Making Food Pretty

The Winter Olympics had me reminiscing about my days in Whistler, so I pulled out my old pictures from last summer. It was then that I stumbled upon this heavenly steak tartare that I once had the pleasure of tasting. Embarrassing part: I can’t remember the restaurant’s name. Horrible of me, I know. But ______’s version of steak tartare is in the Top 5 of the Best Things I’ve Ever Eaten list. They served the dish with these hot, crispy edged starchy cakes made out of deep fried rice, and the contrasting textures and flavors still makes me weep inside a little bit. I’d go as far as to say that’s one of the main reasons I miss Whistler in the first place.

If I’m forced to move aside from the subject of flavor, though, I really liked the plating. In general, I’m very interested in dining, decor, and food styling. We can approach things at random, strictly out of utility, or we can approach things with thoughtful care and passion. I believe that food is so much more than just a necessity. My mother taught me this. Most of my interest, and what I’ve learned, in terms of food was due to her influence. My mom never took any courses on design or cooking. She manages the statistical team at a major pharmaceutical company, so she’s not obviously artistically inclined. But despite her technical and analytical background, she raised me with the belief that everyone can bring a little art into their life. Here are a few of her food styling basics I’d like to share.

Snickerdoodles

I first heard about snickerdoodles a few years ago from the TV show “Veronica Mars”. Veronica always made Wallace snickerdoodles, and I had no idea what they tasted like. Let’s get this out of the way: snickerdoodles have nothing to do with Snickers bars. They’re basically cinnamon sugar cookies, but then again, I feel criminal underselling them like that. They’re so much better.

The cookies themselves are soft and chewy; something that your teeth can sink wonderfully into. They have a comforting mildness and lack that sophisticated intensity, the kind you might get with a flourless dark chocolate cake. It’s all fine and well to have a decadent treat like that on occasion, decorated with a gooseberry and drizzled with some organic raspberry puree, but sometimes you want something nostalgic and uncomplicated for those rainy days.

Hibiscus + Other Healthy Things

It has been over a month since I’ve blogged. I think every blogger goes through this– the whole “Ahh I’m so bad, etc etc.” Except can I really call myself a blogger? I don’t exactly have a vast body of work behind me.

I thought if I was going to blog, I might as well write about the restaurant I’ve been practically living at for the past month. I was vaguely aware of this, but then my friend MK pointed out that I had tweeted about eating there 3 times in the last week…

Hibiscus is located in Kensington market. Just take the westbound streetcar outside College Station, and get off one stop past College & Spadina. Walk down Augusta Ave. and you’ll find it tucked away.

Lee Garden

Lee Garden is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants. I’ve been going there since I was a little kid, and it looks mostly the same except the waiters wear black now instead of blue button up shirts. Even most of the waiters are the same, although they don’t look like they’ve aged much.

It’s not your typical Chinese restaurant. For one, it’s small without being decrepit. They also don’t use MSG, so shazam, there goes that stereotype. The crowd’s also usually at a nice, low murmuring level, so you’re not in a shouting match with the table next to you. Another nice touch is that they offer nice bottled organic Black River juices (though they use to go with Sarah’s), which is a really nice change from your standard Coke and Sprite. They get bonus points because this was one of their features way before the organic boom.

Their deep fried squid with spicy peppers is my favorite, and their soups are always so amazing too. There’s no reservations though, so either go early or late unless you’re willing to wait in line. I remember I used to bump into my old private school French teacher here all the time when I was young. She went there every week, I think. Good memories.

Lee Garden
(416) 593-9524
331 Spadina Ave.
Toronto, ON M5T 2E9

http://www.leegardenrestaurant.ca/