Rosewood Chinese Cuisine is a two floor dim sum restaurant offering the classic dim sum fare at decent prices. For those who are available on the weekdays; they have now extended their early bird

specials until 4 pm. This means that all dishes are priced at a cheap $1.88 each from Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 9 am-4 pm. I went on a Saturday morning for a quick dim sum fix so I was unable to take part in this deal. The prices for the weekends and holidays are the following:

(S) $2.37   (M) $3.28   (L) $3.68

Due to the two-level seating arrangements; there are no cart services. Rather customers are given an extensive list of the dim sum dishes, and one would check off their orders.

The service was relatively standard when you're dining in Chinatown. They weren't attentive throughout the meal, but they did quickly seated us, took our orders, and the dishes arrived quickly.  Overall, the dishes that we ordered were either a hit or miss. Still if you go on the weekday; it's very well worth it for its price.

The har gow (shrimp dumplings) (L) was plump with filling, but the translucent skin was slightly thick.

The pork filling in the pork dumplings with caviar (siu mai) (M) lacked flavor.

The filling in the beef rice rolls (L) was minced well and was pretty good.

The spared ribs & olive on rice (L) was a great value for its price.

The five spice squid tentacles (L) wasn't overly oily while still retaining its crispy texture.

There was plenty of filling in the shrimp & chive dumplings (M) but the overall taste of the shrimp was rather dry.

The shrimp rice rolls (L) was probably my favorite dishes of the night as it was fresh. The lightly folded rice noodles wasn't thick at all, and there was a good amount of shrimp filling inside.

The crispy shrimp rolls (L) was a solid dish; it came out piping hot and crispy.

Name: Touhenboku Ramen
Cuisine: Japanese / Ramen
Address: 261 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V 1Z9

Website: http://www.touhenboku.ca/ and http://twitter.com/TouhenbokuRamen

Touhenboku Ramen is the latest restaurant to enter the ramen market in downtown Toronto. It’s located conveniently on Queen St W and is open from 11 am to midnight; perfect for a late night meal. The restaurant officially opened up on November 12, 2013, and I had the opportunity to try it out last week. 

The broth from Touhenboku Ramen differs greatly from other ramen joints, as they use chicken broth rather than the standard pork broth. According to the owner, Zuimei Okuyama, the chicken broth contains a rich amount of collagen which is good for the skin. Chicken broth is commonly used for lighter ramen such as shoyu (soy sauce) or shio (salt) in Japan, which are both offered at Touhenboku Ramen.

 The ramen are served in porcelain crafted bowls imported from Japan. I was surprised to learn that each bowl was priced at $50, but it does help to maintain the warmth of the ramen much longer.
Touhenboku Ramen features five different ramen with your choice of toppings. All of their ramen are served with your choice of lean pork, rich pork or chicken chashu. Additionally, all bowls come with seaweed, tasty boiled egg, wood ear mushrooms and green onions.

 Original Touhenboku Ramen (white) ($10.50).
Straight forward ramen in a rich creamy chicken broth flavored with sea salt or soya sauce.

 Spicy Touhenboku Ramen (red) ($10.50).
Original ramen with a kick! Incorporated with our special chili oil, it will bring your taste buds to life. Sea salt or soya sauce soup base.

 Garlicky Touhenboku Ramen (black) ($10.50).
Original ramen with our special blend garlic sauce. Wonderful bitter-sweet aroma. Sea salt or soya sauce soup base.

Light Touhenboku Ramen (light) ($10.50).
This clear and light chicken broth with salt adds flavor without being thick.

Chashu ($13.00)
For those who love chashu; comes with 4 pieces of pork or chicken. 

We were presented with a special menu for that day, and given a choice of one of the ramen and dessert. I got the red colored Spicy Touhenboku Ramen with thick noodles, sea salt, and rich pork. It wasn't too spicy but I was pleasantly surprised that the chicken-based ramen was both rich and flavorful. The rich pork was fatty and delicious; definitely a hearty meal. I also forgot to mention earlier that the noodles are made in house with their own noodle machine, which is located in the back of the preparation area. 

 For those who are in the area during the lunch hours; there are also various lunch sets for $14. The set includes your choice of Touhenboku Ramen and Donburi rice bowl.

Although ramen is their specialty; Touhenboku Ramen also offers six different (made in house) Japanese pastries for desserts; all priced at $5.50 each. The pastries are light and not overly sweet which is perfect for when you’re done eating the ramen. I tried the Tomo Creampuff which was a crispy choux puff filled with vanilla custard and loads of whipped cream. The texture of the puff was hard but it complements well with the soft and creamy texture of the whipped cream. Overall, it was an enjoyable dining experience, and I will definitely return to try out other items on their menu. 

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Disclaimer: The food provided in this post was complimentary. However, all of the opinions expressed in this review are of my own.

The Stockyards has gained the reputation of being one of the best places in Toronto for fried chicken. It is a modest size restaurant offering comfort food on St.Clair West. I came here for dinner on a Thursday to try out their ribs and chicken combo. However, I completely forgot that they only serve BBQ ribs three days a week (Tues, Fri and Sat). The reason for this is because "the smoking process of their wood fired cooker takes up to 18 hrs". 

Eventually, I opted for the popular Stockyards Fried Chicken Dinner ($14.00). The dinner came with four pieces of buttermilk marinated chicken and served with fries, coleslaw and hot sauce. The buttermilk that the chicken was marinated in made the chicken quite tender. Overall, all four pieces of fried chicken were succulent, moist, and tasted delicious when dipped into the provided hot sauce. I also liked the shoestring fries which wasn't overly oily.

 

The Stockyards' decor is pretty minimalistic with an open kitchen concept. If you're lucky enough to be seated in the bar area facing the kitchen; you can watch the chefs make your food. As for their service, I thought that it was quick and efficient. My friend and I were quickly seated, and our waitress took our food and drink orders. Occasionally, she came back from time to time to our seated area and asked how we were doing.

I am not super big on the idea of getting brunch but I have heard a great deal about their fried chicken and waffles combo. So it's definitely on my list to try out in the future.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Overall Dining Experience: 4/5

Price: $$ || Online Menu

Address: 699 St Clair Avenue W, Toronto, ON,M6C 1B2

Amsterdam BrewHouse relocated and moved into its new location that overlooks the Harbourfront earlier this July. The new location is spacious as it can seat about 800 people inside, and the patio is also really nice with additional seating. Besides being a restaurant, Amsterdam BrewHouse also has their own indoor craft brewery so they craft their own selection of beer.

I really liked their concept and interior. The service on the other hand was pretty much abysmal. I arrived with three others around 7:30 pm for our party of 12 people. We approached the front desk and waited in line. There were three hostesses or servers at the front desk talking amongst themselves while not seating anyone (despite plenty of open tables). A fourth waitress finally arrived and seated us, which I thought was kind of odd. A couple of people from our table were already there an hour earlier so we sat down. We waited another 20 minutes for someone to take down our drink and food orders. Despite the abundance of employees walking around; flagging one down is really hard.

As for food, Amsterdam BrewHouse offers the typical pub fare with various beer/food pairing choices. I liked that they have a variety of different choices from burgers, fries, lobster roll, ribs, salmon, pizza, salad, etc ... Since the location is a tourist area, the prices are a little higher but it has a great view (if you sit out on the patio).

I opted for the 1 lbs of Thai sweet chili sauce chicken wings ($12.00) and a side order of french fries ($4.70). The wings weren't really warm but I did like the sweet flavor. I did like the fries though as it was pretty crunchy and salty. Anyways, my total cost for the night came out to be $22.27 (including tax/tip). Some people might think that the price is steep for just 8-10 wings and fries but you have to take into account the prime location of Amsterdam BrewHouse.

Also just a quick tip to those who are planning on going to Amsterdam BrewHouse as a group; they don't do separate bills and there is an automatic gratuity of 18% (I think 6+ people).

Disclaimer: This review is solely based on my experience back in late August 2013. One of my friends who just went last week told me that much has changed since then, and that service has improved. I will most likely return to check it out again as I really enjoyed the atmosphere here.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 3.4/5

Service: 2/5

Overall Dining Experience: 3.5/5

Price: $$ || Online Menu

Address: 720 Queen St W, Toronto, ON, M6J1E8

Rock Lobster Food Co originally started up as a pop-up at several food events (such as TUM), and eventually opened a restaurant in 2012. Since then they have added a second location on Queen St. One Saturday night, I had dinner at their original location which was just a short walk away from where I was that night.

My favorite seafood of all time has to be lobsters with mussels (being a close second). The menu is a simple one-pager with several lobsters (and seafood) dishes, and another page for drinks.

The Rock Lobster Roll ($14) was served with Yukon chips and a slice of McClure’s dill pickle. I have had a couple of different lobster rolls throughout the years, and this one is on the top of my list of favorites. I liked that there was a generous portion of fresh lobster. Additionally, the topped sauce was creamy and the toasty bun made it even better.

The Lobster Mac 'n' Cheese ($14) [fresh lobster, aged Canadian cheddar, and panko crust] was a comforting dish. This dish wasn't a personal favorite of the night but it's good if you have a craving for some mac and cheese with an added seafood twist. There was an okay amount of shredded lobster but you have to dig deep into the cheese to get some. Overall, it was a decent dish and I did like the crispy texture of the panko crust.

Lastly, we got the Lobster Supper ($39) [fresh Nova Scotia lobster, butter, creamed spinach, mashed potato and bread roll]. The steamed lobster was a decent size, as there wasn't that much meat inside of it. However, it tasted pretty good when dipped with the accompanied hot butter. The bread roll was also fresh and buttery. They do have a special on Sunday where it's only $25, which I think is a fairer price for the size of the lobster in comparison to its regular price.

Overall, the dimly lit Ossington Avenue space offers a warming dining experience. If you like lobsters, then this place is pretty good for it.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 3/5

Service: 3.5/5

Overall Dining Experience: 3.5/5

Price: $$$ || Online Menu

Address: 110 Ossington Ave, Toronto, ON, M6J 2Z2