Finally- the long awaited travel post on my Toronto trip! I haven’t been on an non-Asia trip and Toronto was a new experience even though I came here more than ten years ago. Before flying, I made a schedule and put stars on my Google Maps so I knew what to do and where to go and seriously guys, I’m soooo organized *humble smile.* Also kind of glad to do a non beauty and non fashion related post this time- just me blabbing on and throwing in a bunch of food pictures.
One of my to-eat spots on my list was Momofuku Noodle Bar. It was only a 7 minute walk from the hotel and I’m always down for trying ramen from well known places. Thanks to social media, this place always caught my eye, and the New York restaurant was even mentioned in the book I read- The Rosie Project! I had the Momofuku Ramen ($16 CAD.) I like the spicy sauce and the egg; but the ramen itself was alright. (Vancouver is blessed with delicious ramen.) There is also Momofuku Milk Bar and Daisho in the same building, I went back to the Milk Bar on my second to last day and picked up a few cookies. The Compost Cookie was pretty good; but alas I’m not a cookie person so it wouldn’t be something I’d purchase again. Really regret not getting some of that cracked pie. 🙁
I am an avid dessert hunter and Uncle Tetsu Japanese Cheesecake was on my radar. And luckily, it was also a 7 minute walk from where I stayed. I went there on my first day; saw a HUGE lineup for their regular cheesecake and no line up for their matcha cheesecake. So they have two entrances for their matcha stuff and their regular cheesecakes. Being the impatient people my friend and I were, we bought the matcha cheesecake ($10 CAD) and brought it back to our hotel room to eat- cause there were no seats, no forks, no knives there (what??!) The matcha cheesecake was delicious and on the last day we lined up 20 minutes (in 0 weather, SO cold for us Vancouverites.) I brought the regular cheesecake and four honeymadelines back to Vancouver. People say the cheesecake is amazing, but I’m not sure if it’s because it traveled on an airplane and chilled in my fridge; didn’t taste that special to me after. Also, the madelines are like muffiins!
The morning before I went to the amazing FSHOPPE (see post here,) I google mapped myself to Maman – I’ve seen way too many pictures of this place to NOT seek it out. Their cups are gorgeous and the mocha was delicious. I can’t say the drink would exceed the ones here in Vancouver, we are blessed with coffee shops everywhere here. But that cup, wish I could bring it home!
(Yes, most of my trip is about food!) I wanted to have at least brunch once and Eggspectation is where we went! 90% of the reason why we went here was of the name. I had the California Dreaming eggs benedict….YUM! (I just realized..is there any brunch dishes named The Benedict Cumberbatch…cause that would be BRILLIANT!!!) This plate packed a LOT of food; a lot of yummy, hearty, filling food. Some delicious smoked salmon in there, a leaf or two = my proteins and veggies for the day! I don’t eat that many veggies when I’m on vacation, it’s not like I try to avoid them, they just never show up!
Saw some macarons on my last day and couldn’t help myself! These macarons from Butter Avenue are pretty, colourful, and delicious! The oolong flavour was my favourite!
Graffiti Alley was on my to-check-out list as well. When I was following the blue dot on my Google Maps and stopped at the entrance of Graffiti Alley- this was the sight that greeted me. Needless to say, I was almost unconvinced that Graffiti Alley was down here.
My spidey senses told me to keep walking down and there was some serious wall art porn in this alley. Would’ve done an #ootd shoot here, but I was bundled up like Kenny from South Park. If you wanted a picture of me outfit, just look up Kenny McCormick…or a Chipotle burrito.
Oh and before looking at that, we were enjoying some Viet subs from Bahn Mi Boys (thanks Jenn for the recommendation!) This was the perfect lunch to end of my Toronto trip! Plus, they were easy on the wallet as well. We went right when it opened and the place got busy, fast! This was the hugest Bahn Mi I ever had too, super generous portions here!
This was the ONLY good shot I took at the Maram Fashion Show at Toronto Fashion Week. The atmosphere was pretty awesome here, my camera skills were not.
One of my highlights of the trip was also meeting Vanessa of Citron & Guava Berry and Melanie of I’m Not A Beauty Guru. We ate $5 lunches and then went to pet snakes at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and we all had our bold lipsticks going on! Thanks for coming out of your way to hang out with me and my friend! I got a Toronto CityPASS for $81 off Expedia – which allowed me to visit 5 tourist spots in Toronto. I visited the Royal Ontario Musuem, Ripley’s Believe it or Not Aquarium, CN Tower, and the Casa Loma. No time for the Toronto Zoo. 🙁
PS – Ubering between Casa Loma and the ROM is a pretty good deal. 🙂
All in all – I felt like a tourist in my own country and it’s a good thing, or else I wouldn’t have felt inspired or more knowledgeable after! And my taste buds certainly got a good adventure. One of my favourite parts of the Toronto is seeing really beautiful architecture mixed with contemporary and modern buildings. I also learned a) Vancouver sushi RULES (I’m sorry) b) I am thankful for one tax on food here and c) to take risks. I was kind of anxious and stressed out about unrelated travel things prior to this trip and I felt a lot more relaxed when I came back.
Thanks for following along my mini Canadian trip!
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