Four Four South Village

Restaurant: Four Four South Village

Address: 474 Yonge St.

Phone: 416-413-9802

Operating Hours: [Soft Opening Hours] Mon-Sun 11 AM - 11 PM

Website: www.facebook.com/FourFourSouthVillage

Interior

Menu

Milk Tea Slushie with Tapioca, $5.99; Jade Cucumber, $4.99

Counterclockwise from top: Spiced Edamame, $4.99; Black Fungus in Vinegar Sauce, $4.99; Jade Cucumber, $4.99; and Braised Beef Shank 

Braised Beef, Tendon, & Tripe Noodles Soup, $15.99

Szechuan Dan Dan Noodles, $11.99

Braised Beef, Tendon & Tripe Rice, $15.99

Snow Cake with Red Bean & Coconut, $2.99

I had the pleasure of attending Four Four South Village's soft launch last week! It's a newly opened Taiwanese restaurant located near Wellesley Station and named after a residential district in Taipei. It's a spacious restaurant decorated with a simple but Asian-influenced design. When you are seated, there are menu sheets for you to fill out, similar to what you would get at an AYCE sushi restaurant.

My friends and I ordered one dish from each section. The cold dishes were like appetizers but none really stood out to me to order next time (I admit, I am spoiled with Korean restaurants that serve these side dishes for free). My favourite dishes were the Braised Beef, Tendon, & Tripe Noodles Soup, $15.99, and the Szechuan Dan Dan Noodles, $11.99. I found the prices for certain menu items to be a bit pricier than other Asian restaurants I normally go to. I personally would come here for the Noodles with Sauce options because they're more in my price range. The Milk Tea Slushie with Tapioca is also quite fun to drink. Unfortunately at the moment they have a very selected number of drinks available. 

If you are a fan of Taiwanese food and don't have the time to trek to areas such as Markham to get your fix, Four Four South Village would be a great place to check out!

Si Lom

Restaurant: Si Lom
Address: 534 Church St.
Phone: 416-515-0888
Operating Hours: Mon-Thurs 11 AM - 10 PM, Fri 11 AM - 11 PM, Sat 12 - 11 PM, Sun 12 - 10 PM
Website: www.silom.ca

Menu

Review

Si Lom is a Thai restaurant in the Village named after the popular district and road in Bangkok. It has an array of your typical Thai dishes, such as pad thai and curry. However, Si Lom is known for their fun cocktail buckets. These drinks are meant for sharing but can easily be consumed by one person as well. I first ordered the Si Lom Road to share, which was a pretty light and delicious drink. My friend  then decided to order the Jolly Bear & Friends Kamikaze. It honestly tasted quite similar to Si Lom Road, minus the gummy bears. I don't suggest ordering both at the same time because it's like buying the same drink twice.

For my meal, I ordered the Pad Thai Chicken dish and loved it! It's definitely on par with Pai's Pad Thai (a restaurant I always recommend to everyone). The restaurant is overall very nice and is perfect for lunch or dinner with friends and family. I think it might be one of my new favourite Thai restaurants!

Oja

Restaurant: Oja
Address: 689 Yonge St.
Phone: 416-944-8371
Store Hours: Mon-Sun 11 AM - 11 PM
Website: www.theoja.ca

Interior

Menu

Tempura Bento, $8.50

Review

One of my friends started working by Bloor station and I met up with her for lunch. We decided to try out Oja nearby, a Korean and Japanese restaurant with plenty of options. I was surprised with how cheap everything was! I got the Tempura Bento box and it was incredibly filling. Mainly because I had to finish everything less than an hour. It may not look much but if you have limited time to eat, you will get bloated fast!

I will definitely come back here again for a cheap lunch. There are a lot of options and it's at a good location.

Fresh Burger (Church-Wellesley)

Photo courtesy of Tsangzilla

Restaurant: Fresh Burger
Address: 542 Church St.
Phone: 905-597-7224
Store Hours: Mon-Sat 11 AM - 10 PM, Sun 12 - 7 PM
Website: www.fresh-burger.com

Interior

Menu

Review

Fresh Burger is a burger joint that originated in Richmond Hill. They recently opened their Toronto location on Black Friday and gave away free burgers as part of their grand opening.

I had the opportunity to preview the new restaurant before it was opened to a line of hungry people. Fresh Burger puts emphases on their quality premium meats. You can order your burger based on how much meat you want along with additional toppings. If you want poutine instead of fries, you can upgrade it for $2.99 in a combo.

The menu is kept to a minimum because their sole focus is the Canada AAA sirloin served. As someone who likes to order interesting items off the menu, their menu did not stand out to me because of the limited choices. I tried their Freshburger and it tasted like any standard burger. It's typical comfort food but made fresh on the grill every time, which I like. Fresh Burger is for people who love the classic burger and want to eat it fresh. No frills, no fuss.

Fuel +

Cafe: Fuel +

Address: 471 Church St.

Phone: 647-352-8807

Store Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30 AM - 9 PM, Sat-Sun 8:30 AM - 9 PM

Website: www.fuelplus.ca

Wi-Fi?: Yes

Study Appropriate?: Yes

Stamp Cards?: No

Interior

Menu

Drinks - Soy/Almond/Lactose-Free Options?: Yes to all

- Roasted coffee beans from 23 Degrees Roastery

- Offers Spicy Ginger Chai

- Offers Amsterdam Black

- Offers Amsterdam Blonde

- Offers protein shakes

- All ginger ales are made in-house!

- Will be offering Cranberry Mint drinks this upcoming holidays!

- Sells organic juices

- Sells Karma

- Sells Kombucha (fermented mushroom tea)

Food - Vegan/Vegetarian/Gluten-Free Options?: Yes to all

- Offers fuel balls, made in-house

- Offers 3 flavours of gelato from Gelato Fresco 

- Gluten-free biscotti from Sweets Everything

- Vegan and gluten-free snacks from Sweets from the Earth

Ginger Ale

Pina Colada and Kiwi Kale Detox

 

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Protein Shake, $5.99

Various treats including: Cranberry Fuel Ball, Cinnamon Fuel Ball, Peanut Fuel Balls, Gluten-Free

Pastries

Roast Beef Panini Grilled Sandwich, $4.99

Review

Drink of Choice: Spicy Ginger Chai, $4.19

I was invited to Fuel +'s Fall/Winter tasting event on October 29th to try out their new menu items. This was my very first media invite so I was super excited. When I got there, I was flooded with samples. I definitely enjoyed their signature fuel balls, which were all made in house and only 100 calories each! In my opinion, the best item I got to try was their Grilled Breakfast Burrito! I kept asking if there were going to be more samples because I couldn't get enough of it! I thought it was pretty cool that their ginger ale were made in-house, so if you enter the cafe, you'd be hit with a strong ginger smell. The Spicy Ginger Chai was definitely delicious! I do recommend drinking it slowly and thoroughly enjoying it just because it can overwhelm the taste-buds.

My advice for anyone who hasn't had a protein shake before is to not order one head-on. I always like trying new things so I decided to order one of their shakes. I thought it would probably taste like milkshake. I was wrong. It was a lot to take in and if you are not a peanut butter lover, definitely do not order the Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana flavoured shake (I prefer their Pina Colada one instead). I couldn't finish up my shake because I was starting to get headaches, probably because I wasn't used to having so much protein at once (additional to all the other samples I had). However, if you use protein shakes to bulk up and tired of drinking the same kind you have at home over and over, give Fuel Plus a try! They have many flavours to choose from.

I spoke with both owners, Chester and Gary, who were extremely passionate about their cafe and what they were all about. Fuel + is about having healthy and organic options at a very affordable price. They felt that eating healthy shouldn't come with a high price. They wanted to give an opportunity for those who are thinking of eating healthier a chance without breaking the bank. They mentioned that their drinks are cheaper than Starbucks and for a generous quantity as well. Fuel + is also involved with a couple of running groups, such as Nike's Running Group every Tuesday and Get Out Canada. Runners in the area are also free to stop by and use their lockers for free as well! If people are interested in finding gifts for a vegan/gluten-free friend or a family member, Fuel Plus is currently offering gift baskets for this holiday!

Thank you Fuel + for the media invite! :)