Hanmoto: An Izakaya-Style Snack Bar in Little Portugal

Opened a little bit more than a month ago in Little Portugal is Hanmoto, a modest izakaya-style snack bar from the team behind OddSeoul on Ossington. Unlike OddSeoul, which specializes in Korean-American style small plates, owner and executive chef Leemo Han is serving Japanese-inspired snacks at Hanmoto.

Tucked away on Lakeview Avenue just off on Dundas West, Hanmoto is discrete and very cozy. To the left is the main room with the kitchen, bar and 80% of the seating (above) and to the right is the remaining 20% seating (below).

All the tables were already taken before 6:30pm on a Wednesday night so we took the remaining two seats at the bar. Even better. I am really diggin' the vintage, grungy-garage decor here, by the way.

The drinks menu at Hanmoto consists of mainly beer with a few cocktails, sake and two wines by the glass (one red, one white).

Dessert Bar by Pastry Chef Cora James

Pastry chefs are garnering more attention lately. Instead of being stuck with the last course where most diners are beyond bloated, pastry is now stepping into the limelight (finally!) One way pastry chefs are giving their creations the stage it deserves is by offering a dessert tasting menu, and Cora James (@CoraCake) is doing exactly that with Dessert Bar.

Cora, a pastry chef at Bar Buca, founded Dessert Bar last summer with the vision of bringing plated desserts and cocktails together. This is further explained on Dessert Bar's Facebook page:

"By placing equal emphasis on both, Dessert Bar encourages indulgence and sin...It is the sort of place you bring a date after dinner, but before you go home. It is the sort of place you gather with friends, over cocktails and loud music and gossip. Dessert Bar is excessive and indulgent. It seeks to be the space where all your sinful behaviour is tolerated, if not encouraged."

I, for one, feel encouraged that I am encouraged to indulge in as many cocktails and dessert plates as I please. I welcome this behaviour!

 I had the pleasure of attending Cora's third Dessert Bar event a.k.a Dessert Bar 3.0 at Belljar Cafe last week. The four-course tasting menu offered a multitude of flavours and textures, beginning with the palette cooling vanilla milk custard with pickled mango. Served alongside a cocktail made with Mezcal, amarena cherry, creme de cacao rinse and habenero bitters, this certainly is a good sign of what was to come. I especially enjoyed the stampede of the senses coming from the pickled mango, the slightly chewy mochi and the crunchy puffed rice granola. I have to admit that I was confused, then thrilled.

VANILLA MILK CUSTARD, PICKLED MANGO, CHOCOLATE MOCHI, PUFFED RICE GRANOLA

The second plate is a delicate assembly of profiterole topped with balsamic cheesecake surrounded in peanut butter praline and pecan. I deliberately split the one-bite profiterole into a three bites since the only way to achieve a perfect bite (to me at least) is to have on every spoon a pastry puff with some of that crunchy nutty deliciousness.

PROFITEROLE, BALSAMIC CHEESECAKE, PEANUT BUTTER PRALINE, PECAN

The beautiful Cora James at work.

The Winners of the One Of A Kind Spring Show 2015 Giveaway are...

@emfriesen

@sassygirlcanada

Congratulations, Elizabeth and Sandy! Both of you have just won a pair of tickets to this year's One of a Kind Spring Show taking place from Wednesday, March 25 to Sunday, March 29 at the Direct Energy Centre! Please email me at foodjunkiechronicles@gmail.com to claim your tickets.

I also want to say a big THANK YOU to the 27 contestants who participated in the contest. 

Here's a snapshot of the Excel spreadsheet where I tracked the #fjcooaks hashtag from day one of the contest. The tracking was done using chronological order, as in, #1 was the first person to enter the contest. To enter, the person had to tweet "Hey @foodieyu I want to #win a pair of tickets to @OOAK_Toronto! http://bit.ly/18DzLHy #fjcooaks #ooaks15". Each person could tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Once the contest was over and everybody's entries were accounted for I checked to see if they follow me (@foodieyu) on Twitter. Below are the 41 valid entries:

.I used "True Random Number Generator" from random.org to pick the two winners for me.

The Winner of the Chefs Plate Gourmet Meal Giveaway is...

@taylor40906

Congratulations, @taylor40906! You've just won two mouthwatering meals for two people courtesy of Chefs Plate! Please email me at foodjunkiechronicles@gmail.com to claim your prize.

I also want to say a big THANK YOU to the 59 contestants who participated in the contest. 

Here's a snapshot of the Excel spreadsheet where I tracked the #fjcchefsplate hashtag from day one of the contest. The tracking was done using chronological order, as in, #1 was the first person to enter the contest. To enter, the person had to tweet "Hey @foodieyu I want to win TWO delicious gourmet meals for TWO from @ChefsPlateCA! http://bit.ly/1NHnYZR #fjcchefsplate". Each person could tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Once the contest was over and everybody's entries were accounted for I checked to see if they follow me (@foodieyu) on Twitter. Below are the 125 valid entries:

.I used "True Random Number Generator" from random.org to pick the winner for me.

One Of A Kind Spring Show 2015 Giveaway - CLOSED

I'm giving away TWO PAIRS of tickets to this year's One of a Kind Spring Show taking place from Wednesday, March 25 to Sunday, March 29 at the Direct Energy Centre! Each pair of tickets is valued at $24.

Since 1975, the One of a Kind Show & Sale (Twitter: @OOAK_Toronto, Facebook: One of a Kind Show and Sale Toronto) has been the flagship destination to shop handmade. As a guest at this year's show you'll have the opportunity to meet and shop from over 450 artisans, makers, artisans and designers across Canada.

Did you know there's also food at the One of a Kind Show? Take a look at the show's website and under the "Flavours" category in "Explore The Artisan Profiles", you'll find profiles from over 50 artisans specializing in food & beverage.

HOW TO ENTER

1) You MUST be following me (@foodieyu) on Twitter

AND

2) Tweet the following sentence, exactly as shown, nothing before or after it: 

Hey @foodieyu I want to #win a pair of tickets to @OOAK_Toronto! http://bit.ly/18DzLHy #fjcooaks #ooaks15

1. For your entry to be valid, you need to tweet the above sentence exactly as shown

2. You may tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Re-tweeting others do NOT count as a valid entry

3. Contest is tracked by the #fjcooaks hashtag. If you don't see your tweet in the hashtag stream it means there is no entry from you. Read this to find out the possible reasons why your tweets are not showing up

CONTEST DURATION

Contest starts on Thursday, March 12 and ends on Thursday, March 19 at 12PM. 

Tow lucky winners will be chosen randomly from www.random.org and I will announce the winner shortly after.

GOOD LUCK!!! ^_^

Chefs Plate Gourmet Meal Giveaway - CLOSED

I'm giving away TWO mouthwatering meals courtesy of Chefs Plate to one lucky winner! The winner will receive a box of fresh, seasonal and pre-portioned ingredients with detailed recipes cards.

(Photo from Chefs Plate)

This amazing prize includes 2 meals for 2 people (a $56 value).

Don't forget to check out my experience with Chefs Plate! I had so much fun whipping up these tasty recipes at home. All of Chefs Plate's gourmet recipes take 30 mins or less from box to table.

I know you're here to win this contest but I think y'all should know that you can now get $25 off on your first Chefs Plate order using my promo code CHEFSTELLA. You're welcome :)

HOW TO ENTER

1) You MUST be following me (@foodieyu) on Twitter

AND

2) Tweet the following sentence, exactly as shown, nothing before or after it: 

Hey @foodieyu I want to win TWO delicious gourmet meals for TWO from @ChefsPlateCA! http://bit.ly/1NHnYZR #fjcchefsplate

1. For your entry to be valid, you need to tweet the above sentence exactly as shown

2. You may tweet once a day for the duration of the contest. Re-tweeting others do NOT count as a valid entry

3. Contest is tracked by the #fjcchefsplate hashtag. If you don't see your tweet in the hashtag stream it means there is no entry from you. Read this to find out the possible reasons why your tweets are not showing up

4. Chefs Plate currently deliver to most of the Greater Toronto Area. Click here to check if they deliver to your area!

CONTEST DURATION

Contest starts on Wednesday, March 11 and ends on Wednesday, March 18 at 12PM. 

One lucky winner will be chosen randomly from www.random.org and I will announce the winner shortly after.

GOOD LUCK!!! ^_^

Chefs Plate: Get $40 off Your First Order with Referral Link!

Netflix. I blame everything on Netflix these days. Once I tune into Dragons' Den or Breaking Bad nothing else in the world matters anymore (I know for some of you it's the House of Cards, that's next on my list). "Only one more episode, I promise!" Yeah, okay. Who am I kidding? One episode quickly turns into three, which turns into five, which then turns into a two-day marathon. It's all over folks. Work? I can do that later. Blog? I can certainly do that later. Sleep? Sleep is for the weak. Eat? No problem, I'll just eat whatever's in the fridge. What do you mean there's nothing in the fridge? Oh riiiiiight, I forgot to do groceries yesterday *face palm*. Damn you, Netflix. Damn you!

This all could have been easily avoided if I had used Chefs Plate because whether you are a couch potato who often forgets to do the groceries, a workaholic parent who struggles finding time between work and taking care of the kids, or someone who just wants to cook a nice, gourmet meal at home from time to time without going to the supermarket, Chefs Plate may be your answer. This is how it works:

Thanks to Chefs Plate (Twitter: @ChefsPlateCA, Facebook: Chefs Plate), I was provided with two meals to try. There are three plans to choose from where each week you’ll receive a box of fresh, seasonal and pre-portioned ingredients with detailed recipe cards. What's great is that the flexible plans have no commitment so you can skip or cancel at any time. Chefs Plate deliveries occur every Monday to your home or office before 5 PM (just make sure you order before midnight on Thursday for delivery the following Monday). And no sweat if you're not home because the box of goodies will stay fresh in your refrigerated box for up to 12 hours after the expected delivery time. Oh, and they also deliver Ontario-wide!

Unlike take-out, which most of time leaves me feeling gross and unhealthy, Chefs Plate's award-winning Executive Chef Jason Rosso works with the best suppliers to provide local and seasonal products wherever possible. Currently the National Executive Chef at Milestones Canada, all of Rosso's recipes at Chefs Plate include specialty ingredients that are uniquely sourced and developed. These ingredients will stay fresh at least 4-5 days in the fridge after they are delivered so there's ample time for you to plan out your week. Best of all, there are six new recipes each week with a variety of healthy meat, seafood and vegetarian options, and they all take only 30 minutes or less to make. That statement alone beats take-out any day!

Interested in trying Chefs Plate for yourself? Use my Referral Link / Promo Code and receive $40 off on your first Chefs Plate order!

Without further ado, here's a look at the two meals I made: Orzo Risotto for dinner on Tuesday, and Chicken Portobello Stew for dinner on Wednesday.

ORZO RISOTTO

With wild mushrooms and vegetables

Difficulty: Medium

Prep Time: 20 mins

Calories Per Serving: 516

The Scoop:

"Orzo is a rice shaped pasta. It's a very versatile and can be found in soups, bakes, and even cold salads. We love orzo so much, we decided to make a mushroom risotto. This recipe is creamy and delicious. While the orzo is the star, the mushrooms bring a fresh and earthy flavour to the otherwise creamy dish. The addition of the fresh vegetable helps balance out te cream and mushrooms in a truly enjoyable way".

Recipe For Change 2015

FoodShare's sixth annual Recipe For Change took place last week on Thursday, February 26th at the St. Lawrence North Market. FoodShare Toronto (Twitter: @FoodShareTO, Facebook: FoodShare Toronto) is Canada's original direct field to table Community Food Hub. Since 1985, FoodShare has been delivering good healthy food and food education to under-served schools and communities through programs focused in fresh product distribution, food literacy education and nutrition, urban agriculture and community cooking. All funds raised from Recipe For Change will go to supporting innovative food programs and Food Literary in schools. 

A feast that is second to one, this year marks my third consecutive year at Recipe For Change; I wouldn't miss it for the world!

This year's fundraiser featured a silent auction which included a GE free-standing range, a Montreal getaway for two, a Kona AfricaBike Three, and much more.

Recipe For Change 2015 brought together 30 local chefs, 4 VQA wineries, 2 craft breweries, organic hot and cold teas, freshly brewed coffees and artisan food vendors, all for one very delicious party. With so much food and drinks to cover I better get right to it: