Peter and I were discussing Thanksgiving plans awhile ago and I remembered thinking "Toronto!" right away...when I was in college at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA--our great mid-semester break escapes were always to Toronto!
Where else can you find such delicious and authentic Chinese cuisine and at such amazingly low prices...well, actually, that was the good ol' days, when 1 USD bought 2 Canadian dollars (ugh LOL).
Anyhoo, I was super excited to show Peter around Toronto this past November...even though I've never lived there or anything, I had been there enough and driven around to be our pseudo navigator hehe
Our flight with Porter Airlines (a new Canadian airlines running short routes from East Coast cities such as NYC, Boston, D.C. to Montreal, Toronto, etc) was pretty amazing and the fare was awesome too, I believe we paid $225 USD roundtrip per person including taxes/fees?!!
I would highly recommend checking out Porter Airlines if you're planning a trip to Canada, they are constantly running fare specials and discounts, not to mention, the service and the Porter Airlines lounge (clean, new, comfy and free snacks and drinks) in Toronto are phenomenal :)
Thanks to the trusty peeps at Chowhounds, I directed us to Lai Wah Heen for dim sum after arriving into Toronto...
Crispy deep-fried breaded chicken & mushroom topped with truffle
Sticky rice filled with assorted seafood & meat, wrapped & steamed in a lotus leaf
I forget which this was but I'm sure it was yummy, just about everything was delicious here, it's just that some items were more "stand out" than others...
Jumbo Siu Mai wrapped with glutinous rice & foie gras--Peter was in "foie gras heaven" when he spotted this on the menu, so I let him have the whole fois gras piece since I'm not as crazy about it as he is hehe
Steamed lobster dumpling stuffed with shrimp & finely diced vegetable flavored with garlic & butter--we had high expectations on this one but it was a little bit of a disappointment...the skin was a bit goopy/thick/chewy and the explosive taste we were anticipating just was not there =X
Deep-fried soft dumpling of Berkshire pork--aren't these adorable? And who doesn't like berkshire pork, right? :)
Hot and sour soup with baby shrimp, shredded chicken, deep-forest mushrooms and egg drop--a classic soup but perfect balance of hot and sour (it's surprising how many Chinese restaurants can't seem to get this right...it's usually too vinegar-y or too spicy!)
Braised beef tendon & yam vermicelli bundle in Chu Hau bean sauce
Siu Mai of pork, shrimp & scallop--loved the mini fish roe toppings too!
Steamed short sparerib in black bean sauce--another classic Cantonese dim sum dish, the pork was flavorful, juicy and the sauce was not overly oily...
Me--Alternative Apparel Blue Tee, Tiffany & Co. 18K YG Quatrefoil Key and Platinum Diamond Fleur de Lis Key Pendant Necklaces, Anita Ko 18K YG Small Pave Diamond spike bracelet, Cartier Love Braclets in YG and WG, Chanel Iridescent Multicolor Classic Flap bag (LOVE LOVE the multicolor sheen of this bag, it's really so special that people kept stopping me the whole week I was in Toronto)...love it and its lightweight and durable too!
PZ--Burberry Dark Red Vintage Polo Shirt, Dolce & Gabbana Grey Hoodie Jacket
Bye Bye Lai Wah Heen, we will be back soon...like in a few days hehe
Me--Alternative Apparel Blue Tee, Moncler Grey Hoodie Jacket and Matching Sweatpants, and Chanel Iridescent Multicolor Classic Flap bag
After that satisfying dim sum, Peter and I kind of passed out in the hotel upon check-in...and then got up to go to the Jay-Z and Kanye West concert in Downtown Toronto!
It was completely random and unplanned since Peter just checked the events for the day as our plane landed in Toronto and he saw that Jay-Z and Kanye were playing that night...so we set off for the concierge but was told tickets were sold out! Lo and behold, the concierge girl said she had 2 extra tickets because her work schedule changed and she had to work that night of the concert...so we just bought them off of her for face value!! Woot! hehe...
The concert was awesome, though I did secretly wish for a Drake and Nicki Minaj cameo...oh and is it too much to ask for Usher to be there too? LOL
We headed to Chinatown for a late night "sieu yeh" meal at New Ho King...I wonder if there was ever an "Old Ho King"...?? Sorry, couldn't resist haha...I always do this to Petah and he just rolls his eyes and sighs hehe
PZ--Kid Robot Khaki Green Dunny Karate Tee, Cartier Santos 100 XL Stainless Steel with Black Leather strap watch
The curry beef tendon rice plate I had was AMAZING...and of course we had to get a dish of bok choy...so good and such a deal too, I think the rice plate was less than $7 or $8 USD!!!
Yum yum in our tum tum...this is why we love Toronto!!
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