Tag Archives: dining

A Bad Day – a very bad day


We wake in the luxury of the glorious suite in Le Quartier Francaise – and eat a marvellous breakfast. So how could a day that started so well end so poorly. Bad communication would be my fast answer – but it was a slow process.

Our start is delayed by the hotel who has assigned one of the gardeners to wash our car. He’s in the middle of a slow, careful job when we arrive, ready to go. Nothing to do but wait till he is done – and of course give him a nice tip. He did do a wonderful job.

Our plan for today includes going back and checking on the Antique store we’d seen in Stellenbosch, my husband is looking for those things you hang on decanters that describe what is inside – and this looked like just the right place. No problems there. And I need to buy some socks – it’s been a lot cooler here in South Africa then I’d expected – and my light weight summer socks just aren’t up to keeping my feet warm. Again – no problem. So after breakfast and saying good-bye to the staff at the hotel, we head back to Stellenbosch.

It is a bit of a challenge finding a parking spot, but eventually we do – and go into the local department store. This is the first time I’ve seen mixed races shopping at the same store – and it was a surprise. But Stellenbosch is a much smaller town, and I’m guessing that there are no other department stores. In any case – it was great to see. We found my socks – in the men’s department – and then checked out the Antique store. No luck there.

Now is when things went a bit south. My husband, I thought, had told me no deadlines today except a 6:00 dinner reservation – and the distance from Stellenbosch to Hermanus wasn’t huge. So I figured – todays the day for finding whales. There’s is a curvy road that hugs the coastline – offering stellar views of False Bay and later the Indian Ocean – and lots of turn-off sections where you can stop to scan the water for whales. It’s labeled on all the maps as “The Whale Route”. Sounds promising, eh?

And all the marketing for Hermanus virtually guarantees whale sightings from June to November – particularly in October when the males arrive to mate with the females.

I’m so psyched to finally see whales! Free Whales, up close and personal. The photos on the web are amazing – and I’ve totally bought into the marketing. I shall see whales.

Meanwhile, unknown to me, my husband has spotted info on a winery that is just outside of Hermanus and offers some of the best wines in Africa. I suppose if I’d said – oh by the way – I’m expecting to stop at all the overlooks, we’d have been ok. If my husband had said – I want to go to this winery and I don’t want to arrive around 4:00, it’s too close to closing time – we’d have been ok.

But we’ve been married 47 years – and still manage to get it wrong.

I spend the drive thinking – this time my husband will take the overlook – he knows I want to see whales. At one point dozens of cars are pulled over – with folks obviously seeing something below them – and I totally expect him to stop. But no – he keeps on driving – eyes straight ahead, clearly hating the curving road and keen to get off it. Finally he pulls over at an overlook where there are no other cars – and naturally – not a whale in sight. “See – no whales”.

Back in the car… drive on. Looking at the map, I can see what seems to be a village called Pringle’s at the end of a bay that juts out into the Indian Ocean. That would be a nice place for lunch. We stop in – but the only shopping we see is a mini-mart – so it’s Pringles and an ice cream for lunch. Then back on the road. A bad food choice never makes my husband happy.

At this point, my husband has let me know that he really wants to go to this winery – so I sadly forget about seeing whales and we motor on. We pass a sign at a village called Betsy’s Bay that advertises whales and penguins – which I read out loud. “Do you want to stop?” At this point my husband’s body language, which he has refused over the years to admit he has, is saying “No – Don’t stop”. So I go, no – let’s get to the winery. About 30 minutes later he admits that it’s taken too long – that he doesn’t want to go to the winery too close to closing time – they won’t open the better bottles for him.

At this point, it’s too late to go back, so we continue forward. I haven’t seen whales or penguins – he won’t get to go to his winery. I try to convince him that we can go tomorrow on our way to Mossel Bay – but I’m not sure it’s working. The drive to Mossel Bay will be a long one, and a good winery tour can’t really be rushed.

The Whale Route eventually ends at Hermanus, and we arrive at our hotel a bit before 4:00 PM. It looks great on the outside – beautiful windows overlooking the bay – which in theory should be brimming with whales. Not a one in sight right now – but maybe later. We are taken to our room – which is outside of the main hotel, across a barren parking lot, past an iron grate, thru a narrow passage between high walls, and eventually up a flight of stairs.

We are in the ‘beggar’s quarters’! It’s been a hot day – maybe 30 (90 to those in the West), and our room is amazingly stuffy. There’s no A/C, a very basic bathroom, and the windows overlook the green metal roofs of the next houses. It’s not the worst place I’ve ever been – but it is certainly the worst place I’ve even been that cost what this one does! There’s a single fan under a table, no chair, a bed, and two end tables. No room for anything else. The decor are cheap whale posters that are faded with age, the curtains are dusty, and the window in the bathroom leads out into the hallway – perfect for strangers to get a listen to you doing your business.

To add insult to injury – there are folks fighting – loudly – in the room 2 doors down. I expect the doorman to say something, but he doesn’t. Just accepts his tip and leaves.

We take out our essentials – not much choice, and walk back down the stairs, thru the alley, past the gate, across the parking lot and into the hotel proper. It’s at least 20 degrees cooler in the hotel – heavy stone and proper fans makes a difference. I ask at the desk if there’s an option to change rooms – but I’m told no – the hotel is full.

We carry on the best we can – we take a walk along the ‘whale watching’ path (still no whales), get to the whale museum too late to go in, check out the shops (kinda yucky), and eventually find a big grocery store – Pick and Pay. This is the highlight of our walk – a grocery store.

Slowly we wander back to our room, freshen up a bit, and head out to dinner. Because we rushed so much driving the ‘Whale Route”, we are actually too early.

The restaurant – called “Harbour Rock” overlooks the Old Harbour of Hermanus – and it is famous for it’s sushi, it’s seafood and it’s whale watching. But no whales show up – and I foolishly as my husband reminds me – order Pork Belly.

It’s horrid.

But I’m not ashamed to complain – and let’s give the restaurant full credit, they immediately suggest that I take the fish and chips. Perfect choice – totally yummy.

Dinner done – we head back to our stuffy bedroom to settle down for the night. We leave the windows open to capture any fresh air that might wander in, although that means enjoying the sounds of the local teenagers showing off their cars up and down the Main Street. You can’t see them – but you can surely hear them. And that couple is still fighting two doors down. Wow – they have stamina.

We finally get to sleep – only to be awoken by gale force winds blowing madly thru Hermanus. The room is actually shaking! Victor gets up and closes the windows – leaving us with only the fresh air from the corridor to enjoy.

Finally – it’s time for breakfast and we discover why the hotel is full. There’s a huge school group of Primary Age (10-13) staying here. They are incredibly polite – but have been assigned all the better rooms. And of course gobbled down most of the food set out for breakfast. Teen age boys can really eat!

I’ve had it up to here! And let the resort know about it. The manager, who makes no attempt to make me feel better, explains that they have three kinds of rooms – Ocean front, Not ocean front and budget. Months and months ago, when my husband made the reservation, he picked Budget. And this is what we got. And when you asked for a room change, the front desk clerk didn’t realize that you’d be willing to pay more – and those rooms in the back with no AC and no ventilation are our budget rooms.

My comment – if you want to go that route – make it clear on Booking.com that you are getting no AC, no cross ventilation. Don’t expect guests to figure that out for themselves. She does admit that she’s been trying to convince the owners of the hotel that they need to be more careful. Nice – now it’s the owner’s fault!

I’m not happy – but I’m not sure if my major angst is related to the distinct lack of whales, the lack of communication between my husband and myself, or the ‘budget’ rooms in the hotel.

To make me feel better, my husband kindly agrees to drive me back to where we saw the sign for penguins and whales yesterday. So we make the attempt. But the wind has picked up to gale force overnight – our little car is getting blown all over the road – and some of the gusts threaten to take us into the gutters. Once we get to the penguin park, I attempt to walk out to the viewing platforms, but the wind is so strong, I can’t make forward progress. Victor gives up before I do – the blowing dust is hard on the skin and eyes. He takes shelter in a cafe near the car park, and when I give up on the penguins, I join him.

The cafe is housed on the site of a whaling factory in the early 1800’s – brought on two ships from Norway. Photographs of the workings of the factory, and of the folks man-handling the whales up onto the ‘plate’ in front of the factory are very cool.

I feel a bit better about the entire thing – and slightly modified, we head off on the long drive on N2 to Mossel Bay.

Despite N2 being a major highway – it’s one lane in either direction for almost all of it’s length in this section.

Driving the N2 turns out to be quite the adventure. Don’t forget that we are still getting those wind gusts – although they are easier to deal with further inland. As we drive, we learn a lot about the driving rules in South Africa, most of which aren’t in any book I’ve ever seen.

First off – there are shoulders on the sides of the road. In Canada – those shoulders are only for stopping, not for driving. But in SA – that’s not the case. IF you are overtaken by a faster car – and you manage to spot them trying to pass, the polite driver pulls over onto the shoulder. He doesn’t slow down, or heaven’s forbid – stop. Nope – he continues driving at his normal speed, but on the shoulder. We don’t quite get that rule – and the first few cars that pass us – pulling into the on-coming line and then pulling back into our lane – seem to try to clip us by pulling in as tightly as possible to our right front bumper. This is pretty scary – and we don’t know what it is we’re doing wrong. It is only when I notice how other cars that we attempt to pass are pulling over that we get the hint.

Following that rule – the overtaking cars just pass us – sometimes blinking their lights to say ‘thanks’. Whew – one lesson learned.

Another lesson – cross walks are few and far between, so if folks want to cross the road – they just run. So slow down when you see folks on the side of the road. They could well be in the middle of your lane by the time you get near.

And a third lesson – N2 is boring. You pass herd after herd of sheep, the occasional herd of cows, and ever more occasionally – horses. We did spot an Ostrich farm – but Victor was in the drive till we arrive mode – so no stopping. Once I even saw a single Oryx watching the traffic fly by and a herd of Springbok in amongst a herd of sheep. Interesting, eh?

We eventually pull into Mossel Bay – and find our hotel. When the doorman carrying our bags exits the main hotel and heads for the back section, both Victor and I involuntarily go – Oh NO! But we shouldn’t have worried. He’s taking us to a lovely room – with AC and windows on two sides – that overlooks the harbour of Mossel Bay. Lovely. And again – the huge bathroom. Boy folks in SA love huge bathrooms.

A bit of a wander before dinner lets us discover a place that employs folks from the Townships to make and paint traditional African Animals like Elephants and Giraffes made of layer upon layer of paper and glue. They are lovely – and they have a warthog – aka Pig! Of course I buy it. They also have hand made construction paintings on match boxes with magnets. The logic, explained to me by the very adorable artist is that folks always know where the refrigerator is when the power goes out. So putting the matches on the fridge just make sense. Making the boxes look nice – and they look very nice – was an after thought.

Well – I like it – and buy several to give as gifts to my family.

For dinner we go to Kaai4 – a braai (BBQ place to you) that is extremely casual, extremely fun, and right on the water. We relax, have a beer, and thank goodness that tomorrow isn’t a long driving day!

We do a slow wander back home, a quick look at the stars (I’d really like to see the Southern Cross), and it’s bed time.

Tomorrow we are off to Knysna- another of the towns on the Whale Route. And I’m foolishly hoping to see whales…Signing off – The Soup Lady

Atelier – the Ultimate Dinner – Ignoring the price of course!


There’s a 2 Michelin Star Restaurant in Munich – the Dallmayr. It’s extremely small – extremely famous – and naturally – it’s very hard to get reservations. For some reason we’d thought we could sneak in at the last minute. Nope. But the very sweet Matre d’ asked if he could find another option for us – and suggested the Atelier. He even called and got us reservations.

So that’s how we ended up there – personal reference!

You’d never find it on Tripadvisor – 2 year ago someone reviewed it – in German, and gave it a 98 out of 100 – but blew it on the overall rating. Instead of a 5 – he gave it 2 – thinking Michelin stars. So the restaurant is ranked about 50th in Munich – instead of the first or second place it deserves. How do I know – after I ate there I emailed him to ask why the 2 stars!

Anyway – The restaurant is located in a tiny space (10 tables max – although all were large – at least double sized normal tables, with generous aisles and plenty of room for the serving staff). The tiny space is located in one of Munich’s don’t ask the price – you can’t afford it – upscale hotels. There were 2 other restaurants (at least) in the same hotel – the Garden which shared chefs and maitre d’ with the Atelier, although not the menu or wait staff, and rather surprisingly – a Trader Vic’s on a lower level. I haven’t seen a Trader Vic’s in at least 30 years. I didn’t get to see inside this one either!

But the layout was such that once in the Atelier – you didn’t hear or see or know anything about the other restaurants – it was a private space, set up to impress, comfort, and clearly feed you.

Huge round stone platters marked each place, and the salt and butter service was pink sea salt, unsalted local butter, and a house made spread.

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I felt very under-dressed in my blue jeans and bright blue ski sweater, but the extremely well-trained staff didn’t bat an eyelid. If I came recommended by the maitre d’ at Dallmayr – I was ok!

There are only 2 main options – a tasting menu of 5 courses, or a tasting menu of 7 courses. But our talented, knowledgeable, and very pretty head waitress assured us that the kitchen was extremely flexible – we could pick and choose as we wished.

So my husband ordered the 7 course menu with wine pairings, I opted for the 5 course meal. In my opinion – I was the clear winner on this deal. My menu included unlimited selections from the cheese cart featuring raw milk cheeses from Maitre Affineur Waltmann.

Restaurants of this caliber offer additional surprise courses – delivered to the table and described as ‘gifts’ from the kitchen. At the Atelier – there were at least 4 or 5 such gifts – and the first one had 2 separate bites – both served on the same plate, I loved the mixture of crunch and soft in both the fish puree and mini ravioli. That distinctive combination of soft and crunch was a theme that niftily was repeated in most of the other offerings.

My 5 courses went from a lovely Duck breast dish with a side dim-sum of duck confit to a delightful fish slice delicately placed in a chinese lettuce and false flax oil puree. (Don’t ask me what that means – I’m just quoting from the copy of the menu they gave us when we left). What made the fish special was that they had quick fried the skin (crunchy) and properly cooked the fish (still soft and flaky – and delightfully seasoned. Yum.

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I didn’t much care for one of my courses – but Victor was glad to help me out. My lemon and we think lime and/or mint sorbet cleanser was delightful too.

The cheese course was as perfect as it could be.

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The offerings ranged from cow to sheep to goat, from mild to strong to stronger. I opted for 6 different cheeses, and they were properly sliced and placed in order of complexity of flavor on a plate.

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In addition there were 6 homemade jams – I asked to try all 6. And they had very lightly toasted and still soft nut bread.

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One of the cheese I’d picked was called Trappe Echourgnac – according to the staff – it made with a walnut liquor that we thought was exceptional. When we asked for the name – they not only provided that – they gave us a second, larger, piece to enjoy. Such an elegant way of dealing with a guest.

Desert – ah desert. Not just one, or two, but 3 deserts were presented. The first was a pre-desert, my main desert was a carmel butterscotch wonder with again that signature contrast of crunch and soft. In this case – the soft was home-made ice cream. After that they served a mini-desert of home-made truffle and marshmallow – followed by a box of truffles and nougat – pick however many as you want – when they presented the bill.

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Sigh

Meanwhile – Vic was enjoying his 7 courses – again each better than the last. His cheese course was particularly special – a goat cheese that had been bruleed on top. I didn’t taste it – but he loved it. They called it Clacbitou – and described it simply as cheese with eggplant and sesame. It was anything but simple.

His favorite main course was the Fillet of veal and calf’s tongue with brown mushroom and Savoy cabbage. Again much more flavor and style than the description or picture could possibly could convey.

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Bottom line – at the Atelier you definitely get what you pay for – and if you can afford it – then it’s definitely worth the money and time! It took almost 4 hours to eat dinner – and yet we never waited for a course. There are just so many courses to enjoy, discuss, and share.

One note – Victor ordered the wine pairing – and for each course they OPENED a bottle for him, and left it available for him to enjoy as much or as little as he wanted. The same happened at the other tables – no sharing of wine. What do they do with the half-finished bottles we wondered, but didn’t ask. My guess – they become wine by the glass for the Garden restaurant next door. But if other restaurants of this type have done that in the past – I didn’t notice it. Sure made me feel special! Wine was good too.

Hip, Hip, Hurray for Street Food!


If you ever go to Toronto – one of the pleasures in that city is its street food. Those trucks with open sides that park here there and everywhere – open up and start serving delicious food. I’ll never forget having a sausage in a bun with the works (peppers, onions, mustard, ketchup, and even relish) at 2:30 in the morning just after dancing my little feet off at this fab salsa club my daughter and her friends had dragged me to.

It was yummy.

But here in Montreal – we are much less fortunate. During festival season – roughly June 1 to August 1 – the area around Quartier des Spectacle will suddenly blossom with very upscale street food vendors – not carts mind you, but full-blown restaurants with table cloths – carefully vetted by the authorities of course. And during street fairs – the St. Laurent street fair during Gran Prix weekend is a good example – there are tents up and down the road selling all kinds of things – some of it edible. Even restaurants get in on the fun – putting up tables outside their doors to sell ‘street’ ready food. Some go over-the-top and have lounging and seating areas. So – well – Montreal.

But in general, in Montreal – street food is a no-no.

Why I hear you wonder? I mean what is a city without street food?

Well – in 1967, just prior to the opening of Expo ’67 – Mayor Jean Drapeau decreed that street food was unsafe, unsanitary and unsightly. And banned it. Popular Montreal Rumor has also held that he decreed that garbage bags be only the new green type so they looked nicer when sitting on the curb. This was a Mayor with a mission. But our street food was gone.

Since then various groups have tried hard to convince the city government to change that rule – citing examples of cities like Toronto, Shanghai, even Brussels that manages to hang onto to not only their street food – but their citizens and their restaurants. It’s been a no go. Until this week. Finally – the city councilor have decreed that this summer there will be a street food pilot test – and by the summer of 2015 – if nothing goes wrong – Montreal will have street food.

Oh joy – oh pounding heart.

Wonder what Jean Drapeau is thinking of this turn of events?
Wonder what I’ll have first – Fries or a Souvlaki? Knowing it’s Montreal – probably a Prosciutto and Brie Burger.

8 ways to Get Skinny – by eating Eat Out!


OK – I agree – that seems impossible. But you can do it if you really really want to. How do I know – well I  managed to lose 30 pounds in 6 months following Weight Watchers with complete devotion – and I eat out almost every single night. That was in 2002 – so not only did I lose the weight – I’ve kept it off for 11 years – visiting my local Weight Watcher’s every single month. But this isn’t about Weight Watchers – it’s about my tricks of the trade, so to speak, and these I gladly share.

1) Plan, Plan, Plan. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to get a look at a menu – if you’re searching the internet you can find the menu’s for most restaurants on-line. And even if they don’t help you out by offering clearly labeled low-fat/low-calorie options – the safe bet is to go for Fish and Salad avoiding like the plague any sauces or sweet dessert. Just make sure there is a fish option (preferably grilled – not fried and  not baked) before you agree to go.

2) Have a No-No list. My No-No’s (I love this stuff – so saying no is hard) – Anything fried, Anything breaded, Any salad dressing, No mixed drinks (super fattening), No sodas except straight up soda water. One glass of wine preferably with seltzer water – tops. Notice what is not on my no-no list. I can have a bite of dessert, I can enjoy baked potatoes, and I love beef.

3) Have a Yes-Yes list and put Vegetables on the top. Veggies are always a better idea than potatoes, bread or rice, and most restaurants will cheerfully double up the veggies instead of putting on the potatoes. Your diet is bound to be better with more veggies – and your waist will thank you too. Other Yes-Yes foods – plain baked potatoes with Mustard, Salads with no salad dressing, Grilled fish, quesadilla, lasagna, edamame at Japanese restaurants. Butter is neither a Yes-Yes, nor a No-No. But Mustard is a lot better – and definitely on the Yes-Yes list.

4) Drink Water or Tea – Lots and lots of water and tea. Why? It keeps your hands busy (and out of the bread basket), and it tells your body that water is plentiful. That’s critical to weight loss because if your body decides that water isn’t going to be easy to get – your body will hold on to water like mad. You’ll get bloated, and weigh more. So drink up – as long as there’s no sugar involved of course.

5) Leave food on your plate. The more the merrier. Clearing a plate is definitely not for losers! And one bite is all you need to feel you’ve tried the dish. All bites afterwards aren’t totally necessary. A similar idea I read elsewhere – ask for that carry out container as soon as you sit down, and put 1/2 your meal in it before you start to eat. Out of sight – Out of mind. Plus less cooking for tomorrow. (I actually can’t do this – it feels gross. So I take a knife and drawn line down the middle. Then I try not to eat past the line.)

6) Don’t go out hungry. Really bad idea. You can’t stop eating if you are starving – so it’s a lot easier to have a low-calorie snack before you leave for dinner. Cuts down on how much you will order, how much you will eat – and how much you will pay. Good idea no matter what. My preferred snack – low-fat microwave popcorn at 3:30. Works like a charm.

7) Turn back the bread basket. One of the handy things about eating out in Europe is that they charge you for the bread – so it’s quite clear that not having the bread unless it is seriously special is a waist and pocket friendly idea. Here in North America we love our bread baskets – and it shows. So just say No!

8) Pick at dessert. You really don’t need or want that whole piece of whatever – so take one bite and STOP. My husband jokes that often my dessert is an extra fork. I love just getting one taste of his dessert – I feel privileged, and I cut the calories. If you are lucky and eating out with a friend who isn’t as controlled about their food – they will eat the rest. If not – try ordering a ‘finish’ that is lower in fat and calories – fruit cups are great for example. But I’d rather get a single Biscotti and a low fat cappuccino. Half the Biscotti can come home for Breakfast – and I have a very special ‘finish’ to my delicious dinner.

Just remember – Nothing tastes as good as Skinny and Energetic Feels.

Cocagne goes Sugaring Off


One of these days I’m going to have to try Cocagne for dinner – I was pretty impressed with what the chef put together at a recent brunch during the Festival of Lights – and isn’t that the point of the Festival – to get people out of their comfy hang-outs – and into new and perhaps exciting places like Cocagne?

The advertised meal was the chef’s rap on Sugaring Off – so he started with the traditional meal (check out my blog on the Festin de Compagne) and went from there. There were pickled beets – sliced so thin it was a challenge to get them off the plate – and instead of deep fried Oreilles de Crisse – the chef offered Prosciutto style ham slices sitting on a maple glaze. The omelette – while not the glorious fluffy concoction I had up north – was interestingly seasoned.

Portions were ample – so that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that he didn’t go far enough – neither the feast of a Cabin a Sucre – nor the extremely elegance of a complete departure from the offerings of a Cabin. Instead it was pleasant, the company was nice  – overall – I didn’t get blown away.

This was clearly not the winner in the battle for my heart – the lack of the inspired group of musicians was enough to put me off. And there was no jug of maple to pour as required – instead there was a tiny metal bowl partly filled for the table to share. Just doesn’t say – Sugar – to me. And there was no Tire of course. But even though I can’t say that Chef Alexandre Loiseau won my heart with his maple based creations – he did intrigue me. I’ll definitely go back some day soon for dinner – just to put his pedal to the metal so to speak.

Bistro Cocagne on Urbanspoon

Crispy Duck at Tong Sing – Salty but so good


If you are looking for cheap eats – China Town in Montreal has been my go to location for years. I generally get recommendations as to which restaurant to try from the parking lot attendants – and have rarely been guided wrong.

One of my favorite places – which has undergone the traditional many name changes – is currently called the Tong Sing. I kinda preferred the original name – Great Wall of China – but I think it failed the ‘french’ test. In any case – the Tong Sing offers Dim Sum every day during the day – which I have enjoyed often in the past and will review here the next time I go. But this time – I went for dinner.

First – finding the Tong Sing. It’s not located in the main drag of China Town – it’s at the far end of Gauchetiere really near the Chinese Hospital. The physical address is 43 Le Gauchetiere. And it’s up the stairs – there’s another restaurant on the lower level – called the Mon-Nan. They share not only the physical space, but also the credit card machines. According to our waiter – the kitchens are separate, but what do I know for sure. In any case – at dinner – the Tong Sing caters more to Orientals than to Occidentals – something I always look for in picking a Chinese Restaurant. And it’s often a lot less crowded, another benefit of walking up the flight of stairs.

My friend and I are budget eaters – and our max is $30 for 2, and of course the Tong Sing fit the bill. We had 2 entries – the extremely delicious if a bit salty Crispy Duck and a less yummy hot-pot with beef and eggplant. That dish definitely needed more texture (it was soft, soft, and more soft), plus a bit more seasoning. But the Duck was why we were there – and it was completely delicious. Crispy Skin, tender meat, and a nice portion size. What more can you ask.

We mistakenly ordered 2 servings of steamed rice – one would have more than enough for the two of us. Tea and Dessert are free – unlimited refills of tea, and 2 fortune cookies and some orange slices when they present the bill. Perfect.

So – Dinner for 2 for under $30 including taxes and tip – nice service, enough left overs to make a decent size take-home for tomorrow’s lunch – and finished in time to enjoy Nuit Blanche. Such a good deal.

Tong Sing on Urbanspoon