LUXOMME

Should you ever find yourselves in the Manitoban Prairies feeling a bit peckish, Máquè and Clementine are places you should definitely not miss.

Absent are the large signs which signal the presence of a restaurant, but instead you'll find demure establishment located on an unassuming corner, where you'll find simple decor and an open and inviting kitchen which just begs you to come take a peek.

The server rattled off a list of his favorite items and left us to our own devices.

When he came back, he dropped off this plate which looked absolutely divine. One of their specials of the night, a tuna tartare - on the house.

Basically begging to be dug in, we quickly pointed to things on the menu so we could get our order in and begin eating.

"we would like this, this this and this"

The tuna tartare with orange zest, crunchy potato, black truffle, fish sauce, chili, shallot, and egg yolk [19] is served with this light rice paper which was deep fried to perfection.

As I contemplated whether or not I should just grab the entire plate and run to the corner so that I could have it all to myself, our first official dish of the night arrived.

You'll quickly notice the attention to detail here, firstly in the food and then in the service. The dishes are all intricately prepared and carefully placed, and each plate is timed to be brought out just as you are finished the one preceding it. A more subtle attention to detail is in the sequence in which they are brought out. Each dish that comes next is heavier than the last so that your tastebuds gradually escalate from flavors which are first delicate then intense.

These prawn toasts that arrived next are a testament to both these things.

White prawns, toasted brioche, crustacean remoulade, and water chestnut topped with radish and caviar [14]

It's the sandwich your mom used to pack in your lunch box elevated to a new level.

Perhaps one of the best dishes of the night was this roast sable fish with oyster mushroom, port and soy gastric, burdock chawanmushi, and chicarron [22]

So good that it made me forget to ask the server what on earth 'soy gastric' was.

Even though the portion was generous, I was sad when the server took the plate away.

Thankfully, two new ones arrived just in time

Roast brussel sprouts, truffled sausage, nuoc cham, perigueux, and crisp garlic [16]

and a mound of aromatic roast beets, szechuan pickled beets, pineapple, crisp grains, ginger, black sesame butter, and herbs [16]

These were good, but not sablefish level good.

By now, we had worked through 6 plates and felt more satisfied than when we started. Not quite remembering how many more dishes we had left, every new one that arrived just made it feel like a never ending dinner celebration.

Always down for those.

Even though I tend to go for vegetable and fruit heavy options on the daily, I'm more of a rice and noodle kinda girl.

So when the carbs finally arrived, I was all for it.

With roots in Hong Kong, I have some expectations when it comes to fried rice and lo mien, which I usually prefer at cheap no-nonsense places.

Their fried rice here is made with asian greens, shaoxing dressing, soft egg, sesame and undefined smorgasbord of herbs [16].

This was followed by their prawn lo mien with crab and chili sauce, peanut and bamboo ash, and scallion [20]

I'll be honest, grandma's is better and as much as I admire places that attempt to replicate the staples of a Cantonese kitchen, it's just hard. These cheap and easy comfort foods aren't meant to be fancy.

Not saying that it wasn't good, it just wasn't fried rice or lo mien.

 I also don't quite know what bamboo ash is.

Ending the meal off with a chocolate tart was the perfect finish to a delightful meal.

Máquè really hits the spot in many places, and it seems like you can't go wrong with anything that has truffle or sablefish in it. The service is superb, the experience is unique, and the food - absolutely divine

Find an excuse to go, or go just because.

naomi

Bombay Street Food 

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Tonight, we are going to Bombay.

Or the closest thing we can get without missing a whole week of classes.

Even though I live on the outer edge of Toronto, most of my time in the city is spent within the limits of Bloor Yonge station and Union.

This lovely place, hidden in an unassuming location on Bay street, was started by two sister-in-laws who wanted to bring the taste of Bombay to Toronto. Veering away from the usual dishes that you would find in an Indian restaurant, Bombay Street Food aims to bring a more casual and authentic fare to your table.

This was the first time I've been here, despite having had it on my radar for a while prior. I have this nasty habit of often sticking to what's familiar, which makes for a spot on experience every time, but nothing exciting.

My friend Natasia is a lot more bold and a total boss in the kitchen and out, so when she suggested we try this place out, I said yes before she even finished the sentence. We dragged along two friends with us and after a whole evening of group messaging to figure out a time to meet, the moment was finally here.

The menu is succinct but broad enough so that you feel as though you still have enough options to explore. After pouring over the menu for what seemed like hours, Natasia and I decided to split up and order our own things to share and let the boys fend for themselves.

Before going to a new restaurant I often read reviews on Zomato, so after reading recommendations, we decided on the dahi puris, beef kheema pav and the chicken frankie paired with gunpowder fries and daal chawal rice respectively. The boys went for a smorgasbord of items including the sev puri, potato vada pav, gunpower wings and masala haddock which they swore were better picks that ours.

Right.

Ordering here is different than other sit-down restaurants, as though it's a fast food crossover. You seat yourself upon entering a restaurant and bring a long a menu with you that you pick up from the front. Then you order at the counter and pay for your food before they give you a number, at which time the chef begins to prepare your food. Food is still made to order like a traditional restaurant, but they eliminate the service portion, perhaps mimicking a street food stall.

I'm not the biggest fan of pretentious dining, or even situations where you are asked every 5 minutes whether the food tastes good or not, so this is genius if you ask me.

Our conversation ceased the moment the food arrived, replaced with mmm's and wow's, which are a testament to how great the food tastes. Most of the dishes here aren't found elsewhere, so it's nice to see a restaurant trying something new that isn't necessarily "on trend" like most things in Toronto.

Bring a friend though, portions are generous and you'll want to try everything.


naomi

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For more information and reviews on Bombay Street Food, please visit the following link;

 

  

RAVIOLI di RICOTTA

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I like challenges. Things that I've never done before.

For me today, this was ravioli. 

If you ever drop by my place spontaneously and I offer to whip up a meal for you, 9/10 times it will be Italian food. It's something that I will always have supplies for in my pantry. It's quick, delicious and so versatile. 

Because my usual repertoire is limited to the simple manicotti, lasagna or the even less-fuss spaghetti, I decided to expand myself and venture out into the world of ravioli, which I knew would be a challenge and a half. 

They look unassuming enough, tender pockets of pasta stuffed with the the yummiest of fillings. Mushroom and spinach, basil and tomato feta, if you can name it, you can probably stuff it!

The problem with ravioli is that as simple as it appears, there's actually a lot of technique involved. Firstly, the pasta must be rolled out to the perfect thickness - not too thin, not too thick. Enough that it'll hold the filling together, but not so much that you feel like you're biting into a perogie. Secondly, the seal is important, you want a firm seal that is even around the filling. And lastly, you want to cook your ravioli just so that it's perfectly al dente. 

Since this was my first time making ravioli, I decided to keep it simple. A honey ricotta filling with basil, tossed in a browned butter butternut squash sauce. 

Although it took me an entire 5 hours to make, because clearly I have nothing else to do with my time these days, it was completely worth it. Canoe's Lobster Agnolotti is a tough one to beat, but these turned out better than I expected. More importantly, going through the process was a really good experience and a fun hands on project. 

My pasta sheets were a little thicker than I would have liked, mainly because I hand rolled each one, but I will toot my own horn and say the filling was excellent and the sauce was surperb - would definitely recommend!

At the end of the night, my dinner guests left tummies filled and very satisfied. Good conversation, good company and good food.

If you want to try this out yourself, I've left the recipe down below.

Invest in a pasta roller though, if you don't want sore arms like me.

naomi

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Naomi's Ravioli di Ricotta

Stuffing

2 cups ricotta

1/2 cup fresh Parmesan

1/4 cup fresh shredded basil

2 tbsp honey

2 Eggs

pinch of salt and pepper

Pasta Sheet

4 cups all purpose flour

3 Eggs

Olive oil

Browned Butter Sauce

1.5 cups cubed butternut squash

1/4 cup butter

sprinkle of fresh sage and parmesan shavings to finish