Halal Foodie Reviews

I have started to write for Halal Foodie, a website devoted to halal restaurants and food in and around Toronto, as well as restaurant discounts and promotions. Till date I have reviewed three restaurants for them.

Curry & Co

Pizza La Rosa

Chill Grill and Café (formerly known as House of Bengal)

Head over to Halal Foodie to read the reviews and let me know whether you agree or disagree via the comments. Happy eating!

How to Attract Women

So I was shopping with my wife for groceries when suddenly she said, "We MUST stop over here."

Another man was walking past when his wife told him, "Let's go HERE."

The man was obviously in a hurry to get away from "here" but his wife wouldn't budge.

This is where HERE was.

 

So you need a six pack to attract women, for those with Dad bods (apparently there's such a thing), some of these might do the trick as well. And judging by the traffic at the counter, women were definitely turning their heads to take another look.

 

I don't mind saying even I was definitely awestruck enough to compete with my wife for the delicious goodies.

"Oh, you are taking three pastries?! So am I!"

In fact, this post made me so hungry, I am going to go have my black forest slice right now.

Picture of the Adonis pastry section, Eglinton and Warden, Toronto, Canada.

House of Bengal

Opening a restaurant in Toronto that caters to Bangladeshi cuisine in a sophisticated setting is a tricky business. There's not enough Bangladeshis (there's a lot, but not enough) that can comprise a good market, and the general people of Toronto are more familiar with Indian and Pakistani cuisine than Bangladeshi food. Yet, I believe, with the right amount of marketing, location, and most importantly food, it can be done.

On Saturday night my brother and I had the pleasure of dining at the House of Bengal, which bills itself as "the only South Asian restaurant in the GTA specializing in Bangladeshi cuisine", on the Danforth. Now strictly speaking, this isn't true, of course. There's a bunch of restaurants on "Little Bangladesh" (the stretch of Danforth between Victoria Park and Woodbine) that serve Bangladeshi food. However, they are mostly cheap mom-and-pop establishments, usually for takeout, and hardly have an ambience that you can take a date too. House of Bengal has developed a "buzz" on social media, and billed itself as a more upscale take on Bangladeshi food; hence we were eager to try it out.

Parking
The only parking available is street parking. I was told there is parking at the back of the building as well, but I couldn't find it. We went at 7 pm on a Saturday evening, and we managed to get a parking spot very easily on the street directly opposite the restaurant (and pay parking is enforced till 6 pm there, so parking was free). The restaurant is more easily accessible via public transit, with Woodbine Station being the closest subway stop.

Décor and Ambience
The House of Bengal hasn't officially opened yet, but it's having what is known as a soft opening. They are still testing out operations, procedures and facilities, with many of their clientele coming via word of mouth or through targeted Facebook promotions.

My brother and I had the pleasure of dining with Yawar Amin, whose brother is one of the owners of the restaurant. Throughout our stay, the owner popped in quite a few times to talk to us, and ask about our meal, and we also met one of his co-owners, an Arab man (who was cooking Bengali food!), and who also decorated the interior of the restaurant. The customer service was excellent throughout. I value customer service very highly - you can often eat at home what you are eating out, what makes the difference is the customer service and ambience.

The restaurant is decorated very nicely, with a contemporary ambience to it, and yes - that's a Surface computer on a table if you have to wait during busy times. At 7 pm on a Saturday night, I would estimate the restaurant to be about 40% full, which wasn't bad for a place that just opened up literally a few days ago.

The restaurant was split into the general dining section, like any other restaurant, with tables and chairs, but also had a "lounge" section. A projector displayed Bollywood and Bengali song videos on a wall at the end of the lounge. I was told that this area is also planned for use for live performances in the future, if needed.

We dined in the regular section.

Food
What drew us to House of Bengal was the promise of Bangladeshi food in a more upscale setting. We were curious to see what it would be. When we were seated, the owner told us the food was more of a fusion of Bangladeshi food and Arabic style of cooking, since some of the owners were also Arab.

I should add that shisha is also available at this time at the House of Bengal, but I didn't try it, and I didn't see anyone try it while we were there either. This might be an issue if you want to bring kids to the restaurant.

Any desi establishment has special drinks and House of Bengal was no different. Their beverages, such as the Lemon Mint Tea, or the Mango Lassi, come supersized (something that I approve - you often pay a lot for say a lassi at a regular desi establishment only to get a small glass of it).

We were given a menu, but we were also told since the restaurant was trying out various combinations in the soft opening, the menu wasn't exactly in sync with what was on offer, and also didn't match up to the website. I was looking to see if they had some Bangladeshi seafood dish on offer, but on the owner's recommendation we ordered a kebab platter, which comes with a beef skewer and pieces of chicken breast kebab, some chutney and raita, as well as a small plate of white rice.

The kebabs were flavourful without being spicy. I also liked the fact that they didn't seem too oily, and actually preferred the beef skewer over the chicken.

We also ordered mutton biryani, which was served in a clay pot. It reminded me of a restaurant I had eaten at in Old Dhaka, near Laal Baagh. The biryani carried that Bangladeshi food / Arabic twist fusion concept; it wasn't spicy, but it was definitely flavorful and tasty, and definitely something different compared to the usual Indian/Pakistani biryani. It's not kacchi biryani though.

As for the food, if you go to the House of Bengal, you have to try their biryani. It's what I would call their signature dish, and it is pretty good. The biryani is a bit pricey, but if you order it, I would recommend ordering it with the garnishing (raisins and nuts) as well. It's just about big enough for two people to share (or one really hungry person!).

We also ordered a side of vegetables to go along with it (again, I missed it on the menu, but went on the owner's suggestion). And finally, it was time for dessert, and we ordered some rasmalai.

This was pretty much the best sweet / dessert dish I have eaten in a while - and as you can see their presentation was pretty awesome as well.

Cost
Our whole meal cost us about $15 per person. This isn't bad at all for a weekend dining. If you are bringing a date to the House of Bengal, I would recommend the biryani, and kebab rolls in paratha (not the platter), and mango lassi for the same cost, all to share.

Overall
The House of Bengal made a positive impression. It was clean, upscale, and the food was decent. I could definitely see it as becoming a "hip" or "trendy" place for young desi folks, especially Bangladeshi youth, to gather. The availability of shisha make its "cooler", and a more happening place.

If I have to suggest room for improvement before their "official" grand opening next year, it would be to have more Bangladeshi dishes, especially some type of seafood. There's a whole bunch of restaurants all over Toronto that have biryani and kebab, and often much cheaper too. If the House of Bengal has something unique going for it - it's the Bengaliness of it. So I would concentrate on kacchi biryani, ilish (Hilsha, boneless), bhuna chingri and other Bengali treats.

Would I go again? Yes, definitely, but I am older, and have a kid - so House of Bengal would be reserved for when it's just my wife and I, and we are in the mood for Bangladeshi fare. So do definitely go and try it out, and if you do, let me know what you think of it via the comments section.

Location
House of Bengal
2183 Danforth Ave.,
Toronto, ON M4C 1K4
Tel: 416-546-6647

Canadian National Exhibition

I was telling an American colleague, "I went to the Ex on the weekend, and had a really fun time." There was a minute's pause, and then he said, "And your wife ... er ... let you?!!"

I have to remember it's us Canadians who know what the Ex is! The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 18 days leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day Monday. With approximately 1.3 million visitors each year, the CNE is Canada’s largest annual fair and the seventh largest in North America.

And it's an oddity that despite living for almost two decades in Toronto, I have never been to the Ex. It's almost an annual tradition for Torontonians to visit the CNE, marking the end of summer and getting ready for the upcoming back-to-school and Fall season. So this summer, I decided to try out the Ex.

There's a huge fair like component (we desis call it mela) at the Ex. You have the regular games, guess your age, and other impress-your-date-and-win-a-stuffed-toy variety. And not to mention, FOOD.

In addition to the regular fare variety such as corn dogs, frieds, waffles and other calorie-unconscious dietary assaults, there's a whole separate building devoted to food. And of the many exotic foods present, some are totally outrageous. Behold!

Because, you know, a regular Mars bar was too healthy. *smile* No, I didn't try it - and this time there was also the chocolate covered fried chicken if you wanted some meat.

For the religious Muslim, CNE also had halal options. I had the Original 8 inch Philly Steak sandwich and it was delicious! It was great not to be limited to just fish or veggies at yet another North American festival.

In fact, there was yet another bonus for the Muslim visitor - prayer rooms!

While there was plenty of grass and other semi-private areas you *could* say your prayers in if you really wanted to, the fact that there were two (yes, two!) official prayer areas meant we didn't have to. I even prayed Jummah prayers at the CNE!

The CNE has free shows throughout the day on a variety of stuff (sometimes at the same time so you have to choose). We chose to see the Mirage Acrobats show, and boy was it mesmerizing!

I really liked the hologram / laser part - it was absolutely amazing how the performer seemed to control the light beams as if they were sticks in his hand. I am still trying to figure out how technically this was made possible. There was also a dog show where ordinary pooches entertained the audience with fun and innovative tricks.

A big component of the CNE is the Farm. They had a multitude of animals in that building, and even a whole barn of cows and sheep. There was a milking demonstration, as well as a sheep rearing demonstration.

 

There was also a bee hive on display, with the sides transparent so we could peer in and see the worker bees and the queen bee. It was something I never had seen before in my life, and was something really educational. Not to mention, they were selling fresh honey right there!

The Farm also had something that is a staple of big fairs across North America - butter sculptures. These were huge structures built entirely out of butter.

The crowds are legendary, but only on the weekends and evenings.

We had gone early on Friday, so it wasn't too crowded to begin with, but it got busier after 5 pm. Even then, the CNE is so huge that it's manageable, and you don't feel claustrophobic.

Another notable part of the CNE is the Garden Show and the sand sculptures. Plus, the epic Rock Balancer was on show again this year.

We actually got to see the last sand sculpture being built in front of us (the iconic scene from Star Wars) and it was something novel (and looked like fun!).

Of course, if you ask anyone to describe what's the most fun thing to do at the CNE, you would get one word - rides. And thus the rides.

Some of the rides were really crazy - like the Mach 3. If you do it, props to you.

Over all, it was a really fun experience at the CNE, and I look forward to making the Ex an annual tradition. If you want some tips: arrive as early in the day as you can, and be prepared for a lot of walking. Dress for the weather and drink plenty of fluids. Plan the shows you want to see, and over all, have fun!