It has always been my hopes and dreams to see my childhood idol on stage performing her hit songs. When I was younger, my mother won the chance to see Janet Jackson in concert through a radio competition. I was too young at the time, so she took a family friend with her. I was disappointed that I couldn’t go that time because I knew Janet would never make her way back to Australia ever again! It’s always a rare opportunity to see good artists in Australia in concert so I had the feeling that I missed my one and only chance.

When I moved to Canada, I always hoped that I could see more concerts since artists travel to Canada more often as it is much closer for them and their fan base is probably much bigger. When I heard Janet Jackson was coming to Canada I was soooo excited but at the same time I was so disappointed that she would hold a show in Hamilton of all places! But my boyfriend offered to take me all the way to Hamilton which was 1 hour away from Toronto.

So on August 3, 2011, Janet’s one and only show in Canada, my boyfriend drove me all the way to Hamilton. It was a crummy of an evening – dark and rainy but I was so happy to be able to get to see Janet! She performed all her hits, and all my favourite songs. It brought back all the great memories of my childhood. I love Janet!

Janet Jackson #1s World Tour in Hamilton, Canada Video

Janet Jackson #1s World Tour in Hamilton, Canada Photos

On a heaty summer night, we waited in line for 50 minutes at the famous Dutch Dreams Ice Cream Parlour. I couldn’t get over that we would wait for 50 minutes for ice cream, but I kept convincing myself that if this many people would wait in line for ice cream – it’s gotta be good!

So after we got that whopper of an ice cream for a whopper of a price, I still tried to convince myself that it had to be good if that many people would wait in line for it. So what’s the verdict? Well, by the time it was my turn to order – there weren’t any flavours left for me to order! I went through my list of preferences, and it was only up to my 7th where I found that they finally had what I wanted. After 50 minutes in waiting in line, you would think they should only settle for my first preference! Sigh. This was not the case, however.

But I must say, the flavours that I did settle for (despite being my 7th preference) was pretty good. I didn’t need the cream towering my ice cream without my consent however – but I guess this was the signature Dutch Dreams experience. The fruits were nice, but I dislike melon. I really wish they had’ve asked me… but back to the ice cream. It was great, delicious, yummy, lovely, yada yada.. but I am never going to wait 50 minutes for ice cream again no matter how good it is! Plus, it wasn’t that good. I really wanted my sorbet flavour, dammit!

Dutch Dreams Ice Cream Parlour Review

I recently had the opportunity to take a cooking class at Great Cooks on Eight. It was such a wonderful experience where I believe every single person truly had a great time. It was so enjoyable to let loose and learn to cook a dish with the help of a professional and learn some culinary art. But most importantly, it was so good to eat up all that awesome food we cooked without having to clean up the kitchen!

We made Bruschetta, Thai Spring Rolls, Grilled Peach Salad for appetizers, a steak for the main and a chocolate cake for dessert. Mmm!

It was amazing to cook at this place with such a great view too. If the classes weren’t so pricey, I would sure do it again.

Great Cooks on Eight Photos

L’unita Restaurant Review in Yorkville, Toronto, Canada

In the spur of Summerlicious 2011, we decided to visit L’unita after reviewing the favourable reviews on Urbanspoon. It is a little boutique Italian restaurant located in Yorkville on Avenue Road. Because of all the positive reviews and squeezing in a reservation on Saturday at 6pm (anything later was all booked out), I was convinced we would be walking into a crowded restaurant but we were proven wrong. There were hardly anyone else there, and there wasn’t that many until almost 7:30pm. It was fine for us, because it meant faster service but it did some a little eerie and also they stuck us in the front of the house, which was probably the worst table available. Initially, we accepted it but then realized even when we were eating dessert there was still hardly anyone else there. I admit, was a little annoyed. 

Nevertheless, the place was cute and I think with a bit more atmosphere it could be a lovely intimate and romantic restaurant. As for the food – well it was presented beautifully. The olive oil provided with the bread was fresh. The cucumber and arugula salad was full of flavour and crisp. The salt cod on the other hand, was not so much. The ontario fish was made beautifully, though I may be biased as I love lemon flavoured fish. However, the pasta was bland and stale. I found it hard to believe I wouldn’t like a seafood pasta. The pasta tasted like it either had not been cooked properly or it had been sitting out to dry for too long. There was hardly any clam taste either.

The desserts were probably the best course – though they weren’t that good either. The panna cotta had a lovely smooth consistency, while the orange mascarpone was a perfect combination to go with the espresso flavour. The strawberry conserva was packed full of sugar, which made it full of flavour and the lemon merengue was delish. Mmm. I’m glad I was able to leave the restaurant with the sweet strawberry goodness still on my tastebuds.

In all, I won’t go back to L’unita. We enjoyed the experience to dine in Yorkville and it wasn’t a bad downtown restaurant but we weren’t too delighted with everything. We walked away a little disappointed.

L’unita Restaurant Photos

L’unita Restaurant Interior Set Up

L’unita Menus

L’unita Bread and Olive Oil

Cucumber & Arugula Salad with Shaved Bottarga & Lemon Olive Oil

Baccala Montecato (Salt Cod over Fried Polenta & Spinach)

Ontario White Fish ‘In Saor’ with preserved lemon, swiss chard, farro & capers

Tagliatelle Pasta Con Vongole with clams, saffron, fennel & peperoncino

Espresso Panna Cotta with Dark Chocolate Crisps & Orange Mascarpone

Niagara Strawberry Conserva with floating lemon meringue & basil oil

Salad King Restaurant Review

The infamous Thai Restaurant re-opened this year bigger and better. It is still located in the Yonge/Dundas area but is now situated across the street from its old location. The devastating incident whereby bricks collapsed over the old Salad King location probably gave them the publicity they deserved. They now have a much larger and modern location and is jam packed full of hungry people no matter what hour you visit.

The atmosphere at Salad King is always buzzing, with its cafeteria style tables. It’s kinda annoying since you’re sitting much closer to strangers than you’d like and when their food comes first, you can’t help but sit there and stare with your mouth watering and listening to every word of their conversation. I find that it becomes a competition of who can talk the loudest over the person next to you, and it’s just extremely difficult to have a pleasant conversation.

A great feature is the seats they have here as they have a compartment underneath for your coat, bag, etc. It wasn’t enough for my umbrella or a thick coat however so given the tight space between your left and right neighbour, coming to Salad King on a rainy cold day was quite annoying.

But despite all of this, the food here is definitely worth it. It’s no wonder they tried to pack as many people in here as possible as there is typically long lines to get in and they do not accept any reservations. It’s first come, first served and expect to wait unless you go and beat the rush. As soon as I step inside, my tummy starts rumbling and my tongue can’t help but hang outside my mouth. The desire to bang my hands on the table and demand food now becomes irresistible as I can smell the food coming out of the kitchen.

I’ve been to Salad King a couple of times now in which I’ve tried the Green Curry, Thai Basil Noodles, Hot Thai Noodles, Siam Noodles, Pad Thai Noodles and Khao Soi Noodles. Out of all the dishes, I must say that the Thai Basil is my favourite but I just love the taste of Thai Basil. The dishes always taste fresh and full of flavour.

But my most favourite feature of this restaurant is the ability to choose how many chilli’s you want in your dish. Some dishes already have a spicy sauce so it would be even spicier than the amount of chilli’s you pick. You can choose from the options: mild, medium, 1 chilli, 3 chilli’s, 5 chilli’s, 10 chilli’s, 15 chilli’s and 20 chilli’s. The hottest I’ve tried was 15 chilli’s and it was aweeeeeeeeesome but my stomach made a few noises afterwards. It was damn hot! I typically go with 5 or 10 chilli’s now depending on whether the sauce is already spicy or not. It’s difficult to find a restaurant that will have the courage to serve their patrons a decent amount of spice so that’s why I love Salad King. Salad King is my most favourite place to go for decent Thai cuisine.

Salad King Photos

Obika Mozzarella Bar Restaurant Review in Downtown, Toronto

Obika Mozzarella Bar has opened up downtown in the middle of Downtown Toronto at BCE Place (Wellington & Bay).  It has been an extremely busy place, especially during the hours of weekday lunchtimes filled which is not unexpected given its location. I dislike however, the food-court atmosphere they have when the tables inside (to which they don’t have many at all) are full.  The seating is tight, and are exactly the kind you would find at a mall food-court. It’s loud and not very intimate at all, and the ambiance competes with the loudness coming across from Obikà at Marché. Terrific.

The table setting is modern, with interesting menu items but service is lacking. Although we came here on a weekday lunchtime we waited over 50 minutes to receive our meals, despite arriving at 12 on the dot. Poor. I realize there needs to be some allowance for such a busy time at such a busy location – but over 50 minutes? We were absolutely starving.

Nevertheless, each item here was delicious. I may not be an expert in burrata cheese (a soft buffalo milk mozzarella) but it was amazing. One taste and I was in heaven. The cheese immediately melted in my mouth and it was neither too creamy or too salty. Divineeee. The tasting plate of cheese items was interesting, but not really to my liking. I’m not a huge fan or prosciutto or pizza, but the pizza was so crisp & fresh. 5 stars for the pizza.

Overall, it was expensive and the service/atmosphere was really lacking. Initially I thought I would come back here again for the food but on the second time they really disappointed me on all levels. Sorry Obika, you didn’t come up to par.

Obika Mozzarella Bar Menu

Tasting Plate Mzarela Di Bufala Campana

Burrata, Tomatoes and Basil Pesto Prosciutto Crudo di Parma DOP, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Organic Tomatoes filets, Arugula

Prosciutto Crudo di Parma DOP, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, Organic Tomatoes filets, Arugula

The Toronto Jazz Festival has become one of North America’s premier jazz festivals and takes place annually during the summer in June and July with most events located at approximately 40 locations around the Toronto downtown core. It began in 1987 and now attracts more than 500,000 people over 10 days, with 350 performances and 1,500 musicians.

The core of the Festival is located at Metro Square, the heart of Toronto’s Entertainment District which offers free events to the public. I visited Metro Square on June 25, 2011 for some free jazz music. It was so lovely to enjoy the summer with some jazz music along with fellow Torontonians in the middle of the city!

TD Toronto Jazz Festival 2011 Video

TD Toronto Jazz Festival 2011 Photos

Every year Toronto hosts Canada’s largest street weekend festival: Taste of the Danforth which welcomes over 1.3million people to the event. The Danforth is home to Canada’s Greektown and is closed for the event. There are dozens and dozens of food stalls for you to taste the flavours of Greece! Because so many people attend the event with their hungry stomachs, be prepared for super long lines for every stall! Food prices range from $3 to under $10 so it’s easy to walk along the Danforth and saviour a few items.

SammyliciousTV: Taste of the Danforth Festival Video

SammyliciousTV: Taste of the Danforth Festival Photos

Lamb from Avli

Ribs from Avli

Chicken Rosemary Pie & Lamb Rosemary Pie

Toronto was lucky enough to host the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) on June 25, 2011. Many many famous Bollywood stars came to Toronto for the prestigious event and in celebration, Toronto also hosted the Samsara Festival which was full of Indian culture – music, culture and fashion. There was also a lot of Indian food available.. mmm, yum!

SammyliciousTV – Samsara for IIFA 2011

Samsara for IIFA 2011 Photos

I absolutely adore French pastries – just adore!! My sweet tooth is a terrible thing for my diet but it is so delightful to devour desserts. French desserts are so fascinating by all because they are so delicate and tricky to get right. You have got to have quite the expertise to be able to call yourself a maître pâtissier (a master French pastry chef).

Macarons have become such a huge sensation in Australia, sending hundreds of thousands of people to scour the best ones in town. It’s become quite the epidemic: we all watch Masterchef Australia, while we lick our lips at the slightest sight of the creations the chefs have cooked up that day and then call ourselves ‘food experts’.

We want the good stuff now. The real deal. Top of the line only! That means crispy on the outside yet marshmallowy on the inside, uniquely flavoured yet not too sweet or too salty or too bland macarons. But why macarons? Because they’re so incredibly difficult to make to perfection of course! Macarons can easily be too mushy, too crunchy, too dry, too hard and they’re so delicate they crush easily. Hence, due to the skill and time involved – they’re damn pricey. For a dessert that you can pop the whole thing into your mouth in one go, these little cute coloured suckers will set you back $2.20 a pop (or 24 for the dozen).. And we thought sushi was expensive!!

As I mentioned, making macarons are a difficult food item to master. They are a type of merengue that is made of egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, ground almond and food colouring (or a food flavouring such as strawberry, orange, chocolate). It is typically filled with buttercream which is sandwiched between two cookies. The name macaron comes from the Italian word “maccarone” which means to crush or beat (in reference to the almond which is the principal ingredient). The coating is a shiny, smooth and flat and is mildly moist so that when you pop one onto your tongue, it is quick to melt in your mouth. Mmm, divine!

Living in Canada has been a great opportunity for me to experience much more authentic French cuisine than I could ever get in Australia. French restaurants are a rarity over there, and French bakeries are even rarer. But since the macaron craze, pastry masters such as Adriano Zumbo has shot to fame and is now a well sought after food celebrity.

Macarons, macarons, macarons. Everybody wants them, right? Well on a recent trip to Quebec, Montreal I soon discovered that it is not just quite. Despite Quebec being a French city, the word ‘macaron’ did not seem familiar. A friend of mind spoke to various people on the street, in restaurants, in stores (in French), describing the delicate sweet French dessert that I was eagerly after but still, no one knew. My heart was crushed. How I was to find macarons when I returned to Toronto?

But I should not have feared. Nadege on Queen Street West in Toronto has solved all my sweet tooth macaron desires. One quick stop to the small little shop, I was able to pick up a dozen of macarons all in different flavours! Oh my! I was in macaron heaven! The 12 flavours available at Nadege were: Mojito, Cappuccino, Pure Chocolate, Vanilla, Chestnut, Cassis, Blackberry Chocolate, Rose, Chocolate Orange, Salted Caramel, Hazelnut and Pistachio.

So the million dollar question is: how does Nadege’s macarons compare? They were absolutely fantastic! You get that perfect crunch as you dig your teeth in, soft and gooey in the centre like a marshmallow and those flavours…. Oh gosh! Soooo good! I love that the flavours aren’t too sweet and that they melt in my mouth! My favourite flavour (and seems to be all of Toronto’s favourite flavour as it always appears to be sold out!) is the Salted Caramel. The Mojito flavour is also very very tasty :) I even dare say that.. these are the best damn macarons I’ve ever had!!!! YES, I will say it. THE BEST.

Nadege also offers various other macaron assortments, with an Angel Cake decorated with coloured macarons or the Marie Antoinette tower also covered in coloured macarons. They also offer gorgeous tarts such as the French Mango and Coconut Tart, Pink Grapefruit and Earl Grey Tart, French Mint and Chocolate Tart, Chocolate Tart and Lemon Merengue Tart.

If you don’t have such a sweet tooth like me (lucky you, I envy), then you can also sit back and enjoy a classic French style sandwich. So if you ever wanted to justify your sweets, you can enjoy a lovely lunch here on the patio and then much on these yummy sweets. Mmm!

Nadege Patisserie Photos

The fresh white entrance and cute patio at the corner of Queen St and Gore Vale Avenue (Trinity Bellwoods Park) in Toronto, Canada.

Inside Nadege: Clean, Bright, Modern & Colourful

French breads and pastries. Mmm.

French style tarts: French Mango and Coconut Tart, Pink Grapefruit and Earl Grey Tart, French Mint and Chocolate Tart, Chocolate Tart and Lemon Merengue Tart

Various Nadege products

Mini Madeleines: Strawberry & Chocolate

The most wanted Nadege macarons

Flavours: Mojito, Cappuccino, Pure Chocolate, Vanilla, Chestnut, Cassis, Blackberry Chocolate, Rose, Chocolate Orange, Salted Caramel, Hazelnut and Pistachio.

French style sandwiches

Angel cake with macarons

Marie Antoinette: Mini macaron tower

I absolutely adore Nadege’s hot pink box! So cute!

12 flavours. 12 perfect macarons.

Nadege Patisserie (French Bakery) Location

780 Queen St W, Toronto (Corner of Queen St and Trinity Bellwoods Park)

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