December 19, 2011

Green Papaya - Yonge & Eglinton

Wandering about the Yonge and Eligible part of town, our friend J.Wow recommended we try out Green Papaya for dinner. And so we did.

Green Papaya at Yonge & Eglinton

The restaurant touts itself as specializing in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, which undoubtedly means the menu is large, varied and difficult to choose from. Titus and I were like two grumpy old men as we debated over ordering dumplings, soups or rolls...and that was just the appetizers.

The Steamed Thai Chicken Dumplings were a little soggy and lacked the meaty filling. Terry thinks it should have been called Peanut Dumplings because that really was all we could taste. The Tom Yum Chicken soup, on the other hand, was packed full of spicy flavour and definitely the winner by comparison.

Steamed Thai chicken dumplings topped with Szechuan-inspired spicy peanut sauce

Tomyum with chicken in spicy Thai tomyum broth

Thankfully, our shared mains did not disappoint. Flavourful...and we did clean our plates.

The Mains -- Malaysian rice noodles with chicken and shrimp, egg and beansprouts in spicy aged miso paste
AND Oyster beef stir-fry with broccoli, soya, garlic, and oyster sauce

All-in-all, the meal was enjoyable but average. We've definitely had better on the Yonge-Eg strip.


Green Papaya on Urbanspoon

December 16, 2011

Aji Sai - Yonge Street

Sorry we've been AWOL. The festive holiday season has kept our lives busy and our tummies full.

We've been busy eating, drinking, being merry and trying to think of ways to kick things up a notch here. Sadly, the copious amounts of wine floating about in our systems has not served up much in inspiration.

So let's just focus on the basics for now.

A few weeks ago, after a rather tiring Christmas shopping expedition, we hit up Aji Sai in Yorkville for some sushaaaay! Located just north of Yonge and Bloor St., this tiny little restaurant came highly recommended...namely by Titus, who loves sushi...and can get extremely cranky when he's hungry.

Oh and did we mention it was 'All-You-Can-EAT' sushi? Boo yah.

Pic taken post-dinner. We had a 7-minute wait when we first arrived.

The menu was extensive and looked promising.

Ohemgee - we could have had a LOT more of the delicious Miso Soup starter

So Titus took charge of the order (yes, he also gets pushy when he's hungry) and ordered up some sushi and shtuff. The Avocado Salad, although lacking in presentation, was great little appetizer - a little bit of softness, a little bit of crunch and a whole lot of green. Sadly, we can't say the same for the Tempura Prawns & Vegetables where no amount of soy sauce could inject much flavour.

Titus' Avocado Salad was exceptional

Terry's choice of Tempura Prawns and Vegetables was, for lack of a better word, a bit ... meh.

But it was the sushi we came for and the sushi that saved the night. We mentioned Titus loves his sushi and if it was his last meal on earth, he'd probably die a happy chappy. We ordered the usual spread - California Rolls, Sashimi,  Shrimp Tempura Rolls, Spicy Tuna Rolls etcetera etcetera. The freshness was palpable and every bite truly delectable. It's AYCE and we ate all we could eat!

The true pièce de résistance - fresh and oh-so-tasty!

We ended dinner with a scoop of Mango Ice Cream which was good...as mango ice creams go.

Mango Ice Cream

Aji Sai on Yonge Street is busy most nights, and they probably couldn't fit your entire extended family for dinner, but we're well-impressed by the quick service, the friendly atmosphere and, most importantly, the great prices for good quality sushi.

Aji Sai Japanese on Urbanspoon