636. BlueBlood Steakhouse

For one of our dinners last week, my boyfriend and I went to BlueBlood Steakhouse at Casa Loma! I've been wanting to go for a long time because I love Casa Loma and the interiors of the restaurant are so beautiful. It was a great night and I always have good memories when we go there together :)



I got the "Down by the Bay" cocktail. It was nice and fruity.


As an appetizer we got the Prime Steak Tartare, which was served in a bone marrow canoe. It was sooo good!!

For the mains we got a Canadian Prime Rib Eye (which our server really insisted we try)..it was good but I thought there was too much fat. We also got a Japanese Wagyu A5 Striploin which I was curious to try as the only other time I had it was in Macau before (which was my favourite steak). As accompaniments we got the creamed corn and mashed potatoes. We were way too full by the end.

For dessert we had the Baked Alaska. I love this dessert and always get it (when it's available) at steakhouses. I love watching them make it. My favourite is still the one at Harbour Sixty though..since the outside is more like toasted marshmallow and inside it's hazelnut ice cream. Two of my favourite things!




FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN'

544. Macau | The Manor

During our stay at the St. Regis Hotel in Macau, we had dinner at their restaurant The Manor. It was a really nice dinner with delicious food in a beautiful setting. The staff were really attentive, and all the dishes were wonderfully presented.


We started with a White Asparagus appetizer: with soft milk curd, roasted nuts, grains and herb flowers.

Then we had the Miyazaki Wagyu A5, Japanese Black-Haired Cattle sirloin steak! It was so juicy and flavourful. This is the highest grade of beef possible (A5) and I really could taste the difference. The Miyazaki Wagyu's quality even surpasses that of Wagyu from Kobe. To maintain its high standards, Japanese authorities restrict supplies to authorized distributors only. I don't think we have this available in North America yet.



After our dinner, we went to the bar for a few hours (I brought my laptop down to get some work done) for a nightcap. I ordered a Strawberry Daiquiri. The signature drink at all St. Regis Hotels is the Bloody Mary though. I don't like spiciness so I didn't try it, but I only found out that St. Regis created the original Bloody Mary (in their New York King Cole Bar).





On the morning before we left, we had breakfast downstairs at the restaurant. I love hotel breakfasts. The breakfast here at the St. Regis was amazing - very extensive selection and everything was so good and fresh! Probably in the top 3 hotel breakfasts I've ever had in my life.





Dim Sum counter



This was the main area to get food. It was set up like a kitchen in a house. The chef there can prepare you a bowl of wonton noodles. & I really love this part..they have a couple large, glass door fridges with drinks and fruit inside. So everything stays cold when you take them.




Other St. Regis Posts:

Iridium Spa - Spa Review
St. Regis - Hotel Review

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN'

386. Hy's Steakhouse, Toronto

A few nights ago we went for a wonderful 3-hour long dinner at Hy's Steakhouse. We left incredibly full and satisfied with the meal. It was one of the best dinners I've ever had, and I'm craving all the food now as I look back on these photos.
I can't believe that just a few years ago I hated steak. Well, I would never order it at restaurants and I definitely was not as "into food" as I am now. Growing up I always ordered the most simple things when we went out to eat. Now I'm slowly becoming more adventurous with food. Whenever I have dinner plans at a new restaurant, I would excitedly go online to see their menu and plan out everything I would be ordering. I was especially excited to try Hy's Steakhouse as I wanted to try most things on their menu. I had a hard time narrowing down what to order..and I'm happy to say that everything we ended up ordering that night exceeded my expectations.

This is what you see when you walk in. I saw some photos and a virtual tour of the restaurant before going, but in person it was a lot more beautiful. It's quite dark in there (in a good way). I love the high ceilings and the way all the tables are arranged.




The second floor has a nice view over the main dining area, and is available for private events.



We weren't planning on ordering this Cheese Toast but our server recommended it and I'm glad he did! It was so good. The cheese is freshly baked/melted onto the soft bread. If we didn't have so much more food coming I probably would've ordered another basket of this.


Smoked Sockeye Salmon with capers, red onion and herbed cream cheese


Sauteed Garlic Shrimp (loved this!). The sauce is good for dipping the cheese bread too.

Steak Neptune: Filet Mignon topped with fresh asparagus and blue crabmeat, finished with hollandaise sauce and a side of garlic mashed potatoes. You can also have the option of a New York steak instead of Filet Mignon. The steak was very tender and juicy, and perfectly cooked.


Roast Rack of Lamb: herb crusted with rosemary and mint sauce.

For the accompaniments, we ordered: creamed corn (my favourite), steamed fresh asparagus, creamed spinach and grilled beefsteak tomatoes. I recommend the corn and tomatoes. The spinach was too creamy.

After the dinner, we decided to have dessert in their lounge area. Before I tell you about that, here's some more photos of their main dining area.




Want a peek in the kitchen?




This is the booth we got - "booth 301". It's right in between the two dining areas. In my opinion it's the best spot in the whole restaurant! Nice and spacious and great if you want some privacy. (Sorry about the dark photos though..)

After the dinner we came to their bar and lounge area here for desserts. You can't see in this photo but there is a grand piano under the portrait. Two musicians play live jazz music as you sit and relax.


Our desserts: an apple crumble, chocolate cake and some vanilla ice cream.
Overall, it was a wonderful dining experience and I would love to go back again. It definitely exceeded my expectations. I live very close by and Hy's only recently caught my attention. I have walked by many times before but I actually didn't know it was such a nice steakhouse. From their logo I always thought they were more like a pub style place. I found out that one of the companies I work with had shot their interiors for Google Business View. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to review it for my blog! Since it was really dark when we were there, and my photos don't do the place justice..take a virtual tour here to get a better idea of the interiors.


Recommendations
- Reserve booth "301"
- Have dinner in the dining area and desserts/drinks in the lounge
- The cheese toast (pre-appetizer) is a must!
- Our favourites: Garlic Shrimp (appetizer), Roast Rack of Lamb (main), Steak Neptune (main), Grilled Beefsteak Tomatoes (accompaniment), Creamed Corn (accompaniment), Apple Crumble (dessert)


What We Loved
- The atmosphere: classy, intimate, and very relaxing. Great for a romantic dinner for two or a business dinner. It is the perfect place to have a long meal.
- The lounge: live jazz music. They keep playing until the last customer leaves.
- The food: we loved every dish we ordered (except for one - see below). A few things were the best we ever tried. I normally don't like shrimp but the garlic shrimp is amazing. If you like lamb, Hy's serves one of the best in Toronto. & I would go back just to have the cheese toast!
- The servers: they were all very professional, attentive, and knowledgeable in the menu. Their communication skills with each other are excellent as well. We were served by a few different servers who knew what our preferences were without having to ask again.
- The whole restaurant is very clean. Not a speck of dust anywhere!


Suggestions
- The tableware: was pretty basic. Usually I like when high-end restaurants have more unique cutlery and dishware sets.
- Uniforms: I didn't like what the servers wore (white coats, shirts and black pants). Somehow it doesn't exactly match the setting.
- The Creamed Spinach: had too much cream


Hy's Steakhouse is located at 120 Adelaide Street West, and open for lunch and dinner every Monday to Saturday until 11pm (only dinner on Saturdays). To reserve, call 416.364.6600.
Their other locations across Canada include: Whistler, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa and soon - Calgary

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN'
This post archived in: Toronto