The thought of noodle soups may baffle many as the weather starts to warm up, but there’s nothing easier to eat during this transition stage. When dreary forecasts loom, a steaming bowl or plate of slippery strands in an aromatic broth hits the spot; when the sun beams lap at your brow, cold noodles and their springy textures do more than refresh the palate.  Toronto may not have an abundance of hawker stands like many SE Asian cities, but it does boast numerous eateries, both high- and low-end, that showcases this carb-y delight.  Below are a few noodle based courses that I had the luxury of consuming in the past year.

Hiro Sushi’s (171 King Street East) Soba Sunday offers authentic Japanese handmade buckwheat noodles made by Soba Canada may be topped (clockwise from upper left) with ikura (salmon roe), grated yamaimo (Japanese yam), snow crab, oroshi (grated daikon radish), fried buckwheat crackers, or just-done-Oboro tofu. Made with buckwheat cultivated from Manitoba, these toothsome strands are served cold. However the meal ends with a pot of hot soba water that can be seasoned with dashi.

Continue reading Using Your Noodle »

My co-worker loves congee and thinks it’s great comfort food. Although I agree, I’ve never heard of anyone actually having a craving for it, let alone who wasn’t raised on it.

Congee, a rice porridge typically eaten for breakfast in many Asian cultures, can be of various styles and consistencies that can be accompanied with a variety of ingredients. Like chicken soup, it’s served as therapeutic nourishment for those under the weather as it’s light, and easy to digest. It’s also an inexpensive meal in a bowl that’s tasty and sating.

Continue reading Comforting Congee »

In southwest France, under the looming Pyrenees Mountains, sits the town of Bayonne. A thin channel cuts through the intimate downtown, patrons sitting at outdoor tables all along the water. Cobblestone roads weave here and there, revealing grand cathedrals, hidden restaurants, and boulangeries.

What I remember most about Bayonne was the action around these bakeries, and the image of so many residents walking home with a baguette. It was nearly everyone; you wouldn’t go home without first buying a baguette. It is the quintessential image of France.

In Toronto you might spot a baguette under a briefcase on the streetcar, or sitting in a basket strapped to a moving bicycle, but it’s not the same.

Continue reading Secrets of France in a Toronto Baguette »

Rube’s Rice
St. Lawrence Market
92 Front Street East
416-368-8734

In nineteenth century Toronto, criminals were publicly whipped in Market Square - roughly the area where today’s St. Lawrence Market stands. They could also be made to languish in the stock or pillory, subjected to the scorn of our citizens. Branding on the tongue or hand was another gruesome punishment in the city’s early days. Times were harsher then and there was no cable TV.

I was reflecting on Front Street’s rich penal history as I entered the St. Lawrence Market on a blustery March day, acutely aware that this venerable building once contained Toronto’s jail; for I fully intended to purchase a forbidden substance. No, not that. It was rice I sought. And not just any rice: Forbidden Black Rice, the most expensive rice one can purchase. This rice was consumed exclusively by the Emperors of China and a select few at the imperial court. At over eight dollars a pound, you don’t throw it at weddings, you present it as a gift to the bride and groom.

And if you want rice in Toronto, forbidden or otherwise, there is no place better to buy it than at Rube’s Rice. The 86 year-old Rube Marus is one of the market’s most esteemed merchants and he offers over 34 varieties. From Bangladeshi Kalijiara to Bhutanese Red, he provides everything the rice connoisseur desires.

Continue reading Forbidden Rice at Rube’s »