weighs about 5.8 pounds. So far crate training has been a success and he now knows how to sit when told to. The new challenge...toilette training....*sigh*.

His third day home...that's his new toy that he's playing with...

Sleeping on his back in my arms - I was typing on the computer at the same time...sort of.

Isn't he adorable?! He's a snorer though...

Looking cool...

I'm looking at YOU!

Ohhh...that feels GOOD!

Hi, my name is Corey!

And I'm a good dog...

...I'm very obedient...

...most of the time...damn I'm cute!

Winterlicious - Hemispheres

By the time we arrived at the Metropolitan Hotel, we were late, but just by 10 minutes or so. One of the hosts took our jackets and showed us to our table. The Winterlicious fun begins...

Hemispheres, Metropolitan Hotel
110 Chestnut Street
"New luxury chic"

For those who are not familiar with the term "New Luxury" (as opposed to old luxury), new luxury primarily refers to a more minimalistic style of luxury. Luxury that accentuate rather than define who you are. It's quality without the pretense - think Prada vs. M0851.

The bistro, which was newly renovated, accommodated about 25-30 tables in the main room and another 10 or so in the adjacent room (which looks more like a bar). The wall that separated the two rooms was filled with over a hundred wine bottles accentuated with pieces of modern art.

As we took our seats I noticed that one can see the chefs cook up their magic through a large glass window. Food AND entertainment!

We took a look at our menus (the truncated version of the main and the Winterlicious menu) and thought that it was a nice subtle way of encouraging add-on selling. I mean, what if I wanted soup and/or salad in addition? For an extra $9 I can get it from the regular menu since the Winterlicious only offered you a limited choice.

I started with the Prosciutto wrapped shrimps, which was absolutely delicious (although the shrimp in my opinion was a little too chewy). The saltiness of the prosciutto and shrimp (on a skewer) was balanced out by the blandness of the polenta cake (cornmeal), which was shaped into a triangle. The bottom layer contained spinach, which added a subtle taste to the overall entree. What I really liked was the mango bits that the chef included to add a little zest to the dish as well as the red pepper coulis (puree). I give it an "A" both for taste and for presentation.

For mains, we both opted for the Metropolitan Mixed Grill, which contained alligator and apple sausage, flat iron steak, lamb chop and mixed vegetables. First off, the alligator and apple sausage was good, although again, for me it was a little too salty. The flat iron steak, I did not enjoy so I gave it to my partner who seemed to like it even though it was slightly tough and over cooked (it was medium and I was surprised that he didn't ask us how we liked our meat). The lamb chop was good, but again, I would have preferred it to be a little less cooked, it was tender enough though that I could cut it with the non-sharp steak knife. What I thought this main excelled in was the amount of vegetables that it came with, unlike Truffles. A nice balance of meat and veggies! The 3 brandy sauce was perfect and nicely complemented the meats. For wine, I chose the Pinot Noir and our waiter (we'll call him Trevor) recommended a Red Zinfindel to my partner.

At last, dessert time. I was watching the pastry chef prepare some of the desserts through the glass window and I couldn't wait for mine. For dessert I ordered a classic New York cheesecake with sherry macerated berries and icing sugar. What can I say, it was creamy soft and I would have inhaled it if I wasn't in a public place. One negative: the two pieces of chocolate on top tasted a little waxy. The coffee was nothing special, but it did nicely end my meal.

My partner ordered the the Chocolate Daquise with Rum Pot Cherries. This was an amazing dessert as well. You can definitely taste the rum in the cheeries and the chocolate mousse just melted in your mouth. As can be seen below, it was very nicely presented with a wintery theme (notice the silver balls and gold leaves), almost a pity that we had to eat it...almost.

All in all, I enjoyed my experience at Hemispheres much more than Truffles. Not only was the food better, but so was the service. At the end of the night, Trevor waited at the coat rack with our jackets before we got there and helped us into our coats. I would definitely come back here, Winterlicious or not. Next stop: Pangaea.

A final picture...

Winterlicious - Truffles

We pulled into Cumberland St. and parked the car before taking a short walk to the Four Seasons.

Truffles at The Four Seasons Hotel
21 Avenue Road
"If only the food tasted as nice as the place looked..."

We went up to Truffles where we were greeted by the Hostess. A man came by to take our coats before we went into the restaurant. Very nice so far. We were then shown into the Private Dining room where a table for two was waiting for us. I have never been into the Private Dining room before but as Andrew said, it had a very aristocratic feel to it. The walls were decorated with numerous paintings in gold coloured grids. Mirrors were plenty so as to make the room feel larger than it is and allows you to discreetly look around the room without turning. White table cloths draped over the table with another gold heavier table cloth underneath to contrast. Each table had its own candle and flower display holder, which added a nice, romantic touch. There was a new Executive Chef (Rob Bartley) at Truffles since Lynn Crawford moved to New York to become the Executive Chef of the Four Seasons there. Lets see how good of a replacement he is.

We made our choices and ordered a Californian Merlot with our mains. The maitre'd brought us a nice basket of mixed bread and we munched on that while we waited for our food.

For entrees, I ordered the Winter Greens, which was good. Croutons were made of beet and blue benedictine (tastes like blue cheese-ish) and very thin, dry pieces of fruit (?) added a nice sweet flavour to the mix. Apparently the salad came with a horseradish vinaigrette but it didn't really taste like it as the dressing was more thick and creamy than I expected - almost like a ranch. Then again, I'm not a chef, I only know what tastes good :p Andrew ordered the soup - Roasted Cauliflower Veloute, which was good. It had a nice creamy texture (not too thick) and did not congeal at the top (unlike the soup at Nectar apparently)!

We waited...and waited. Neither our wine nor our mains came. Finally, our maitre'd realized that he forgot to bring us our wine and apologized and offered to not charge us for one glass. As he poured our wine, a few drops dropped onto the table cloth, which I have never seen before in a nice restaurant. As we sipped our wine, our Lamb Shanks arrived. The portion was huge. But I have to say - the shank wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It was quite average that I didn't even bother taking a picture of it. The shank was quite tender however and it really wasn't bad at all. Just wasn't up to par with my expectations. Andrew enjoyed it however. The maitre'd came by later to clear the table of crumbs which he subsequently brushed onto the floor with his hand...very un-four star like...

For desserts, we ordered the Caramel Apple Mousse with Calvados Anglaise and the Blood Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Sorbet. For me, the dessert was the highlight of the meal (pictures below). The caramel was made into swirls and hardened (like candy apple) and was paired nicely with the apple mousse. Pieces of apples were put inside the mousse, which added more texture and taste. Calvados as I found out is fermented apples (like fermented grapes for wine).
The Cheesecake was very good as well although I only had a bite. Of the two though, I enjoyed mine more :p
We asked for the bill and it came shortly after. The maitre'd pointed out that he only charged us for one glass of wine because of his mistake. So I opened the bill and lo and behold...there was a charge for just one ... BOTTLE of wine! We pointed this mistake out to him and he apologized again and returned with a new bill. This time it was just for the meal. He didn't charge us at all for the wine because of his mistake. Fantastic. I tipped him well enough, mistake and all and we left.

All in all, it was a nice night out - although I would not rush to go back to Truffles anytime soon. Next stop: Hemispheres at the Metropolitan Hotel.

Winterlicious - Brant House

We ended up being an hour late for our reservation at 6 because of all those rubberneckers who apparently have never seen cops giving tickets to a couple people before. We were backed up soooo much - with no lanes being blocked at that! People...KEEP DRIVING!!

We finally arrived thinking that they probably gave our table away but luckily someone had canceled so we were able to enjoy our dinner at leisure.

Brant House
522 King Street W
"Not just a trendy lounge"

After we settled down into our nice, big, comfy booth, we all checked out the menu and we ALL got steak - even the ex-vegetarians! It was wonderful. A note to self though, although it was nice sitting in a comfy booth, the table was definitely too low for dinner and was only appropriate for drinks and snacks. We spent the whole dinner practically hunching over our food.

The entrees: salad was great apparently and the leak soup with grilled flat bread was alright - nothing spectacular.

My flat iron steak with ponzu sauce was perfect (the second time around since they overcooked mine the first time, I had asked for Medium-rare) - it was a decent size, succulent, perhaps a tad too much pepper (this is coming from someone who LOVES pepper) but overall it was delicious. I allowed Anita to taste mine (she had ordered hers Medium) and in her words "this is like a different steak, it's soooo good!" Now she knows ;) The side asparagus and thick fries were a nice addition. For $25 the meal was definitely worth it.

The dessert - Pumpkin Ginger Torte with caramel - was really good. It wasn't fantastic but it was better than expected. It wasn't too sweet and the ginger gave it a tang that help brought out some of the pumpkin taste.

They have their Australian Shiraz, which I don't recommend - it tasted terrible. The Merlot however was decent.

Brant House changes into a lounge/club around 11pm and by 11:30 the place was packed with people. The crowd was mainly Caucasian around late 20's to mid 30's, which was good. Overall it was a fun night! Look forward to Truffles soon!

Dream Job

It's not Brand Marketing (although that's close) - it's .... A PROFESSIONAL BED TESTER!! I actually have put a lot of time into this thought and in all honesty meets all of the following criteria:

1. I'm allowed to sleep on the job (or work in my sleep probably sounds better on the resume...with this whole thing about dedication)and no one would fire me for it
2. I can make money sleeping (like Bill Gates and Donald Trump although not as much money...eventually maybe)
3. Be challenged - dreams are sometimes difficult to interpret! I also like the whole non-repeated aspect of this...
4. Not have to deal with politics
5. Have time for myself during the day
6. Enjoy work (who doesn't like to sleep?)
7. Relaxing, non-stressful job (although some dreams can be a mindful!)
8. Can work on multiple projects so I am not bored -- I can test pillows and comforters too!
9. Time is flexible
10. It's something I have to do anyway!

So as you can see, there are not a lot of jobs like this...I mean, there are people who get paid watching t.v and playing video games...why not bed testing?! It's a big industry and EVERYONE is a customer! If only...*sigh*

Evilness of Financial Institutions

I am so tired of banks and financial institutions squeezing every single penny out of us using sleezy ways!!! First it's the "service" charges, fine, I let that slide, then it's the double interest rates where if you fail to pay on time (I forget sometimes), interest is incurred twice even if you've paid off the balance, which I'm still fuming about! The most current episode is allowing you to go over your credit card limit and then charging you a fee!! What is the point of a LIMIT if they're going to let you go over?! That's crazy! They're supposed to right off REJECT the card once your limit is up! I will simply use the other card. I will remove myself as a client from BMO once they give me back that overlimit fee!!!! Evil evil banks, isn't there one out there that isn't a scheming jackass?!

The Red Carpet

I'm here watching the Golden Globe awards and I just watched Martin Scorcese win an award for Best Director for The Departed. I absolutely detested the movie and in my opinion, the movie could not even light a candle compared to the original Infernal Affairs. I could not finish the movie although I did try. It did not have the same intensity, generate the same excitement or have quite the same passion as Infernal.

I went to Rotten Tomatoes to see critiques' reviews and I was shocked to see "92% Fresh" - how can it be "fresh" if it was an imitation (a poor one at that) of an existing film. There was no originality and completely lacked "spirit" . For those who said The Departed was a fabulous film, I suggest that they watch Infernal Affairs (although it would be in Cantonese with subtitles). The acting in The Departed was good I can admit, but this love triangle is completely unbelievable, the lack of development between these characters was a major weakness in the movie. In the nutshell, I just didn't feel it.

Winter Driving Phenomenon

G-d, I hate traffic, especially when there shouldn't be any. I don't understand. A little snow and a little ice and people start driving like they're new drivers. I mean come on, you'd think after 10-15-20 years of driving in Canadian winters, you'd expect people to be able to drive better than an 80 year old. Not only that - these drivers drive in ALL the lanes because they want to put DISTANCE between their cars and other cars. So here you have 10 cars spread along 10KM of highway going at 40KM/Hr. Then of course, they complain about us drivers, who have to get places without having to drive 1 hour that normally takes 20 minutes. Not to mention the fact that it's gas consuming (don't forget the heater to keep you warm from sitting at the same left turn lane for 30 minutes). So people who can't drive significantly increases inefficiency and pollution. I think that in order to get one's driving license, the person would need to go through a winter driving test. You can only really judge one's driving ability in the right environment after all...

Winterlicious

I know the previous two posts were basically food reviews, but it's that time of the year! Not to mention that Winterlicious (http://www.menupalace.com/menupalace/Winterlicious.aspx) will be starting in less than 2 weeks! It's a general food tasting extravaganza that happens in Toronto twice a year, the other being Summerlicious (not counting cultural food festivals...those are fantastic as well).

Andrew and I made reservations for Truffles at the 4 Seasons and Hemispheres at the Metropolitan Hotel (guess we're doing a hotel theme this year for Winterlicious!). Their menus look fantastic and I can't wait to go. Last year we tried out Far Niente (which was mediocre and I was disappointed) and North 44 (which was great!). Although we tried to book Canoe this year, it was near impossible. The restaurant booked 2500 seats on the first day (AMEX card holders get two days advance booking, which left the rest of us no chance for Canoe)! Even holders had difficulty getting reservations! I'm looking forward to that, not to mention my birthday dinner...I think we're going to Auberge, but I'm trying to get my boyfriend to go to a vegetarian restaurant...he's fighting it.

Chez Thuet!

Just a few days later, Andrew's parents took us out for dinner for his birthday - it must be one of the longest celebrated birthday I have ever partook in... So on Saturday night, we went to Thuet - right beside Lee (see previous post for review).

Thuet
308 King St
"Qu'est que c'est un..."

Unlike Lee, Thuet (which reopened tonight) was situated upstairs and from the moment we went in we saw a dimly lit room with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling - each with its own charm. The paintings that decorated the walls acted as a nice backdrop for the two dozen or so tables draped with cream coloured table cloths. I also couldn't help but notice a lot of rooster ornaments. We checked our coats and eventually we were seated (it seems like they couldn't decide where to put us or something). By 7:30pm, the restaurant was full and the 3 or 4 black and white clad waitresses were bustling around. This is definitely a place where you have to make reservations. There is also a small private dining room that can hold about 12 people as well.
After staring at the menu for about 15 minutes and asking our waitress what some of the dishes were, we were finally ready to indulge our taste buds. We ordered a bottle of Australian Shiraz, which was recommended by the waitress, although I have to admit, she did not seem very knowledgeable. She also wasn't as attentive as she should have been for a place like Thuet.

My appetizer (above), which was part of the Seasonal menu -- Pan seared foie gras with duck confit. This was absolutely delicious! The foie gras practically melted in my mouth (ok, so it was basically fat...), it was lightly seasoned on the outside with spices and perfectly prepared. The duck confit was wrapped in a small cabbage leaf and went well with the foie gras. Although by itself, the confit was a little too salty. It was actually my first time having foie gras prepared this way, I generally preferred the pate.

From the Classic menu, Shirley chose the Arctic Char, which looks very nice but was a little too salty for my taste. The greens on top will lighten the salty taste - but just a little.

This was the most interesting looking appetizer. Can you guess what it is? Marrow (Seasonal menu). Although I did not taste this, Raymond said that it was quite interesting since he's never had marrow before. The marrow came with crispy bread, salt and pepper to taste. If you like to try something different and don't mind working a little for your food (the scraping of the marrow out...), this is the dish for you.

Andrew ordered the Scallops from the Seasonal menu. A sea urchin vinaigrette gave the scallops a very unique taste although the urchin was very light and did not overpower the taste of the scallops. The presentation of this dish was also very nice as can be seen from the picture above.

Now it was time for the mains. It took quite awhile for it to come out after we finished our appetizers - they must have been still catching the pigeon and killing the lamb. Either that, or as we suspected, our waitress had forgotten to tell the chef that we were close to finishing our appetizers...
Also from the Seasonal menu, this is the wood oven pigeon and lamb loin farci duo. Both were stuffed (farci) in something neither I nor Shirley could figure out (we both had the same dish). To me, it tasted like gefilte fish with poppy seed, at least the texture and taste reminded me of the Jewish dish. The lamb was good - slightly over cooked in my opinion, but the pigeon was basically raw-rare, which was not what I was expecting. It was still good though and the sauce paired with this course was great. It was slightly sweet, which helped cover some of the raw taste of the pigeon. One thing that I would have liked was to have slightly more vegetables (I guess you have to order it as a side but in my opinion, for a $40 dish, it should have came with...).
This was the other dish on the Seasonal menu I liked - the Red deer. Although I can't seem to remember the garnishes that this main came with...maybe you can tell by looking at the picture above! The portion was a little small and I knew Andrew wouldn't be full from it, so I shared my pigeon with him (I was getting full anyway).

Raymond was the only one who ordered from the Classic menu. This is the Braised lamb shank Provencal. I think Andrew was visibly drooling when he saw the size of this main in comparison to his! The shank sat on top of what looked like lentils. For the size of this, $25 was definitely worth it!

It was close to 10 now and we've been here for nearly 3 hours now. It was time for dessert! During intermission (as we were patiently waiting for our meal), we noticed the couple next to us. Shirley and I guessed it was a "date" and Andrew initially thought they were bf/gf. They seemed to be on a date by looking at their body language. It was very interesting though because the girl then gave the guy a birthday card. So we were wondering who would have paid the bill...we tried to wait them out to see, but alas, we finished our dessert and coffee before they asked for their bill. Speaking of dessert, here's ours!

Swans!! This is a Profiteroles with warm Soma chocolate sauce. One word: delicious.

This is after Andrew and I rearranged the swans. Originally I only put two heads together (trying to make a heart shape) but Andrew wanted a threesome, typical. He said it was a "conference".

So we finally left a half past 10 and made it home by 11. I was definitely farcied out...

Fine Dining Begins ... at Lee

So far the year has started off well (New Year's Eve didn't count!) considering my life now revolves with going back to school and sitting in hours and hours of classes. No matter how busy I get, there's always time for good food and drinks!

LEE
603 King St. West
"Beautifully presented tapas."

For my boyfriend's birthday (Jan 11), I took him to Lee (www.susur.com) - great atmosphere, very lively. The decor had an asian eclectic feel to it - glass tables and candles, the long screens on the walls added texture along with a wall painting of animals. The room was lit with slightly ruby reddish lights to (it seems) give "life" to the room. Although the place isn't very big, the high wooden ceiling gives you the sense of a little more space. The glass wall allows you to look outside and watch people walk by (if you like that sort of thing...or watch your car). In the back, there is a nice looking bar for those who just want to grab one of their martinis or sample their quite decent wine list.
The menu presented us with a lot of choices, in the end we chose 5 tapas. It was difficult to choose a good wine but in the end we opted for red - a Chilean Sauvignon and Cave Springs Gamay. The tapas were very good and nicely presented (although I thought the braised beef was just ok...). Below: Braised Beef with sour cream and shallots.
My favourite dish was definitely the duck confit (below). It was wrapped in a crepe and topped with sweet walnut, goat cheese with pineapple on the side - the combination of flavours was fantastic! Even my boyfriend (who does not like nuts or goat cheese) enjoyed it.
Another surprise was the tofu, it was crispy on the outside and fluffy in the inside. I think it was paired with some sort of sticky sweet satay sauce and side vegetable garnishes. It was a very colourful and tasty dish! Again, tofu was not one of my bf's favourites but somehow Susur Lee managed to come up with one that he was willing to indulge in. That's quite a feat.
The roasted scallops (below) was also delicious! I think the top was garnished with little bacon bits "glazed bacon" coupled with pea puree on the side. The scallops themselves were fresh and succulent and was definitely a good choice.
The winner for best presentation was the garlic shrimp - and it was the only one I didn't get a picture of!! Not only did it look fantastic, it also tasted great too. Although the last 2 that we had were slightly overcooked.

We ended the meal with the Molten Chocolate cake - it was yuuuuum. The centre had melted chocolate with mini slices of banana. Fortunately, it wasn't too sweet and ended the meal perfectly. The night was all in all - great!