Alright, alright… so call me totally ‘la fromage’ to be blogging an entry about Toronto’s Next Top Model. I can’t help it. It’s just too cheesy to be true.

However, let me say this… walking down the streets of downtown Toronto at any given time, I do happen to see beautiful people. I’d like to know if there are any here who will be applying. I’m quite sure that if I get a chance to catch this show, I may just add some commentaries.

Let the cattiness begin… (assuming it’s anything like America’s Next Top Model).

Most of my driving is done in Scarborough. And I’ve been told that I’m not in the best area to find a lot of patient and good drivers (no kidding - we only have one of the higher car insurance rates in the GTA).

What pains me the most is that not one day passes by, where I don’t see at least one near-accident caused by a driver who wasn’t paying attention, just because he/she happened to be on their cell phone.

Today, I got cut off two different times by drivers pulling out of a parking lot or a side street… while talking on their cell.

Yesterday, I was driving behind a man who slowed down to a 30-40K in a 60K area… I finally pulled around him only to find that he was… yes.. talking on his cell (editor’s note: SLOWING DOWN TO TALK ON THE CELLPHONE DOES NOT NEGATE THAT YOU ARE BEING A RISKY DRIVER! PULL THE HELL OVER INTO A PARKING LOT!)

The week before, another man decided that his telephone conversation was way more important then him pressing his foot down on the gas peddle after the light, his light, had turned green.

Good Lord. PUT THE DAMN PHONE DOWN!!!

Winterlicious began on January 28th and lasted until February 10th, 2005. It was in conjunction with the Wintercity 2005 celebration in Toronto. About 120 top dining establishments offer a 3 course meal at a fixed price. Each course has about 3 to 4 selections and the meals offered can be found on the restaurants regular menu. However, the meals ordered from their regular menu are of course, at a higher price and the portions are larger. This year, I managed to visit 4 different restaurants and here are my reviews.

The Strip House Steak House.
This is the second time I have been here for Winterlicious and the value that you would get for $30.00 is fabulous! The steaks and slow roasts offered on their winterlicious menu were so juicy and tender, that it simply melts in your mouth! The portion of each course was big and it made me wonder what the regular portions are like! The prices on their regular menu are relatively decent and my ratings for this restaurant during Winterlicious is 8.5/10!

Benihana
Benihana is well known for having entertaining chefs cooking right in front of you, and it is indeed true! Their knife throwing antics and witty jokes brought a lot of laughter to the bar surrounding their cooking area. However, the food was just mediocre. Their Hibachi Chicken and Teriyaki Steak were good and their portions were quite big, but it wasn’t very memorable. Their regular priced menu would probably offer better food but it is quite expensive. My ratings for this place during Winterlicious is 6.5/10.

Verveine
Not many people have heard of this place and it’s quite a shame, because the food that they serve here is absolutely fabulous! I’ve been here a number of times and everything in this restaurant is freshly made and one of a kind - from their appetizers to their exquisite desserts. This is their first year participating in Winterlicious and the food served truly impressed people who were their for their first time! The biggest highlight of the meal were the desserts offered; “Cassis & Chocolate Sachertorte with Chantilly Cream and Sour Cherry Coulis” and “Raspberry and Hazelnut Linzer Torte with Vanilla Ice Cream and Coulis”. Their regular priced menu is affordable and my ratings for them this winterlicious (without being bias) is a whopping 9/10!

Canoe
I finally got a reservation in this restaurant after spending 1 and a half hours trying to get through to their Winterlicious phone line! Well known for it’s fine dining and incredible view of the city, this place is always fully booked on the first day of reservations during Winterlicious. The portions of the food were very small compared to the portions served at all the other restaurants I visited during Winterlicious, but the food served was amazing! The biggest highlight of the meal were their Entres and desserts. The Broiled Whitefish was very fresh and the apple sticky toffee pudding was consistently warm and moist (Unlike some places where their pudding is usually dry and brittle on the outside). Their regular priced menu is extremely expensive, so their Winterlicious Menu is definitely value for your money. I rate this place a 9/10 as well!

Watch out for Summerlicious which will occur around June/July. Toronto has so many amazing restaurants that promotions like this is something you don’t want to miss out!

This weekend was great

Driving home from work yesterday, I went along McNicol… a 50Km zone area.

I had the unfortunate, yet very familiar, experience of having a very eager, frustrated young driver following the ass of my car like he was planning to run me over. ANY driver would agree… they like to have the ass of their car be left the hell alone.

Am I allowed to say ‘ass’ here? I guess I’ll find out…

The problem was that it wasn’t exactly like I could go anywhere. There was a car just infront of me and a car on the next lane beside me, though a little more ahead. I was boxed it. Completely.

Yet said eager-beaver, hot-headed, big-ego young driver with the suped up car (oh yes… how could I forget to add the fact that his car was indeed suped up) made a quick transition to the next lane and started to bugger up towards the other car.

I shook my head and just continued to drive at the proper pace.

And then, as if the heavens above opened up and cascaded it’s rays upon me, I found myself passing the suped up car and it’s young, hot-headed driver, pulled over to the side with a cop car behind it.

There is a God… I just knew it. And she’s doing a damn fine job. :)

My aunt had the unfortunate experience of sliding on ice and breaking her wrist today…

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one. There were a number of such incidences of broken bones in the ER that my aunt and uncle found themselves. In fact, my cousin said that the number of accidents (from walking alone, not riding a motor vehicle) was ridiculously high.

Good Lord.

Gong Xi Fa Cai, by the way for all those who speak Mandarin… or Kung Hey Fat Choi for the Cantonese speaking bunch.

It was definitely an interesting start to our new lunar year. Yikes.

Two of my favourite bands set their sights on Toronto this week!!!

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 10th @ SNEAKY DEE

I was at work today, watching a news feed on a monitor, and I saw Bob McAdorey on it. I asked someone why he was in the news, and I was told he passed away.
I grew up watching him on Global, he was an entertainment reporter there from the mid-70s until he retired in 2000. If memory serves me correctly, he didn’t like Madonna, and that he liked Bailey Quarters from the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati. He had a sense of humour and was vocal about his likes and dislikes. My mom watched News At Noon and enjoyed watching his entertainment reports.
He was from Niagara Falls, ON. He worked at CHUM Radio in Toronto in the 60s before going to Global TV. He was 69.

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/story.html?id=930e5a20-fb78-4994-8248-9c79d1d17f0e

Sadly, I’ve never truely ventured out of my own home when it comes to celebrating the Chinese New Year. Usually, my parents, aunt, uncle and I find it easier just to stay home and celebrate with a huge feast. A tradition that has never been broken.

Yet I’ve discovered that much of the celebrations found in Toronto will be taking place through the entire month.

The Chinese Cultural Centre and Royal Ontario Museum are just a couple of places to check out under their events/calendar section.

I’m simply excited due to the fact that this is my daughter’s very first Chinese New Year. And we’re looking foward to creating our own family tradition.

So think about it… it’s definitely a celebration open to all cultures… all are welcome in celebrating the year of the Rooster.

Well, I drove past two main attractions of Highway 400 this afternoon that I had never seen before. It had been about two years since I had a reason to take that particular route.

I was going south, from Highway 9 to the 401. As I worked at Wonderland for six seasons, that stretch of Highway 400 is very familiar to me. So I was surprised to see a sign that wasn’t there last time I drove through, saying “Oak Ridges Moraine - Next 10 km.” I have to say I looked for it and didn’t see anything but typical rolling Southern Ontario farmland, which is what I have always seen there. I guess it’s more subtle than an escarpment. (The Niagara Escarpment is beautiful, I saw some of it in Owen Sound and in the Hockley Valley area and it is impressive.)

Just south of Wonderland, I was taken aback of the sight of a shopping centre where there were fields before. A big shopping centre. I was like, who put THAT there? Then I saw a big sign, indicating it was the Vaughan Mills mall.