Restaurant: The Dragon Bistro

Ambiance: 3 / 5
Cleanliness: 4 / 5
Service: 4 / 5
Taste: 4 / 5
Presentation: 3 / 5
Price: $$
Overall: 4 / 5

Once upon a time, there was a little pub in the middle of Toronto called The Crown & Dragon. It became the weekly hangout of myself and a few of my friends. The English styled pub, catered mostly to regulars, served interesting "un-pub-like" food, like Korean kalbi ribs and Tom Yum Soup. Its location was central to all of us, and we'd meet there to unwind on Fridays. The food was tasty and the service was always very friendly. Unfortunately, with all of our busy lives, our weekly visits slowly became monthly visits; and monthly visits became seasonal visits.
One day, after not being there for a while, they were sporting an entirely new menu. One with 27 flavours of chicken wings. Each one, more delicious than the previous. And for a little while, I frequented my little pub a little more so that I could try ALL 27 flavours. Quite soon after I did, The Crown & Dragon made a little announcement. This little pub that I'd been introducing many of my friends to, won the Toronto Wing Off (2009). Not only did they win, they beat out heavyweights like, Duffs, and Jack Astor's. And to make the victory sweeter? They won in EVERY category.

Best Traditional Buffalo Wing (Mild) :  Key West BBQ
Best Traditional Buffalo Wing (Hot) :  Dragon's Breath
Best International Flavour : Bollywood
Most Creative Taste : Roadside Lemonade

News of their win spread like wildfire. And soon, the little pub that could, was packed. And the owner, decided that it was time to open a new location. And earlier this year, he finally found a location for his all new restaurant, The Dragon Bistro.

So after going down to The Crown & Dragon all these years, I was looking forward to trying the new location. Would it be the same English style pub? Would the wings be as good? Would the waitresses be as cute-I-mean-friendly? Well, let's take a look.

The new location is much larger, with a much more modern feel. It's much more spacious, and of course, with big screen TVs readily available. The menu looks much like the original one, with a few add-ons to fit the "bistro" part of the new moniker. But I wasn't there to try their new stuff. I wanted my wings. We had 2 pounds of wings. 1 pound was "Cold Sweats", and the other, "Key West BBQ".

According to their menu, the description of the two types of wings we chose were:
Cold Sweats: It's Chili Chicken! Chinese / Indian by roots. Blending Spicy & Sweet
Key West BBQ: Sweet & smokey with real lime juice and sultry hickory.

What can I say about these wings. Big, fat, juicy wings, cooked just right. You will notice the the slightest kick with the Cold Sweats. Like the description says, it's a little bit spicy with a little bit of sweet. With the Key West BBQ, I do like how they don't overdo it with the sauce. There's really, just enough of it, to give it a rich, smokey flavour with a touch of sweetness to it. Very, very well done.

But if you're going to go to The Dragon Bistro, this is something you MUST try. Their yam fries. They do their yam fries differently than I've tried in any other place. Fried perfectly, these large, fat cuts of golden yam is crispy on the outside, and tender within.

Now, The Dragon Bistro has a new sauce for the yam fries, of which I'm not a big fan of. If you're going to go, I recommend you ask for the 'original sauce'.

It really doesn't look like much. It's the same sweet chili peppers as the Cold Sweats, in a soy sauce.  But somehow, it marries perfectly with the yam fries. Absolutely delicious.

A final note... The waitstaff is still very friendly, and the entire experience, very enjoyable. That being said, as nice as the modern look and feel is to the place, somehow to me, it lacks the magic of the Crown. Although, I do admit, that it probably has to do with the memories and the familiarity of the place.

The Dragon Bistro
139 Main St.
Unionville, ON
Canada


~Cheers.

Movie: The Tourist

Rating: D

A movie about intrigue, mystery, and romance without being intriguing, mysterious, nor romantic.



I have a new rule. I will not watch any movie with Timothy Dalton cast in a human role. We`re talking about an actor whose last major North American feature film was The Beautician and the Beast, with....commence shuddering now.....Fran Drescher. Yes, he had a voice over role in Toy Story 3, but in a human role...New Rule.

Although, to be fair, it`s not really HIS fault the movie sludged around in mediocrity; you`d think that a movie with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp would be more engaging with more drama, passion, and anything else that makes an actor good. Instead, the two powerhouse actors seemed disinterested and unengaged. Even the generally entertaining Paul Bettany seemed like a total miscast in this 104 minute unthrilling thriller.

Beautifully shot in Venice... Sorry, that`s about the only GOOD thing I have to say about the movie. A suspense film that is unsuspenseful. A weak attempt at comedy that falls flat. Add in some totally misplaced romance, and you get a film that just leaves you with very little to care about. Quite honestly, The Tourist makes The Beautician and The Beast seem worth watching. Ok. Maybe not.

~Cheers.

Movie: Black Swan

Rating: A+

A gripping tale of a ballerina's rise to fame that's both terrifyingly beautiful and beautifully tantalising. Darren Aronofsky delivers the most emotionally devastating movie I've seen in a really long time.



Delving into the neurotic psychoses of a ballet dancer as she reaches the pinnacle of her career, Natalie Portman delivers a powerful and visceral performance. Black Swan shows us the strength and frailty of what it takes to become a prima ballerina, and what happens when said ballerina has deeply rooted self esteem issues. We watch as Natalie Portman takes us deeper and deeper into Nina Sayer's insecurity, watching her sanity creak, crack, and finally crumble.

The dancing isn't stellar, and it's most apparent when Portman is practising with an instructor who shows her a couple moves in one of the scenes. But it was good enough that it didn't take anything away from stellar performances all around. The story revolves around Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, with each Natalie Portman personifying The White Swan and Mila Kunis personifying The Black Swan. Portman's insecurity reflected by Mila Kunis' self assuredness. Portman's innocence, with Kunis' corruption. Where Portman is totally inhibited, Kunis is entirely uninhibited. This line is further pulled taut by Vincent Cassel's masterful portrayal as the director of the ballet; part asshole, part perfectionist, part sleazeball, mixed in with a bit of tough love, trying to bring Portman out of her shell to embody both The White AND Black Swan.

Black Swan is unforgettable and intense. A heavy film that makes no pretense as it hits with you with a train. Bold, dark, and magnificent. And definitely not for those with weak stomachs.

~Cheers.

Movie: Lust, Caution (2007)

Rating: A-

It's not just new movies that deserve mentioning. And unfortunately, there's simply not enough time to watch EVERY movie at the cinema. Although, I've been meaning to take in Lust, Caution for a while now.

Such a waste to cast singer / songwriter 王力宏 (LeeHom Wang) in this powerful and lustful drama. Whomever told him that he could act needs to be shot. That, however, is pretty much my biggest criticism of this movie. Tragically sexy,  湯唯's (Wei Tang) performance was powerful and mesmerising. And as much as 梁朝偉's (Tony Cheung) portrayal of Mr. Yee was quietly brilliant, it was 湯唯 that stole the show.

Beautifully filmed, Ang Lee catches intensity and trepidation of his lead characters. But the strength and intensity of 梁朝偉 and 湯唯 completely outshines the rest of the movie, leaving me to feel like maybe Ang Lee didn't pay enough attention to the rest of the cast. The story, however, is riveting, thrusting the innocent schoolgirl 湯唯 into the dark, lurid world of espionage.

As titillating as the Lust, Caution is, it is MUCH better if you understand a little about the history in this time period. As powerful as 梁朝偉 seems to be in the movie, there's something that ISN'T said in the movie. He has the unenviable position of EVERYBODY wanting him dead. The Japanese don't trust him and the only reason they tolerate him is because he is of use to them. Given the opportunity, anybody working with him, would kill him for his position. All the other Chinese want to kill him because he is working for the Japanese. He needs to be equally ruthless and civil at the same time while always be vigilant of people trying to usurp him or kill him.

Watch for 湯唯's little soliloquy. It totally sent chills down my spine. It just goes to show, to what lengths people will go to in times of war. 

~Cheers.

Movie: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1

Rating: B+

The opening act to the grand finale of the Harry Potter franchise, this penultimate stop gap movie is beautifully filmed with equal parts of terrific horror and horrific boredom.



The most impressive thing about the entire franchise is that they've been able to keep the cast pretty much intact; not an easy feat, considering that this series has taken 10 years to develop. Granted, Richard Harris passed on mid-series, and for some reason, Maggie Smith's diminishing role as Professor McGonagall simply disappeared partway through. But the franchise, somehow, has been able to keep an all-star cast. From Richard Harris' replacement Michael Gambon, to Alan Rickman, to Helena Bonham Carter, to Robbie Coltraine. And let's not forget He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named... Ralph Fiennes.

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) were nobodies thrown in to superstardom. It's a little sad that this will likely be the most success the three of them will experience. I'm not knocking their acting abilities, but a 10 year jaunt in a single superblockbuster series is hard to beat! But with the franchise, we've all kind of grown up along side with them and personally, I think it's nice that they've been able to do so without getting too big for their britches.

The movie started with a bang and ended leaving you to wonder, which is exactly how this two part finale was meant to be played. But it is beyond me why they had to spend SO much time showing that they were doing absolutely nothing in the middle of a movie that lasts 150 minutes. You'd THINK they'd be able to take some 30 minutes out of the pointless doing nothing lull in the middle.

Aside from that, the entire franchise has been a joy to watch. The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 has generated $787+ million dollars to date. Not very many people are going to watch the 7th installment without first watching the first 6. It's been over 10 years since the first Harry Potter movie came out; the loyal following of this franchise is simply unbelieveable. Definitely a movie to see, and it will definitely leave you waiting for the final installment.

~Cheers.

Restaurant: Okoze Sushi....

Ambiance: 3.5 / 5
Cleanliness: 4 / 5
Service: 1.5 / 5
Taste: 4 / 5
Presentation: 4 / 5
Price: $$$
Overall: 2.5 / 5


The first time I had Japanese food, I fell in love with it. But it wasn't until late in my college years did I realise how potentially amazing sushi can be. Ever since then, I've been a bit of a sushi snob. I mean, I still eat the ones at the mall kiosks and the all-you-can-eat buffet stuff, but my mouth literally waters and drools whenever I get the chance to have the good stuff.
I live in Toronto, which means, as great as some of the sushi / sashimi is here, we're really short on FRESH fish here. So you can imagine my excitement when I realised that my cousin had gotten reservations at Okoze Sushi in San Francisco.

We walk in, and the place is quite nice. Pretty spacious, with simple decor and ambient lighting. We were quickly seated and given our menus. I was pretty impressed with their sake list. They didn't have my favourite - Wakatake Onikoroshi (Demon Slayer) Junmai Daiginjo - so they gave me a sampling of a couple of other sakes that they had. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the one I selected, but it was very good at $18 a glass. Yes, they served it to me in a wine glass.

The first dish I ordered came. Yes, it tasted as good as it looks! A Butterfish Carpaccio that was very, very well done. It was light and very fresh. But it wasn't this dish that I was waiting for. Ankimo Sunomono. I started salivating at the sight of the words on the menu.

What is it? It's monk fish liver - fois gras of the sea - topped with ponzu sauce. I thought the ankimo sunomono I had in Toronto was good? This was unbelieveable. So clean, so fresh, so creamy, so rich and flavourful. Absolutely delicious. However, not everything was AS good.

Remember how I mentioned those all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants? They make a better shrimp tempura. Isn't tempura batter supposed to be light? This one was heavy heavy heavy! It really boggled my mind how the same restaurant that had such delectable ankimo and butterfish could screw shrimp tempura up. Fortunately, the next dish that came up somewhat redeemed my faith in the restaurant. Momentarily.

Sushi made with Geoduck. It's amazing what freshness does. Fresh ingredients hides a lot. Fresh sashimi is divine. But unfortunately, it doesn't hide poor service.

 
If anyone has had Toro (Bluefin tuna belly) will attest, its melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness is out of this world. That being said, unless they decided to go fishing after I placed my order, there is no way that putting a couple of pieces fish onto a ball of rice takes close to an hour to prepare! Really... There is no way. They forgot the order. After we had finished everything else, we sat around waiting, and waiting, and waiting. After they FINALLY decided to serve this last dish, they promptly informed us that they were sorry, but they had to bring us the bill because another party had a reservation. Okoze, must be the Japanese word for poor service and can't cook. That being said, the uncooked food was certainly delicious.

Here's a few more photos of some yummy food that they served at this poorly serviced sushi house. All photos in this entry courtesy of "my life as garbo".

~Cheers.

Movie: Tron Legacy

Rating: C

That's right. Let's give it a solid C. Without giving too much away; Tron Legacy is a visually brilliant, mind-numbingly vapid, aesthetically droolworthy, brainless exhiliration that combines the best of Daft Punk's genius with an unhealthy portion of Disney infused saccharine induced cliched script.



(SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading right now if you're worried I'm going to give too much away.)


28 years ago, Disney came out with a movie that pushed the boundaries of computer graphics and delved fairly deeply into the possibility of a digital civilisation. Mixing in bits and bytes into the script along with other geeky jargon, the movie was a disastrous flop at the box office. That being said, over the years, Tron has become a huge cult classic due to its growing relevance in the maturation of this digital age. Unfortunately, its sequel, will not likely experience the same longevity.

The production team did several things that made this movie aesthetically sensational.
1. They were able to get Jeff Bridges to reprise his role
2. They were able to get a great CGI / 3D team to get 1982 Jeff Bridges to reprise his role.
3. They hired Daft Punk to do the soundtrack.
4. They hired Olivia Wilde (Thirteen from the TV series "House")

The movie COULD have been and WOULD have been much better if they had just stuck with those 4 items of brilliance. But then they wanted to get cerebral. They start talking about socio-digital politics. They start talking about bio-technological breakthroughs that will change humanity. They start talking about destiny. They start talking about the undying love of family. When in actuality, all they needed to do to make this movie amazing, was to simply just STOP talking!

Highlights of the movie?
- Seeing Jeff Bridges young again was just spooky. It was awesome. But spooky. Especially in the beginning when you don't really realise it's all CG just yet.
- The visuals were simply stunning.
- I hope Daft Punk wins the Oscar for Best Original Score. Yes, it's THAT good.

Lowlights of the movie?
- Anytime anyone talks.

Just to give you a taste of HOW good the score is? Check it out:



~Cheers.

Restaurant: Chimichanga Mexican Grill & Tequila Bar

Ed. Note: I guess this is what happens when you first get started on something. You screw up. I tried taking photos for this review, but my camera decided to save the files in NEF format and I have no idea how to change it into a JPEG (Photoshop said it wasn't a recognisable). So until I get that part sorted out, I guess you'll just have to rely on my beautiful written diarrhea. HAHA.


Ambiance: 3.5 / 5
Cleanliness: 5 / 5
Service: 3 / 5
Taste: 4.5 / 5
Presentation: 3 / 5
Price: $$
Overall: 3.5 / 5

Before I continue further, I think that I should preface this by saying. I am not a foodie. I don't have a mature / experienced palate like most writers do. I simply enjoy eating and I enjoy food and hope to share some of my experiences with you. And hopefully... it'll help you choose / stay away from certain places. =)~

Chimichanga has two locations. The Yorkville one, being their new(er) site, was the one we decided to go to. It's kind of tucked away in a little corner of Toronto's Yorkville area and the decor is casual, clean, and a little rustic, with sections of brick wall. We had reservations, so we were seated promptly. Menus and water was brought promptly and everything was moving along swimmingly. The first item we ordered, was their guacamole. This is something they're known for. They make it fresh at the table by a poor guy, whose sole job is to run around making guacamole at each table. But practise makes perfect right? The guacamole was excellent. The flavour was very well balanced. There was nothing too overpowering. Just enough heat to give the guacamole a small kick. It comes with a side of homemade tortillas, that was a little hit or miss depending on the chip you picked up. But hey, who cares about the tortillas when the guacamole is so yummy!

This unfortunately, is the part where I give some BAD news about the place. Between receiving the guacamole and getting our entrees? We waited for about 45 minutes. By the time the entrees arrived, the guacamole bowl was scraped clean, and we were experimenting with tortillas and their house chili sauces (some pretty potent stuff). While the waitress was pleasant, friendly, and prompt about getting us drinks, and refilling our tortilla bowl, there was no explanation for the food coming out so slowly.

When the food finally came, my friends had ordered:
- Newyorkican Chicken Burrito
- San Francisco "Mission Style" Beef Burrito
- Cacun Shrimp Burrito

I'm lumping them all together for a reason. They came out, all looking EXACTLY the same. Same size, same shape, same toppings, same presentation. We asked the waitress how she knew which one was which, to which she replied that she had to rely on the kitchen to tell her which dish was which. I was in a party of 4, so it's not too hard to remember. What if we had a party of 10 and everyone had ordered a different burrito?! Judging from the reactions from my friends after they started eating though, it looks like I should make another trip to Chimichangas. =)~

I ordered their Chipotle Ribs Adobado. A full rack of ribs seared in chipotle sauce, this dish was fall off the bone delicious! My first impression was that the sauce was too rich for my own personal taste, but after a few bites, the slow burn in my mouth set in from the heat of the chipotle and I quickly forgot about how I generally prefer flavours that are less rich. Again, the flavours were well balanced. Nothing was too overpowering. I don't know what they have in their "secret" adobado sauce, but it was deliciously smokey, perfectly tender, and I simply can't say enough about the slow burn from its spicy heat.

With each of us patting our bellies after ingesting fairly sizeable portions and imbibing margaritas and sangrias all night, it was a sign for us to to leave when the in house DJ started turning up the decibels to give the place a more 'loungey" feel.

~Cheers.

Movie: Julie & Julia

Rating: B-

I like movies. I once did a 20 movie marathon. So it should come as no surprise that I will try to watch as many movies on planes as I possibly can. And it should also come as no surprise, that on planes, I've generally already watched many of the movies that are on the flight's library. So recently coming back from San Francisco, I found myself looking through Air Canada's current library, and finding that I'd already watched all the movies that I would normally enjoy. But I had heard a lot about the movie Julie & Julia, and how one person's life had inspired another's. So I thought I'd give it a try.



I wouldn't say that the movie is great. That being said, I did find it inspiring. While I don't consider myself I writer, I do enjoy writing. Upon watching this movie, I realised that I hadn't written in a while. Julia Powell sat down and decided that because she enjoyed eating and cooking, that The Julie/Julia Project would be her challenge. You could even say... Her outlet. I'm not certain if I can say that its inspired me to start writing again, but it did make me miss it.

So about the movie. I really didn't find much of the movie to be fantastic. Where it was smart, was telling both Julie Powell's story and Julia Child's story together. Where it was brilliant, was casting Meryl Streep as Julia Child. And while I'm certain that each story could have stood on its own, it was FAR more entertaining to watch both stories unfold together on the 7-inch screen not 2 feet from my face.

It's a feel good movie for sure, and totally enjoyable. But aside from Meryl Streep's exuberant depiction of Julia Child, it was just good. But I thought it had the potential to be great.


~Cheers.


P.S. One other thing I gleaned from this movie? Butter = Yum. =)~