Pho Mi 99 - Burnamthorpe and Grand Park Dr. - Mississauga

So this is a place I had been to several times and in my girlfriends sickness, decided to take her out for some warm soup. BTW if you are broke, and need lots of food, hit up any Vietnamese restaurant and get a large bowl of Pho.. For only a dollar extra, you can go from a small to a monstrous portion, which my girlfriends brother attempted to take down. Pho Mi 99 is a fairly good place, with a cozy atmosphere that always seems to be busy, but not so crazy that you have to wait for a seat. They "apparently" also use no MSG in their foods, but I have yet to confirm this fact. They seem to be a little disoriented with the whole "starters" idea, however. We ordered two plates of spring rolls, only to have the pho come out almost immediately and the spring rolls ten minutes later. They were pretty good though, I have to admit. I got a Pho with meatballs and chicken.. somewhat different then normal, the chick dipped in the hoison like sauce and what I assume to be sirachi was pretty damn good. It would have been pretty bland without, so I ended up using a lot of sauce. All in all, a nice little (and cheap) meal. If you really wanted to push the boundaries, you could probably get one large bowl per two people, and that would make for a veryy cheap meal.. Anyways here are some pics.. as always with my shitty iPhone (my bad).

I give this place 3.5 iron rings out of 5 for its inexpensive yet still fairly tasty meal..

Onion Rings Poutine

What happens when you take two of gods most precious gifts and role them into one? You get onion rings poutine.. This was to die for.. Any poutine lover has to take a try of this twisted classic. The onion rings, cooked to perfection in a crunchy batter. Way better than any freezer bought, or for that matter restaurant onion rings.

Ingredients

Onion Rings

• 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk, or as needed
• 1 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• seasoned salt to taste
• 2 cups+ oil for frying or as needed 

Poutine

• 1 pouch gravy mix
• 1 cup water
• 1 package cheese curds

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a pot for deep frying.

2. Remove the onion skin and cut into rings. 

Onion Rings

3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Flour and salt mixture

4. Whisk the egg and milk into the flour mixture using a fork.

Egg and Milk mixture

5. Dip the onion slices into the flour mixture until they are all coated and dip the floured rings into the batter to coat, then shake slightly over sink or tinfoil to remove excess batter or until the batter stops dripping. 
6. Spread the bread crumbs out in a bowl and place rings one at a time into the crumbs, and scoop the crumbs up over the ring to coat. The coating should cling very well. Repeat with remaining rings.
7. Begin to make gravy mixture as desciribed on package. Most use 250ml water to package gravy. Stir constantly until begins to bubble and cook for one more minute over medum heat

Onion rings in breads crumbs

8. Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. 

Onion Rings frying



Completed Onion Rings

9. Drizzle grazy over finished onion rings and sprinkle cheese

Onion Rings Poutine



Bon appetit

Yum Yummmmm

So its a new year.. and I thought with a new year would come new types of food..wrong! So as you can guess, my first restaurant review will be of a Korean chicken restaurant located on Bloor Street West called Ahjookuh. Just steps from Christie station, and, therefore, within walking distance of my place. This place caters to the yum yum chicken enthusiast in all of us. I think its actually called yang nyum.. but who really cares, because this shit is delicous. Although not as spicy as its made-in-korea counterpart, its still got a little kick. At Ahjookuh you can get two different types of yum yum.. dry, which is then dipped in a salt and pepper mixture, or with sauce on. The sauce is a kind of sweet and tangy mixture with an Asian flare. You have the choice of either one or both. Of course yum yum isnt the only thing that they serve, you can get a variety of other korean dishes.. but who really cares about those.. Again, these pictures were unfortunately taken using my piece of crap iPhone, but you get the idea. the chicken here comes with a small side plate of pickeled radishes.. Its nothing to celebreate about, but provide a nice little inbetween when talking down saucy chicken.. This is also not a first date place.. the decor and atmosphere is nothing to celebrate about.. Its all about the food.. Ok, now to my take on Ahjookuhs yum yum chicken.. For any deep fried chicken lover, it will take your experience to a whole new level. After trying this stuff, you will struggle to go back to the likes of a KFC or Popeyes... Lightly breaded, extremely juicy, although it lacked that extra spice that I came to love while travelling Korea. Being a spice enthusiast, I found it a bit disappointing in that sense, but overall it was a great little bite. And hey only costs 22 bucks to feed 3 people! This did not include beer, which is something like 10-12 bucks extra for a pitcher. Anyways I give this place 4 iron rings out of 5! If it was a little spicier, could have earned more, but I think everyones tastes buds are different, and North American tastes wouldnt have necessarily been able to take it.. but hey I say if you cant take the heat.. get out the kitchen..