Pho 99

Date Visited: Dinner on Sunday Dec 21, 2015
Company: +Stephanie Szebenyi

After some outdoor ice-skating at the Markham Civic Centre, +Stephanie wanted a small meal and I wanted something to warm myself up. I suggested some pho after having just gone to Pho Real and only trying a bit of someone else's, I was really craving good pho. Steph had never had any before so it would be a fun experience for both of us. We arrived at the small location in a plaza across the street from the Markville mall. We walked in and grabbed one of the large empty tables for 6. The restaurant was shaped like a large hallway with seating for 6 and 4 respectively on either side of the walkway down to the kitchen and payment area. The utensils were all on the table already for us to set ourselves and we got tea immediately as soon as we sat down. There was a TV on in the back with some Big Bang Theory on which made the restaurant pretty quiet as most people were watching it.


We checked out the menu for a while, explaining it to Steph and wrote our orders down on the paper provided at the table. We ordered the Shrimp Rolls to start and they were fresh, tightly wrapped, and minimal mint.
Moving on the Pho, I ordered the Rare Beef and Beef Ball Pho and the portion size looked a bit smaller than usual for a medium. Other than that, no real complaints about the meal, the beef was delicious and the broth was not the best I've had but still very good. Just could have used a bit more noodles. This reminded me an authentic asian restaurant with nothing too fancy but just good food to offer. We sat a bit longer after having out pho but they didn't really top off our tea at all.

Food: 3/5 - Great meat and noodles, decent prices.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Nothing fancy but surprisingly clean.
Service: 3/5 - No complains, very typical minimal service as you would expect at a classic Asian place but super fast.
Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Not sure if I'd go back here specifically but not against returning.

Overall: 3/5

Symposium Café

Date Visited: Brunch on Saturday Dec 6, 2014 

Company: Walk-in for 6, post-sleepover at +Stanley's

The morning after a sleepover in Markham, we were looking for places in the area to have a nice brunch. After intensive researching on Yelp and Google, we found a Symposium in the area. I've been the the Symposium in Uptown Waterloo before as it's pretty popular for a fancier dessert place in the city but didn't know it was a huge chain. It had been a time long ago (before I was really into food) that I went there for dessert so I was excited to try out their savoury plates. The location was easy to find and in a newer plaza with very little surrounding the area.

For drinks, they had $4 a Bloody Caesar special so I definitely had to order one of those. It was pretty nice with little garnishes, I was very impressed for only $4 from 11AM to 3PM (everyday!).

I wasn't really feeling any of the breakfast specials and decided to order a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich, one of their "Symposium Signature Dishes". Our waiter was quite friendly and helpful, he seemed a little busy with the other tables also but was still attentive to us when we needed something. The wait was a bit long for our food but it wasn't too ridiculous... I think it was worth the wait when all the servers came and brought our dishes from the kitchen, it all smelled amazing.

The piece of breaded chicken was very large with odds and ends sticking out from the little Ciabatta bun. I was hoping for something very saucy and tender and even though I didn't get exactly that, I was not disappointed at all. The flavour from this sandwich was spectacular, the marinara sauce was brilliant, packed with flavour and the mozzarella cheese added texture to the breaded crust of the chicken. The fries came with an aoili that paired well if you still wanted ketchup. The fries were rather standard though. I could only finish half of the sandwich and packed the other half to go so I could enjoy it later. +Will ended up having it as I went to see him after and he hadn't had lunch yet. He also agreed that it tasted 'really good' which is saying something as he usually don't have much of an opinion on food.

Definitely one of the best Parm Sanwiches I've had to date, this is one dish where I would order again and again and worth not trying something new over.

Food: 4/5 - Great food and prices!
Decor: 3/5 - Got a nice window seat and interesting decor.
Service: 3/5 - Nice waiter, just a bit slow.
Willingness to go back: 4.5/5 - Definitely have to try their desserts also.
Overall: 3.5/5 

Website: http://www.symposiumcafe.com/