Alright, day 2 of my Canada trip! 

My family and I ate breakfast at the Airbnb, then headed out to Toronto. We walked through the city to eat lunch at St. Lawrence Market. The walk was long, but the beautiful city sights were worth it. I spent the whole walk marveling at all the buildings and appreciating the cool weather. Once we finally reached St. Lawrence Market, I felt as though I’d earned a good meal. They had Italian cuisine, a few Latin places, pizza, cheese shops, bakeries, fresh fruit and vegetables, and more. I decided to eat at Yip’s Kitchen on the floor below ground. They had so many different types of dumplings and various proteins. I eventually decided on a plate with Cantonese egg noodles, mixed vegetables, and crispy ginger chicken. I also got one order of char siu bao, which came with three pieces.

This meal was exactly what I needed. I ate the noodles so fast I barely registered the flavor, but I can tell you they were good. The mixed veggies were wet from the pot they’d been in, which actually worked as a contrast to the texture of the slightly more dry noodles and crispy ginger chicken. The chicken had the perfect crunch and, while not coated in sauce like how I usually like, the ginger flavor was noticeable. The sweetness of the chicken balanced nicely with the saltiness of the vegetables and noodles. 

Now, for the BBQ steamed pork buns, or char siu bao: I loved these so much! I was looking forward to them, and they did not disappoint. The buns were soft, squishy, and pillowy. The texture was just right. The BBQ pork inside tasted sweet and felt warm. I honestly would’ve loved it if there were more BBQ pork filling in the middle, but with the other entree I was happy with it. I will dream of that almost marshmallow-like texture for a while. 

After lunch, we stopped at Future Bakery in the market for dessert. We joined a whole pool of people who had stopped walking and were staring at the glass displays like kids in a candy store. They had everything from apple crumble to brownies to macarons to cakes and tarts. My mom and I decided to share the chocolate peanut butter tart. It had chocolate shortbread on outside, peanut butter filling inside, and a top layer of rich chocolate mousse. I wasn’t expecting how hard the shortbread shell was going to be when cut into, but when chewing it wasn’t hard at all and easy to eat. The tart wasn’t very rich or sweet—the flavors were more bland. The mousse top layer was my favorite, and the peanut butter filling felt creamy, though it didn’t taste very peanut-y. 

After a very satisfying meal, we headed to the Toronto Islands and explored a little bit before napping by the lakeside and heading back to the Airbnb. And that was day 2 of my eating adventures in Canada!