Little Sister big Indonesian flavours

Where:  LITTLE SISTER
When:   Sat, Jan. 14, 2017
Address:  2031 Yonge Street, Toronto
Social:    @littlesisterto

Website:  http://www.littlesisterto.com/

I tried Little Sister's food for the first time at the Taste of Toronto Festival and the first year they won a prize for their mind blowing sweet pork belly dish.  I had their fried rice again last year but even though their restaurant was on my TO DO List of places to check out, I never seemed to have the right opportunity to go until this past weekend.  My fellow food blogger Natalie (http://www.cookingquidnunc.com) and I decided to go see a movie and after a long search of places that were near the theatre at Yonge and Eglinton we both thought the best choice would be Little Sister.  We didn't realize it was only a few blocks south of Yonge and Eglinton.  It's got one of those signs that don't pop out when you drive by so you have to pay attention to the address.  We have both been saying for a long time that we should go so early Saturday evening was the perfect time.
We got there around 5pm before the crowd and the reservations started flowing in.  That was the perfect time for us because we sat by the window and actually had some daylight for our first items but as you can see the food looks a bit more yellow as we lost the sun.

I ordered the Chicken Satay.  I love Chicken Satay this one had a great satay sauce.  It's made with chicken thighs, although not my favourite, I prefer the white meat, but it keeps the chicken a lot more moist when it's the chicken thighs.

We both shared the Beef Wontons with Sriracha sauce.  Nice and crispy and a bit of spice kick.

 

I also ordered the Roasted Cauliflower with Puffed Rice.  It was served cold.  I expected it to be a warm dish but I guess it was more of a salad or street food type of dish.  The flavour was really good and it's one of their popular dishes.

The dish that blew our minds was Natalie's Braised pork in Star Anise.  The balance of flavours was perfect.  The star anise wasn't overwhelming.  The pork was perfectly seasoned and all of the flavours were rich and satisfying.  I really want to make this dish in my slow cooker one day and if I go back to Little Sister soon I am having this again for sure.  

Natalie also ordered the fried rice which was good but the photo didn't really make it look great so I didn't include it.

The place is really cozy with rustic wooden tables and a beautiful bar.  It feels like a downtown hipster westend restaurant but it's tucked away Uptown.  It would be insanely packed all the time if it was located on Queen Street but I am really happy that it's Uptown where people really appreciate that there isn't anything else like it in the area.

It's one of those places you don't want to tell anyone about because you want to save it for yourself.

They aren't open for lunch and I would suggest making reservations because it's not a huge space.

Enjoy.

*This is not a sponsored post.  We paid for our own meal and the opinions expressed are my own as well as the images.

Le Baratin - brings France to Dundas West

LE BARATIN

Address: 1600 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6K 1T8  

Phone: (416) 534-8800

Website: http://www.lebaratin.ca/bienvenue-lebaratin-toronto/

Normally when I have a plus 1 that I can bring to an event I usually bring one of my blogger buddies like my friend Shuang (the teleporta) but this time the tables were reversed.  Shuang had been invited to go to Le Baratin on Dundas Street West to do a review on her blog and she was able to bring a guest so she invited me so that I could also write a review.  I don't know if what I would call my blog posts a review but more of an overview of a particular restaurant.  Either way, normally I am on top of these things and like to post within a couple of days after attending a restaurant or event but this time TIFF (The Toronto International Film Festival) took over my life for a couple of weeks so I am finally getting the time now to sit down and write this post properly.

Le Baratin has French/African native Chef Jean Regis in the kitchen creating classic French Bistro dishes with his spin on them.  He has worked all over the world in very prestigious restaurants including Toronto's own Le Paradis.  He runs a small almost open kitchen as you can see from this photo.  The menu is small but efficient to be able to produce dishes in the space it is in.  They wanted to create a destination restaurant for people that were seeking French Bistro food in a nice cozy neighbourhood space.  It is a destination place for me because it isn't near anything I normally do.  it's not near work, home, entertainment centres or shopping centres.  It's near where there are other businesses and people who have lived in the area for probably a long time.  It is right on Dundas so it's streetcar accessible but you do have to decide to go there or maybe walk by to know it's there.  it's a bit of a hidden secret that only neighbourhood people and bloggers seem to know about.  So I am kind of letting the secret out of the bag.

Chef Jean Regis

After we were greeted by the Chef and the Owner we decided on our menu.

We started with the Charcuterie platter with amazing house made pate and duck rillettes and good quality salami. ($14)

We also shared the house made Gravlax with radish and toast. ($10)

For the main I ordered the Steak Frites, it was topped with a shallot peppercorn sauce which was probably my favourite part. ($20)

Shuang ordered the Confit du Canard, a duck leg with roasted potatoes.  Her potatoes were great.

For dessert I chose the Mousse au Chocolat because that was my favourite thing that my mom made and she would make it for me instead of a birthday cake sometimes.  This one was really good.  Not exactly like my mom's but pretty darn close.  My mom lived in Paris and Belgium so she knows a thing about chocolate.  ($7)

Shuang's dessert was the Tarte Tatin ($8).  It's not pictured because the photo in the restaurant lighting on a similar colored table didn't do it justice.  I had a spoonful of it and it was like a warm apple cinnamon compote.  The kind of dessert you crave in the cooler weather.  

Assiette de Chercuterie

Gravlax 

Steak Frites

Confit du Canard

Mousse au Chocolat

 The Space has a really homey feeling and very cozy.  There are a few red chairs outside of the restaurant but if they had the usual French Cafe Chairs out front you would think you stepped into a Bistro in Paris.  You don't have to spend a fortune to get French Food in Toronto or travel miles away to get a great French Meal.  I know that one of my blogger friends went there for her wedding Anniversary and I would say it's a great place for an Anniversary, a first date or to catch up with a good friend.  You can have a great conversation, be well treated and enjoy a fantastic meal without breaking the bank.  Hope you go and check it out soon.  Don't forget to mention that I sent you.
I am sure that will make them very happy.

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeBaratinYYZ

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