It's been a while since I last shared my food excursions. Recently, I tried Kamayan feast for the first time at Tinuno Filipino restaurant and just have to share with you what that experience was like! Because if I don't blog about it, it didn't happen, right?

What is the Kamayan Feast?

For those of you who have never heard of Kamayan feast, it is a traditional Filipino family style meal eaten with your hands. The food is also served over banana leaves. That's right. No, plates, no cutlery. The simplest way to appreciate food!

Source

Tinuno Filipino Restaurant in Downtown Toronto

Living in a multicultural city like Toronto gives me lots of opportunities to try out cuisines from different parts of the world without travelling overseas. Although I'd love to visit the Philippines one day and experience what's there, I'm happy to settle with what's offered to me in my city for the time being.

The restaurant is packed on a Saturday night with lots of groups and couples filling the space. The feast seems to be a popular choice for birthday parties as well. Because at a cost of only $15 per person, you'd get a decent portion to have you feeling full at the end of the meal. And not to mention, it's also a great feast to share and bond with friends. Although the Kamayan feast is the only item available on their menu you could also add extra items such as milkfish, roasted pork, drinks, desserts at an additional cost. And of course, I tried them all out. Because that's how I roll.

Like the name, Tinuno suggests, everything here is cooked off from a grill. Banana leaves are spread across the table in front of you. Staffs would then add a bed of garlic rice over the leaves and layer a variety of grilled seafood and meat skewers on top. There's a selection of everything including squid, tilapia, pork, mussels, eggplant, okra, pork skewers, shrimps and mango salad. So imagine having this with a large group, it would be one huge and impressive spread to look at! At first, I expected this to be gimmicky, but the food was actually pretty tasty especially when they were fresh off the grill. I'd recommend adding sriracha sauce and vinegar to enhance the flavour even more.

Kamayan feast Toronto

Source

2-person's portion Kamayan feast with seafood and meat skewers over a bed of garlic rice

Roasted pork

A Hand-to-Mouth Experience

I remember when I was growing up, eating food with my hands was a big no-no. I was taught to be lady-like and how to use chopsticks properly at the dining table. So the fact that I get to break free from all those rules in public as an adult gives me joy. I didn't have to care about being proper. And I quite enjoyed the primitive state of eating food with my hands. It was a down to earth and authentic experience.

If you haven’t had a chance to try Kamayan feast, I would encourage you to give this unique dining experience a try! It's a great feast to share and to bond with friends and family.

Fun eat-with-your-hands Filipino food experience

Tinuno
31 Howard Street, Toronto, M4X 1J6


Check out 5 Restaurants for a Filipino Kamayan Feast in Toronto.

Check out my posts on other unique dining experiences!

Down and Dirty with Seafood in a Bag

A Dining Experience Without Any Human Interaction

14-Course Feast Room Service at Japanese Hot Springs

The past weekend, Will and I did a road trip getaway to Montreal to celebrate his birthday. The 5-and-a-half-hour one-way drive from Toronto might sound exhausting for a short trip. But, since this wasn’t our first visit to Montreal, a 2-day visit was enough for us. We had a fabulous time eating around the city and engaging in some fun outdoor activities together in mere 2 days.

Here is a quick review of some of the great places we ate at and what we did!

Where For Brunch?

Indecisive Brunch that comes with a fruit kebob at L'avenue

L’avenue is one of the most popular brunch spots in Montreal. Line ups form quickly as soon as they’re opened. We were lucky that we arrived early just before 11 am so the wait for us was only about 10-15 minutes. The brunch spot is not your average European bistro/cafe style, instead, it’s a hip and trendy diner with giant graffiti wall mural, motorcycle hanging in mid-air, servers wearing suspenders and glow-in-the-dark bathrooms.

What to get: Duck bennys. Their duck was flavourful and saucy and their hollandaise sauce was to die for! If you have trouble deciding from their extensive brunch menus like myself, opt for their Indecisive Brunch. As the name suggests, it comes with a bit of everything. You even have the option to try the famous St-Viateur bagel to save you a trip to the shop! Go for the beer-braised ham and homemade sausage. Their brunch sets are also a great value, and include a fresh fruit kebab and watermelon infused water to start.

Be sure to check out their bathrooms while you're there as well!

Egg bennys with duck confit with grained mustard hollandaise sauce

Where For Poutine?

They say, "Montreal has the best poutine in Canada". I never believed this statement until I actually got to La Banquise and tried myself. And boy, were they delicious! The diner was packed when we arrived at 4 in the afternoon.

What to get: From classic poutine to ones loaded with meat, their menu would definitely tickle your fancy. We tried their La Royale poutine that came with pulled pork, apple and bacon. I love the crunchiness of the sweet apple slices, and the savoury pulled pork. Their fries were still crispy even though they were drowned in their house-made gravy and topped with generous amount of cheese curds!

We also ordered their La Shoot-Out just to get some smoked meat into this trip. Besides smoked meat, the poutine also came with spicy sausage, pepperoni and bacon for a maximum sodium count. So you could expect it to be a lot heavier and saltier. The portion was definitely enough to fill a person up. Besides poutine, their hamburger was also surprisingly tasty! Will kept saying it was one of the best burgers he had for a long time and he's still thinking about it now.

La Shoot-Out and La Royale Poutine at La Banquise

Where For Ice Creams?

Kem Coba is a cute ice cream joint in Mile End, an artsy, laid-back neighbourhood just west of Downtown core.

What to get: What’s special about this place is that they offer an exciting list of freshly made ice creams, soft serves and sorbets with some very rare flavours such as Pandan (La Dua) and Soursop! I got out of hand and ordered their strawberry and coconut soft serve on top of their sorbets (lol!). If our trip home was shorter, I’d probably bring home a tub of their Vietnamese coffee ice cream as well.

Strawberry and coconut soft serve at Kem Coba

Pandan (La Dua) and Soursop Sorbet at Kem Coba

Where For Bagels?

Besides poutine, Montreal is also known for their bagels. Having tried St-Viateur bagel from our brunch at L'avenue, we stopped by another renowned bagel shop, Fairmount Bagels, which coincidentally was few shops away from Kem Coba. We were surrounded by walls of bagels as soon as we walked into this little shop. I was never a huge fan for bagels but their bagels were crispy on the outside and soft and spongey on the inside with a slight hint of sweetness. Apparently, Montreal bagels were boiled in water sweetened with honey.

Where For French Food?

Modavie, located in Old Montreal is a great sit down dinner spot to wine down. This bistro is dressed up with beautiful woodwork, stone walls and a ceiling-to-wall wine cellar. What's even better is that they have local live bands performing every night. If you go, make sure to call ahead of time to make reservation as they can get really packed and busy.

What to get: Their 3-course set menu. We chose escargots as a starter, duck breast as the main and raspberry pie for dessert. Their duck breast was topped with foie gras butter and it was heavenly! The meat soaked in all the foie gras flavours into one piece of gourmet. If you prefer a la carte, their lamb rack would be another excellent choice. It had a pleasant lamby taste to it and crusted with some sesame seeds. Oh, do try their French onion soup and thank me later :)

Where For Outdoor Fun?

Water Adventures Along the Lachine Canal

After indulging in Montreal's food scene, we strolled around Old Port leisurely. We love exploring all of Montreal's cute cafes, outdoor patios and historic architecture. But, as much as I love those laid back leisure walks, I decided to join H2O Adventures for some outdoor fun along the Lachine Canal the next afternoon before we end our trip. I spent a lot of time deciding on my rental but ended up booking an electric boat that could sit as much as 5 people for $60 an hour. We love the shade and the space on the electric boat. And you don't need any license or experience to control the boat. But the boat we had was way to slow. I swore that even the swan pedal boats were faster than our boat. When we brought this issue back to the manager, he gladly offered a rental exchange for us. We went with a tandem kayak this time. And even though I wasn't prepared for this ( considering I still had my platforms on!), the tandem kayak was nonetheless a very fun outdoor activity to do as a group or as a couple. Just be aware that you might get a little bit wet.

Near the dock of H2O adventures is also Atwater Market. A farmers market with stalls of vendors, local produce, patisseries and specialities. They open all year round and offer innovative and tasty fast food during summer time. We did not spend enough time here but would definitely visit again if we come back to Montreal.

We also spent sometime at the Mount Royal Park, exploring the mountain and nature. You could follow the trail to their Chateau where you could see Montreal's city landscape.



We had a very short stay this time and focused on exploring mainly Old Port and Old Montreal within the city. While we managed to fit majority of the attractions and restaurants on our list into 2 days, there were a few that we ended up skipping. For example, Orange Julep, Schwartz's Deli and a tour inside Notre Dame of Basilica Church (they were closed for a wedding when we visited).

If you have  any recommendations, I'd love to hear about them so I could include them to our next visit!

As soon as I walked into Cacao 70, I was lured into a strong aroma of sweetness. A creamy, rich chocolate fragrance filled the entire restaurant. Something about this scent that was particularly inviting for me. Of course, because I love chocolates! I looked over to the counter ahead. Staffs were scrambling to fulfill customers' orders while I I tried to compete for their attention for a table. Will and I got seated next to the counter. I hadn't even look at their menu yet but was already distracted by their product display. From chocolate bars, to cocoa powder to fondue set, each packaging was tastefully designed and an art of its own (see what I did there?). Their interior design of this space was gorgeous. Semi-open concept kitchen with beautiful decor, eye-catching chevron chairs and stunning patterned floor tiles! I just couldn't stop taking pictures of this space!






Their menu included options for brunch, dinner and desserts with brunch menu starting from morning until 4 pm. Some of the brunch items included the good ol' classics such as croque-madame, omelettes, frittatas and savoury crepes. I ordered their savoury waffles that came with smoked ham, sunny side up eggs, roasted mushrooms, roasted red onions, green onions, white cheddar cheese drizzled with bechamel sauce and maple syrup. It was a perfect dish to start my day. Will ordered an American Frittata which came with bacon, smoked ham, roasted red onions, green onions and maple syrup. With his brunch item, it also came with bread, a fruit plate and a small chocolate fondue which really hit the spot!


For those of you who have a sweet tooth like myself, Cacao 70 also offered an extensive dessert menu. Beside chocolate fondue platters (starting at $11.95) that came with exciting flavours such as Earl Grey, Matcha, Coffee, and Peanut Butter, served with fresh fruit, brownie bites and waffle bites, they also had traditional indulgences such as milk shakes, cakes, waffles and crepes!

I couldn't wait to be back to try out their dessert menu!

Did You Know...

that Cacao 70 originated from Montreal and began as a chocolate drinking bar? Since then they expanded from their Montreal roots to opening up stores across the country. Be sure to pay a visit to their chocolate factory when you're visiting Montreal!

Toronto Locations

Distillery District
28 Gristmill Lane Toronto, Ontario, M5A 3C4

Queen Street West
485 Queen Street West Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2A9

Scarborough Town Centre
300 Borough Dr, Scarborough, ON M1P 4P5

Markham/Richmond Hill
100 York Blvd., Richmond Hill, ON L4B 1J8

Or check out their other locations in other city in Canada!

As a graphic design graduate, I'm always drawn to all things art and design related. You might not know this but I actually applied for interior design program as a post secondary major back then. Although, I didn't end up pursuing down that path but my love for interior design was always there. When my parents decided to renovate their kitchen recently, my spark for interior design had reignited again. This time, I took a part time course. And, now that I've moved into my own home, I'm constantly coming up with DIY projects and tackling small home improvements with Will together. Interior designing my home has become my hobby. And I wish one day, my home could be as close to the decorating at Restoration Hardware. That's my #housegoal.

When I found out Restoration Hardware opened up a cafe in Yorkdale Shopping Centre, I knew I needed to go. And who would have thought that Will decided to take me there for brunch on my birthday? He usually has no idea what I wanted but this time he actually does.



We arrived early to the mall as we were told that they don't take any reservations. The cafe is at the extension end of Yorkdale so we had to walk a bit from the underground parking side. As we stepped closer to restaurant, we felt like we were at an exclusive destination! The size of this building amazed me. It was 4-storey high! The receptionist marked our phone number down and told us that the wait would be about 45 minutes. Thankfully though, we arrived early and could easily kill time off in the mall.

About 30 minutes later, we got a text message (yes, a text message!) from the Restoration Hardware telling us that our table was ready and that we had 5 minutes to claim it before they give it away. Despite their odd policy, the cafe was stunning! Huge, sparkly chandeliers hung throughout the ceiling. Riser chairs, comfy nooks, plushy cushions, marble tables and massive artificial grass walls. Restoration Hardware didn't hold back on their decor, which of course shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

A visit to Restoration Hardware is certain to give you tons of content to post for your Instagram. This place is gold and gram-worthy to say the least!