Ramen Series: Kinton Ramen

Pork Shoyu @Kinton Ramen

Cold days often trigger cravings of soup. As we haven’t tried Kinton Ramen, we decided to see if the one in Markham was any good one winter day. We arrived just past 6pm on a Sunday night and managed to get a table. Had we arrived 30 or so minutes later, we would have had to line up for one!

We got our usual Ramen favourites:

I got a Pork Miso as I wanted a bit of garlic oil in my soup. It also included corn.

Pork Miso Ramen @Kinton Ramen

DD#2 and Grandma shared a Pork Shoyu while DD#1 got a Chicken Shoyu--beautiful broth.

Pork Shoyu Ramen @Kinton Ramen

Chicken Shoyu Ramen @Kinton Ramen

Hubby got a Pork Spicy Garlic which was quite spicy (though maybe not as spicy as their Tan Tan) with chili peppers and grated garlic.

Pork Spicy Garlic Ramen @Kinton Ramen

The broths were very tasty and the noodles were good! The chashu (braised pork belly) had more fat to meat, but was marinated well. It was overall a good ramen. Many other people seem to think so as the place soon became packed.

The serving was a good size and the price was consistent with the other ramen places around. They had other items on the menu such as cold and hot side dishes. I saw some tables order karaage (fried chicken), which we will definitely try next time. 

Dimsum in Mississauga

Siu Mai @ Emerald Chinese Restaurant

The last time we had dimsum at Emerald Chinese restaurant in Mississauga was over 10 years ago. We go more often to Markham or Richmond Hill to get our fill of dimsum. As we were going to an event in the area, we decided to grab some dimsum for lunch. We just managed to get one of the last couple of tables before the crowds packed the reception area. The line-up was so long we could no longer see the door!

Anyway, we got our usual dimsum favourites from the carts making their rounds in the huge dining area. 

Crispy Tofu @ Emerald Chinese Restaurant

Crispy shrimp @ Emerald Chinese Restaurant

The siu mai and har gaw were good but I was not a fan of their taro puff.

Chicken feet and Har Gaw @ Emerald Chinese Restaurant

Taro Puff and Sesame ball @ Emerald Chinese Restaurant

We also ordered some Beef Ho Fan (pan fried rice noodles with soy sauce) but we found it too oily. 

Beef Ho Fan @ Emerald Chinese Restaurant

All in all it was a pretty decent dimsum place. Service was usual no-nonsense, busy Chinese resto. The prices were not the cheapest either. It was good but not great enough for us to make the trip to Mississauga when we get the craving.

Satisfying a spaghetti craving: Old Spaghetti Factory

Old Spaghetti Factory @ Esplanade 

Who ever gets cravings for spaghetti? Kids found it weird but, well, I do! I had been craving spaghetti for some weeks now so when we were in downtown, I made the fam trek from the CN tower all the way to St. Lawrence Market area. Close by was the Old Spaghetti Factory, where I could have my fill of spaghetti!

While the look of the interiors was retro, it was looking tired. We were like in a carnival warehouse. There was a seating section surrounded by carousel horses and another area where you can sit inside a streetcar. There was an antique elevator, a red phone booth and countless other artifacts.  It was pretty quaint and the place was huge.

Old Spaghetti Factory @ Esplanade

They offered other dishes like ribs, chicken or steak, and other pasta dishes, but I came for spaghetti! The girls still qualified for kids’ meals so they got kid-sized spaghetti with meatballs. I got spaghetti with meat sauce while hubby got the spicy meat sauce. Grandma tried the spaghetti with white clam sauce.

Spaghetti with white clam sauce @ Old Spaghetti Factory

Each entrée came with soup or salad, but while you are given options for salad and soup, the only ones included are Minestrone soup and garden salad. If you opt for Caesar salad and clam chowder soup, you pay an extra $2 for each upgrade. Other substitutions (whole wheat, gluten-free) also had a charge. The only other inclusion which did not have options for a bill-shock later on was the bread. This came with whipped garlic butter which was delicious!

Sides with every entree @ Old Spaghetti Factory--watch out for upgrade charges!

Anyway, the service was pretty quick. Our orders arrived in no time and I got my fill of spaghetti. There was nothing quite earth-shaking with my spaghetti. It was good spaghetti and meat sauce. Cravings satisfied. Grandma’s white sauced-spaghetti was also good--a nice change from the tomato sauce.

Spaghetti with meat sauce @ Old Spaghetti Factory

The meal was supposed to have included ice cream and coffee/tea, but when we were done, we were bursting at the seams (and the server did not even bother reminding us) so we did not ask for it. Coffee or tea would have been nice and now that I do have some space for Spumoni ice cream (Italian ice cream made with different colours and flavours), I wish we had some. But who goes looking at the menu for all meal inclusions while trying to enjoy a nice meal with your family?

Old Spaghetti Factory @ Esplanade

I don’t think we will be back for a while, unless something takes us already to that particular area. If not for hubby trying to make 10,000 steps a day, and had we more options closer to where we had started, we would not have trekked so far. Also, price per adult would take you to about $20 with upgrades and drinks (then add taxes and tips!). So, it is not that cheap, especially for a regular spaghetti and meat sauce meal. Overall, you may want to try once in your life or if you are already in the area, but there are many other restaurants to explore.