A+ for School: our romantic dinner at The School fine dining restaurant

Tucked in the heart of Markham is The School restaurant. This restaurant is a converted school house, built in the mid 1800’s. In the past, we had driven by this heritage building and decided we would check it out one day. That day came on a cold Monday night, an actual school night.

Hubby took me to The School for a special date night. The dinner crowd was sparse and for a while we thought we would have the place all to ourselves. The host led us to cozy nook that was right beside the fireplace. The lovely warmth and flickering light set the mood for a romantic evening. The tables were spread apart, giving diners a chance at private conversations. The linen was crisp and the glassware and tableware were elegant. It would be the perfect setting for a proposal and definitely fitting for celebrations.

Our waiter served us garlic bread shortly after taking our order. The bread was warm with a crisp top and chewy bottom. It was generously buttered and topped with fresh garlic. The only thing I didn’t like was that it was served with foil underneath, which somehow took away from its elegance.

Yummy garlic bread

We had Tuna Sashimi for our appetizers. Of course, the serving is what you would expect from any fine dining restaurant--as each order cost about the same as a Japanese All-You-Can-Eat lunch. It was fresh and buttery.  You actually do not need the wasabi and soy sauce.

Tuna Sashimi

Next, we ordered some Caesar salad which was prepared by our table. It was the best Caesar salad we have ever had in Canada so far (and this includes our Winterlicious and Summerlicious restaurants!). The whipping of the dressing began with a freshly broken egg and ended with the iceberg lettuce tossed with bacon bits, croutons and Parmigiano-Reggiano. After whipping the dressing, our server took out a folded linen napkin with the greens inside. He then let these fall into the wooden bowl with flourish. The salad was creamy and garlicky, and the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce gave it the right kick.  

Caesar salad being prepared by our table

Hubby even got extra bacon bits on request. Did I mention how fantastic this salad was? Anyway, the serving was generous and I was getting full. We had wanted to try some Lobster bisque, but we needed some space for our main course.

Best Caesar Salad I've had in Canada!

While I debated over scallops and swordfish, Hubby decided on a NY striploin. As I imagined his wonderful steak, I gave in to the carnivore in me and ended up ordering a Filet Mignon. Ok, ok, next time I will have the seafood! I did get a glass of Merlot to complement my steak. When our steaks arrived, our server also brought some butter, sour cream and horseradish for us to choose for the baked potato. Hubby and I both got sour cream. The Filet Mignon was wonderfully tender and perfectly broiled. The vegetable side dishes came in reasonable portions, but I was too full to even finish these.

Filet Mignon

I no longer had any space for either a Cherry Jubilee or some Crepes Suzette for dessert. We will save trying those for next time. And, as it was a school night, we also skipped having some tea after our meal. We sated romantics headed home still gushing over the Caesar salad! We craved it promptly the next day.

The School will definitely be in our list for celebrations. I highly recommend this restaurant. And, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but, I cannot wait to go back to the School.

My Thai favourites



 Mango Salad

Whenever I get asked what my favourite Asian country is, my answer would be Thailand. I have travelled to Bangkok several times and I absolutely loved each and every trip. I love the shopping, the culture and the food! I’ve tried eating at hotel restaurants and I’ve also ventured into buying food from street vendors. Once, I was accompanied to a hole-in-the-wall food stall by a local who, I guess, was morbidly curious to see how I would react to eating authentic Thai cuisine. I’m glad he did not have a camera handy as my expressions had surely been priceless. I’m positive he got a kick from watching this tourist eat, though. Every bite I took of the green curry was followed by a gulp of Pepsi! It was so spicy (it practically burned my tongue!) that I can’t even describe what the dish tasted like. Good thing there was Jasmine rice, which I had to take big spoonfuls of, to neutralize the heat.

Luckily, my taste buds were not permanently damaged, and I still love Thai food. I remember when I was pregnant with DD#1, I would crave Pad Thai. I would drag hubby downtown for my fix--Salad King and Green Mango satisfied my Thai cravings!

Now that I’m in the ‘burbs, I have to get my Thai fix every so often without heading downtown. When I feel like having some Thai but there is simply no time to sit down to enjoy a meal, I settle for Thai Express. My girls love their mild Pad Thai while I often order the medium. I wouldn’t recommend the curry or even their soup, though, as it is too bland.



Tom Yum soup

For some authentic Tom Yum soup, mango salad and fantastic fish cakes, I would go to Thai Bamboo in Concord. The Tom Yum soup is really spicy-sour and the lemon grass balances the flavor. The thickly-cut mangoes in the salad has a nice dressing tasting predominantly of fish sauce. As for the fish cakes, well, DD#1 can eat a whole order of this fluffy and tasty starter.

Fish cakes

The main dishes that we have tried at Thai Bamboo are just so-so. The curry is a bit watered down for me. As well, there is too much veggie-filler in proportion to the meat.

Pad Thai and Spicy Basil Beef



Chicken Panang

For Pad Thai, my family and I prefer Our Thai in Vaughan. Their Pad Thai noodles are perfectly cooked, well-garnished and have a wonderful sweet-sour tamarind sauce. It is not too greasy, either. We also order our other favourite noodle dish there—Thai Panang noodles, a dish that is essentially Pad Thai mixed with Panang (a milder version of other Thai curries) sauce. Yum! Their red curry is a great blend of spices, thick with creamy coconut milk. The servings are generous and the ambience is casual—definitely more upscale than Thai Bamboo.

Chicken Pad Thai

I still have a number of Thai restaurants to try out. Not sure when we will get to all of them but I will make sure to post our discoveries. In the meantime, we have our tried and tested favourites to enjoy. 

Beef Red Curry

Panang noodles

SzeChuan SzeChuan: Chinese dining at Vaughan Mills

While the main objective for going to Vaughan Mills is to shop, you do not have to be limited to fast food when you stop for meals. Of course, a quick refill to the tummy boosts the energy to keep shopping without dropping, but there are alternatives to the food court.  There are actually a number of restaurants in the mall. To date, there is a Johnny Rockets diner, a Pickle Barrel, and SzeChuan SzeChuan if you prefer restaurant dining and can afford to spare some sit-down time.

SzeChuan SzeChuan also has a fast food section, but we usually go to the main dining area. This Pan-Asian bistro’s sleek Oriental décor provides a perfect setting for a wonderful meal. They have quite a selection of sushi and wine, but we tend to order our tried and tested Chinese dishes.

We love their General Tao chicken and Mongolian beef.  The General Tao has a spicy sweet sauce coating the crispy chicken cutlets. Its sauce, flavorful and dark, starts off as sweet when you take a bite then kicks in some heat.  The heat is the bearable kind, not enough to burn your tongue but just enough to have you sniffling after a few bites.  A slight tang rounds out the dish quite well.

General Tao

The Mongolian beef is a dish of thinly sliced beef with scallions and garlic covered in a sweet sauce (Do pardon my pictures. We already started eating when I remembered to take a shot :P).  The kids preferred the sweeter Mongolian beef.  DD#1, however, was trying out her taste buds with spicier stuff so she took bites from the General Tao.  

Mongolian beef

We usually have some Seafood Chow Mein or vegetable fried rice for our carbs and to neturalize the rich flavors of our proteins.  Most of the dishes cost between $10-15 and each dish is good for 2. A clump of veggies underneath the meat makes the serving seem bigger than it actually is, but it’s nevertheless sufficient.  We order family style and share everything.  So for our group of five, we order about 4 dishes and end up with a decent portion to take home, too! Yes, it is pricier than what you can get at the food court, but you’ve got ambience and service.

SzeChuan SzeChuan is one of the better Pan-Asian restaurants we have tried. When we have a full day blocked out for some Vaughan Mills shopping and prefer a break from fast food, this is definitely our go-to place. Hey, if you have to say the name twice, it ought to be good.

Halloween at Unionville

The main square

We have been going to Unionville for many years now to participate in the community’s annual Halloween event. We all enjoy going from store to store for trick-or-treating.  Establishments with pumpkins outside their shops gave out treats to the kids.  The shops are quaint, and this lovely neighborhood is warm and inviting. We noticed, though, that each passing year brought more and more people; and less and less treats from the participating merchants.

This year the community came up with a Bingo Trick or Treat. I assume this is to avoid running out of treats for the kids early on in the event. The kids each got a Bingo card which they had stamped at various sponsored booths that lined Main Street. Once you have 4 stamps on your Bingo card, you can then exchange it for a loot bag.  Unfortunately, the loot bag was not impressive at all, and has surely left many kids disappointed with the amount of candy they got. It was a good thing, though, that the Flash Mob Thriller dance, the Zombie walk and the busker all provided good entertainment on this year’s rainy Halloween weekend.

Zombie Walk

My kids were amazed at the busker who juggled fire pins while riding a unicycle. His main trick was to balance on one leg at the climax of his performance. Kids and adults alike were sufficiently entertained. We capped our afternoon with some hot chocolate at the local Timothy’s. This event didn’t give the kids the best haul this Halloween. However, walking the streets in costume together with other trick-or-treaters made up for it. I hope next year’s activities will be better. Hopefully, it won’t rain!

Street performances

The Many Attractions at Bowmanville Zoo

 My girls love animals. That is why we make it a point to go to a zoo or petting farms yearly. This year, to add to their wonderful memories of Panaca in Colombia, we went to Bowmanville Zoo which is just outside of Toronto.

We got some animal food at the gate so the girls could interact with the llamas, goats and sheep. The zoo had a decent collection of animals, considering that the grounds were not very expansive. We started off at the enclosure of the ring-tailed lemurs.  The zoo keeper gave some interesting facts about these playful creatures, and at the end, she picked a child from the crowd to enter the pen and feed the lemurs.  

The girls had a grand time feeding the animals while hubby and I were more interested in the big cats such as the panther and the Siberian tiger. For an additional fee, the zoo offered elephant and camel rides as well.  I marveled at the camels which grazed on wide open spaces on the way to the Animal show. (Make sure to check the show times in the brochure handed out at the gate to ensure you get to the show on time). While we waited outside the Animatheatre to catch a show, DD#2 got a chance to bottle-feed a baby goat. That was one of the highlights of the day for her!

The Animal show ran for about 30 minutes and featured several animals. The show started with some horses which ran a bit too long for me and with music so boring I feared the kids would want to go back outside. Good thing they brought out more animals. The baboons, pony, and elephant showcased nice tricks that the girls enjoyed. They especially liked the zoo keeper walking up the theatre steps with the lemur on her head.

After the show, we went on the Expedition Predator ride. It was like a mini-safari where we boarded a trolley—which looked like a vintage streetcar with nice wooden interiors and big glass windows— to get closer to the predators.

The African Lion which really sleeps most hours of the day was lazily lounging.

The wolves were being trained for a TV show and were on cue to approach as the trolley drew near. The zoo keeper got down and interacted with these predators at every stop. The tour ended with the prey—the bison. The ride was a nice albeit short attraction which allowed the visitors to experience just a little bit more in the zoo apart from observing or feeding. If you miss this safari, you can also walk the elevated catwalk and see the lion and wolves from among the tree tops.

As it was already off-season, we were not able to witness carnivore feedings. So instead, we headed to the splash pad. Good thing the kids were easy to please as any water play is a definite hit with them. The splash pad was in need of a major updating, though. Our community centre’s splash pad is way better! Good thing is that this came with admission and was just a nice bonus to the excursion. With only about 10 minutes into the girls’ water play, the water machines conked out and the kids had to leave.

Another attraction included with the admission was the Fun Land, which was where we headed next. There were 3 rides in operation at the time, and the kids could go on these any number of times. Only one ride was operated at a time, though, so the kids ran from one ride to the next until they got tired. Again, this area was in need of an update, but the simple joys the kids had with these rides made them another good bonus.

The zoo also had a small gift shop and a concession stand. As well, there were many picnic tables all about. With food, activities, and a tiny bit of shopping, families can definitely spend a whole day in the Bowmanville zoo.