Walking by Pii Nong Thai, I’m not sure what attracts more people: the comforting emerald environment with table tops laden with food or the bright market right next door. Indeed, the store offers an array of snacks, condiments, and even merchandise. You know what they say about shopping hungry… if you’re stuck waiting for a table, you may end up purchasing a lot of junk food.

It’s a cute and colourful environment that extends into their drinks. The teddy bear Thai milk tea ($8.99) graced many tables. A pitcher of rich and silky tea with a shot of evaporated milk to allow diners to customize its creaminess. The drink is a tad pricy but lasts the entire meal – it’s a generous portion complete with a bear made from tea so it doesn’t dilute the drink as it melts.

The pandan chicken ($18.99) is a great protein packed starter. Essentially a small palm-sized piece of seasoned chicken thigh that’s quickly fried in the leaf. While there wasn’t much pandan flavour, the leaf did add a slight aromatic quality to the chicken.

Same goes for the grilled pork jowl ($18.99) that’s listed as an appetizer but large enough to work as a main. Served with a cylinder of sticky rice, the huge slab of pork is lightly grilled and simply adorned with diced shallots, cilantro, and chilis. It’s served with a tangy tamarind jaew sauce that adds a hit of acid to lighten up the meat.

For something to munch on with beer, the crispy mini crab larb ($17.99) acts like popcorn shrimp but featuring thumb sized crustaceans instead. Almost like soft shell crab but crispier, the fried morsels are dusted with a sweet and salty spice and tossed with herbs and chili. 

For the tried and true, their crispy chicken spring roll ($9.99) combines ground chicken, vermicelli, and vegetables to create a dense sausage like filling wrapped in crispy rice paper. It’s crunchy and meaty with a light fish sauce vinaigrette. You’ll get your fill of protein with this as well.

Unless you really love the spicy Thai soup, the tom yum with prawns ($9.99) is enough to share amongst two. You’ll feel a sting but its tolerable, especially since there’s coconut milk (or some dairy element) added to give it a touch of creaminess.

Having visited Pii Nong during lunch and dinner, consistency is a problem. Their dinner service was stronger, where the crispy ginger beef ($18.99) was superb. Cut into thicker slices, the lightly breaded beef remained tender and wasn’t dried out like some places. Moreover, the sauce was drizzled on and placed at the bottom so you can adjust the sauciness of the dish.

At lunch, the crispy beef was still tasty, but much harder and chewier. They also tossed it with a lot of sauce so that it was saturated. Hope you like it saucy at lunch!

Similarly, during dinner the Bangkok street pad Thai with shrimp ($25.99) was fantastic. The dish had plenty of wok hay and the noodles remained distinct and chewy. The sauce was well balanced, mainly savoury with a hint of sweet and sourness; flavourful without being over-the-top.

During lunch the vegetable pad Thai ($21.99) just wasn’t as flavourful and the wok kay less distinct. Perhaps it’s because we requested gluten free versions for lunch, and this fundamentally changes the crispy beef coating or pad Thai sauce. But lunch was good, while dinner was great.

Luckily, their Panang coconut curry with chicken ($20.99) added the burst of flavour needed to the vegetable pad Thai. It’s sightly sweet and rich in coconut and chili. The sauce was lovely soaked on jasmine rice or tossed with the noodles.

If you’re not in the mood for sharing, the pad gra pow ($21.99) is a great balanced dish of steamed rice topped with stir-fried minced chicken and long beans that’s combined with a fragrant mixture of fried basil leaves, garlic, onion, and chilis. There’s just enough heat and even a side of vinaigrette to add a light sour element to the dish. 

For those who want something different, their Bangkok street pad Thai with crispy pork ($24.99) was a nice change with bite-sized slices of crispy pork belly adorning the noodles. It’s a bit heavy for me but ideal if you’re in the mood for something hearty.

Pii Nong’s pla lui suan ($34.99) is rarely found elsewhere consisting of a full branzino that’s fileted and deep fried. The sweet and sour tamarind vinaigrette and herb, citrus, and cashew salad on top keeps the dish light and summery. Just be aware for those who are weary of bones, you’ll find them in some pieces.

I rather enjoyed the fish with the sauce from the green coconut curry with chicken ($20.99) over top. The sweet coconutty sauce combined nicely with the tartness from the citrus and herbs and gave the branzino more flavour. On its own, the green coconut curry works for those who don’t like spice, just pick out the slices of green and red chilis and you’re left with a mild sauce.

My recommendation is to make a reservation. Even on a Wednesday evening, they could barely fit us in. We managed to get seated after the hostess felt bad for us and found a table if we promised to finish in an hour. That wasn’t an issue as the food came out in a quick but well-timed pace.

Yonge and Lawrence is the second and now “flagship” location of Pii Nong. Aside from the restaurant and store, they’ll soon offer Thai massages as well. Something you’ll likely want to experience before eating, unless you want to be stretched and pulled on a full stomach. 

Admittedly, if it weren’t for Rorschach Brewing Co.’s ability to accommodate large tables and its proximity to History, a music venue on Queen Street, I’d be an unlikely customer of the brew pub. Beer is a beverage I’m still trying to expand my palette to enjoy, and getting gassy before a night of dancing was something I was trying to avoid. Accordingly, I was one of those annoying customers that went to a brewery to not drink beer.

Luckily, Rorschach offers two cocktails from a can, an espresso martini and margarita (both $15) that our server warned isn’t made fresh. Got it, I lowered my expectations and found both drinkable but diluted the margarita to combat its excessive sugariness.  

If anything, their menu was the perfect hearty base before a night of drinking. Having shared two of their sandwiches, the smashed burger ($21) was a hit. The potato bun was topped with two generous sized beef patties that are a little thick for a smashed burger but still had a nice crust. I liked that there was plenty of fixings including lettuce, tomato, cheese, caramelized onion, pickles, and a house sauce to give it interest. This was a tasty burger.

Meanwhile, the potato bun disintegrated with the Korean fried chicken sando ($21) making it difficult to eat. Still, the chicken breast was hot and juicy with plenty of breading to give it a crunchy bite. But despite the liberal smear of gochujang mayo, it wasn’t overly spicy and needed more heat. Adding some lettuce with the pickles may also help create a barrier between the bun and sauce to ensure the bread can hold up better.

Maybe Rorschach’s supplier gave them a bushel of the tiny potatoes, but their fries were cut so small… it’s like eating Hickory sticks in fry form. You’d think a smaller fry means more crispy edges, but we just found they were really dried out.

Rorschach Brewing Co’s dining room is surprisingly spacious with picnic tables scattered throughout to accommodate varying sized tables. They were understaffed for a Friday, but the two servers did their best and made sure our large table was served and out in time for the concert. Perhaps they even breathed a sigh of relief once we vacated. So long loud ladies, we can go back to swigging beers.  

At first glance, dining at Aburi Hana reminded me of Tokyo. The restaurant’s entrance is tucked amongst an alleyway on Yorkville and situated downstairs in the basement. It was Tokyo all over again – locating the establishment after arriving at the address.

Yet, after checking in with the hostess, it felt like arriving at a spa. We were five minutes early, so they sat us in a small lounge playing tranquil music with a floral scent permeating the air. When we finally sat down at the “chef’s counter”, the L shaped dining area allowed us to see the kitchen but felt removed from the action. It’s the only chef’s counter where the chef didn’t even acknowledge the diners – not as a whole and definitely not intimately.

And so, we settle in for the 8-course tasting menu ($300 per person) and 6-drink pairing ($150 per person) as different staff come and went to present items. Everyone was polite and friendly but also seemed to be regurgitating a well rehearsed script. It’s felt oddly formal even as I tried cracking jokes with them.

Oh well, I’m here for the food. The meal starts with the lobster usuimame a piece of barely cooked lobster wrapped around a delicate fish paste that’s well… fishy. A swig of water helps dissipate the bad taste in my mouth as does drinking the silky sweet pea infused dashi at the bottom of the bowl. I even admire the cute bird carved from an heirloom carrot before popping it into my mouth and enjoying the sweetness.

The meal improves as the otoro and caviar sushi monaka is presented. The crispy mochi wafer is filled with a layer of well vinegared sushi rice and topped with tuna belly, pickled daikon, creamy dollops of uni (?), and of hefty teaspoon of caviar. Each bite is deliciously fresh and flavourful.

It’s then a glass of hot sake is poured for the lamb yuba, a cube of four-hour braised lamb belly topped with silky layers of yuba mixed with Japanese mustard. It’s a dish that goes well with the theme of the “early spring” menu: a reminder that sometimes in the spring, a hit of winter comes back, and you’ll want something hearty.

I’ve never liked flowers, but the maguro flower is one I’d love to get. The rose petals, made from two type of lean tuna, sit on a bed of grated radish. The tender aged tuna goes wonderfully with the thickened daikon soy and scallion oil that surrounds the plate. I can see why this is considered a timeless dish, beautiful to look at and a treat to eat.

Every restaurant seems to be doing the flash fried scale-on amadai. Don’t get me wrong, I love the dish and am not complaining, but it’s such a fan favourite that it’s gracing everyone’s menu. Aburi Hana creates an amadai cauliflower, where the tilefish is charbroiled then flash fried. We’re told that if we want a spoon to enjoy the dashi and cauliflower sauce at the end to just ask. I got it right at the beginning and was glad that I could have a spoon of the savoury sauce with every taste of the fish.

My heart went a flutter seeing the kamo akamiso containing two of my favourite ingredients – roasted duck and maitake mushroom – on one plate. While the fowl is a touch chewy, it’s nonetheless flavourful from being smoked and the skin having lovely crispiness. You really need a strong protein to hold up against the deep rich miso sauce, that gives the dish a savoury taste that’s balanced off by a sweet burst from the honey pearls. My only complaint is the wine pairing, which tasted off and was much too light for the dish.

Aburi Hana ends with what they think is their WOW dish, the wagyu uni. Essentially, a roll of sushi rice topped with tons of uni, wagyu, and black truffle shavings, I can see it’s an expensive dish. But expensive ingredients don’t always make for a delicious dish. Firstly, the seared on “just one side” wagyu needed blowtorching before serving as cold fatty beef is not for me. When something is so fat, I find it best served hot so the blubber melts. After all, bacon is also fat and does anyone want to eat raw bacon?

We’re then told it’s been cut into two to help us eat the roll. If that’s the case, it’d be even better cut into four for more manageable bites. Ever try to shove a Twinkie sized item wrapped with chewy meat and wispy shavings in your mouth? It isn’t pretty or easy. Alas, the dish was a lot of flash, but no wow.

If anything, what I enjoyed most was the shot glass of condensed Kyoto miso soup included as the chaser. The thick umami broth was tasty and special.

How the chocolate Japanese ginger dessert came to be Aburi Hana’s most “timeless” dessert is beyond me. Ultimately, it’s a fluffy flourless chocolate cake topped with ginger crème anglaise and cubes of poached pear. I like to think it’s Chef Nakagawa’s way of leaning into showcasing local Canadian ingredients but then am told that the chocolate comes from Madagascar. It was a weird ending for a kaiseki meal.

I much preferred the yuzu macaron and caramel tuille petit fours that ended the dinner. Certainly, more French than Japanese, but at least better than something I could have ordered at Moxies.   

As much as I’ve pointed out the flaws of some dishes, there were also some incredible ones in the meal (I would love to eat the monaka and maguro flower again). And while there was little chef interaction at the “Chef’s counter”, Aburi Hana offers attentive service – my water glass was never more than two inches empty; chopsticks were replaced if there’s even a drop of sauce left; and they even replaced the toothpick dish for my Manhattan just because it wasn’t shiny enough.