Charlie Sheen Roast (Canadian Promo)

Love Canadian Humour! 

Video site: Riverdale Park, Toronto

Riverdale Park is fave on my Broadview Gateway: Four Cultures Foodie walk! 

Check out the Granny in the video - vote for my friend, Ruth Kelly! She totally rocks! 

Travel Guide: Paris Chocolate Shops | Food & Wine

Travel Guide: Paris Chocolate Shops | Food & Wine

I can't wait until it's 2014 when I return to Paris for a foodies/gastronomic 5th wedding anniversary trip with my hubby. As a Chocoholic who has been to NYC's Chocolate twice, I look forward to venturing into some of these chocolate temples of Paris! Stay tuned!

Paris Travel Guide: Best New Paris Restaurants, Bakeries, Wine Bars and More | Food & Wine

Paris Travel Guide: Best New Paris Restaurants, Bakeries, Wine Bars and More | Food & Wine

Ahhh... Paris!

I've visited Paris when I turned sweet 16 with my mom, a cousin and his wife in tow.

I returned after university, as a young, adventurous single gal back in 1988 - solo on the new touring bike I had shipped from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I discovered myself while I ate and pedalled my way through fabulous Paris ... I ache to return and see how much the Paris has changed over the years...

Guess what I might be using while visiting Paris in 2014 as I celebrate my 5th wedding anniversary with hubby? Stay tuned ...

Harvest Moon Festival in Toronto

Four Moon Cakes with 4 Unique Fillings 
Top (L-R): Lotus Paste with 1 Yolk; Coconut with 1 Yolk
Bottom (L-R): Red Bean & 1 Yolk; Nut & Seeds Medley & Ham 

It's Monday September 12th, 2011 evening. Look up and check-out the breath-taking bright full moon that's hanging low in the dark twinkling skies. Tonight marks the 15th day of the 8th moon in the ancient Chinese lunar calendar.

Since mid-August, guests attending my Sunday foodies walk such as the Toronto's Lost First Chinatown Foodies Walks or Second Chinatown Foodies Walks, have been enjoying the concept of "preparing" for festivities to take place tonight. The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival a.k.a Harvest Moon Festival or Moon Cake Festival is associated with legends richly loaded with many characters, dramas, and of course, the food! I virtually have to tell each of the different tales at different locales along either one of the foodies tour.

Guests find it mind boggling as we handle these hand-carved wooden Moon Cake molds - the sheer weight, the intricate details, the prices, and most of all, the process in making a moon cake. Having taken the George Brown College's Festive Chinese Cuisine course, I love sharing the painstaking steps involved in making these decadent cakes. My favourite step would be getting the cake out of the wooden mold and onto the baking sheet. How do you think I did it?

Folks always laugh as I share hilarious stories of Moon Cakes circa 1970s - memorable stale moon cakes shipped from a Vancouver Chinatown bakery, wrapped in plain newsprint and oozing with lard! The "good old days" were not so yummy for the eyes nor the tummy!  Now, our eyes pop each time as we go into one of the Asian grocery stores along the Second Chinatown tour; we feast with our eyes some beautiful tin boxes. Here are some boxes we're seeing in the shops this year that I've been adoring... 

Legendary Heroine depicted on this tin box

Another beautiful tin depicting Mid-Autumn flower, the Chrysanthemum!

Kim Moon Bakery's box depicts
an Emperor's legendary water garden connected
with the Harvest Moon Festival 

Enough of admiring the wooden molds and the tin boxes. I'm going to have my yin-yang experience as I finish off nibbling my sliver of the lotus paste moon cake with salty duck egg yolk. Time to check out the lovely shining moon with my hubby and then wrap up with a refreshing slice of pomelo! 

Toronto Screams for Neighbourhood Ice Cream!

DT Bistro: my favourite Gelato flavours -
Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate & Caramel Macchiato

Toronto - It's Simcoe Day on August 1st and it's still HOT! HOT! HOT!

Does the contining heat have you craving for ice cream yet? Those of you who followed me on Twitter  (@ATasteofWorld) during the record heat of 48C on Thursday July 21st, 2011 would recall one of my heat survival tweets: "Strolling on shaded side of streets; carrying water & umbrella aka portable shade + treating myself to ice cream! "With that kind of heat, we melt as fast as the ice cream we devour to cool off.

Toronto has been called the city of neighbourhoods. So during this heat blast I thought it'd be fun to ask fellow Torontonians following me on Twitter, which neighbourhood ice cream spot(s) is/are their favourite and some of you also shared wonderful comments/tips. Thank you for taking the time to vote your favourite.

POLL you visited ....

FAVE TORONTO NEIGHBOURHOOD ICE CREAM SPOT?  

Here are the results of the poll ... Drum roll please! 

The winner hands-down is DT Bistro!!! 56% of you lovely folks voted for them! Congrats Chef Donald Duong for your awesome rotating homemade gelato flavours!

Second place goes to Greg's Ice Cream at 18% of votes followed closely by SOMA Chocolate  and Ed's Real Scoop at 15% and 12% respectively.  Rounding off the poll, we have a nod for Dutch Dreams (9%), Green Beanery (6%), Hollywood Gelato (6%), Kensington Market Organic Ice Cream (6%) and La Paloma (3%).

Ice cream, like wine, coffee and tea, is very personal.  Ask the simple question, "What's your favourite  flavour?  Or what's your favourite neighbourhood ice cream spot?" and you end up getting into a very heated discussion - whether in person, on the phone or via Twitter!

 Here are some wonderful comments/tips from fellow Toronto foodies -

Mary Luz Mejia, food writer, food communications pro of Sizzling Communications (@MaryLuzOnFood) "SOMA Chocolate (@SOMAChocolate) for sure in the Distillery District - deelish! ;) Her favourite  flavours are "Blood Orange Sorbet and their hazelnut too! Oh and coconut! mmm! "

Marion Kane (@mkanefoodsleuth) After trying awesome Salted Caramel Gelato in San Francisco, she was tickled to hear from me, the Queen of Nooks & Crannies, that there's a little Toronto nook & crannies proffering this favour.  "Amazing discover, DT Bistro on Harbord. Salted Caramel, Chocolate Mint & Lemon Meringue".

Alison Fryer, Manager of The Cookbook Store (@cookbookshop) in response to Marion Kane's tweet: "Begs to differ! Salted Caramel at Ed's Real Scoop in the Beaches (@Ed's_Real_Scoop) is sublime!"

The hip staff of WHERE Toronto Magazine (@WHEREToronto)  says @ilgelateriere on Mt. Pleasant Road is definitely one of the best! bit./ly/mRLORc

Judy Hammond, Web content specialist for Canada's tourism industry/PR Rep. (@BoomerGirl50) Shared her faves: Chocolateria on Roncys (aka Roncesvalles near Bloor West Village),  Greg's Ice Cream (@GregsIceCream), St. Clair aka Maple Leaf because it's not yuppified and for soft ice cream - Tom's Dairy Freeze.

I scream! YOU scream! We ALL scream for ice cream in Toronto, the city of neigbourhoods, as the heat continues ...

Dolce Gelato (Danforth): Limone Gelato is their #1 seller 

Feel free to post your comments before you melt with the heat ...