Great batchoy is no longer an airplane (or two) away!

Batchoy at Coffee In

 I have fond memories of the delicious La Paz Batchoy I have had in Iloilo. Available from the chains to the hole-in-the-wall carinderias, this soup will always hit the spot. The instant ones were ok for desperate times. Needless to say, I have not had good batchoy in decades! But, let’s not count how many decades…

Thanks to our badminton friends, we discovered Coffee In (that is not a typo!!) in Scarborough and tried some of their delicious batchoy! Now, don’t be fooled by the name, I know it can use a little bit of marketing. With their delicious soup, they can call it any name they want. Now, the noodles are not that great but the delicious broth and crunchy garlic will make you overlook that. They have a good serving of meat. And apart from the crunchy, oh so yummy, chicharon bulaklak, there were few internal organs-- Yay!-- in a decent sized bowl. It was delicious!

In the thick of winter, hubby and I found ourselves longing for a hot bowl of home-style batchoy. Which was why a trip back was a given.

Apart from the soup, they also served combo meals. While the girls liked the bbq, DD#1 ended up eating a good third of my soup. Yes, it was also a hit with the kiddos.

It was great to discover this gem within the GTA! Now, we don’t even have to leave the country when we crave some good old batchoy. Kaon na ta!

Annual Brunch at Our Crepe

Freshly-made crepes at Our Crepe

An annual family brunch took us to Mississauga to check out Our Crepe. Having gone to the usual breakfast/brunch places over the years, we wanted to try something new. We heard about this nice crepe place with its roots in Poland and decided to give it a try. To date, the only other locations are in Poland and Ireland.

Just a bit of a warning—this is not fast food. But it is a good place to lounge while having some crepes. As the crepes are prepared from scratch, it does take a while to get your order. Expect about a 30 minute wait depending on the number of customers.

They have over 50 different types of savoury and sweet crepes. Prepared just at the counter, it is as fresh as you can get. A few of us got the “Bacon, Sausages, Mushrooms, Onion, Cheese crepe.” 

Savoury crepe at Our Crepe

 Fish-lover DD#1 got “Salmon, Onion, Tomato, Sweet Corn, Cheese” while DD#2 went straight for the classic “Nutella, Banana, Nuts, Ice Cream.”

Classic Banana Nutella crepe at Our Crepe

They were all yummy! The crepes were airy and the presentation was lovely. Prices were also pretty reasonable from $7-$10, and surprisingly, a serving did keep us full for a while. All in all, it was a nice brunch place with good food and good service.