The highlight of our trip to Toronto was a dinner at Richmond Station. W and I have been looking forward to this day ever since we found out that Chef Carl Heinrich was going to open his own restaurant. For those who don't know, Chef Carl Heinrich was the winner of Top Chef Canada, Season 2 and he also came from BC! We were so happy to find out that his restaurant would be open by the time we would be in Toronto!

Richmond station is located at 1 Richmond St W, basically right across from Eaton Centre!

The main seating area.

We were brought up to the dining area where the Chef's table was, where there is an open window looking into the kitchen.

The Chef's table is right along the wall under the kitchen window. It was full by the time we reserved so we were seated at a smaller table but still right beside the kitchen.

Their menu is written daily on a chalkboard on the wall. The waiter will also come by and tell you what is featured for the day.

We finally spotted the amazing chef himself! Chef Carl Heinrich, preparing some kind of meat in the kitchen. He is very familiar with farm-to-table, nose-to-tail cooking and he procures his ingredients from local farms and isn't afraid to use the whole animal. He brought out a gigantic piece of meat at one point. I think it was the ribs of a cow but I didn't get a good photo of it though.

Ok, here is where this dinner gets exciting! As we were just settling down and I was doing my usual paparazzi photo shots of the kitchen, I heard a voice: "So what, you're stalking me now?" And I turned to see, who else, but CHEF TREVOR BIRD! Those of you who have read my previous posts may know that I met him at the Tweetup at his restaurant Fable in Vancouver (where in I may have sent some creepy tweets), and again at the Samsung Passion for Fresh Challenge at the Vancouver Home + Design Show. I was SO surprised! It was a total coincidence!

AND not only Trevor, who was the runner up of Top Chef Canada, Season 2, but Trista Sheen and Jonathan Korecki, two of the top five were also there! Above was Jonathan Korecki posing with Trevor.

The four of them were having a dinner and were going to cook for a private function the next day for Visa Infinite. Too bad we were leaving for Montreal the next day, otherwise, we'd do some more stalking. LOL

The logo of Richmond Station on the water bottle

 Ok, on to the food!

Polenta Fries ($8) - spicy aioli, marinara

We decided to start with Polenta Fries. Tasty, light and crispy. It also came with ketchcup made in house. So yummy, I wanted more!

Beef Tartare ($13) - hickory sticks, green beans, fried egg

W and I also shared the Beef Tartare. We really enjoyed this dish, too. The crunchy hickory sticks and egg together with the beef was the perfect combo. It tastes great!

Ah! This was a surprise! Suddenly, our waitress came by with two glasses of champagne! Courtesy of Trevor, she said! Of course, that was an excuse to go talk to him some more hahaha!

Tasting Plate: Mushroom Ravioli with braised swiss chard & kale, caper vinaigrette, and butter cream sauce

After we finished our appetizers, we were brought a tasting plate of mushroom ravioli. How nice! Even though it was just a small tasting plate, it was still beautifully plated. Mmm! It tasted amazing as well. This would be my next choice if I ever get the chance to go back there again.

6 oz. Sirloin ($26) - on bed of parsnip puree, yellow sweet potato, califlower, arugula + caper vinegrette, salsa verde

Chef Carl Heinrick loves his meat so of course I had to order the sirloin for my main! W had the same idea too. And you know what? It was delicious. Cooked to perfection! Juicy and tender, full of flavour. Everything on the plate just works.

Carl popped out at one point to ask how everything was. =)

Station S'mores ($9) - raspberry red wine sauce, candied hazelnuts, chocolate torte, graham cracker, melted marshmallow

We finished off our dinner with the delicious Station S'mores. Mmm-mm-mm! Very sweet but the tartness of the raspberry sauce balanced it out and the hazelnuts were a nice added flavour. 

Quinoa Salad ($11) - zucchini, radish, sunflower seeds, red wine vinaigrette

We also took a Quinoa Salad to go. We were supposed to dine with the friend we were staying with but she unfortunately got pulled away at the last minute so we decided to order the dish she wanted for her. She commented on it later on and said it tasted really good and very fresh.  



It was also nice that these little pumpkin cakes came with the bill. Ending on a sweet note. Loved it.

Our meal was amazing and what happened there was an added bonus! It was an awesome experience that ended our visit to Toronto on an ultimate high. I'd recommend trying out Richmond Station if you haven't yet. I'd totally go back if I ever visit Toronto again!

Day 5, and the last day W and I spent in Toronto started off at Dundas Square again. We signed up to be part of the audience of CityLine TV several months prior to our trip and we were assigned to be part of the "Around the House" episode, which airs on Mondays. One of our friends was part of the audience of CityLine before and that's how we got the idea of applying. 

We had arrived at 9:30am but we weren't brought to the filming area until 10am. They had to set up after doing the Breakfast Television segment that morning.

There's Tracy Moore, the host of CityLine!

She came by to say hi and ask where everybody was from. We thought that we traveled the furthest, being from Vancouver, but the two girls sitting beside us were from Victoria, BC! Small world, us BC girls all sitting together! =)

Being in the audience was not at all what I expected. We could hardly watch the show since all the cameras and equipment are in the way! Then we have to always be smiling and pretend to watch in that general direction even though we can't see because of the camera that is trained on the audience at all times. We never know when they are filming the audience!

At the end of the show we all got to take home some swag and there was a draw for some of the items featured in the show. I was so lucky and won a Monopoly Zapped Edition game! We also got to take a photo with Tracy Moore! She said "Congratulations Vancouver!" Hahah. It was great fun being on the show. If I lived in Toronto, I'd sign up to be in the audience every year!

Here's the link to the episode we were in:
http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/1926945834001.000000/october-29-2012-around-the-house/October 29, 2012: Around The House (43:38)  Tips for creating a warm, welcoming environment in your home, a hearty autumn meal, and some family board games with high-tech twists.

The episode aired a week after filming. When my sis and I watched it, we would scream every time we spotted me or W. Hahaha!

After that we spent the rest of the day shopping at Eaton Centre (I bought some boots!) before our EPIC dinner at Richmond Station. Stay tuned for next post.

Spring Rolls is a restaurant chain serving Pan Asian cuisine in Toronto. They have locations everywhere and it wasn't hard to find one after exploring the Distillery District.






Spring Rolls offer an all you can eat option but we didn't want to stuff ourselves so we opted for the a la carte. The menu is big with many items, covering Thai, Chinese and Japanese food.

Unique Satay Pad Thai - House (Tiger shrimp & chicken) $11.99 - Thai rice noodle stir-fried in lime juice, tamarind and tomato sauce with a blend of dried shrimp, chili, garlic, onion and shallot. Served with tofu, egg, roasted peanuts, bean sprouts and coriander

W and I decided to share our plates. The pad thai sounded good so we got that. It was pretty good.

Wok-tossed Mixed Vegetables with Mushroom and Tofu in Oyster Sauce $10.99 - mixed vegetables tossed in a garlic rice wine oyster sauce

After exploring Casa Loma, headed to the Distillery district. We got off the train and started walking there...but it was a long walk. It didn't look so bad on the map! We were planning to have dinner there but most of the restaurants were closed! I guess they don't open late Sundays. We walked around and it is a very nice place. It sort of reminded me of Gastown in Vancouver but with funky sculptures and things.