Maple Yip Seafood (Sheppard & Midland)

Located in the plaza on the southeast corner of Sheppard and Midland. Same one as Green Bamboo.
This is the real deal, folks. If you want perfectly prepared, authentic Cantonese cuisine, eat here. Definitely make reservations on normally busy evenings, especially if you've got a large group.
Our group of six had...
Cantonese mixed seafood in a fried taro nest. Giant prawns. Giant scallops. Squid, perfectly cooked, not rubbery. Broccoli, also perfectly done, still slightly crisp.
Whole fish. Unfortunately the server didn't know the name of the fish, just said it was from Australia. It was amazing though. If you've ever had proper Canto fish, it is placed in a delicious light sauce, with soy, ginger, and scallions.
Hot pot with tofu and shrimp. Again, perfectly cooked. Lovely flavor.
Hot pot with beef tendon and...something I can't remember but when I do I'll update this post. I just remember it was delicious.
Deep fried shrimp balls. Maybe the least tasty of all the dishes bit still not bad! How can deep fried shrimp be bad?
Looking forward to my next visit. Wish I could read Chinese so I could order from the secret menu...

Green Eggplant (Queen Street near the Beaches)

Not in Agincourt. But you gotta eat here.
I shared the Warm Luau Salad and Sky High French Toast with a friend.
The salad was perfect. Dressed just right and perfect balance of flavors. Savory, sweet tangerine and balsamic vinaigrette. Crispy wontons drizzled with syrup and encrusted in sesame seeds, and about a dozen other ingredients.
The French toast is phenomenal. It kind of looks like giant fried tofus. The texture is perfect. Crisp all the way around, on all sides. Soft in the middle. Comes with maple syrup, of course, and a dish of vanilla ice cream. And lots of fresh strawberries and blueberries.
This is probably quite enough for four people but the two of us gobbled it up efficiently.
Bill came to around $30. Worth every penny.

Tiem Banh Mi Nguyen Huong (Vietnamese Sandwiches, on Steeles east of McCowan)

Had a banh mi from this place today for lunch, purchased yesterday for me.

Was still yummy - the bread probably not as fresh as same day, but still good. Nice flavour with the Viet cold cuts/pate (just a few slices as standard) and the mayo. Came with the standard pickled carrot / radish, and cilantro. I'd go there myself to get more, for sure, now that I know where to get it!

They have 4 locations (according to the bag it came in):
322 Spadina Ave
5661 Steeles Ave (that's where mine came from - located next to the T&T supermarket)
3255 Rutherford Rd, Vaughan
1825 Wilson Ave, North York

Beard Papa's Cream Puffs (Pacific Mall - Steeles & Kennedy)

Have you ever had a taste of heaven?

If not, then you've never had a cream puff from Beard Papa's. I had the fortune of trying these for the first time today, compliments of a good friend/coworker.

This puff is BIG. Unlike those profiteroles you get in a square container from Costco. It's like 5 profiteroles in one monster puff.

The cream is very nice. Slightly runnier than pudding (as you might be able to tell from the photo and not too sweet. And there's a lot of it. Some of it dripped out of my cream puff as I took a bite and landed on the wrapper. I licked it up, of course.

The shell was CRISP with a light dusting of icing sugar. I was told that they fill the shells with the pudding right before you buy so that you don't get soggy puffs. This is quality exemplified, my friend.

For more info, go to the website. http://www.beardpapascanada.com/index.html

Looks like they have other pastry options too so I will be visiting Pacific Mall soon!

Vietnam Noodle Star (Vietnamese cuisine at Finch & Midland)

Came here with 13 other coworkers. Food was fantastic and we had a really nice spread. Parking's free but limited so get there early to find a spot.

Date/time of visit: Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Food: Excellent
Service: Good - fast - especially for such a large group.
Portions: Ample. It was enough for lunch.
Cost: Fair value. Ordered many dishes. Came to about $100 before tips total - each of us paid $9. Atmosphere: Nothing fancy, clean and spacious. Lots of seating; enough for large groups.
Other info: (416) 609 9796. Reservations accepted. 4188 Finch Ave. East, Unit 2, Scarborough. Free parking but usually very busy as there are many other restaurants/business in this plaza; additional parking available behind the building.

Ate:

• Vietnamese Fried Noodles - delicious flavour - comes with shrimp
• Pad Thai - very good pad thai - sauce is brown (NOT orange) - comes with shrimp
• Vietnamese Spring Rolls - delicious as expected; nice and crisp
• Pho with raw beef and beef tendon (the raw beef gets cooked in the hot broth) - delicious as usual, comes with the standard bean sprouts/Vietnamese basil/lime to garnish
• Vermicelli with deep fried pork chop and spring rolls - excellent - comes with the standard fish sauce to pour on top
• Samosas - beef samosas with curry - not bad
• Sweet and Sour Pork - I didn't get to try this one, but heard it was good
• Snow pea leaves sauteed in garlic - delicious garlicky goodness

Afterwards, we went to the Chinese bakery a few doors down.