SNAPSHOTS | TORONTO 2022 | DAY 3

 

Day 3 started off gloomy with intermittent rain showers throughout the day. Instead of walking to our first destination, we decided to Uber it to also save our feet the trouble. 

Our first stop was Neo Coffee Bar, a hip, minimalist cafe with a sleek but grungy vibe. I went for a hojicha latte ($5.95) while LT ordered a vanilla latte ($5.25). I appreciated how they had several milk options (cashew, oat, almond, etc) with no extra charge.

The hojicha latte was smooth and lightly sweet. If there's ever a choice, I will usually choose hojicha over matcha. Hojicha has a deep, roasted flavour and isn't as bitter as matcha.

 

After finishing our drinks, we walked over the couple of blocks to St. Lawrence Market. Because it was a weekday, the market was pretty quiet which was nice. 

 

It definitely felt like being at Granville Island in Vancouver, only there was a bit more space to walk around. There's over 120 stalls, with a wide assortment of butchers, fishmongers, bakeries, and cheese shops. Don't forget to check out the basement for more vendors too!

 

 

One of the more iconic items from St. Lawrence Market is the peameal bacon sandwich ($7.95) from Carousel Bakery. It's a pretty simple sandwich, with slices of peameal bacon in a soft country bun with sauces of your choice. We stuck with what they recommended which was a maple mustard.

 

Whoever made our sandwich was super generous with the peameal bacon. The bacon isn't your traditional bacon that you know and love. It's more like slices of ham that have been dredged in cornmeal and griddled. It tasted almost like spam to me, so it was pretty salty overall. Decent, but sort of a "one and done" kind of thing. Probably not something I would order again.   

One of the more popular food stalls at the market is Buster's Sea Cove. They have a huge menu full of seafood including grilled fish, sandwiches, and fish & chips. LT and I shared the east coast lobster roll ($19.49) which comes with a side of fries (or salad). It was a pretty large portion of lobster but I found it a touch dry. The fries were pretty similar to McDonald's.

 

 

KE and ST both ordered the handmade crab cakes ($16.95) with salad. It looked nice and fresh, which was funny because the cook literally had to run through the market to buy salad ingredients. 

Last bite of the market was a canele from Eve's Temptations. They had an overwhelming amount of goodies in their display case but I could never resist a canele. However, I wasn't a fan of this one. It was soft on the outside so probably not very fresh. Heavy on the rum too.

 

After the market, we walked over to the Distillery District. It's a neat area with cobblestone streets and 19th century buildings that once housed a whisky distillery. Now in the restored buildings there are restaurants, boutiques, and art galleries. We stopped in a few stores but didn't linger too long here.

For avid TV watchers, you might recognize this next place! We had to stop by Kim's Convenience since KE is a fan of the show. They do sell some branded tote bags but other than that, it's your basic convenience store inside. It's not located in the best neighbourhood so just be aware of that. 

 

We took an Uber to our next stop, which was the Eaton Centre. We were mindful of our shopping since taxes are higher in Ontario, but there was one store that we absolutely needed to hit up.

 

 

Yes. The BTS Pop-Up store (don't judge). They had a limited run of a few months, and thankfully were open while we were in Toronto. Not going to lie, I had some pretty serious sticker shock while browsing the merchandise. Did I still walk out with a $110 cardigan that I still haven't worn? Yes, but no regrets. 

 

Feeling a bit tired at this point, we recharged with some mango and vanilla soft serve from Butter Baker. I enjoyed this a lot! Reminded me of mango pudding in ice cream form.

 

 

Against our better judgment, we also decided to walk all the way to Allan Gardens, a free indoor botanical garden. It was actually recommended to us by one of our Uber drivers. It was really gorgeous inside with a huge variety of colourful plants and flowers. Think Muttart Conservatory without the pyramids.

They even had koi fish and turtles! Definitely recommend visiting!

 

A few blocks away was where we picked up dinner. J San Sushi Bar only offers take-out at the moment but that doesn't mean they skimp out on the presentation. The deluxe sashimi combo ($27.95) was such a good value for the quantity and quality. You even get 10% off when you pay by cash!

We also ordered the torched sushi & roll combo ($20.45) which comes with torched salmon (x2), tuna, scallop, and shrimp nigiri, as well as their ultimate dragon roll. The roll had tempura shrimp, crab meat, and avocado on the inside. It's topped with torched salmon, tobiko, tempura bits, and spicy mayo and eel sauce. Somewhat of a mouthful, but pretty good as well.

ST and KE ventured to Momofuku for their dinner, so I enlisted their help in securing some goods. I asked for a jar of chili crunch and a slice of milk bar pie ($7.00), formerly known as crack pie. The milk bar pie is a sugar custard baked in an oatmeal cookie crust. It's sticky and buttery, almost like a chewy pecan pie without the pecans. It's definitely on the sweeter side, so we rationed it for the rest of the trip.     

Day 3, done!

- CT