Just Eat Canada is giving you FREE SAMPLES TODAY!

FREE FOOD TODAY from JUST EAT's Food Truck

TODAY ONLY - Saturday Oct 31, 2015

Trinity Bellwoods area (from 12pm – 5pm)

Restaurant: Pearl King

Dishes:

• Veggie Spring Rolls
• The hockey puck (a shrimp and onion medallion)
• Crispy Fried Milk
• Shrimp Toast

JUST EAT Canada, the nation’s leading food delivery app with over 5,000 restaurants on its roster, has launched a free food truck in Toronto. 

Since October 21, the JUST EAT branded food truck has been popping up around Toronto handing out free samples at six different locations, with a hot new restaurant participating each day.
 
JUST EAT’s hope is that the food truck will inspire hungry consumers to break free from their regular meal choices and have that great meal they deserve. By shining a light on these hidden gems, JUST EAT hopes to encourage their customers to try some of the amazing places in their neighbourhood that they may have not thought to order from before.

“With over 2,000 restaurants on our roster across the city, we want to show Torontonians there is far more than just pizza and Chinese food to order via JUST EAT ­­­­­– pad thai, tacos, hot dogs, falafel, burritos, kebabs, and sweet treats are also available,” says JUST EAT’s director of marketing, Luke Sheehan. “And what better way to showcase some of Toronto’s hidden gems than by giving away free samples!”

Just Eat Canada

Social media: @justeat_yyz

Pukka restaurant introduces new menu

MEDIA PREVIEW of NEW MENU
Restaurant:    Pukka
Address:        778 St. Clair Ave. West (west of Bathurst)
Date visited:  Oct 26, 2015
Instagram     @pukkatoronto
Twitter         @pukkatoronto
Facebook      facebook.com/pukkatoronto
Hashtag        #pukkatoronto
Website:       www.pukka.ca
Phone:          (416) 342-1906


Pukka is a fantastic elevated Indian Restaurant like no other in Toronto, and it has added some new menu additions and invited a few local food bloggers to the restaurant to sample the new menu.  Pukka is owned by Harsh Chawla and Derek Valleau who also own the French Restaurant Concession Road which is located not far from Pukka on St. Clair Ave. West.   The small strip on St. Clair is quickly becoming a food connoisseur destination with original and high quality restaurants.  I had been to Concession Road not that long ago and enjoyed the food there.  You can see a previous blog post for a review of Concession Road.  I had heard a lot about Pukka and how good the food was so I was excited to attend this dinner.
Pukka is a lovely warm and comfortable restaurant.  I really liked the colorful artwork on the walls.

We were greeted by our Blogger friend Vicky who brings us all together for these delicious evenings and also by owner Derek Valleau.   We hung out around the bar upon arrival and all gathered around the beautifully made cocktails that were set up on the bar.   A sling, a sour, a martini and a cocktail.   While we were busy taking photos of the cocktails the bartender was busy mixing up some cocktails for us and we chose the one we wanted to try while also munching on some amazingly addictive Okra fries with a curry mayo dip.  Everyone fell in love with the fries.  Crunchy and light and perfectly seasoned.  I ordered the Varnassis Sling which had mango, orange, cherry, rum and a few other things.  It tasted so good and wasn't too strong.  Like a taste of a tropical country.  I drank the whole thing which is unusual for me.  

 

Owner Derek spoke to us about the new additions to the menu as well as the menu items that are staying on the menu.  He also told us about the fact that most of their proteins come from a local provider who produces higher quality food.   They are also going to be doing a few new things at the restaurant like an Early Bird Prix Fixe $49 for 2 people between 5-6pm.   They are also going to be doing their version of a 100 Foot Journey where they start at Pukka and move over to Concession Road so you can have both Indian food and French fusion in one dinner event.  They are trying some new things to bring their local community together and see if people like it.

 Peter Boyd their Sommelier who spent many years at Scaramouche and is now happy to be with Pukka and Concession road to curate their great wine selections spoke about the wines that were paired with the dinner.  There was a white wine and a red wine served.  I didn't taste them but I did smell them but I was told they were fantastic.  I am not a wine drinker so I can't tell you much about it.  They also spoke about their Wine Evenings.  Wines from Alsace and Germany paired with dinner for  $65 per person.  The next one is November 2nd.

 After taking photos of the food set up at the bar and mingling we sat down to sample the array of tasty dishes from the new menu.

PUKKA MENU

Cocktails:

Mumbai sour, Bombay Sapphire, Aperol, grapefruit, cardamom bitters, egg white

Varnassis Sling, Mango, cherry, orange, rum

Coconut martini

Okra Fries

Tandoori Calamari, Coconut Chutney & Citrus Slaw

Herb-Infused Chicken Tikka, Tamarind Chutney

String Chaat

Wine:  Vina Esmerald, Torres 2014

Boatman's Fish & Prawn Curry, Tamarind & Coconut Broth

Pumpkin Curry 

Punjabi Chicken

Beef Short Ribs, Black Cumin, Garlic & Ginger Masala

Naan Bread

Basmati Rice

Wine:  Valpolicella, Le Salette 2014

Dessert:  Chai popcorn and truffles

Chai Tea

 My favourite dishes were the addictive Okra fries, the String Chaat a delicious mixed salad with vermicelli noodles, chickpeas, puffed rice, pomegranates and a few other ingredients I couldn't figure out but in combination it was fantastic,  crunchy, sweet, savoury, soft noodles and delicious.  A favourite with most of the bloggers was the braised short ribs.  You didn't need a knife to cut them it was so tender.  I really loved the Chicken Tikka which was unusually green from a coating of fresh herbs and the chicken was so tender and flavourful.  I also loved the Coconut broth in the Boatman's Fish and Prawn Curry and mopped it up with the fresh Naan bread.  My friend Niki went crazy over the rice which was served in a preserving jar.  All of the food was beautifully presented and the evening lighting doesn't really do it justice in these photos.  You really do need to go and try it for yourself.   Don't expect the usual butter chicken and typical Indian dishes.  These dishes are not what you find in other Indian restaurants in Toronto but they are authentic Indian flavours and probably more what people in India actually eat.  It's funny that my friend who is Goan recently brought over some leftover Pumpkin curry that his dad made and they served a Pumpkin curry.  My friends was so hot that I couldn't eat it but Pukka's version was a lot easier to eat.

If you are looking for a nice evening out with your spouse or your friends for a great dinner in a cozy space and enjoy trying new things then this is the place for you.   Get yourself over to St. Clair Ave. West and check out their great restaurants and tell them I sent you.

*Disclaimer:  The meal was complimentary but all opinions are my own.

1 in 3 kids in Toronto lives in poverty -Feed tomorrow week

October 19^th marked the beginning of the 11^th annual feed tomorrow week, five days when student volunteers, educators, supporters, politicians and public figures raising awareness and collecting pledges to feed Toronto’s hungry children. 

Feed tomorrow week is hosted by the Toronto Foundation for Student Success (TFSS) and proclaimed by the City of Toronto.
The Toronto Foundation for Student Success helps students succeed by helping to feed students, addressing issues of poverty, hunger, and poor nutrition, and their effect on education. 
TFSS works in partnership to bring together the resources, of the federal, provincial and municipal governments, the Toronto District School Board, education workers, families, concerned corporations, other NGOs, private individuals and the many diverse communities within Toronto.
The goal of the Toronto Foundation for Student Success is to help enable all students to reach high levels of achievement and to acquire the knowledge, skills and values they need to become responsible members of society.

FACTS

• 1 out of 3 children in Toronto lives in poverty and more than 170,000 children and youth rely on breakfast, snack or lunch to make it through the day in more than 750 school and community nutrition programs. 
• 3.9 Million people in Canada don't know when they're going to eat next. 1.1 million are children.
• Children and youth, though only 21% of the country's population, make up 38% of those helped by freed food programs and student nutrition programs.
• 40% of all children come to school hungry each day. It can be as high as 68% in at risk communities.
• 78% of secondary school students who eat breakfast on most days are on track for graduation.
• Canada is the only G8 country without a national school based student nutrition program.
• Research shows that students who eat breakfast produce better grades, are healthier, have increased motivation, are 50% less likely to be suspended and less likely to miss school on a regular basis.
• A healthy breakfast for a child costs just $1.50.

VIP bus tour group -photo provided by TFSS 

On October 21^st I joined a group of VIPs at St. Lawrence Market and boarded school buses to travel to three schools to see nutrition programs in action. The group met with community volunteers and children and learn first-hand about the need these programs address

SCHOOLS

1. Ryerson Community School (96 Denison Ave., Toronto, ON M5T 1E4), (Principal - Kien Nam Luu)
2. First Nations School of Toronto (935 Dundas Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 1R4)
3. Dundas Junior Public School (935 Dundas Street East, Toronto ON M4M 1R4) Principal - Georgia Chatzis)

Our day started off early at about 7:30am at St. Lawrence Market to meet up and grab a bagel and a coffee and hear about the Toronto Foundation for Student Success.  They were presented a large cheque for $545,000 from the Breakfast Clubs of Canada organization for the program.

This goes a long way but the increasing need for food banks and breakfast programs in Toronto means that it isn't going to last very long.

TFSS only receives  25 cents per child from the government and the cost per breakfast program meal is $1.32 so it has to come from public donations and corporate donations to make it happen.

There may be hope from our current new Government with Justin Trudeau as our new Prime Minister because he was an educator and is fully aware of the problem of child hunger in this country.  

It's shameful that currently 14 cents come from the City of Toronto and only 11 cents from the Province of Ontario to make up the 25 cents per child for breakfast.  What can YOU buy for 25 cents?

It is important for kids to be given nutritious food because 1 in 11 kids have diabetes now.  The rate has been rapidly rising over the past few years and it's important for kids to eat consistent healthy foods for their health.

We all hopped on a School bus to drive over to the schools and the first school that we toured was Ryerson Community school where we were given a guided tour by students who volunteered for the breakfast program to bring the bins of snacks into the classes where there was a need.  I must say the 2 kids that took us to 3 classes were extremely polite and informative.  They are learning great skills in volunteering at the same time.

The second and third schools were actually held in the same building on different levels.

We arrived at the First Nations Junior and Senior School of Toronto and received an offering of tobacco wrapped in fabric.  The tobacco is grown on the school property and used in their traditional First Nations ceremonial practices.  There were also kids in a drumming circle led by their teacher to greet us and young student passed around a bowl with the burning tobacco and I believe sage as well for us to be smudged in their smudging ceremony.  They perform the smudging ritual weekly to rid any negative energy.  I know I could use some of that for sure.  It was very spiritual ceremony.

At the las school Dundas Junior Public School we were told about the food safety program that they were doing.  There were students from S.E.E.D. Alternative High School who create their own learning contract.  Most of them are geared to working in health, education or the food industry in their future.  They all receive training to get a food handlers certificate which enables them to be able to work in a commercial kitchen or work in the food industry.  

They had a black light set up in the kitchen to demonstrate the importance of hand washing.

We were also shown their small but efficient kitchens that allow them to deliver either morning snacks and lunches in some cases and in other cases afternoon snacks too.  Different schools and grade levels and needs have different breakfast, lunch programs depending on the need and of course the funding available for them.  

In the First Nations school they are served Fresh Salmon and other native dishes like Bannock for their lunch as it is traditional food for them.  Because of their practice of bulk buying for the 2 joined schools the Dundas school is also able to share some of the First Nations food so both schools get an education about Aboriginal food and traditional food.  

The kitchens are staffed by a Coordinator who manages the budgets and organizes the parent volunteers who prepare the food for the children.  It's a tough job because not only is the budget extremely small but they are required to have a dairy, grain and fruit in each morning snack and it must cost less than $1.32 per child.  

After the tour we enjoyed a reception at St. Lawrence Market with food provided by the vendors of the market.  Photo on the left is me with fellow food blogger/makeup artist Carole Nelson Brown. (photo provided by TFSS)

me & Carole Nelson Brown

With the ever increasing rents, housing prices in Toronto and the decreasing wages and job opportunities there seems to be an ever increasing need for organizations like TFSS to pick up the need for kids who need someone to help them.  If you are able to help please click on the link below.

DONATE NOW at www.tfss.ca