Walking around Kensington Market (Downtown Toronto Chinatown)

Kensington Market, Toronto

When we go to Chinatown, we would always just walk around the Dundas-Spadina area. The main objective would be to get some exotic fruits, not readily available elsewhere!

Lanzones and Sugar Apple from Chinatown, Toronto

This time we decided to check out the Kensington market area. Initially we thought that the area was a bit sketchy but as we walked around, we enjoyed the vibrant feel of this hip place!

Interesting murals at Kensington market

We enjoyed browsing the various goods at Blue Banana.

Blue Banana @Kensington Market

We also got some uber-delicious churros (filled with chocolate, caramel and strawberry) from Panchos

Churros!! from Pancho's @Kensington Market

Empanadas from Segovia

Segovia's @Kensington Market

And cheese! There were a couple of cheese and meat stores there! 

Global Cheese @Kensington market

Meat locker @Kensington market

It was just nice to walk around and go inside many quaint stores. There were many, many places to eat and we vowed to make it a food trip next time! There were just too many things we wanted to try—tacos, burritos, gelato, Belgian waffles, and so much more! Looking forward to our next trip here!

Where to eat in Chinatown TO: lunch at Swatow

Swatow @Spadina (Chinatown)

Many years ago, when we were in Chinatown, our go-to Chinese hole in the wall was Swatow. With its many awards and great reviews, we always made it a point to have a meal here despite other options. We haven’t been to Chinatown (nor Swatow) in almost a decade! So, when we were in the area, we decided to have lunch at Swatow again. 
 

We got General Tao chicken which had a nice crunch and a sweet and spicy sauce

General Tao Chicken @Swatow

The Shrimp Chow Mein had a good amount of shrimp and vegetables on top of crispy noodles in a sweet-ish sauce

Shrimp with vegetables Chow Mein @Swatow

And Beef and Broccoli, with tender beef in a tasty sauce. 

Beef and Broccoli @Swatow

It was a good meal and we were satisfied. Thing is, the taste was not so out of this world that we would go back to Chinatown just to eat here. We have access to many other Chinese restaurants which deliver the same great taste. As for the price, at about $13-15 per dish, it was also not the biggest deal in town. Still, if unsure of where to eat in Chinatown, Swatow will not disappoint!

More things missing than a lost shaker of salt: Margaritaville in Niagara

We had an hour to grab some dinner before catching a show at Fallsview Niagara. We really should have gone to the food court but I wanted to try out Margaritaville. It won’t be a leisurely dinner but surely we could make it, right? What a mistake.

In any restaurant, I expect to get served in 15-20 minutes. I can eat pretty quickly--so another 20 minutes. Getting the bill, walking…20 minutes should be enough time…For anyone who will be thinking the same way, do not attempt this with Margaritaville in Niagara. It took a while for our server to get our orders and it took OVER 30 minutes to get our meal after we had ordered. It didn’t help that there was a balloon artist making some cool balloon hats or that they played the Margaritaville song with audience participation. I wanted to get my meal and not sing about a lost shaker of salt!

Margaritaville Niagara

Hubby ordered a Chicken Caesar. I really cannot, for the life of me, understand why a salad would take 30 minutes. It was an okay salad. Not worth the almost $17 price, though.

Paradise Chicken Caesar Salad @ Margaritaville, Niagara

I got an El Diablo burger which was one patty with a couple of onion rings, Monterey Jack cheese and jalapeno peppers with buffalo sauce. The sauce was ok but the burger was dry.  Also not worth the $16 price.

El Diablo Burger @Margaritaville, Niagara

I would venture to say I was paying for ambience but the interiors were old, bordering on sad, and definitely needed a revamp. It was just tourist pricing. Anyway, for some overpriced blah food and awful wait times, I will not be back. The only good thing was that I don’t need to take the rest of the fam here to try it out anymore. I can take my margarita somewhere else.