The Most Insta-Worthy Rice Noodles You've Ever Seen!

Get your cameras ready! North America’s largest rice noodle chain brings something so Insta-worthy it’s worth lining up for! Yunshang Rice Noodle was founded in Toronto back in 2016, and with its huge success at its original location at the intersection of Warden and Steeles in Toronto, it has now grown to become the biggest Chinese rice noodle brand in North America with locations now in Vancouver, Montreal, and even in New York.

As I lived fairly closely to it’s first location in Toronto, I remember various weekends going to Yunshang Rice Noodle for lunch on many occasions. What drew my friends and I to this place back in 2016 was their flavourful soup broth, the affordable price, along with their promise of unlimited noodle refills! Yes, for people with large appetites like myself, having the option of refilling your bowl of noods for a second (or even third!) helping at absolutely no extra cost was incredible.

For those that may be unfamiliar as to what “Crossing The Bridge” Rice Noodles means, it has over a hundred years of history. According to a popular fable, it was invented by the wife of a scholar who had to cross a bridge to bring him lunch while he worked. To keep his soup from getting cold along the journey, the wife added a layer of oil at the top to insulate it, and carried other ingredients such as rice noodles, thinly sliced meats, and tofu skin separately so they wouldn’t get soggy. She would assemble everything upon arrival, and as the soup was steaming hot and the meats were so thinly sliced, everything cooked immediately in the soup. This Chinese fable was passed on by word of mouth and over time has come to symbolize affection, endearment, and admiration.

That’s why when you come dine at a Yunshang Rice Noodle restaurant, the various toppings for the soup is provided to you separately. Once the steaming soup base is ready and served to you, then you will manually mix in the noodles and toppings one by one to ensure your bowl of noodles is as hot and as fresh as it can be. Each bowl of noodles comes with broth boiled for more than 12 hours to use on the same day with no MSG or other artificial flavours added.

With its newest location that has now opened up in North York, Yunshang Rice Noodle is celebrating the launch with an exclusive “Yunshang Bridge Rice Noodle”, a never-before-seen rice noodle containing all kinds of premium seafood placed upon an actual wooden bridge! For only $19.99, each set of this “Yunshang Bridge Rice Noodle” comes with Canadian Atlantic lobster tail, fresh French Kiss oyster, sea scallop, shrimp, and crab sticks. Other accompanying ingredients include beef slices, fish cakes, ham, enokitake mushrooms, Chinese lettuce, egg tofu, and quail eggs. This all of course comes with a selection of their signature soup bases such as Signature Bone Soup, Tomato Soup, Coconut Curry Soup, or Spicy Pickled Pepper Soup. My go-to is always either the Tomato or Coconut Curry base. Can’t go wrong with either!

This exclusive “Yunshang Bridge Rice Noodle” will be available now until March 31st, 2019, and only a limited quantity per day will be made available at their latest North York location (5285 Yonge Street). It’s first come first serve so if you don’t want to miss out make sure you come early starting at 6PM each night.

Whoever said noodles are boring eh?

Celebrating Lunar New Year with a Pork Spring Rolls Recipe using DuBreton

Celebrating Chinese New Year with my family is always a momentous occasion. We celebrate the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar marked with special gatherings with family and friends that's ALWAYS accompanied with lots and lots of delicious food!

With 2019 being the Year of the Pig, you just know that pork is going to be on the dinner table. One of the dishes that is always a hit in my family are Spring Rolls, so of course to mix it up this year I added pork as the special ingredient!

I partnered with DuBreton and used their Organic Pork products to make my "Pork Spring Rolls" truly stand out. They're a Canadian company that's at the forefront of the organic and Certified Humane pork production in North America, where their pigs are raised crate-free, fed a high-quality grain diet, with no antibiotics used whatsoever.

They offer a full range of organic pork products that include ground pork, sausages, bacon, and pork loin cutlets.

RECIPE:

500g DuBreton Pork Loin Cutlet, thinly sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Red Onion, chopped
1 cup Cabbage, shredded
2 Medium Carrots, shredded
1 cup Bean Sprouts
1/4 cup Coriander, chopped
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
10 sheets Spring Roll Wrapper
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

➡️ Mix pork, garlic, and onion into frying pan on medium heat until pork is cooked through.

➡️ Add in cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, coriander, and soy sauce and cook for another 5 minutes. Place spring roll mixture in a bowl and let it cool.

➡️ Put mixture into center of the spring roll wrapper. Fold in the edges and roll into a rectangular parcel.

➡️ Heat 4 to 5cm of oil in a pot and fry spring rolls until golden brown. Serve with Sweet Chili dipping sauce.

Available at major grocery stores including T&T Supermarkets, Whole Foods, Longo's, and Metro. I hope everyone enjoys these Pork Spring Rolls and have a happy Lunar New Year!!

Endless Adventures in Daytona Beach with Sunwing Vacations

Winter is coming. With every single degree in a temperature drop is one more inch of motivation to escape to somewhere warm and sunny. For us snowbirds eager to escape the snow and frigid temperatures, Sunwing is ready to help us turn that into a reality and transport us to the state filled with sunshine and long walks on the beach! For the first time in history there will be a Canadian airline carrier to offer direct international flights from Toronto to Daytona Beach, Florida. And you guessed it, that Canadian airline carrier is Sunwing! The twice weekly seasonal flight service will operate every Monday and Thursday beginning January 28, 2019, cementing the title of North America’s largest vertically integrated travel company offering more flights to the United States than any other leisure carrier.

To celebrate this monumental and historic announcement, I was invited by Sunwing to take part in their inaugural flight from Toronto to Daytona Beach almost two months before it’s open to the public. It was a whirlwind of a trip that was jam packed with activities that had absolutely nothing to do with Spring Break, but everything to do with F-U-N. Hard to imagine eh?

As soon as we landed at Daytona Beach International Airport we were treated like rock stars. As we stepped off the plane and walked out of the gate we were greeted with applause and cheers from the local media to celebrate the fact that the very first direct flight from Toronto to Daytona Beach finally happened after years and years of planning. A ribbon cutting ceremony with Sunwing Executives took place immediately following our arrival with the biggest pair of scissors I’ve ever seen! Big scissors are needed for a big occasion! And this was a GRAND occasion!

We were then whisked away in our coach bus for lunch at the new 200-room Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach, a 4-diamond oceanfront resort. Decked with photos and memorabilia of rock stars from the past and present inside the resort, what makes this hotel truly stand out is the view! Looking over the 37km stretch of sand that is of course the renowned Daytona Beach, there really is no better place to relax with of course a refreshing tropical cocktail on hand.

Up next was an Eco Boat Tour with Ponce Inlet Watersports. When you’re situated right beside the Atlantic Ocean, you will be abundantly blessed with a thriving ecosystem of marine life. We hopped on a narrated eco boat tour aboard a fully canvas-shaded and flat-bottom boat with a mission of spotting some wildlife including dolphins, sting rays, manatees, shore birds, and sea turtles. Cruising down the Intercoastal Waterway we were so fortunate to see some wild dolphins swimming around us. Although it wasn’t like a scene from the movie Flipper where the dolphin was jumping in and out of the water around us, we did manage to see the fin above the water every now and then which was already such a treat to see.

Right across Ponce Inlet Watersports is the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, Florida’s tallest lighthouse and also North America’s second tallest working one. The best part of this lighthouse is it also offers spectacular 360 degree views of the Atlantic coastline to the general public, but to get this view one must earn it! Climbing up the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse step by step in its narrow, spiral staircase is no easy task, but once you’re at the top and step out to that fresh cool air it makes that climb all so worth it!

As the sun started to set and the day winding down, it was time for a reception at Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery at ONE Daytona, a multi-million dollar world-class entertainment district with dining, retail, and entertainment options along with two hotels. It’s also the perfect place for NASCAR fans to congregate as it’s located directly across from the famous Daytona International Speedway, the world’s only motorsports stadium after a $400 million transformation in 2016.

This was just a small handful of activities that Daytona Beach has to offer, and what may be the most exciting part of all of this is the PRICE. Direct flights from Toronto to Daytona Beach start at only $279 (taxes included) with Sunwing! It’s never been easier or cheaper than right now to start planning and booking your next vacation. Click HERE to start your journey to Daytona Beach or contact your local travel agent for more details.

Grab & Go Four Ingredient Turkey Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups Recipe - Cooking with Lilydale Part 2

The birthday celebrations just keep on going! If you've read my last recipe post you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. If not (no judgement here, everyone's busy) so let me give you a quick recap of exactly whose birthday we've been celebrating over here at The Everyday Foodie. It's Lilydale! Canada's premier poultry provider is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and there's no better way to celebrate one's birthday than by tearing up the kitchen and making some kick-ass food!

I've been busy creating some recipes with some of my favourite Lilydale products to celebrate this milestone, and today I'm going to share with you a dish for my personal favourite meal of the day.... breakfast!

• If you missed my Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice with Turkey Sausage recipe I created last time with Lilydale you can check it out here. It's the perfect dish for lunch and/or dinner, and having it served inside a pineapple shell turns an average fried rice dish into a showstopper.

But back to this week's breakfast recipe that incorporates something that everyone loves to eat. BACON. Am I right? You can't have a proper breakfast without having bacon somewhere in the dish, yet many people do and who can fault them? Most of the time people will avoid having bacon for health reasons, which is perfectly understandable in my mind. With all the calories and fat involved even I tend to avoid it as much as I can for the sake of my arteries. Good news though. I found a solution! Going through all the products Lilydale offers I found the perfect substitute to regular pork bacon.

TURKEY BACON.

Lilydale Turkey Bacon - 70% less fat and 55% less calories than regular pork bacon.

With 55% less calories and 70% less fat than regular pork bacon, Lilydale's Turkey Bacon is the perfect way to still cook up that bacon smell in the morning, and then indulge in it without any of the guilt.

Bacon and eggs are a breakfast classic, and I wanted to find an easy and fun way to enjoy them together in a non-traditional way. Turkey bacon is already pretty non-traditional, and so is.... a muffin pan. Yes, that's right you will need a muffin pan for this recipe because all of the whopping four ingredients needed for this recipe will be structured inside this muffin pan to create that cup shape we're aiming for. Once it gets baked in the oven, just like an ordinary muffin you can easily take it to go and eat it while you're on the move. Check out my recipe below and let me know what you think!

Grab & Go Four Ingredient Turkey Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 red potato, sliced 1cm thick, rounded ends discarded
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
1 package of Lilydale Turkey Bacon Style (12 strips total)
6 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Thyme, oregano, or chives to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1) Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Grease up your muffin pan. In my opinion I would also recommend using paper baking cup liners on top of that. This not only allows you to easily take out the finished dish at the end, but it also ensures that all the ingredients (especially the runny egg) does not leak out.
3) Take 12 pieces of Lilydale Turkey Bacon out and cut 1/4 off each piece, as the standard size is too large in width.
4) Start to partially cook the Lilydale Turkey Bacon Style in a frying pan per package instructions. It should not be too crisp. We are just rendering a lot of the fat out of it, and it should still be pliable enough to wrap it inside the muffin pan without it snapping in half. Drain on paper towels and cool slightly.
5) Cut the potato in circles roughly the same size of the base of the muffin cup, about 1 cm in thickness and place one of them at the base of each muffin cup.
6) Fit two slices of Lilydale Turkey Bacon Style loosely around the sides of each cup, overlapping as necessary, lining the sides of the muffin cup to form the "cup."
7) Divide the finely chopped red peppers into six portions and then place a thin layer on top of the potato base in each muffin cup.
8) Finally, break the egg and add to the turkey bacon-lined cup on top of the red peppers and potato. Sprinkle the top of the egg with salt and pepper.
9) Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until the turkey bacon is cooked to crisp.
10) Run a spatula around the edges and remove to platter. Garnish as desired. Enjoy!

Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice with Turkey Sausage Recipe - Cooking with Lilydale

Birthday celebrations are always worthy of cooking up a storm in the kitchen, and we have a very special birthday worth celebrating! I'm talking about Lilydale and they’re turning 75! If you haven't heard about Lilydale before they were established 75 years ago as an Alberta Farmers cooperative, and now Lilydale has become Canada's premier poultry provider. They are committed to providing Canadians with wholesome and delicious products that only use 100% Canadian raised chicken and turkey from local farmers. With its signature green logo, their various poultry products ranging from deli meats, breakfast sausages, turkey bacon, frozen boxed products, carved and fresh turkey and chicken can all be found at local grocery stores across Canada. If you are ever in need of some poultry to complete your breakfast, lunch, or dinner recipe Lilydale is what you need to get!

Now as I said earlier birthdays are always worth celebrating, and the best way I know how is to celebrate through the taste buds! I've been going through a Thai cuisine phase lately and I've been hitting up some of my favourite Thai restaurants in the city. One dish I keep on ordering at these restaurants is Pineapple Fried Rice. And of course when it comes from a Thai restaurant more than likely the fried rice is served in a pineapple bowl! Pure genius if you ask me! Presentation is fun and you let nothing go to waste. Even the pineapple shell is used and it really is a wow factor when served to all your guests at a party. The juiciness from the pineapples mixed into the fried rice is my absolute favourite part of the dish, delivering another level of flavour and acidity to each bite that you won't be able to find in just ordinary fried rice.

Instead of craving it at restaurants all the time, I've decided to create my own Pineapple Fried Rice at home using some of Lilydale's poultry products as inspiration, especially since we are celebrating such a momentous occasion. This is a great lunch or dinner recipe to make for your friends and family, and my favourite part of making fried rice is it incorporates leftovers! Leftover refrigerated rice from the night before is key because it needs to be cold in order to retain the chewy, distinct texture that fried rice has. If its fresh cooked rice it becomes sticky and warm and your fried rice will turn out soggy. Nonetheless, this meal comes together very quickly and is a perfect recipe for beginners as it's incredibly simple to make. In its simplest form you are essentially just chopping up the ingredients and throwing it all together in a pan. Yet the end result is so rewarding because when served inside a pineapple shell the presentation of the dish gets taken to a whole new level and you suddenly look like a masterclass chef to all your family and friends. It's the power of the pineapple shell I tell ya!

For this fried rice recipe I've decided to not just use one Lilydale poultry product, but two. That's just how fried rice works; you can almost add whatever you want into it to make it your own. And since I'm so indecisive, I decided to incorporate both of the Lilydale's Oven Roasted Carved Chicken Breast and Lilydale's Breakfast Turkey Sausage into my recipe. How can you just choose one protein when Lilydale produces such superb chicken and turkey products to use. Got to go with both!

Lilydale Oven Roasted Carved Chicken Breast - fully cooked and carved cuts of Canadian lean chicken breast

Lilydale Breakfast Turkey Sausage - 65% less fat and 50% less calories than regular pork breakfast sausages.

If you're ever wondering where to find that specific Lilydale poultry product you want to use in your fried rice recipe or any other recipe, head on over HERE to their store locator and find the retailers that carry the Lilydale products.

Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice with Turkey Sausage

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 fresh ripe pineapple
1/2 package of Lilydale Oven Roasted Carved Chicken Breast, sliced
4 Lilydale Breakfast Turkey Sausages
1/2 pound of baby shrimp (optional)
1 1/2 cup of leftover, refrigerated jasmine rice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
1 small orange pepper, finely chopped
1 bunch Chinese broccoli, cut into 4cm lengths
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Cut the pineapple in half, length wise and hollow each one of them. Remove the core which is in the centre of each half. Cut the flesh of the fruit into small chunks.
2) Heat oil in skillet set over medium heat. Saute Lilydale Breakfast Turkey Sausages for 10 minutes or until sausages are cooked through. Transfer to plate and slice into small chunks. Set aside.
3) Meanwhile, in a different pan, heat the oil and add the garlic and onion. Cook for a minute or so, until fragrant.
4) Add the Lilydale Oven Roasted Carved Chicken Breast and cook until browned for a few minutes (we are simply re-heating the chicken here as the Lilydale Oven Roasted Carved Chicken Breast comes ready-to-eat)
5) Make space in the pan and beat in the two eggs. Quickly stir fry to scramble.
6) Add in the red pepper, orange pepper, baby shrimp (optional), and Chinese broccoli. Cook for another 3 minutes.
7) Add in rice and the Lilydale Breakfast Turkey Sausages. Mix well.
8) Add in the curry powder, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Toss until the rice and chicken are evenly coated.
9) Stir in the pineapple chunks. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more.
10) Serve in the pineapple shells. Bon appetit!