Desiam Thai Restaurant

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Mar 7, 2015
Company: Walk-in for 2.

Anith and I were planning to meet up for lunch to catch-up after his recent trip to California. We decided on Desiam in the Whitby Plaza per his suggestion. I had previously gone there once, a long time ago with my sister. I didn't remember much from the meal at the time but my sister said that the Pad Thai was amazing. I'm in the particular area a lot and have always been meaning to return so I was glad when it was suggested. 

There's a lot of construction going on in the complex but all the shops are still open. We entered to a fairly large, empty restaurant with lots of colourful decor. There is seating on either side of the main entrance and we were lead to the right side closer to the kitchen. Their menu was very large with tons of options so it took us a while to look through everything. Our waitress kept on coming back to us to see if we were ready but never were :(. I finally just decided to get the Veggie Pad Thai after a lot of deliberation and Anith got Bangkok Spicy Noodles. I also ordered a Thai Iced Tea, not really know what it is but thought it might be good. Anith ordered a Mango drink and when we first got the drinks, I thought mine was his. It was opaque and orange coloured which I wasn't expecting. I thought it would be a transparent liquid but turns out there is some milk in there. It was rather sweet and I'm not really sure what flavour it consisted of. I wasn't sure how authentic is was, it kind of tasted like powdered bubble tea drink... it didn't taste bad though considering I had no idea what I was getting.

We started with a Kanuck Roll as an appetizer. It was really hot upon arrival and stuff with ground chicken and various vegetables inside. I really enjoyed the filling, it had a good mix of ingredients inside almost like Sheppard's pie. The plum sauce gave it a sweet touch. It was an unique, delicious, and crispy spring roll.

Finally comes our main dishes... Anith didn't think his looked very appetizing at first but actually tasted really good. I found my Veggie Pad Thai very saucy and sweet. The vegetables were fresh and noodles cooked perfectly but just the flavour was very overpowering. It was a lot of food and finally I had to give up on finishing it. I didn't take it home just because of all the sauce, I wish they just went a bit lighter it and I might have felt better about eating it.

All-in-all, it was a very filling meal all for less than $20. Not my favourite Pad Thai but if you like your noodles on the saucy, sweet side then you should definitely check it out.

Food: 2/5 - OK meal but not spectacular Thai food.
Decor: 3/5 - Really cute restaurant with lots of Thai trinkets.

Service: 2/5 - Our waitress was pretty annoying and not very friendly.

Willingness to go back: 1/5 - Wouldn't want to go back unless I was in the plaza and wanted Thai.

Overall: 2/5

Website: http://www.desiamthairestaurant.com/ 

Le Papillon on Front

Date Visited: Winterlicious Dinner on Sunday Feb 8, 2015
Company: +Will

Will and I had originally planned to have a Winterlicious lunch at Le Papillon on Sunday but we ended up cancelling the reservation late minute. We were still in Waterloo and just decided to stay for lunch there instead. I really wanted to try their famous French Onion Soup which was one of the entrees during lunch and not dinner so I was pretty disappointed... Once we got back to Toronto in the afternoon, we Netflix-ed The Interview and then realized it was dinner time already! I suggested we just find somewhere nearby to grab Winterlicious and Will was actually down to try Le Papillon's dinner menu so we headed here for some french cuisine even though I couldn't have the soup.

We've never really noticed the location before even though it's in an area we walk by quite often. Upon entering the restaurant, you really get a rustic feeling from the high ceilings, brick walls, and dark wooden accents. It also came off a bit fancier but with some charm to make it less itimidating. We were placed at a table near the bar which separates the front and back sections of the restaurant. You can't really tell how large the restaurant is until you enter the back section. Our waitress was very sweet and gave me the best news of all when she said that you can switch the appetizer soup for the French Onion for an extra $5. We got some bread to start but it wasn't the best. It was hard and dense and the packaged butter was rock hard.


But of course I had to order the French Onion Soup to start, it's considered one of the best in the city. The bowl didn't look very large but it was actually very deep. I tried to get a photo of some cheese drooping and soup underneath but as soon as I punctured the top, the soup burst out and almost overflowed. The broth was the perfect thickness, temperature, and taste, I was very impressed. The cheese was gooey but most of it sank to the bottom and I was left with a lot of difficult cheese to eat at the end. My only complain was the little burnt pieces of cheese at the top, I could really taste the burnt flavour even after it being drenched in the soup.

For my main, I ordered the Duck Confit, duck leg confit with wild berry sauce, potatoes and market vegetables. I don't think I've had proper duck confit before so I was pretty excited to try it. The presentation was very appealing, the leg was larger than I was expecting and placed on a colorful bed of sides and sauce. The leg was very tender and the sauce accompanying it was just superb. The combination of the creamy mashed potatoes, sweet sauce, and some duck was just heavenly. Definitely up there on one of the most memorable dishes I've ever had. I wish I hadn't been so full from the soup to fully enjoy every bite of it.

For dessert, I went for the Traditional Cheesecake which was topped with some whipped cream, fruit sauce, and chocolate sauce. The slice of cake I got was pretty small (not that I needed more), like the smallest slice they could cut for someone. The taste was good but didn't blow by mind, it could have been more creamy and cheesier. The graham cracker bottom had an excellent flavour though. I also wish they had a bit more fruit drizzle on it as I got one piece of berry and it gave the cheesecake some personality paired together. The waitress also wouldn't take my dish until I finished my last bite of cheesecake, it was hard but I did it. She was super friendly and also said I picked the perfect menu :)

Food: 4.5/5 - Amazing meal, haven't stopped thinking about it since.
Decor: 3.5/5 - Very spacious, warm, and romantic.
Service: 4/5 - She was a bit chatty but extremely friendly and not annoying.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Definitely, I'm a bit intimidated by french cuisine though so Winterlicious was a good time to go.
Overall: 4/5

Website: http://papillononfront.com/

Over Easy

Date Visited: Breakfast on Sunday Apr 6, 2014
Company: Girls brunch date for 3

For hung-over Sunday morning, +Gisele and I decided to find somewhere to grab a nice breakfast, ideally located in between her new place at King West and Will's. We couldn't exactly find somewhere right in the middle but she did locate Over Easy at Yonge and Wellington (with another location in the Annex). Laura and I moseyed over and luckily +Gisele had already gotten a spot in the line because it was extremely busy when we arrived. The restaurant is situated inside Hotel Victoria so the decor was very old-fashioned but quaint. We got a spot on the booth and I was very surprised to see how many tables the place had because you don't expect it to be very large.

We asked our friendly waitress what she would recommend and she said anything on their Specialties section is unique and also they have great hollandaise sauce for their Benedicts. There were so many interesting and appealing options from their Specialties section, the Eggs Bruschetta, Breakfast Poutine, not to mention their many Eggs Benedict. I decided to order the Vegetarian Skillet with the Poached Eggs, Hollandaise & Toast add-on (to get some Benedict in there too). Most of their options were priced around $11-$13. 

My dish came and it looked so colourful with the yellow Hollandaise sauce, green veggies underneath, and bright red tomatoes on the side! The poached eggs were cooked to perfection and the Hollandaise sauce did live up to the reputation that the waitress had just given me a few minutes prior. The skillet itself was filled with tons of veggies, with a bit of potatoes at the bottom and cheese topping it off. I love their tiny home fries which were cut up in small cubes. The baked cheese on top was also a great addition to the dish. So filling, I only had one of the eggs and about 2/3rds of the skillet. Also, their brown bread was delicious! It was sour dough which was a nice surprise and I usually don't care for the bread but I wish I had more of this! 

+Gisele ordered the Eggstro which she was already confused about what it was with the 'baked eggs' but it wasn't very appealing once it came. Everything was baked in a plate together and very greasy. Laura ordered the Waffles with Strawberry which looked amazing. It was topped with fresh strawberries and also came with a side of strawberry sauce.

Food: 4.5/5 - Tons of options for those who want a twist from their classic breakfast. Perfect for a 'morning after' brunch/breakfast, they have greasy options as well was healthier ones. 
Decor: 4/5 - Loved the small town feel of this place but still hip and modern.
Service: 3/5 - Waitress was chatty and food came at a decent time.
Willingness to go back: 5/5 - Definitely returning, so many more things to try!
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://www.overeasyrestaurants.com/