Lazy Sunday at Lazy Al Molo

How should I begin? On Sunday afternoon, I returned with friends to Al Molo after opening night for a full serving of veal ravioli. Alas, it is only served during dinner :( This pouty face occured several more times during our meal.

Well, fret not, for I am at the restaurant of the king of pasta and there is an abundance of pasta dishes to choose from. Actually only 5-6 pasta dishes, and my friend complained about the limited menu. I disagree; I believe shorter menus allow quality over quantity. A long menu tries too hard to please too many people and sacrifices quality. The wine and drink lists, on the other hand… I don’t know about their quality but there were sure a lot to choose from!

Firstly, we ordered an appetizer to share – yellowtail sashimi. I believe it is served with

Aunties and Uncles Brunch – just as they would make it

Don’t expect glamourous silverware or comfortable seating at Auntie’s and Uncles. Do expect a long wait for buttery comfort food in your Uncle’s kitchen decorated in the 50’s.

(Omlette of the day with challah toast and hash brown)

Azure Restaurant, Toronto

I love good food, and what’s better than good food plus a deal?? Every year Toronto has Winterlicious and Summerlicious when higher price range restaurants launch prix fixe menus with three courses for the general public. For 2010 , Winterlicious spanned from Jan 29 to Feb 11 and I try to book lunches as the menu options were mostly identical to dinner but cheaper. But seeing as I was working full time, that leaves only the weekends. I ended up with a lunch reservation at Azure Restaurant & Bar, a part of Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Toronto.

The Anticipation

The restaurant, situated in a sunny lobby, was only half filled (I’m an optimist). My part of 3 were immediately seated in a quiet corner and we helped ourselves to crunchy breadsticks and warm bread. I had to stop my friend from ruining her appetite because she hadn’t had breakfast and was gobbling down bread with butter.

Macarons and Japanese cakes

La Bamboche – A chef combines Eastern flavours with Western desserts

Lemon Macaron. I love citrusy stuff – it was sooooo good. Not too sweet, and still fresh from a 30 min commute.

Half eaten Lemon Macaron, with its travel companion Vanilla Macaron. I usually don’t have a preference for vanilla or regular cream pastries, but this was really good too. The vanilla scent was very rich and not artificial at all.

Inside the box…

Three pieces of cake!

Actually, 2 pieces of cake and one half eaten eclair, lol. The eclair was heavenly. This was the best eclair filling I’ve ever had. The chocolate flavour was rich, and not too sweet nor fatty.

Next to it is the Green Tea and Sesame mousse cake with crunchy base. Again, key word — rich. You can taste the matcha and black sesame flavours individually. The base was a graham cracker like base, only crunchier. I wonder what exactly it is!

Last of all, the Strawberry Lavendar mousse cake. This was quite special. I’ve only tried lavendar teas and Taiwanese lavender milk-tea drinks before, never a cake. The top layer was slightly sour & tarty, but in the good way. There were actually chunks of mushy strawberries , which I guess are preserved ones, like the type you find in jam. The lavendar layer tasted very unique. The two flavours accompanied each other really well. My sister speculated that the piece of twig on top is thyme, and that it was probably mixed into the lavendar mousse. The base was made of fluffy brown cake.

I would like to try the red wine and sake macarons if I get the chance!

Conclusion: La Bamboche – Pricey at $4-$5 per piece (around the size of a ring box), but you are paying for quality organic ingredients, culinary school technique and presentation, and rich flavours in special combinations. Go there when you deserve a treat :)