» Capitano Burgers & Gelato

V took me to this little place at Yonge & Bloor when I went to visit her for lunch at work.

At first, I was super excited because burgers and gelato? Umm... Yum?!

But once we got there, I looked at the gelato and it looked kind of gross and melty. Safe to say we didn't get any.

But their burgers sounded amazeeee. (Click here for their menu!)

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I ordered the Ringer.

beef & cheese burger, onion rings, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, aioli sauce, capitano sauce

V ordered the Spicy Burger.

spice grilled beef burger, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, hot peppers, hot sauce, capitano sauce

The inside of my burger!

Mmm, it was pretty goood and tasted exactly how I thought it would.
We devoured it in minutes (not surprising though).

I wouldn't say it was anything outrageously amazing (as I'm rarely really impressed with burgers) but it wasn't bad! However, not that filling..so if you have a big appetite like I do, then you will need a snack afterwards. (Like maybe a Dlish cupcake?!) hehe

PS, a big thanks for V for helping me pay for my meal because I forgot my whole wallet at home LOL like how does that even happen?
What a dumb moment...
Everyone has those though right?! Or is it just me :'(

A Plateau

I've been so busy recently with school and life that I haven't really had a chance to sit down and just think.

I'm usually really good with reflecting but I guess since I'm right in the middle of my busiest week, I'll obviously make some time for that! (Just call me the Procrastination Queen), and I've come to a conclusion.

I've hit a plateau.

In the past year, I've been having my ups and downs of excitement and experiences - from living abroad to discovering my dream career.

But now? I don't know.

I don't know what to look forward to anymore. Each day, week, month has just been a day. Nothing sticks out and I miss that feeling of waking up excited.

I read a quote recently and it was:

...too true.

Currently on the lookout for any and all change that I can find. Although this probably means that I will have to step out of my comfort zone... So be it!

I'm ready.

That is all!

» Biff's Bistro

Happy belated birthday to the lovely M! Xo

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Trying to be all cute and romantic, I decided to visit M at work with an afternoon treat a Dlish cupcake and a Starbucks drink. Instead, she surprised me with giving me some belated/early Christmas gifts.

How did I end up leaving happier and with gifts when I meant to go surprise her?! She never fails to surprise me haha.

Anyway, so I decided to take her to Biffs since she loves seafood. And because they have...

Buck-a-shuck oysters on weekdays after 5pm!!

We ordered a dozen as an appetizer and a bottle of 2011 Cave Spring 'Canoe' Riesling.

For our main course, we both got the Skin Roasted Trout with remoulade & warm almond vinaigrette.

Absolutely delicious! It was cooked to perfection but who could go wrong with a butter sauce?

For dessert, we opted for the crème brûlée, which was suchhh a good choice.

It was sooo good and it was such a big portion!

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It was such a delicious meal that I never wanted it to end!

The service was really great and we had a great time here. I'm definitely going to be back for the oysters :) a must visit after a long day at work!

• the perfect color palette

black • white • gold

Over the weekend, I made these random purchases

& I am thoroughly pleased with how much they all matched!

I didn't plan for it at all but I love it :)

cup: Starbucks x Alice&Olivia

notebooks: Kate Spade via Chapters

cards: Kate Spade via Chapters

nail polish: Nars

Have a great day! xx

» Dlish Cupcakes are deelish-ious!

D-licious cupcakes, anyone?

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Situated right at the Yonge and Yorkville intersection, it is a key place to get some dessert after lunch/dinner or just as a snack from studying at the Toronto Reference Library across the street.

Such an adorable little cupcake shop.

Each day, they make 9 flavors (and you can go on their website to see which days they make your favorite flavour).

Out of all the flavors I've tried, my favorite was the Chocolate Marshmallow and Dark Chocolate.

Can you tell I really like chocolate?!

The inside of the dark chocolate (such a great amount of frosting..)

The inside of Chocolate Marshmallow (absolutely loves how the marshmallow literally oozes out!)

:9

I can't wait to go back and try another flavor, as they have a different limited flavor every Sunday!!

But whatever the heck these ones are (found this image on their FB page), I want one of these bad boys next time.

» Let's take a stroll down Butter Avenue

Afternoon Tea w. my foodie partner-in-crime!

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Butter Avenue Pâtisserie & Cafe is a quaint little spot in mid-town Toronto to indulge in the favorite French delicacy: macarons.

Butter Avenue opened almost 2 years ago and it is doing so well that they are planning on opening a second store somewhere in the GTA.

I saw so many pictures of the yellow Butter Avenue box so I had to go down to Yonge & Lawrence to see if it was all hype or was Butter Avenue acccctually that amazing.

And no, it wasn't amazing. It was AMAZING.

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But back to the food...

We decided to get the Lumière afternoon tea set ($29.99) and it included the following:

First, our drinks. We each got to have order a coffee-based drink or a loose-leaf tea off this cute menu.

L got a hot almond tea, and I got a cold darjeeling tea.

Second up was the amuse-bouche, which was a quiche and a brioche.

Then... Came the dessert platter:

 

Can you tell L was super excited to nom?!

It is consisted of 6 little pastries. They explained each one to us but I was so overwhelmed by how amazing it looked that I didn't listen to her at all.. Sorry guys! But here are the photos of each one :)

(my favorite)

(ultimate favorite one)

You're supposed to eat them in order. It goes from savory and sweet to super duper sweet. AH so delicious.

Just the happiest with our meal!

At $30, I would say that it is overpriced for what it came with but the it was worth it.

I didn't think that I would be full from these little pastries, but boy was I wrong!

So make sure you come with an empty stomach and be prepared to be amazed :)

And of course, I obviously had to get a box of 6 to go ($13)!

» Yorkville Espresso Bar

This little hidden gem doesn't sound like it'd be hidden, as it is right on Yorkville Avenue, but it's still a gem.

I actually found out about Yorkville Espresso Bar through Instagram. They started following me and I found it was near my Sunday classes, so I decided to try it out :)

It has a cute little interior area with the classic chalkboard menu (love).

Delicious pastry selection
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Since I got it on a day that I had class, I just got it to go.
I love how they stamped their coffee sleeves and kept the simple white cup.

I'm definitely going to go back one day!

I know I know, two espresso bars in 2 weeks?! What else can you expect from a coffee lover like me though? :)

» Gusto 101

Gusto 101 = Amazing Italian Cuisine 101

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Italian restaurants need to take notes from Gusto! The atmosphere, the food, the service.. Everything was impeccable. I enjoyed every little bit of my time here :)

Rigatoni Lucani x shredded braised lamb shank, tomato, fresh herbs, green olives, shaved pecorino

Spaghetti Chitarra allo Scoglio x manila clams, shrimps, mussels, baby scallops, peperoncino white wine, grape tomato

Speck e Gorgonzola x tomato, gorgonzola, porcini, honey mushrooms, speck

Thin pizza crust with a bunch of toppings.. Just like I was back in Italy :)

This is how you're supposed to eat it. Since the crust is so thin, and there's so many toppings on it, it's hard to eat it unless you fold it into a little sandwich and nom it!

Fettuccine ai Funghi x portobello, porcini, oyster mushrooms, truffle paste, light cream sauce

All these dishes were absolutely delicious! We all shared our dishes and my favorite was definitely the spaghetti. However, all the dishes were heavily salted. Next time I'm going to make sure to ask for less salt to be used on all the sauces and seasoning (if possible). So if you're not into the salty (but still flavorful, don't get me wrong!), then ask for less salt/sauce too!

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My favorite people!

Little Happy Birthday dessert platter for my beloved mommy :)

Budino al Cioccolato x caramel whisky, whipped cream

Aria di Agrumi x citrus air, pop rocks

Caffe freddo al Gianduia x coffee mousse, hazelnut

Tortino di Formaggio x mini cheesecake, rhubarb, strawberry jam

Dessert was really interesting! I didn't particularly like it all but it was just something you have to try. I would have to say that my favorite dessert was the Aria because the pop rocks were such an interesting combo with the airy foam.

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They have this gorgeous rooftop patio that they open up in the summer. I would love to come back when they do this! 

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If you didn't notice, we were wearing blue and white.. 

That was because after lunch, I treated to my fam to our first Jays game!!

peekaboo!

As you can tell, this is a super duper belated post. I just found this in my drafts and had to post it. 

Happy November! xo