Manic Mondays @ Koryo

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food

Not sure how long this will last for but every monday from 12-2pm Koryo has a deal they're calling "Manic Mondays" which is like their take on KFC's toonie tuesdays...except on a monday...and replace fried chicken with korean fast food. It's located in the Toronto Life Square food court at Yonge/Dundas, which was a little bit of a walk from work but I figured for a $2 lunch how could I go wrong?

So for $2.25 ($1.99 + tax? that's not right is it?) you get a box of food with 2 scoops of rice, your choice of 2 sides and BBQ chicken and beef. I got there at around 1:15 and they were out of chicken so I only got beef. For the sides, you get a few choices, there was pasta salad, kimchi, glass noodles, broccoli, green beans, and potatoes. I got the noodles which were ehh and the potatoes which I would highly recommend. Probably the best thing in that box, crispy outside and light and fluffy inside, I was actually pretty impressed for food court potatoes and next time I'll just get double potatoes. The beef wasn't bad either, though they don't give you that much it was just enough to go with the rice they gave.

It was just enough food for me though I felt a bit snackish in the afternoon but I guess I can't really complain for $2. Overall, you're not going to find a cheaper complete lunch downtown...provided it's a monday and between 12-2pm.

UPDATE: Looks like alot more people have caught wind of this deal and the lineup was like 50 people deep (up from like 5 the first week) so it's up to you if it's worth standing in line for your entire lunch break

Koryo Korean Barbeque
Unit 340, 10 Dundas Street E (Toronto Life Square food court)
Toronto, ON

Caplansky's

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smoked meat sandwich / BBQ brisket on a bun

So turns out I'm not dead, just terribly lazy. It's been pretty warm out lately so I made the long walk over to Caplansky's on college between bathurst and spadina. The big seller here is the smoked meat which they do in house and practically the only place in Toronto to do so. Probably the closest thing Toronto has to a real deli in the likes of Montreal and New York.

I actually didn't order the smoked meat sandwich (7oz, $7.00 + tax/tip) but my friend did. It just comes plain on rye with a pickle, though they have a selection of fancy mustards on the table if you want anything on it. Instead I got the BBQ brisket ($8.00 + tax/tip) which comes on an onion bun with crispy onions and glazed in BBQ sauce...a bit reminiscent of a pulled pork sandwich. The flavour of BBQ sauce isn't that strong but with a bit of mustard to fill in the gaps it's one tasty sandwich. With my sandwich I of course had to get a smoked meat poutine ($6.00 + tax/tip). The fries were very good, nice and crisp, and the gravy also comes with chunks of smoked meat in it. My only criticism would be that it could have used a bit more of that gravy to melt more of the cheese curds but still a good poutine.

I wouldn't recommend getting both a sandwich and full order of poutine though, just get it as a side with the sandwich, as I couldn't even finish mine (but so close!). It's a good thing for my friend Jason who helped me finish mine...in addition to his own full order of poutine...and was still considering a piece of pie somehow. Sadly not the first time I've been defeated by poutine but all in all a good lunch.

smoked meat poutine

Caplansky's Delicatessen
356 College St.
Toronto, ON
RATING:

Manpuku

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curry udon / 2nd noodle refill

Manpuku Japanese Eatery...I'll just say right now that this is my favourite place in Toronto for udon. Hidden away in the Village by the Grange food court (st. patrick/dundas), it's a pretty small place with a limited menu but what they do they seem to do well. So in addition to the udon they also have a few rice dishes, takoyaki, onigiri, and even some desserts with everything here being really affordable. A big reason why I like this place so much is that for an extra $1.10 you can ask for a refill of noodles. So instead of me complaining how I wish they gave a bit more, I can happily walk out of here full for only a dollar more.

Curry udon ($5.99 + tax/tip) is my usual pick and comes in beef or vegetable. Carrots, potatoes, onions, shredded beef, and noodles...nothing too fancy and very tasty. The broth also has a good curry flavour but the biggest selling point are the noodles which just seem to be of a higher quality and have a great texture. They don't seem to give you any extra soup when you get the noodle refill so it's best to save some for round 2...or in this case round 3 lol. Actually I was full after the first refill but I had to prove a point to a friend who thought I couldn't though I don't think I'll be doing that again.

Manpuku Japanese Eatery
29-105 McCaul St
Toronto, ON
RATING:

The Bowl Fine Asian Cuisine

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hu tieu bo kho / uhh pho

Close to Ryerson and has pho bo kho? This was another place I had to try. Located on yonge, south of dundas, right across from the eaton centre is the Fine Asian Bowl and one of their three locations in Toronto. First impressions stepping inside went something like this...hmm pretty clean...and looks nice in here...and served by a white person...wait...what? I guess I'm just used to eating pho on dirty tables, with a pot of tea, and surly asian waiters/tresses but something wasn't sitting right. Fearing I walked into some sort of Spring Rolls-watered down-fusion-trap, I was thiiis close to getting up and leaving but decided to stick it out and try it.

So onto the bo kho, or as they nicely put it on the menu, hu tieu bo kho (S $7.50/ L $8.75 + tax/tip). Way too expensive for a bowl of pho so I played it safe went with the small not knowing how it would turn out. I was honestly expecting it to be terrible, like a tomato in a bowl of regular pho, but actually turned out being pleasantly surprised with a pretty decent bowl of pho bo kho. Carrots, beef brisket, delicious delicious broth. Maybe just slightly less flavourful than what I'm used to but otherwise still very close. My only gripe would be the noodles which were more like the chinese flat thick rice noodles. Also pictured is some sort of pho lunch combo ($9.00? + tax/tip) which is a L sized bowl of pho and came with a drink. This was actually decent as well...not terrible but not great...and according to my friend could use more MSG? lol Also the size of this large is probably comparable to a medium at most other pho places so there's not much value going on here.

So I guess you get what you pay for, location, service, decor...but if it's up to me, I'll be walking over to chinatown for my pho.

The Bowl Fine Asian Cuisine
271 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON
RATING:

Smokin' Bones

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meatloaf sandwich / sloppy chili sandwich

Trying out some of the new places around Ryerson and one of them is Smokin' Bones Southern Comfort Food. Now alot of these southern bbq type places in Toronto are pretty sub standard but I figured this one had daily specials and a student discount so it was at least worth trying. But anyway, Smokin' Bones is on Dundas just east of Church. Inside is pretty dark and empty with just a long counter and some chairs.

Seeing as how this was a thursday, I went for the daily special, meatloaf sandwich ($6.00 + tax). Pretty simple, piece of meatloaf covered in BBQ sauce (normal or spicy) served on a bun. Long story short, it wasn't very good. The meatloaf itself didn't have much flavour and all I could taste was a bit of the BBQ sauce...but mostly like nothing...a big meaty piece of blandess...on a bun. My friend had a similar experience with his sloppy chili sandwich ($6.00 + tax). The beef was in huge chunks and poor quality, and the beans were undercooked. Needless to say, I doubt I'll be returning though people on the internet seem to like the pulled pork here so...we'll see.

Smokin' Bones
117 Dundas St. E
Toronto, ON
RATING:

Update to Cafe Green Tea

http://myamazingfoodblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/cafe-green-tea.html

Ippai Japanese Fusion Cuisine

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curry pork katsu

Quick review....mostly because this is like from a month ago and I don't remember anything lol. A fairly new place, Ippai Japanese Fusion Cuisine, is located in Markham in a plaza off Woodbine just north of Highway 7. Curry pork katsu lunch combo ($7.99? + tax/tip) comes with miso soup and salad. Curry tasted ok, like slightly better version of the packaged stuff. Not terrible, not particularly good...and uhh yea that's about it.

Ippai Japanese Fusion Cuisine
8865 Woodbine Ave
Markham, ON
RATING:

Smoke's Poutinerie

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Smoke's Poutinerie...the first of its kind in Toronto, opened with its original location on Adelaide right above burrito boys. Since then they've expanded with a newer location on Dundas just east of Jarvis. Seeing as how the new location was pretty close to Ryerson and they've added some new things on the menu since I last went, I figured it was a good time to revisit the Poutinerie. One thing to note about the Dundas location is that it's alot smaller than the one on Adelaide and there's actually no place to sit, just a small counter to stand at.

On the menu there are pork, beef, chicken, or veggie based poutines, and of course just the regular ol fries, gravy, and cheese. So of course I order a pork poutine...the Double Pork Peppercorn (L $9.95/S $7.45 + tax)...you only live once right? Green peppercorn gravy, chipotle pulled pork, and double smoked bacon. The first bite, amazing....the subsequent bites after that...much less so. The pulled pork adds some sweetness to balance out the saltiness of everything else but it just ended up being way to salty. I don't know if it was the gravy, or the bacon, or maybe just this location but something was too salty...so salty I didn't even finish it. The large is also a pretty heavy box of poutine and I'd recommend against it unless you feel like passing out for the next few hours. Also pictured is the Veggie Deluxe Poutine (L $7.95/S $6.45 + tax) which is sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and green peas.

If you're looking for some variety with your poutine then Smoke's Poutinerie is the place to go...though it kind of wins by default on that one. It's also a little expensive for what it is, so if all you're looking for is fries + cheese + gravy, then you can go to the food trucks by city hall for an even bigger box that's half the price but still the Poutinerie is worth visiting at least once even if just for the novelty of it all.

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double pulled pork peppercorn / veggie deluxe

Smoke's Poutinerie
203 Dundas St. E
Toronto, ON
RATING: