Hot Bunzz celebrates TUMalum

One year ago, Paul and I attended our first Toronto Underground Market (TUM) and had a lot of fun, eating some really great food while we were there. Reading over my blog post from that event it's funny to remember that Paul's favourite food from that event was the Basil Beef Thai bun from Hot Bunzz because we have eaten A LOT of bunzz since then.

A few TUM vendors have gone on to launch their own bigger projects and have now become part of an elite group known as TUMalum. According to TUM's website, TUMalum are "either (1) a food vendor who started at TUM & now owns a successful & established food business OR (2) a food vendor whose development & success was directly impacted by TUM."

I have been lucky enough to be around to celebrate a few Hot Bunzz moments: we were there at their first TUM (although I didn't know it at the time) and I was invited to the launch of their first brick and mortar place inside Urban Bistro (21 St. Clair W). Well, I can now add another date to my Hot Bunzz timeline: earlier this week, I was there for a Sneak Peek (and First Bite) as they launched a special TUMalum collection to celebrate their first birthday (and TUM's second anniversary)!

For this milestone, Hot Bunzz introduced the TUM Alum Collection - "The first ever Collaboration of fellow TUM Alum friends with a lineup inspired by signature dishes stuffed into our signature Bunzz. 3 different Collaborationzz, 3 different new flavours!"

summerlicious anniversary lunch - Fabbrica

Location: 49 Karl Fraser Road, Toronto

Description on Summerlicious site:
Authentic Italian cuisine, uniformly rustic and intended for casual enjoyment. Fabbrica houses a contemporary dining room anchored at the front with a long bar and at the rear, our wood-burn brick pizza oven from Naples. The atmosphere is casual and convival!

Price: $20

Appetizers:

   
Paul had Buffalo Mozzarella (fresh tomato, balsamic, basil and extra virgin olive oil) and I had the Beef Carpaccio (mustard sauce, capers, onions, grano padano). Paul's appetizer was really colourful and fresh and all the flavours of the ingredients stood out. As for me? This is now my favourite carpaccio dish ever. Everything just melted together into a delicious, light, fresh taste. I normally don't like capers (I find them too salty) but these blended in nicely and I barely noticed them. The only thing I didn't care for on the plate were the radishes, but I loved the rest of the dish so much I barely noticed them.

summerlicious anniversary lunch - Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill

Location: 2901 Bayview Avenue, Toronto

Description on Summerlicious site:
Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill, Bayview Village is the first of O&B's casual dining restaurants. This large urban space feels very downtown despite its North Toronto location. A gleaming open kitchen extends into the airy dining room, featuring washed tin ceilings, leather banquettes and dramatic and distinctive light fixtures. The menu offers something for everyone, including fresh, made-from-scratch soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas and fire-roasted pizzas.

Price: $15

Appetizers: 

   
Paul had the Organic Lollo Rossa Green Salad (Niagara Stone fruit preserve, Parmesan and Riesling dressing). He really enjoyed the dressing and the preserved fruit in the salad. Meanwhile, I had the Watermelon & Tomato Gazpacho (basil, olive and brioche), which was refreshing on a hot summer day. The gazpacho had a nice twang to it and there was very generous great portion for an appetizer.

summerlicious anniversary lunch - Bier Markt Don Mills

Location: 7 O'Neill Road, Toronto

Description on Summerlicious site:
Inspired by Belgium's passion and unparalleled reputation for the finer things in life, the Bier Markt brings you the ultimate dining experience; knowledgeable staff guiding you through the art of pairing beer to complement your meal in an atmosphere that balances sociability with sophistication. The dining menu is Belgian-inspired and boasts over 100 beers from over 24 countries.

Price: $20

Appetizers:

   
Paul had the Pork & Fennel Wurst (Kosher pickle, Gouda cheese, mustard, Backerhaus bretzel) while I opted for the Wild Mushroom Soup (wild & tame mushrooms, shallots, fresh herbs, mushroom broth). I loved my soup (really, I love anything with mushrooms) even though it was odd to order a soup on a sweltering hot day. The broth was light, with lots of subtle mushroom flavours and was loaded with a variety of mushrooms. Over on Paul's side, the pretzel was perfectly made and we both really liked the mustard that came with it (sweet, but tangy) and Paul really enjoyed the sausage - it was the perfect amount for an appetizer.

if there are bao (buns) to be eaten, i'm first in line

Bison Short Rib bun from HotBunzz

I had seen Hot Bunzz (@HotBunzzTO) around on Twitter for awhile but our first taste of their buns was at the September 2012 Toronto Underground Market where their Beef Basil Thai bun was a hit with both Paul and myself. I've been stalking following Hot Bunzz on Twitter ever since. Growing up in a Chinese family like I did, I ate a lot of buns (or bao as they're called in Chinese), especially meat-filled ones, so I'm always curious to see how these little snacks are interpreted by others.

For the past few months, Hot Bunzz have been hinting that something big was happening and I finally learned what the buzz was about - they were launching a permanent space! When Hot Bunzz's Mitch invited me to preview their new place inside the (also new) Urban Bistro (@UrbanBistroTO) at 21 St. Clair Ave. West, I couldn't be more excited and accepted immediately.

After arriving, I spoke with owner Mark about how Hot Bunzz came to be and he told me he was inspired by the traditional Asian bao after travelling through Hong Kong and Shanghai, but wanted to do something different with the fillings. He believes that "food is about adventure" and you can definitely see that philosophy in the HotBunzz on display - the flavours they were previewing were Sicilian Sausage, Canadian Elk and Bison Short Rib.

afternoon tea at butter avenue

Recently, Yvonne from th3hungrycat invited me to join her and her sister for Afternoon Tea at Butter Avenue and I didn't hesitate to accept. I was excited for a few reasons:

• Yvonne's tweets about Butter Avenue always have me drooling
• from their website, it looked like Butter Avenue's Afternoon Tea would have a modern twist
• one word: macarons. Yes, macarons for Afternoon Tea.

Butter Avenue is a small, peaceful little cafe, with a clean, simple look that really liked. After settling in, we were given a Tea Menu to choose our drinks from - you can actually open up each little jar to smell the tea before making your choice. Calvin, who co-owns Butter Avenue with his sister Tina, mentioned that Roasted Almond is one of their most popular teas, so that's the one I chose. It has a lovely, nutty smell and steeps to a beautiful deep pink colour.

Besides drinks, Afternoon Tea at Butter Avenue consists of three components:

1. amuse-bouche
2. macarons
3. mini tarts and cakes

After ordering our teas, we were invited to go to the counter and choose three macarons. It was a tough choice, I tell you, but I ended up going with a tea theme and chose Matcha, Earl Grey and Lemon.