Revisit: Torafuku

I know we said we weren't going to return to Torafuku unless it's for a special occasion, but my mother saw my Instagram pictures and wanted to try it out. We ordered a few of the same dishes because they were really good: Lucky Dumplings, Big Bad Beans, and Gone Fishin' (Seabream). Then we also ordered some new ones to try.

First up, Taco 'Bout Awesome are duck tacos. The duck was cooked perfectly and we really liked the freshness of the vegetables. It also had a bit of heat to it. We loved and hated that it was overloaded with filling. Loved it because it was fresh, hated it because it was super messy to eat. Each taco only comes with one tortilla, so we had to order two, which came out to $24 for this light appetizer.

Next, I ordered The 3 Amigos for us because I knew the dishes won't be very filling, and my father would probably want some carbs to fill him up. I think we ended up having about a bite and a half each. The grains were cooked really well and the risotto had great flavour to it overall. The guanciale was a nice addition. My parents don't really like cheese, but enjoyed the crispiness of the parmasan.

I had wanted to try The Steak Out last time, so I took this opportunity to do so. Wagyu beef is supposed to be so tender it melts in your mouth (we had that as our last meal when we were in Japan). Although the beef was tender, it didn't really melt in my mouth. Also, like the duck we had the other day, it seemed that it wasn't sous vided long enough to really break down the fat and tendons. Great flavour and sides though, and I particularly enjoyed the spicy rice crispy coating on the potato.

Last comes The Mussel Man, which came with a side Chinese Puff Pastry for an extra $4. The Puff Pastry is like those scallion pancakes you find at Szechuan style restaurants, except without the scallion. This was the weakest dish of the bunch. Although the sauce was really good, especially with the Puff Pastry to dip in, the mussels were overcooked and chewy.

Overall, my parents really enjoyed the food. Though they didn't have to pay for dinner, they expressed concern over how pricey all the dishes were. If you want your Chinese parents to boast about their wonderful child for bringing them to this "貴夾唔飽" place to their friends, it might be a good place to bring them for a special occasion. As for B and I, we will likely not be returning for a very long while.

Mr. Brownstone Bar & Grill

Went to Mr. Brownstone on Main for a friend's birthday. I was invited there once for another birthday, but never got to try the food - this time I got to try plenty.

We first had the spicy teriyaki chicken wings because we were so hungry, and our friend hadn't arrived yet. Though advertised as spicy, they actually weren't spicy. But the flavours were good and the skin was crunchy. The size was also decent.

When our friend arrived, we ordered two more appies and two main courses.

We had a truffle oil poutine and spinach dip. The truffle oil was strong, which made the poutine very flavourful. The cheese and gravy were generously well spread out. Every bite was delicious.

Spinach dip is spinach dip. You really can't go wrong with it. We liked that it was served with different types of bread. Although it may look small, it was plenty and we had to take some home.

Our friend had the shepherd's pie, which was well seasoned and the potato on top was really fluffy.

We had the special of the day - vegetarian risotto, made with asparagus, mushrooms, cherry tomato, and goat cheese. Although it was well made, I think our home made three-mushroom risotto was better. Maybe the dish needed just a little bit more seasoning.

Overall, we enjoyed the meal, everything was prepared well. The service was good and we actually packed a bit of everything to take home because they were so big. We will recommend but not sure if we will return for a while.

Three Mushroom Risotto

Today’s recipe was inspired by Chatelaine’s Porcini-mushroom risotto. Because we didn’t have time to look for dried procini mushrooms and cremini mushrooms, we just bought white and brown mushrooms. We also saved some shiitake from Monday’s recipe to add some flavour.

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 2 bouillon cubes
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 100 g white mushrooms, sliced
• 100 g brown mushrooms, sliced
• 100 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method

1. combine four cups water and 2 bouillons, cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to low to keep warm

2. melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium

3. cook onion and mushrooms until mushrooms are soft (4 to 5 minutes)

4. add rice and stir until glossy (1 minute)

5. stir in wine until all liquid absorbed (2 to 3 minutes)

6. lower heat to medium and medium-low so mixture is just simmering

7. add 1/2 cup of broth at a time until absorbed (28 to 30 minutes) - risotto should be slightly saucy but not soupy

8. remove from heat, stir in cheese

9. serve immediately with or without sriracha

Gourmet Mushroom Risotto

Today's meal was inspired by a recipe we found on allrecipes.com. Again, we had to vary it a bit to suit our needs. What's great about the recipe is that you can change the number of servings to suit your needs. We had to make enough to bring to a potluck, so we made 8 servings. Unfortunately, the recipe doesn't account for the extra volume of ingredients and so the timing for some of the steps took a little longer.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups of broth
• olive oil (amount at your discretion)
• 1 pound shiitake mushrooms
• 1 pound white mushrooms
• 2 shallots
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 2/3 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Steps:

1. While boiling the broth, prepare your ingredients.

2. Fry both the mushrooms and shallots at the same time in different pans.

3. When the mushrooms start juicing, turn off the heat.

4. When the shallots turn a bit brown, add the rice.

5. When the rice takes on a pale, golden colour, pour in the wine.

6. Once the wine is fully absorbed, add the broth to the rice 1/2 cup at a time.

7. Once the broth is absorbed, remove the rice from heat.

8. Add in the rest of the ingredients.

This is the final product.

Of course, no dish is complete without a squeeze of chili sauce.