Ichimoto is another AYCE in the Richmond Hill area that I have tried in the past two years. It's located in a plaza, so there are plenty of free parking spaces if you decided to drive up there. I am no stranger to the concept of AYCE sushi, as I have been to a few around the cities. At times, I do like the idea of eating a variety of different dishes instead of opting for simply a bento box.

Prior to this visit, I have never eaten at Ichimoto before, but my brother was a repeat customer. He insisted that they were pretty consistent with their food, and treated me for my birthday. The weekend price was pretty on par with other AYCE establishments, as it was $21.99.

Quite a few people online have complained about their small portions, which I don't understand. It's an AYCE, so you have the option to order more if you're still hungry, and wanting more. I on the other hand like the idea of smaller portions as it allows myself to try out different items on the menu.

The overall food selection was pretty good as they have a little bit of everything; appetizers, cooked dishes, hand rolls, sashimi, sushi, and desserts. They had a decent selection of rolls, and the rice in these rolls wasn't too abundant or tasteless. I really liked their sushi pizza, and fully enjoyed the spicy mayo that they used to topped off the rice patty. Most of their cooked food was solid, and I liked that the cuts of the salmon sashimi had a good texture to it. 

As for service, I believe that they do have a 2 hour seating limit. However, we didn't feel rushed by any of the wait staff at all. Although they weren't very talkative, they did promptly clear our plates and refilled our glasses of water and coke throughout the meal which is always a plus. Overall, I thought that Ichimoto was a pretty solid AYCE in terms of what you pay for.

Address: 360 Hwy 7, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1B1

I met up with a friend for dinner at Korean Grill House up in Richmond Hill for dinner. Along the way, I was telling him about a dessert place called Sweet Note Dessert that I wanted to check out. We were surprised to see that Sweet Note Desserts was in the same Commerce Gate plaza as KBBQ. So we decided to head there after dinner at Korean Grill House for some desserts.

Sweet Note Desserts is a small dessert establishment offering milk bottle desserts, meringue melty, cupcakes, fresh butter cookies, and more. It's located in a rather busy plaza with a ton of restaurants and tea shops, so parking on the weekend might be a little difficult. A little after 8:30 pm, we entered the bright and cute establishment, and were greeted by the server. She was friendly, and told her that the soufflés take about 30 minutes to prepare. We per-ordered two and paid, and left our cellphone so she could call one of us when it was finished.

A majority of customers that Friday afternoon got their packaged desserts to go. However, there is a small sit-down dessert area where customers can enjoy their desserts and chat. Their sit-in dessert menu is rather limited but these desserts are freshly made upon order (soufflés and crème brûlée). I have a major sweet tooth so even on a full stomach of KBBQ meats; I still wanted to try out the soufflé.

Sweet Note Desserts offers two kinds of fresh soufflé; vanilla or chocolate. Additionally, you have a choice of one sauce from the following list: chocolate, raspberry, mango, strawberry, or guava sauces. Each order of soufflé is $8.75, which to me is a complete steal.

My friend got the vanilla soufflé + sauce ($8.75) - mango sauce. 

I opted for the chocolate soufflé + sauce ($8.75) - strawberry sauce. DISCLAIMER: mine got deflated because I was too busy trying to take a decent picture of my friend's item -___-" So it wasn't because the dessert was poorly made; I just took a little bit longer than I expected. I enjoyed the soufflé as it was airy, and fluffy. Before mine was deflated; it looked visually appealing and it was quite large. I didn't think it was overly sweet, but I liked the balance of sweet and sour that the sauce itself added to the flavor.

You can follow me on my personal Instagram at http://instagram.com/miso___sw33t =)

Address: Unit 61-63 505 Hwy 7 East Markham, ON L3T7V6

I had lunch with my friend, Dean, and he selected Chingu. Some people might not like the idea of cooking their own food, but I absolutely love Korean BBQ … so I had no hesitation in trying this place out. 

The restaurant itself was spacious with a lot of seating space, and there are two different levels of floors. Chingu was more than half full when we arrived, and there were only two waitresses on the floor, so it was severely understaffed. 

We were seated on the lower levels and it took a few minutes for us to get our water, and utensils. Eventually, the server came back with our complimentary banchan (Korean appetizers) to our table. The appetizers were kimchi, glass noodles, bean sprouts, tofu, radishes, mashed potatoes, seaweed, and some other stuff that I cannot remember. 

The both of us opted for the regular menu which was $16.99 (Mon-Thurs) and $18.99 (Fri-Sun), and consists of the following items:

Main: galbi (beef short ribs), bulgogi (marinated beef), chicken, and pork belly

Soup: pork bone soup, miso, kimchi stew

Vegetables: lettuce wrap, zucchini, onion, and green peppers

Seafood: squid, fish fillet

Dessert: ice cream

I really like chicken. So I was very disappointed to find the chicken at Chingu to taste really rubbery and bland. Clearly; I didn't order any further dishes of the chicken as I could barely finish the first batch.

I really enjoyed their galbi (marinated beef short ribs), and thought that it was delicious. The galbi was tender and well  marinated in a really sweet sauce.

The pork belly is pre-simmered in sauce, so it was really soft in texture when grilled.

As for the seafood, the regular menu was limited to only fish fillet and squid. The fish fillet was rather decent, and fresh. It also did not break into tiny pieces when cooked. I thought that the squid was way too chewy but it was pretty decent. 

They also provided uncooked vegetables for those who like to grilled veggies. Unfortunately, I am not too fond of peppers and mushrooms so I didn’t bother eating them.

On a positive note, Chingu provided a wider selection of food that are normally not offered at other KBBQ places, such as miso soup and pork bone soup.

How about the service? Considering the fact that there were only two waitresses on hand for the entire lunch period; the service was relatively slow. The dishes took longer to arrive to our table from the kitchen.

Our waitress was friendly enough, as she did attempt to make some conversation when placing down the orders on the table. However, it was hard to get her attention as she was rarely within the vicinity of our table.

My overall visit was decent; the food was good enough for an AYCE. However, there was a 15% surcharge that was automatically added onto the bill. I understand the need for automated gratuities for larger groups of people (5+ plus more), but Chingu adds it regardless (even if you are dining alone as it’s added per bill). However, the 15% is clearly stated on the menu so it shouldn't be much of a surprise when you get the bill.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3/5

Dining Experience: 3/5

Price: $$

Address: 280 W Beaver Creek Rd, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Z1