Winterlicious 2015 - Trapper's Restaurant Review

Trapper's Restaurant is located just above midtown on Yonge Street, in between York Mills and Lawrence. It's a quaint and rich neighbourhood with small shops and wholly delicious baked goods (Butter Avenue is two stores away from this restaurant). The charm of this restaurant is the homey environment along with the good old (literally old) servers that remind you of a distant relative or grandfather. But be aware: they are quick on their feet and indubitably darling. Here you will see a photo of their ceiling chandelier and be curious enough to make a visit yourself to the lovely restaurant:

I know I should have cropped it, but bear with me, it's all part of the restaurant.
Just think of it as the bigger picture of the restaurant (literally).

So, it comes down to the food. For the first course, I had the "baked almond crusted Woolwich goat cheese on a nest of baby seedlings, grilled portobello mushroom, and honey raspberry dressing". I was shocked to taste this plate because the crust was just right, warm and toasty and the inside of the medallion of goat cheese was subtle and the aroma just spread through the rest of my mouth along with the earthy and meaty texture of the portobello mushroom. To top it off, this combination came with the sweet and tart raspberry dressing. Altogether, it oozed the perfection in my mouth. The first bite to the last bite, it was just... (insert delicious food groan here).

Baked Almond Crusted Woolwich Goat Cheese

The main entree for me, seeing as this was not my first time visiting this restaurant, was the "charcoal-broiled lamb shank in braised red wine, garlic, and fresh rosemary." This dish was delectable from last night. It tastes like your grandmother made your favourite lamb dish because you were coming to visit her. The meat just falls off the bones and is super tender and moist, as any slow cooked dishes ought to be. It's a comforting plate of warmth and just like the restaurant that makes it, it isn't perfect, but charming and homey. Good flavour combination (who doesn't like red wine with their meat?) and I personally adore garlic due to my Korean heritage. Their steamed vegetables taste like something my mom would make, their purple cabbage is soft and it's just a nice hearty plate of food. I didn't finish the entire plate by myself because it's just too much meat for me, but it's good. Trust me.

Charcoal-Broiled Lamb Shank

Last but not least, the dessert. I chose the "lemon coconut cake - moist layers of coconut cake, filled with alternate layers of coconut and lemon butter cream". I'm sorry, Trapper's Restaurant, but you do dessert horribly. It's pre-sliced and refrigerated as sliced on the plate which makes the cake really hard and I cannot taste any of these moist layers because it dried out while it was chilling. The only thing that slightly makes this cake taste like anything semi-gourmet is the raspberry and mango drizzle on the side. It's no excuse to serve dessert the way it was meant to be served a couple days old when you've already had your birthday celebration. It's pretty disappointing every time and I definitely don't go here for the desserts. The first two courses of the meal is what I go to this restaurant for, and if you wish to skip this last course, by all means - do so. One last gross thing about this cake? The butter cream while it is sitting in the cold room by its lonesome (highly unlikely, all cakes are nearly dried and frozen) gets hard and I already dislike butter cream as much as I am a dessert connoisseur. Not good. At all. It's just slightly citrus tasting lard in between dry layers of cake. Don't do it.

Lemon Coconut Cake

Overall, the atmosphere and the entrees are what make it worth your time to visit this restaurant and pay $35 plus applicable taxes and tips for a three-course meal here. Just as a warning, my photographs are highly saturated and over-exposed because the lighting absolutely sucks here and as much as I appreciate ambiance and semi-dark dining rooms in the evenings, it does not make for pretty food pictures. I know I could have used a flash from another phone and so on, but the company I was with forgot their phone. So. The results are as you have seen. Hopefully many of you will try out this restaurant for Winterlicious because their usual menu is more expensive than the value you get for the prix fixe menu. If you look at their menu online, their entrees range from anywhere between $14 pasta to $58 16-oz fillet mignon. I may just go back to try their regular menus. Let me know your thoughts when you try this restaurant! I'd love to know what you think.

Happy dining!

Painful Breakups

I've gone through a friendship breakup that was quite severe in high school.

I almost experienced something similar yesterday. When you have a really bad friendship breakup, the pain you feel is... Dull. When you get torn up and hurt physically, you get a rush of adrenaline released from your body to numb the pain. Afterwards, you don't feel anything. Until the adrenaline rush dies down and you feel the most unbearable pain there is. It's the worst kind of pain, and I cannot emphasize on how much it tore my heart to pieces the first time I went through it. I honestly think it was worse than the breakup with my ex-boyfriend. That was horrible for me, but this? It cannot even compare to the absurdity of the amount of pain you feel. It's indescribable how much it hurts inside. Thinking about losing my best friend, I could even drive myself to be so depressed, I could commit suicide. That's how extreme it is. That's how much it hurts for me.

Friends, for me, don't come easily. They should be precious to you, irreplaceable, and you should always feel a nice, fuzzy, warmth when you think of your best friend. I believe friendship is a different type of love: it is sometimes better than the love you have for your partner. The bond between friends can surpass the bond between lovers, because you tend to tell your deepest and darkest secrets to your friends. Of course you'd tell your lover all the complaints you have about your best friend, but that, my friends, is nothing compared to how much we talk behind our partners. It is hilarious to weigh the goods and bads of boyfriends over goods and bads of best friends. There's a common saying that goes like, "bros before ho's"... It is very true in most cases, at least for me.

Undergoing a breakup with a best friend leaves the greatest remorse and regret. You always think, what if you did things differently? What if you tried harder to make them feel closer to you? So many 'what if's' go through your mind, and at the end, you just have to ask yourself, did you try your best to be their best friend? If the answer is yes, you have nothing to lose. It's the same as any other relationship. You have to give it your all to receive their all, and if that doesn't happen, relationships often falter and ultimately fail. So, to whom does the victory go? Well, whoever tried their best. Their ultimate best - to make sure their best friend feels comfortable, to make sure they are healthy, to make sure they are content with their life and its goals.

Power to you who managed to keep a best friend around for at least ten years. Sure, you might have had major fights and arguments in between, but they help build your relationship even further. Knowing what the other person is upset about you, will help you become a better person. If you want advice from anybody, turn to your best friend. They will give you the best advice that best suits your needs, your personality, and your surroundings. If they don't know you that well, then regrettably, they really aren't your best friends. They sometimes know your potential to be a better person and help you move forward, even when you doubt yourself.

In conclusion, don't ever falter. Don't lose your best friends. Don't give up on them, especially when you're unstable, because you'll realize sooner or later, you need them more than they need you at times. But they'll put up with you for whatever it is worth. Because they're your best friends. Love them, care for them, miss them when they aren't there, and treasure them. That's the only way you'll receive their love too.

I love you, my darling best friends - you better know who you are! J'adore vous <3

You are the BEST friends a girl could ever ask for!