End

      This conclude my fine dining adventure around the Greater Toronto Area. Hope you guys like it. :D

Arirang Korean BBQ Restaurant

Arirang Front of the Restaurant

I know I have done a Korean BBQ Grill House already but that was in downtown Toronto. This new Korean BBQ I am going to introduce is in Mississauga, so if you live around the area and don’t feel like driving all the way to Toronto as well as paying for parking then Arirang Korean BBQ Restaurant is the choice for you. Arirang Korean BBQ Restaurant is located in 1177 Central Parkway West Mississauga, ON L5C 3J2.  When you walk in, you will notice that the restaurant is grilled base with its furnace mounted on top from all the grilling that’s done inside the restaurant. The lighting of the restaurant is pretty dim but enough to see what you’re grilling.

Grill

Call button

The grill at Arirang is a rectangular shape compared to Korean Grill House circle shape.  Arirang’s grill is actually better because you can fit more of your food properly in the grill and organize it on how you want to cook it. I do mine from right to left where I would place the raw meat on the right and the cooked ones on the left. Each table also has a call button for guest to press to get the attention of your server, so that means no more turning around and looking for your server; just press.

Choices, Choices, Choices

From their menu, you can choose cooked meals, soup, or noodles. I had the Ja Jang Myun which is thick noodles with vegetables in black bean sauce and the all you can eat BBQ dinner. The all you can eat part of the menu contains beef bulgogi, beef kalbi, pork bulgogi, chicken bulgogi, squid and mussel. On the weekends it is the same, but with shrimp. The price for this all you can eat is $15.95 for lunch, dinner $17.95 and the weekends is $19.95. It is pricey but that’s the price for the only grill house in Mississauga. The other thing about their all you can eat is that the seating time is only for 2 hours and they will serve you right up until your 1 hour and half is done.

Grill time

Ja Jang Myun

            Overall would I recommend people to Arirang? If you are going with 4 friends, go right ahead because you will need some help finishing the food, but if you are going with more people like 8, I would not because of their 2 hour seating rule.  The BBQ was good. Arirang and Korean Grill House are both equally good, each with their own flavour; however, I personally enjoyed Downtown Korean Grill House more. This is because Korean Grill House is cheaper and they have more drink selections. Do not be discouraged by me, if you are around the area, do check Arirang and see for yourself. 

Yummy :D

Fine Dining Adventure Ratings
Food	10
Presentation	8
Service	8
Price	8
Dining Atmosphere	9
Overall Experience	8

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168 Japan Buffet

Sashimi

Tempura items

Japan Buffet 168 Sushi, is my first choice when it comes to Sushi, it is located in 2366 Dundas St West Mississauga, in the intersection of Dundas and Erin Mills Parkway. This is an all you can eat dining experience where you can chose from different Japanese, Thai, and Chinese dishes. The menu is a piece of paper that customers will have to write how many quantity they would like and the servers will come pick it up and have the food brought to you. To any customers, who cannot eat raw fish (sashimi they call it), do not worry; there are still plenty of hot dishes to chose from. To start off we decided to pick seaweed salad, house salad and miso soup. Right after, we got shrimp tempura, scallop tempura, crab meat tempura, beef on a stick and fried shrimp wonton.

Tom Yum Soup

Thai Shrimp Curry

The dining atmosphere is very lively with Japanese arts as their décor.  They have scrolls, samurai statues, fans, Japanese umbrella, Saki on their walls and a life size geisha located in front of their entrances. Another cool thing when you enter their front entrance is a picture of Hazel McCallion with the store owners.

Mushroom Wrapped in Beef

 Japan Buffet can also be found in 5 other locations, Ottawa, Vaughan, London, Brampton and Milton. I have been in Brampton.  It is quite good. It has a separate private room that allows you to sit down on the floor like a true Japanese but the only thing is that each restaurant has their own special dish. The Brampton location mainly serves Chinese dishes while the Mississauga serves Thai dishes. I prefer Thai because of their exotic flavour and Tom Yum Soup, therefore to me, the Mississauga location is better.

Mississauga Rolls

When you are done with the food or almost done, you can get a new menu which is found at the edge of the table and write down which one would you like to order again or new. This is a Japanese buffet so it would not be complete without Sushi. The Sushi and Sashimi are made fresh and you can even see the Sushi Chief making it on their table. The two dishes I highly recommend people to get are the Thai Shrimp Curry and Mississauga Roll.  The Mississauga roll is great for people who do not like Raw since it contains cooked salmon, cream cheese and green onions.

Desserts :P

This is a true Fine Dining Adventure for people who are not interested in sushi. To partake in the exploration of different types of cooked dishes and maybe in the end, be open on trying out the sushi by starting it with Mississauga Roll. Would I recommend people on checking out the Japan Buffet? Yes.

Fine Dining Adventure Ratings
Food	10
Presentation	10
Service	8
Price	8
Dining Atmosphere	9
Overall Experience	9

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Mandarin

Mandarin, an all you can eat dining experience, have many restaurant chains in different locations. I visited the Mississauga location, in the intersection of Hurontario and Matheson. This particular chain stands out compared to any others because of the quality of food. Even if all the Mandarin chain prepares the same food, it is the chef that makes the difference and the Hurontario location has better chefs.  They have 6 dining areas which are labelled from A to E. All dining areas have different decoration and vibe but still have the essence of the Asian feel.

Mandarin is a great choice for a big party with family and friends and will sure be a hit for all types of dinners. They offer a wide selection of hot foods, salads, soups, fruits, and desserts. There are plenty of choices from hot and sour soup, wanton soup, chicken corn soup, to pizza, chicken wings, fried shrimp, and pasta.  There are also fresh off the grill steak or pork where people cook it and serve it to you on the spot. They also have a sushi table for people to enjoy. Once you finished your food, you can grab desserts such as chocolate cake, fruits, and ice creams. When you visit mandarin in the weekend for dinner, they have specials like their crab legs festival and yummy crab cakes.

Fine Dining Adventure Ratings
Food	9
Presentation	10
Service	10
Price	9
Dining Atmosphere	10
Overall Experience	10

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Turtle Jacks

Turtle Jacks

Turtle Jacks is located between the intersection of Hurontario and Courtneypark drive at 108 Courtneypark Drive East Mississauga.  It is in a great location: close to factories, corporate buildings, Inn and Hotels, and major highways such as 407 and the 401. The restaurant is surrounded by other fun entertainment businesses such as an indoor golf, computer café, AMC theatre and LA fitness. There are also other competitors such as Boston pizza, Shoeless Joes, Montana Grill house and a new Moxies restaurant that was just newly built this year around the area.

Butter Chicken

What makes Turtle Jacks stand out from the other competing restaurants is that the exterior of the building looks more welcoming. They have this promotion, half off appetizers from 4-6 pm that is hard to resist. This is the main reason why my girlfriend and I went to the restaurant in the first place. Once you walk in the restaurant, you will be greeted and seated according to your preference. They have two different dining areas to choose from: lounge/bar or dining room. The restaurant appears to target mainly middle age sophisticated males and females as evident by the presentation and their choice of decoration.

Four Cheese Cajun Chicken Penne

Their menu offer a variety of selection but the prices can be very expensive. Main course can range anywhere from $16-$25. If you want to try any of their signature dishes just look for a turtle symbol beside the dish on the menu. My girlfriend and I started off with Calamari as our appetizer, then their signature Four Cheese Cajun Chicken Penne and Butter Chicken as the main course.  

Calamari

Once we got our entrees, we immediately enjoyed the Calamari as well as the Four Cheese Cajun Chicken Penne, but we weren’t impressed with the Butter Chicken. The sauce of the Butter Chicken was a bit too sour for my liking. The presentation of the Butter Chicken could have been more presentable. Overall, I was not impressed with Turtle Jacks because I had better experienced elsewhere. I would only recommend people to come to Turtle Jacks for the half off appetizers from 4-6 pm, otherwise it would be better to go somewhere else.

Fine Dining Adventure Ratings
Food	5
Presentation	7
Service	8
Price	6
Dining Atmosphere	8
Overall Experience	6

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Ajisen Ramen

Front of the restaurant(Flickr, 2010)

Ajisen Ramen in downtown Toronto’s Chinatown is in a fine location that attracts a lot of guest from different parts of Toronto. The only bad part is the parking in Chinatown because you can never could find a good parking spot due to high traffic. The best way on reaching this restaurant is to take the subway, then walk by foot. They are located at 332 Spadina Ave Toronto, ON M5T 2G2. This restaurant is very noticeable. If you see a store with the statue of an asian cartoon girl holding a noodle bowl in front of the entrance; no worries, you are in the right location.

Interior on the right when you walk in(Manley. 2012)

When you walk in, someone will greet you and seat you according to the party size.  I went there with a couple of my old childhood friends. I have never tried Ramen noodle soup before and this was my first time in the restaurant. I will say I did enjoy it.  They have different variety of ramen style to choose from with different meat selections. You can either try the original beef broth, chicken broth, or tom yum flavour. They also offer different Japanese appetizers. They even have sushi, but why go for sushi when it’s a Ramen restaurant.

Noodle bowls on the left when you walk in. (Manley, 2012)

The price is decent and the dining is a unique experience. The server will seat you beside random strangers because the restaurant is very compact. I enjoyed it either way because I have never experienced such delicious noodles. The restaurant was nicely decorated. On one side of the restaurant, they hanged different shapes and sizes of noodles bowls on the wall and on the other; they had graffiti of various Japanese arts.

Yummy :D (Manley, 2012)

Fine Dining Adventure Ratings
Food	8
Presentation	8
Service	7
Price	8
Dining Atmosphere	8
Overall Experience	8

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Tako Sushi

Tako Sushi

Dining room ceiling 

Tako Sushi has two business locations, one in Don Mills Road and the other in Mississauga. They have been opened for business since 2004 at Don Mills Road, and then opened a second location in Mississauga in 2008. Ever since they opened the Mississauga location, I have been their customer ever since. I enjoyed the atmosphere at their restaurant, the quality of service, as well as their meals. So it is only fitting for me to add them in this blog and recommend visitors and guest to drop by and experience it for them self.

Miso Soup and House Salad

Tako Sushi serves fresh sea food entries as well as steaks. Not only they serve Sushi as you can see from their restaurant name, but they also serve fresh lobster on Teppanyaki style, where a chief cooks it for you on the spot. I have not been able to experience that dinning style and it’s a shame on my part but I have made it goal this year to try that out. I have dined at many sushi restaurants and Tako Sushi is definitely at my top 2 list just before 168 Japan Buffet.

Bento Box 

Tako Sushi is located in 30 Bristol Road Mississauga, ON L5R 3K3 between Hurontario and Bristol.  When you enter the restaurant you well be promptly greeted and seated. You will notice right away that the restaurant has this modern décor and three different dining experiences you can choose from. You can either have your meal in their regular dining area, the outdoor patio, or the Teppanyaki room.

California Roll with Salmon Roll

Their list of menu is great, with plenty of selection with different specials depending on the time of the day. For my dining experience, I always get “Tokyo” Bento box which includes the following appetisers: miso soup, green salad, 3 piece California roll, 3 pieces of salmon roll, shrimp and vegetable tempura.  The main course is strip loin steak in teriyaki sauce with broccoli, steam rice and green tea ice cream dessert to top it off. All together was $16.99. When I am with my girlfriend, we also order “Sushi & Sashimi Diamond” which includes 15 pieces of Sashimi and 12 sushi rolls for $21.50.

Sushi & Sashimi Diamond

Volcano in Tako Sushi (Patvids, 2011)

Their price is relatively expensive and especially when you dine in at their Teppanyaki dining room. This is where the fun is located because they have live chef flipping and cooking in front of you which is very entertaining for the guest. Again, I would recommend people to dine in Tako Sushi for the experience and their fresh quality sea food.

Fine Dining Adventure Ratings
Food	9
Presentation	9
Service	8
Price	8
Dining Atmosphere	9
Overall Experience	10

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Reference

Patvids (Director). (2011). Onion Volcano at Tako Suhi [Motion Picture].

Korean Grill House...Come Grill Some

Korean Grill House is a great restaurant with over 5 different locations in the GTA.  I had only been to one and it is located at Yonge & Dundas. This Korean Grill House is in a great location: in the centre of a busy street, right next to Ryerson university campus and a walk away from Eaton’s Centre. When you enter the restaurant you will notice that they offer 2 different dining experiences, either upstairs or downstairs. The upstairs in my opinion is the best spot to dine in because it has better decorations and it just looks more welcoming.

Korean Grill house menu offers some of the finest Korean dish that you will eat. However the great thing about dining in here is the all you can eat Korean BBQ. In the centre of each table is a circular grill large enough for every hungry guest. This grill is used for the all you can eat meal with the options to choose from pork, chicken, beef, lamb, shrimp, salmon, squid, shrimp, tofu OX liver, OX tongue, Fish fillet, or the famous Korean kalbi. The server will give everyone a menu but when you choose the all you can eat, he/she then gives you a paper that you can write down different options you would like to grill. To order more meat, you would need to ask the server for that paper. The all you can eat also comes with all you can drink such as soy milk, coke, ice tea, milk and other pop beverages excluding alcohol of course

The great thing about dining in downtown Toronto is the price. I was very impressed with the price at Korean Grill House and this is me comparing the other Korean BBQ restaurant in Mississauga (not the same company.) The price for the all you can eat experience for an adult is 15.99 in the afternoon and in the lunch time is only 9.99. Night time of course is actually better because it gives you more meat selections to choose from such as Lamb and Shrimp.

          Overall, I would recommend people to dine in this awesome restaurant to experience barbecuing and cooking with friends. I would also recommend this restaurant to visitors from a different country because it is different and unique. Over the summer, I brought my cousin from the States to this restaurant and he said he really enjoyed it. He had never experience anything like this before.

Time to Grill

Yummy : D

Fine Dining Adventure Ratings
Food	9
Presentation	8
Service	7
Price	10
Dining Atmosphere	10
Overall Experience	9

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