Another year has come and gone which means another Taste of Toronto has graced this city once again. In its second year in Toronto (as well as my second year in attending), it has proven to be one of the best and most popular food festivals in this city. If you’re interested in checking out my experience last year and for a more in depth look at what Taste of Toronto is all about, you can read my blog post about it here.
Taste Festivals have been happening in cities all around the world for years and is considered to be the world’s greatest restaurant festival. The festival concept began 10 years ago in London, England, and has rapidly grown into an international event with festivals in 20 cities around the world including Dubai, Amsterdam, Milan, Moscow, Melbourne, Dublin, Mumbai, Sydney, and Johannesburg just to name a few. Everywhere it goes, Taste represents a foodie’s dream come true: delicious food created by the city’s greatest restaurants, world famous chefs, superb drinks and outstanding entertainment, set in stunning outdoor surroundings.
Taste of Toronto had nothing short of any of that this year with many of the top Toronto restaurants participating in this year’s event. Many of the restaurants from last year have all come back such as Richmond Station, McEwan Group, The Harbord Room, Patria, and Guu. Among the new restaurants who participated in this year’s line up which also brought in some star power was R&D (owned by Eric Chong who is the winner of Masterchef Canada Season 1 and Alvin Leung, one of the Masterchef judges), and Morimoto Toronto (owned by Iron Chef and Michelin-starred mastermind Masaharu Morimoto who is set to debut signature dishes from his first highly anticipated restaurant venture in Canada).
One difference I’ve noticed right off the bat from last year was you needed to purchase your crown card when you load up your money onto it, whereas last year it was free. It only costs an extra $1 so it’s not a huge deal, but something that caught me off guard a bit when I was charged that extra loonie. I also asked them whether you were able to bring in your old crown card from last year to use instead of buying a new one and the answer was you were not allowed. Hopefully with the extra cash raised from this, it can be put to good use when organizing Taste of Toronto next year.
Here’s a look at all the delicious food I’ve tried at this year’s event. Note that the currency at this food event are called crowns and each crown is worth $1.
Los Colibris
Tostada de Pulpo Grilled Octopus - Basil, Jalapeno, Coriander Oil. Cost - 10 Crowns
The Drake
Grilled Lamb Ribs - Harissa Yogurt, Pea Tendrils. Cost - 8 Crowns
East Coast Fish Fry - Crispy Oysters, Jail Island Haddock, Tartar Sauce. Cost - 6 Crowns
Richmond Station
Station Burger - Beet Chutney, OKA Cheese. Cost - 10 Crowns
Funnel Cake - Vanilla Ice Cream, Stewed Fruit. Cost - 6 Crowns
Morimoto Toronto
Toro Tartare - Caviar, Sour Cream, Wasabi, Dashi Soy. Cost - 10 Crowns
Uni Carbonara - Quail Egg, Smoked Bacon, Parmesan. Cost - 8 Crowns
Weslodge
Fried Chicken - 5 Day Slaw, House Jalapeno Hot Sauce. Cost - 8 Crowns
Byblos
Charcoal Grilled Lamb Kofte - Lavosh, House Pickles, Toum, Green Schug. Cost - 6 Crowns
Little Sister
Babi Panggang Roasted Pork Belly - Fresh Chili Sauce, Bean Sprout, Red Onion Pickle. Cost - 8 Crowns
Winner of The Everyday Foodie’s Best Dish of Taste of Toronto 2015?
Morimoto Toronto’s Toro Tatare!
Taste of Toronto has always impressed me with how well the festival is organized and the sheer talent it is able to attract with the vendors participating. Hopefully sometime in the not too distant future I may even be able to attend a Taste festival in another country across the world, but for now I am completely satisfied enjoying it in my own backyard. Looking forward to next year to see what Taste of Toronto 2016 may bring!