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| - I got free tickets at the LCBO for Taste of Toronto and this was one food festival I didn't want to miss out on. I went to the Friday July 3rd 2015 afternoon session (12-4pm) and as expected, lines were pretty minimal and there weren't many people there.
After entering, I knew what I wanted to experience first. I headed straight to the Metro Master Class, as described in the information booklet, "The Metro Master Class offers visitors the unique opportunity to pick up hints, tips and techniques from some of the city's leading chefs in a series of interactive cooking demonstrations using the freshest ingredients provided by Metro". But as we lined up in front of the tent, we were quick to discover that all the sessions had been booked for the afternoon. I would suggest getting there right when it opens if you are interested in getting a spot for this event.
We did a quick round to see the overall festival and I must say, I think that Fort York was a great venue for this festival. The historical site was a nice contrast to the 2-year old event. Although the main focus was Taste, being able to walk around the old buildings and seeing the soldiers walking around was definitely an interesting and unique feat.
"Crowns" is the currency used at this festival, at first I wasn't too enthusiastic about paying for a card ($1) just to use as currency but as we explored the festival more, I completely understood it. It was a great convenience not having to dig around my pockets and purse to search for loose change, or having to handle money while working out a balancing act with food. 1 Crown is equal to $1 and each dish is generally 6, 8, or 10 Crowns. However, I noticed that we were spending a lot of our Crowns on the Exhibitor booths which varied in pricing (1 Crown to 10 Crowns). We originally loaded up $30 (or 30 Crowns) on our card for 2 people but ended up spending about $45 at the festival.
After hearing about Iron Chef Morimoto was opening a restaurant in Toronto, I was ecstatic that I would be able to have a preview taste of his menu. At the Morimoto Toronto booth, I opted for the Uni Carbonara (quail egg, smoked bacon, parmesan) which came out to 8 Crowns. The line-up was fairly long at this booth but the wait wasn't too bad as we got our food within 5-10 minutes. I might have set my expectations too high as I felt it wasn't as good as I had imaged it to be. The food wasn't bad but it wasn't much of a stand out dish to me.
We ended up trying the CSB (char siu bao) bbq pork buns from R&D. It cost us 6 Crowns but it was well worth it as if we were to go to R&D restaurant it would have cost $8. It wasn't a traditional bbq pork bun, the bun had a nice subtle sweetness on top and the bbq pork wasn't as saucy as it generally is in the buns. Overall, the bao was pretty delicious and I wouldn't hesitate ordering another one.
We also tried a Lobster Roll from Matty's Seafood priced at 5 Crowns. (I wanted to mention this exhibitor because of the quality and taste of the food was excellent). I enjoyed the Lobster Roll a lot. The lobster mixture wasn't overwhelmed with fillers or excessive mayo. It was served in a nicely toasted bun which made the dish very pleasant.
I was able to catch one of the showings at the Cadillac Taste Theatre (as stated in the brochure, "The Cadillac Taste Theatre in partnership with Metro and All-Clad will host live demonstrations from a selection of Toronto's best chefs and some special guests! These leaders in world cuisine will create gastronomic delights, live to the audience on the latest appliances from Electrolux").The session was featuring Eric Chong & Alvin Leung (First season winner of Masterchef Canada & Michelin Star chef and a judge on Masterchef Canada) creating Chong's Masterchef Canada winning dish of Lobster Chow Mein. It was a great experience to see amazing chefs cook and being able to interact and ask questions.
Being an event that has an entry fee, this festival wasn't as busy as it would have been if it were free. To me, it was an amazing experience to be able to learn new things from great chefs, taste amazing food I probably would have never tried, and meet chefs and foodies alike. The cost of the festival is kind of steep but actually being able to have space to walk around and explore was a nice change. I would suggest to anyone attending the festival to go at a time where it won't be too busy as there's so much to see and taste and so little time.
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