Upcoming Events - 8th Annual Kultura Filipino Arts Festival

Photo property of Kapisanan Philippine Centre

Presented by:
Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture
Phone: 416-979-0600

Starts: August 7, 2013
Ends: August 11, 2013

Cost: Free

Join KAPISANAN for KULTURA Filipino Arts Festival, Canada's only mulit-disciplinary Filipino Arts Festival!
FAMILY, FOOD & FUN! FREE! ALL ARE WELCOME!

August 7 - Bayanihan: an Interactive Art Installation 10am - 7pm
Daniels Spectrum - 585 Dundas Street East

August 8 - ILUSTRADOS Fundraising Dinner 
Cost is $80 per person and a tax receipt will be given.
Three seatings to pick from 6pm, 7:30pm and 9pm
Includes one bottle of San Miguel beer and 12 course dinner.
Lamesa Filipino Kitchen - 669 Queen Street West

August 9 - CLUTCH Vol. 5 Art Opening 7 pm
KAPISANAN - 167 Augusta Avenue

August 10 - Carlos Bulosan Theatre's Play Creation Unit Readings             2pm
KAPISANAN - 167 Augusta Avenue

August 10 - Tambay Nights 8:30pm
KAPISANAN - 167 Augusta Avenue

August 11 - Filipino culinary Competition and KULTURA Live! 12pm             to 7pm
Artscape Wychwood Barns - 601 Christie Street (Bathurst & Christie)

DISCLAIMER: Times, dates and locations subject to change without notice.

Location: Event takes place in multiple locations, please contact event organizers for more details.

This is a great opportunity to experience the Filipino culture. Tips are Included! has been asked to help provide awareness of Filipino food and in coming posts we will be providing more information about this very underrated type of cuisine including the Philippine Culinary Competition - Kain Kalye - Filipino Street Eats (this years grand finale).  

Work Restaurant

337 James Street North
Hamilton, ON

905-777-9675

In her opinion:
I have to thank Urbanspoon for letting me know about this restaurant/bar/great place to hang! It was on the top of their "Talk of the Town" list and I did some research! I liked what I saw.

We ventured down to Hamilton today with the intentions of trying Work...we quickly learned that they are opened Tuesday to Sunday from 4pm to 2am. This remind me of Garde Manger in Montreal. That's not the only similarity...a great blackboard menu and great food.

After killing some time, we walked in shortly after opening and were greeted by the lovely, Isabella...she's the entire bar and wait staff! She brought us water right away and took our drink orders.

I had a glass of Rosewood Estates Riesling which is one of their house wines. This was a nice light refreshing wine. It is actually a nice summer sipper.

On to the food...let me behind by saying that I was stoked. I was so excited about eating here...I wanted to sample as many things as possible, so we tried to pick a few things off the large blackboard menu. 

We ordered "Avocado Fries", "Braised Beef Sandwich with fresh Horseradish", "Sesame and Sriracha Pork Nachos" and "Confit Chicken Wings".

The avocado fries were good...a unique item. It was served with a coconut curry sauce or a ranch dip...I asked for both and actually preferred the ranch dip with the avocado. 

The braised beef sandwich was also good. It was a good tasting sandwich with good beef flavour shining through. The horseradish added the right amount of zing to this sandwich.

The sesame and sriracha pork nachos were absolutely amazing. The best nachos that I have ever eaten in my entire life. The Asian fusion aspect to this dish was truly innovative and delicious.

Finally, the confit chicken wings were out of this world good. I had never had chicken wings done in this manner and they were incredibly delectable. So good that they didn't need the bbq sauce that was served with them. The blue cheese dipping sauce was homemade and also excellent.

Overall, I enjoyed our dinner very much. The food was great. This restaurant is fabulous and a definite place to try out!

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In his opinion: 
I was very excited to try this restaurant and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The fuss would be the fact that this restaurant was one of the most talked about in Ontario on the Urbanspoon review site, and that usually means great things.

We arrived in time for lunch just to realize that the restaurant does not open until 4 and goes till 2 am, in which I suppose transforms into some sort of "bar" at that time. We "killed" some time in the nearby waterfront of Hamilton and were back right at 4. Many others followed us in around the same time.

The menu is extremely eclectic and very appetizing making the decision about what to have not an easy one. Plates range from "Portabello Sandwiches" to "Confit Wings" and also Bok Choy Noodles".  The debate was a bit lengthy but we ended up sharing some plates.

I ordered a Nickel Brook beer and was pleasantly surprised with its smoothness and taste.

We ended up ordering plates to share and it was a great choice. I will start with the "Confit Chicken Wings". I'm of the opinion that all meat can and should be confit so it wasn't a hard sell for me. The wings were gigantic, well cooked and the skin was as crispy as one would expect on a confit. Major bonus to start with.

Next came the 'Avocado Fries". I had heard so much about this dish and I know it has become a popular one in the pub scene, but I was yet to have tried them and this venue seemed like a good place for it. Breading avocado slices and baking them or deep frying them seems like a genius idea and it is indeed. They were delicious and I reckon, they would make perfect pub grub anywhere.

The "Sesame and Sriracha Pork Nachos" were probably the highlight of the meal. I could have these nachos everyday and not get sick of them. The nachos chips were very well covered and the portion of the sriracha pork was generous. The cilantro gives it the final touch that balances it all together. A must try when at this restaurant.

Lastly there was the "Braised Beef Sandwich" which although wasn't bad at all, it was the only dish that disappointed during the whole meal. I thought that the beef could have a lot more flavour then it did and in the end it fell flat in comparison to the other dishes.

The Good: Great food selection and friendly engaging staff make this restaurant a "do not miss". 
The Bad: They did not have the cheesecake and watermelon ice that I was looking forward to. In fact it lacks a dessert menu all together.
The Verdict: The fuss or word on the street is pretty justified as the quality of the food is great and the selection even better. The restaurant is more pub than fine dining so go and visit it with that in mind. Great place also for some late night drinks and some "upscale" type pub grub.

I give it 4 out of 5 Olives as rating

Upcoming Events - Feast of Fields - Make Sure to Buy Tickets

24th Annual Feast of Fields
Sunday, September 8, 2013
1 - 5 pm

Cold Creek Conservation Area
Township of King

We just wanted to advise everyone of a great upcoming event that celebrates everything organic! Organic Advocates presents their 24th Annual Feast of Fields event. The event is being held at Cold Creek Conservation Area in the Township of King. Directions are here.

This is a fabulous opportunity to experience different organic foods and drinks prepared by fantastic chefs, breweries, wineries and artisans. Check out the list of exhibitors here. Ticket are $100 a piece or $90 a piece for groups of 10 or more (online or by phone) to the event and included admission to the event, all day sampling from the different chefs, breweries and wineries. It also includes farmers market admission where you able to do further sampling and purchase goods. There is all day entertainment.  Each guest will receive a gift bag which includes coupons, magazines and the Feast of Fields annual cookbook. Purchase your tickets here. 

Here are some names that will have all you foodies jumping at this opportunity...Michael Smith (from Chef at Home fame), Carl Heinrich (Top Chef Canada winner), Ted Reader (labeled by GQ as the Crazy Canuck Barbecue Kingpin), Wanda Beaver (Wanda's Pie in the Sky fame) and more.

This year's Feast of Fields is hosting the "Best Dessert Ever" Contest. This is an opportunity to submit your "fantastic, delicious, favourite fall dessert" for their 2013 Recipe Challenge. The contest runs June 24th to July 24th, so hurry up and enter those recipes here.

Don't miss this incredible opportunity.

In her opinion:
I always say this - everyone always asks us about the different events that we attend after we've attended them. So here's your chance to participate in a fabulous event. Make sure to get your tickets for September 8, 2013. Edgar and I attended last year and we loved it...we'll be back this year! Come join us.

In his opinion:
Here's your chance to experience good organic food and drink! We did last year and we had a great time. Here's our blog post from the 23rd annual Feast of Fields. Don't pass up this chance! Buy your tickets today!

Upcoming Events - Serbian Food Festival

                                                       Photo property of Serbian Food Festival

Trinity Hall
700 Fischer-Hallman Road
Kitchener, ON

July 27 and 28, 2013

Admission is FREE

Hej! Prijatelju!

The Serbian Food Festival is a great opportunity to try a little bit of Serbian culture; from food to music to dancing since everyone is welcome!

We love Serbian food having recently experienced it at Veslo Family Restaurant (read post here)and think this is a good chance for our readers to experience something outside of the norm. This year's menu looks great too! I personally love the baked beans and can't wait to get my hands on some but everything else looks amazing too.

As well, this is a licensed event just remember not to drink and drive.

Go and try a little bit of Serbian culture in KW!

Vidimo se kasnije!

The Angry Bull Burger Bar and Grill

33 Ainslie Street North
Cambridge, ON  

519-622-2442

In her opinion:
As our readers know, we love a good burger. We were super excited that a new burger place had opened up in Cambridge (downtown Galt to be exact). So today, when my darling husband suggested visiting, I was all over that idea.

The Angry Bull is in the former Dee Dee Cafe space...it's not too big but big enough. As you walk in you'll see that has a large black board menu on one wall where their many burgers and food choices are listed.

The restaurant was happening on this Friday night. The burgers are cooked fresh so it takes about 15 minutes per burger so keep that in mind if it's super busy when you visit.

I ordered a "banquet burger" consisting of a 1/3 pound patty topped with cheese and bacon on a kaiser bun. I topped it with lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo and ketchup.

Let me begin by saying that this is a really good burger. It was juicy like I like. It had really good flavour. The bun was soft like I like. Overall, an excellent burger.

We also decided to order a few things off the menu to share. We opted for the battered mushrooms and a chili/cheese dog.

The battered mushrooms were very good. Not watery on the inside like some other mushrooms we've had in the past. The chili/cheese dog was excellent. Really excellent. They use Nathan's World Famous Hot Dogs and it shows. If you have never had a Nathan's hot dog, I recommend you go and have one. They are the best hot dogs that I have ever eaten and I do consider myself a bit of hot dog connoisseur.

We also had the pleasure of meeting the owner and general manager, Jim Griffin. Jim spent some time talking food with us. He's a really nice guy with a passion for food. His passion and energy was really nice to see. I am super thankful to Jim for opening up a great burger place in downtown Galt! 

I definitely recommend this place to anyone that loves a good burger. Go check out the Angry Bull when you crave a delicious burger or a fabulous hot dog.

*They have their official grand opening on July 30, 2013 at 2:00pm...so check them out!

In his opinion:

A new burger place opens up in my town, close to my house, well that's an exciting day for me. It's the second restaurant by Jim Griffin of the Olde Banque Cafe fame but in a new bold and exciting direction. The decor is a southwest style. It has a pretty wide range of dishes on the blackboard menu and with a new dish being featured every 15 days.

Location is great, it's in downtown Galt that so desperately needs some injection of good food, even though as of late things have become much better than they were. As a caution, you must be prepared to wait a few minutes for your burgers. These are not the frozen patties slapped on the grill and done in 90 seconds type of burgers. These are all beef, juicy and tender thick patties that will take time to cook but you surely will notice the difference at your first bite.

We ordered one burger each, plus a chili/cheese dog and battered mushrooms. My burger of choice was the "Hearth Attack Burger"...enough said. This is a 1/4 lbs patty burger topped with a fried egg, caramelized onions and 2 cheeses. You can ask for the burger cooked as you would like it but if not specified, it will come well done. I had mine medium and it was tasty and moist as a good patty should be. The toppings of tomato and lettuce were extremely fresh, the caramelized onions still had a crunch to them (as I love) and the 2 cheeses allow you to feel the layers of the burger much better. Finally, the bacon was very tasty and perfectly crisp, it seemed to have been cooked with a bacon press.

The chili/cheese hot dog was very impressive. I learned that the hot dogs are made by Nathan's, a hot dog that the owner Jim discovered in one of his trips to Vegas. The chili was delicious with layers of cheese throughout, adding to the flavour. 

The battered mushrooms were also very good but lacked a dipping sauce, something that the Kitchen acknowledges and says is coming soon. Otherwise, the mushrooms were good on their own, juicy and full of flavour.

The Good: Great burgers from a place that delivers on their promise of fresh local ingredients. The menu has enough options to keep everyone's palate happy and the staff is very engaging, even the friendly owner Jim.
The Bad: As this is still under the soft opening time frame, some of the kinks are still being ironed out but they learn fast. Let's work on that dipping sauce for the mushrooms boys.
The Verdict: A very good addition to the downtown Galt core. It improves the options for dining downtown, it adds a much needed "good burger" place that the city needed and acts as a natural expansion to an established Galt restaurant owner. Overall, the Angry Bull is not so angry after all. It is a gentle bull that is inviting, serene and wants to get along with everyone.
Join them for their grand opening on July 30, 2013 at 2 PM.

I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 Olives as rating

Bent

777 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON

647-352-0092

In her opinion:
What happens when Levi and Kai Bent-Lee open a restaurant with their superstar chef dad, Susur Lee...why they create my favourite new restaurant in Toronto; BENT, of course! It officially opened last August, 2012 and is truly a family endeavour with Bent-Lees' mom, Brenda Bent-Lee acting as the restaurant's designer. The space is really beautiful.

We were lucky enough to get a prime reservation for the first Saturday of Summerlicious. I was so excited to try this new Susur Lee restaurant...I had previously had dinner at Madeline for one of our anniversary dinners and it was nice but not too memorable. I had a lot of expectations for Bent given all the positive reviews. I really hoped that our experience would live up to the hype.

We walked into a beautiful dining room and were shown to our table right away. We were greeted by our lovely waitress, Olivia who came over to introduce herself and take our drink orders. I decided on a glass of Tawse Riesling...big surprise! She also advised us that they were serving their Summerlicious menu family style, which was perfect for sharing.

After looking over the menu, we decided on the "shrimp tacos served with charred onion tomato salsa, chipotle, avocado in a taro shell" and the "crispy chicken dumpling" served with roasted chorizo, maple syrup and smoked chili lime glaze, Parmesan emulsion and salad of watercress and frisee".

Shrimp tacos

What can I possibly say about something so delicious that words wouldn't do it justice. That's exactly how I felt about most of this meal...the shrimp tacos were hot, fiery and so well balanced in flavour. The chicken dumplings were amazing...the flavour combo of the chicken filling, the roasted chorizo and the maple syrup lime glaze was perfection.

For our mains, we picked the "pull beef ravioli with Malay black pepper emulsion served with garlic mushroom and confit tomato" and the "crispy 'Assam' salmon served with tamarind, ginger flower, four citrus, mustard and fruit".

Pull beef ravioli

I loved the pull beef ravioli...it was one huge ravioli super stuffed with amazing pulled beef. The sauce was so flavourful. The garlic mushrooms and confit tomato were the perfect partners to this meat heavy dish. As far as the salmon goes...it was my least favourite part of the whole meal. Not that it was bad. I just wasn't crazy about the lack of a starch and the overabundance of fruit in this dish. But, it did consist of perfectly cooked piece of salmon.

For dessert, we each had a trio of desserts. It consisted of "profiterales with vanilla custard, hot chocolate and sesame brittle", "strawberry, rhubarb and lemongrass compote with Grand Marnier creme fraiche and butterfly pastry" and passion fruit and mango panna cotta with coconut tapioca and passion fruit and passion fruit gratinee". Just exquisite! I was having mini food orgasms while enjoying these precious little bites of heaven! By the way...this restaurant serves complimentary dessert with their regular menu. Now that is just amazing. 

The dessert trio.

Overall, this was an amazing meal. Susur Lee is the king of Asian fusion and he definitely proved this with this meal. It was actually nice seeing the chef overlooking the dining room! He and his boys work very hard and that is lucky for us. It definitely lived up to the hype.

In his opinion:
As most of you know by now I'm not as easily as impressed as my counterpart and usually condense some of my harsh comments to mere bouts of dissatisfaction with my food experiences. So, to say that I went in with low expectations to this restaurant would be absurd; as I really went in with no expectations at all.

My last experience in a Susur Lee Restaurant was Madeline and even though I wasn't blogging then, the memories still haunt me, from the Moroccan bordello interior to the less than satisfactory meal. In comes Bent, the family restaurant. Can Susur redeem himself in my eyes and show us glimpses of his brilliance?

At first glance all appeared well, the location is perfect and the room was full of light and very whimsical, with constant reminders of years past and the Bent-Lee family portraits to tell the story. The fact that the sons are also part owners shows that this is truly a family affair.

The family style plate sharing that the restaurant is known for was also carried through with their Summerlicious menu and set the tone for the evening. I started out with a very tasty Tsing Tsao Beer, probably because the reserve sakes in the cellar were far beyond my budget.

Service started well, our server, Olivia even though very busy, did very well to maintain contact with us and serve plates in a orderly fashion. The starters that we picked to share were both very good dishes, so let me get that out of the way. The "Crispy Chicken Dumplings" were very well prepared, the parmesan emulsion added the perfect touch to the sweetness of the chicken and the chorizo that seems like the odd man out at first, actually complemented the flavours and paired nicely with the the frisee and watercress salad.

Crispy chicken dumpling.

The next appetizer that we shared were "the Shrimp Tacos in Taro Shells". This was clearly a take on their very famous Lobster Tacos that are already legendary. A very well prepared, executed and served dish that allows you to individually taste all the ingredients in every bite, even though for some the shell is one bite only. Portion size keeps you wanting more, but very well done.

For first entree, we picked the "Crispy 'Assam' Salmon". A dry texture and crispy skin usually spells dry fish in my mind but not in this case. In true Susur fashion, the fish was perfectly moist and delicious on the inside and the crispy skin added to the texture battle that worked very well. The fruits seemed odd as a side dish but I believe it complemented the dish quite well, serving as a contrast of flavours.

For our second entree and what I believe was the highlight of the night, "the Pull Beef Ravioli". Words are scarse to define this dish and all I can just say is wow. One giant ravioli stuffed with tender tasty pull beef, garlic mushroom and confit tomato, all brought together by the Malay black pepper emulsion. The ravioli was perfectly done, al dente and the combination of flavours complemented the beef perfectly. This is a dish I contemplated ordering another of, as that's how much I enjoyed it.

For dessert, as usual in this establishment that has no dessert menu, you are treated to the chefs daily inspiration in the form of a trio of desserts. They were all very good, but highlights to the profiteroles with vanilla custard, hot chocolate and sesame brittle as it was my favourite of the trio.

My initial zero to none expectations had paid off. But not because anything would be up from there, but because I believe that Susur has a winning formula in this restaurant. The perfect combination of "uncooked" and hot dishes on the menu, along with Susur's majestic grasp of Asian Fusion topped off with younger and less yuppy crowd that it's marketed to, makes it a hit. 

The Good: Great service, excellent display of Asian fusion and a welcoming decor make this a not to be missed spot.
The Bad: Some of the dishes portions are quite small and the cocktail prices a bit steep. e.g. $16 for a Caesar...
The Verdict: Susur did indeed to win me over and practically erased my bad memories of Madeline with this meal. The original Bent-O boxes may have been the original attraction by many to this restaurant but it has a lot of further substance to offer any discerning palate. Overall, this is a great re-incarnation for Susur and surely will be around a lot longer than its predecessor.

I give it 4 out of 5 Olives as rating

The Egg Bistro (The Broken Egg)

501 Kempsville Road
Chesapeake, VA

757-410-8515

In her opinion:
I had not been to Virginia in about 20 years and my return wasn't exactly a happy one. My uncle passed away and we needed to spend a few days in Chesapeake to pay our respects. There wasn't a lot of time to try a lot of different foodie venues; after all, that wasn't the focus of this visit. But I did take a quick look at Urbanspoon Chesapeake and looked at their restaurant list. I made a note of their number one selection (the Broken Egg Bistro at the time of viewing but now called the Egg Bistro) and printed directions to the restaurant from out hotel - just in case we found some time!

Well, we did manage to wake up a little earlier and head over to the Egg Bistro before heading over to the funeral. The place was packed but we did find one of the last unoccupied tables. We were greeted by friendly servers. Our server came over to take our drink orders as soon as we were settled.

I ordered a much needed coffee. It was a good cup of coffee too.

Our lovely server then came back and took our food order. I asked about getting something off the kid's lunch menu - a grilled cheese for Ethan and she went back into the kitchen and had them prepare a very good grilled cheese sandwich for our little man.

After checking out their extensive breakfast menu, I settled on "the Corned Beef Hash". It is described on the menu under "Tripping Billies Country Breakfasts" as being served with "two eggs any style, hash browns or grits and toast or a biscuit." Well, when in the south...go southern and that's what I did. I opted for two over-medium eggs, grits and a biscuit.

I thought the corned beef hash was great. Flavourful and delicious. The grits were creamy. The biscuit was buttery and delectable. My eggs were cooked a perfect over-medium. I really enjoyed my southern breakfast.

I can see why the Egg Bistro tops the Urbanspoon Chesapeake list of restaurants. Great service and food in a very nice unpretentious atmosphere. If you are in the area...go and enjoy!

In his opinion:
Breakfast, Chesapeake, Virginia and mourning just don't go well together but one still has to eat. As we searched for a good breakfast place during our stay, the Egg Bistro kept coming up as a runaway favourite. As we are not ones to disagree with the masses or Urbanspoon for that matter, we decided to try it.

The place was absolutely packed. They were extending the restaurant during our visit and with very good reason. There were barely any empty tables from the moment we arrived until the time we left. Most of them seemed like locals and daily clients that ordered without even looking at the menu. Good sign to start.

I picked the the skillet, the feature dish at this restaurant. It's three eggs scrambled with green peppers, onions, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Underneath all those eggs there were a bed of roast potatoes. I got sausage and toast as sides. The food was great and full of flavour. The eggs were perfect and the toppings meshed perfectly.

It felt like a pretty traditional southern breakfast to me even though I'm not from the south and could be way off. But in my opinion, it was what I envision Paula Deen serving to her southern friends (before her demise that is). I also think the restaurant tries to be a little too sophisticated with the dim lighting and the Italian landscapes on the wall but I sort of get it, they are going for the Bistro look so no harm done.

I also would like to point out that the dish I had, "the skillet" has a challenge in this restaurant. It is a 5 lbs version of it, and if you can finish it within an hour without leaving the table, it's on the house and you get $100 on top of it. Not for the faint at heart.

The Good: Extensive menu, lots to pick from and friendly quick and efficient staff. Food was southern style tasty.
The Bad: One feels some sort of confusion with the decoration and the type of food served. Even the patrons seem like they don't fit the "look".
The Verdict: All things aside this is a great restaurant for breakfast. Plenty of options on the menu, great portions as expected, friendly staff, open space and efficient kitchen.