I've been in Toronto for a little over 2 months now, but I never really had the chance to go around because of... well life - and all the other things that it needs to work (more on this on another post sometime). Moving along, because Gab and I were starting to get burnt out from the whole school and work equation of our days, he had a brilliant idea of going on a short food crawl down town. Food has always been our way to bond as a couple and we've kind of stopped going on our "foodventures" because we've been so consumed by trying to balance our lives out here. So we got to it and listed out a couple of places we wanted to visit. These were the places that made the list based on our Instagram search and some reviews from friends.
1. Neo Coffee
2. Strange Love Coffee
3. Jumbo Empanadas
4. Wanda's Pie in the Sky
5. BONUS: Fudao Noodle House
We left the house a little after noon that day, which was late because we were gunning to leave at 10am, but... our tropical bodies didn't stand a chance against the cold (to be honest we even argued a little if we were pushing through with the trip because our love for sleeping in, comes to a close second to our love for food). Glad we forced our butts out though because we had such an amazing time.
We live in the suburbs so down town isn't as accessible for us. The day we decided to go around really opened my eyes to how much character Toronto has. It's amazing! The street art and the people and the food - oh! If only I had more money to go around more frequently!
One thing about Gab and I is that we cannot function without coffee. I could actually consume 3-4 cups a day. We also have a thing for beautiful coffee shops. For us the coffee has to be amazing (of course) but the interiors need to be as pretty as well! So naturally the first leg of our food crawl had to start with coffee. I heard about Neo coffee from a friend here in Toronto who recommended we try it. I looked it up online and found out that it's actually a Japanese shop. The first time I tried Japanese coffee was in the historical streets of Kyoto in a % Arabica Coffee's Arashiyama branch. It was such a wonderful experience for me because the coffee was amazing and the shop had a beautiful view of the Arashiyama Mountain, Ooi River, and Togetsukyo Bridge. That set the bar for me in terms of coffee shop aesthetics because how can you top this:
Anyway sorry for rambling but, Japanese coffee is just truly truly something I want to have every morning of my life!
Coming into Neo Coffee Bar, the interiors was a little too dark for my liking but its minimalist design and the equally great coffee made up for it! We tried out some of the pastries and we loved their cream puff the most. We only had their regular brew but I would totally want to come back and try out their cakes and matcha drinks as well. I hear they're quite known for that too.
NEO COFFEE BAR 100-161 Frederick St, Toronto
Our second stop was another coffee shop, this time in Spadina street. This was Gab's pick because he's passed by the shop a couple of times and he's been hearing good reviews about the coffee too. The interiors in this shop was more up my alley. I like working in really bright rooms I feel more productive in them somehow. I could totally picture myself working in this café. We had a cup of coffee and a cookie both were great! Totally looking forward to coming back here sometime to chill and try out some of the savory items on their menu.
Strange Love Coffee
101 Spadina Ave
Jumbo empanadas was something I was curious about. I was going around some restaurants to check out along Kensington market and this came up a lot. My experience with Chilean empanadas are also very little. I got to try them back home on a trip to El Nido where these group of women from Chile who were there on holiday decided to sell a few at a pop up. I am pleased to say that the ones I had at Jumbo Empanadas were really good too! The atmosphere of the place felt really cozy and homey. We had the beef and cheese empanadas with a side of the salsa. Really good and filling! Good value for the portions they're serving.
Jumbo Empanadas
245 Augusta Ave
We went to Wanda's Pie in the Sky late after going through the shops around Kensington Market. Sadly, my only photo from that joint got deleted so I don't have anything to share with you. I had the cherry pie because that's what everyone was raving about online about this stall. However I didn't like it so much I'm not sure if it's just a taste preference but we were served a cold slice and that really spoiled it for me.
We went around some of the vintage shops around until finally deciding to head back home. On the way to the TTC Gab and I were so cold from walking. We weren't really dressed for 0 degrees that day so while we were waiting to cross the street we saw this little noodle house along Spadina. Because we were both freezing, a hot bowl of noodles wasn't something we needed to think through.
We devoured the soup quickly as soon as it was served so it sucks that I don't have any photo to share with you. We had the Thai Curry Noodle and it was just perfect! I've never really experienced cooler weather than Toronto's my entire life so I did not fully understand how comforting a warm bowl of soup is in this climate. Will definitely come back to try out the other variants of their noodle bowls.
Fudao Noodle House
358 Spadina Ave, Toronto
After finishing our bowl of hot noodles we walked to the TTC with huge smiles plastered on our faces. Life's been challenging with all the growing up we've been trying to do, but that day gave us enough spark to continue and just power through. There's so much of Toronto to discover and we can't wait to get to know this city even further.
Talk to you soon!
Riellebelly