Start your day right. On the road to becoming a (voluntary) caffeine-addict, George Brown College has plenty of caffeine options. There are a nice number of coffee spots on campus, and plenty of independent cafes to unwind at with a laptop a block or two down or around. 

"Coffee Spots" subheaded into:
On Campus, Familiar spots, Grab & Go and Lounge & Sip

It has been since an unfortunate event in December that I was no longer to enjoy life (food) to the fullest - chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, rice paper rolls, spring rolls, peaches, crackers, apples, sushi, biscuits, pork rolls... especially beer were dropped out of my thoughts. This list could actually go on forever. I couldn't properly dine with somebody without awkwardly chewing on items off my fork, asking for a fork and knife when I had, (stupidly and) absentmindedly ordered a Burger, and making a fool of myself, peeling apart my saucy Chicken Wings at a danky pub, sipping a gorgeous pint of Dieu Du Ciel through a straw... and once that piece of Pulled Pork strings on to pull down a side of my dentures, then seeing the look of complete utter shock on my fellow diner's face, yup, that was a completely different story.

A long [insert a ridiculous amount of heart-felt adjectives here] process, and here we were, finally, in the month of July, gazing into my elevator reflection. I was ready to conquer the world. My first step? Finding the nearest sandwich shop and snatching up a tasty one to happily and proudly nibble on.

 This day was all good weather, Bakerbots Baking was one of the first Ice Cream stores that I hit up once the sun came out to play. Bakerbots is located a very short walking distance from Ossington Station, just off Ossington Avenue. They cater their baked goods, most days after 3PM. I went with two of my good mates, and I happily introduced an Ice Cream Sandwich to them. We made our visit on a Wednesday afternoon, and lucky for us, the single table that they had in the shop was just cleared. There is also bench seating outside, merry places to sit and chow as well.

Although there is a short amount of pickings for pastries and other sweets (Macaroons, Cakes, Cupcakes..) on weekdays, we did not come here for either of those. The House-made Cookie ($1.50) options are plentiful, on the day I made my prance, there were Ginger Molasses, Captian Peanut, RoCocoa, The Everything, Birthday and Oatmeal. The Cookies make great pairings with their interesting assortments of rotating also, Homemade Ice Cream, these, being in Cinnamon Toast, Fresh Mint, Chocolate Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Corn-on-the-cob and Burnt Toffee. The Ice Cream Sandwiches come in half ($4) or full sizes ($7), as well as in Vegan and Dairy Free options. The Dairy-free Ice Creams are either the selection of Raspberry or Chocolate. Don't forget to ask for pairing suggestions! 

On the hunt for a sweet treat and cuppa' tea to further introduce my darling newbie Aussie sister to the city - we took a 25-minute stroll to Kitten & the Bear. Having been warned of the simple, hardly-dining shop, we entered, turning a nostalgic faux glass doorknob to be greeted by a counter a brief three meters away. The cafe, former a shop front from where customers could purchase the Kitten & the Bear's fresh, homemade jams and stocked teas from Sloanes. I am glad that they have found space to fit two tiny tables, making it a delightful spot to sit and catch up with a bud.

Kitten & the Bear is owned by a husband and wife, I admire their passion for the products that they serve, I especially love the homey feel that the place provides. They also had big baskets of both peaches and nectarines plopped in a few corners of the cafe, they all looked so succulent and had us eager to get ordering.

Constant rants of the ridiculous line-ups at Saving Grace, I'm glad that I didn't have to wait for more than ten minutes for a seat on either two visits. Having my sister visit from the land downunder for a month, we were to arrange a heck of a lot of snacks, brunches, lunches and dinners. Her ponder of what a "Hipster restaurant" is really all about, I reluctantly put Saving Grace for brunch onto the list. I was seated by an, again - different, but, fairly cold and rushed server.

Saving Grace has specials which they change up daily on a mounted blackboard - the specials range from brunch plates of Waffles with Roasted Plums, to, Quesadillas with Black Beans and Chutney. Other variables are sweets to end a meal, Sausages ($3.50) to add on and fresh Juices ($3~4.25).

 My love for Gelato sprouted over at Millie Creperies, but I was at a loss after being singled out by the same ol' Hazelnut or Vanilla flavour, over and over again. Although so close together, I am in-love with the surprising contrast that Chinatown, Kensington Market and Balwin Village have against eachother. My second time prancing through Baldwin Village in the daytime, it is a true delight. Introduced by a mate, Kekou Gelato is a small, darling gelato house in Baldwin Village. 

Kekou Gelato is a wonderful home to incredible, and very well excecuted Asian-inspired flavours. Their gelato covers a lot you can imagine - in Dairy and Dairy-free flavours. It's a great experience, and you better dive in and help yourself in sampling before committing yourself to a cup of a flavour (or two, or three).  The heaviest I'd like to note, are: 

The Vietnamese Coffee, dang, this one packs a punch, just like my good ol' Vy Vy Garden Cafe days (heh). How a Viet Coffee should be! Strong in bitterness and slightly sweetened by condensed milk.

I found great delight in the Black Sesame, Green Bean Coconut and Red Bean White Chocolate - each are equally a safe bet for anyone, they are exactly how your taste buds imagine it to be - along with being creamy and rich with flavour.

Slightly reluctant, but super curious, I went for the Spicy Mango, and man, it is pretty strong! I felt like a weakling. Legitimate Mango and Chili flavours here though, it's fantastic!

A quick whiff of the Whiskey Green Tea reminded me Karaoke - the memories of Cognac and Green Tea mixers, sticky floors and being enclosed in a large, dark room... I wouldn't be able to handle any more than a sampler of this.

What enticed me to come back the second time around was the word going around that Kekou Gelato now serves HK Milk Tea! It was just how I like my Bubble Milk Tea ☺. The Thai Iced Tea was unfortunate, it had a slighty tangy aftertaste - odd, it was the first time being disappointed in any flavour from here, hopefully they improve it! 

Even though I'm feeling bad after sampling three+ gelatos, the staff are friendly and encourage the repetitive Kekou-ritual, I feel worse when I'm to toss out five sampler spoons though, there has to be a better way!

EL ALMACEN

1078 Queen St W

Toronto, ON

M6J 1H8, Canada

Cafe - Latin American

$

 Oh boy. It's been a while. It never occured to me... my cravings for this beauty. I only ever had the pleasure of trying this once, at the South American Food Festival in Fairfield. It was certainly unique. It was the first time I ever tried such a concoction, one of my first steps in venturing out of the Asian food I knew a loved. Here, it was were I had my first Empanada, and began to purchase Lebanese treats. 

El Almacen is all about Mate Beverages. It's a beautiful concept, you can read more about it here. Mate, also known as 'Yerba Mate' leaves are finely chopped and ground up to make up a powder. You can be sipping this drink hours on end. With a couple of teaspoons of Yerba Mate, you even it out with your desired amount of sugar all into a Gourd. Using your metal spoon/straw (also a Bomba), you blend it all together and sip away. 

El Almacen, as expected, has a nice set of Empanadas available, in: Beef & Green Olive, Mixed Vegetable, Spinach & Cheese and Ham & Cheese at $3.50 each. They also serve up combos of Soup of the Day - Grilled Sandwiches - Empanadas.

With the right words, I will say yes to everything you say. Roll Play Cafe was a great lead-up after enjoying a bite at Happy Hooker. Squished right between The World's Biggest Book Store and Panera Bread at Edward and Yonge, there is a staircase that leads up to the bright and inviting cafe. High ceilings and bright lights makes this place a great spot to hang out (and take food pictures in great lighting).

There are bookcases lining either ends of the wall, with neatly organised, stacks upon stacks of board games. I've only honestly played the few popular board games - Monopoly, Game of Life, Scrabble, Guess Who?, Trouble, Word Up, Badoo, Pictionary, Jenga and Cluedo. I've been truly deprived. But, I think that the bigger reason is that the costs for board games in Australia were atrocious; a $30 Monopoly board game here, would be $60 over there. There was no doubt as to why I didn't play board games more often.

A dandy Wednesday afternoon, a few classes, an hour of work, and onwards to Dufflet! I was intrigued by the chalkboard drawing upon sight, and completely forgetting about the 2 for 1 slice deal of the day once I got in. I was pretty overwhelmed by the (semi-stale) choices in pastries. My biggest pet peeve is when a store does not have name tags and prices up. It straight up makes me want to leave - in which most cases, I do, but I had to suck it up this time around for the sake of my mate. Also, the cashier wasn't very enthusiastic either, which made the experience even more dull for me. When anybody is any less enthusiastic than I am about the goods, that is not a good thing. By this point, I was totally up for making a mini trek up to Nadege.

$$

7 West will be the last-resort place I will take all of my dates (I could have used another word). It has the loveliest ambience. Upon my mate's simple suggestion of a place to go to after I requested to go to a place that is quiet and dark, he was quick to respond, 7 West Cafe. Made up of three levels, the third being apparently the coziest, we had to settle for the second since, to our misfortune, the third was under construction. We were seated in a perfect spot anyway, cornered off with mellow music and dim lights. The biggest beauty of it all, is that it's open 24/7. I'm a bit over my head to say, but this evening onwards is what changed my entire mindset, I have a slight attachment to this place.

The night was perfect. I never felt that anything else could be so right. 

I've wanted to try a Cube Toast Dessert since spotting one passing by a cafe (ZenQ) in Sydney two years ago. Finally, a sweet place Downtown has answered my prayers. Upon my bud's arrival, we quickly got excited over the place, connected to the free wifi (lol), ordered up a few things and pulled out a few gameboards. By this time, it was 9PM and the cafe was empty. The only games we were remotely familiar with were Boggle and Battleship... And just for photo purposes... Yep.

Upon our steps towards the counter, we were immediately presented with sampler paper cups of a tea whose name slips my mind. It was very fragrant and warming. I looked to the shelves behind the chattering staff members and could only very slightly grasp of their words, nodding and amazed by the incredible amount of teas they had stocked along the walls. A few of their 'fall' teas were then pushed towards us for a sniff. They each had an amazing fragrant, well suited to their name, Mango Lassi, Pumpkin Pie, Cocoberry, Mom's Apple Pie, Sugar and Spice and Pistachio Cream my mind (or nose) was particularly fond of Cocoberry and Mango Lassi (Side note: I tried my first Mango Lassi from Harbourfront Centre the other day! Was - only $2 - and DELICIOUS).

After 10 minutes or so of chilling and waiting for our drinks, we were hollered at (hola at cho gurl) and went up to the counter to pay. I was ready to take out a fiver and unzipped my change purse "Gold Rush, $3 please.", dropping the tooney and looney into the cashier's hand, I felt like I was ripping her off. I walked back to my seat with my warm cup of tea in my right hand and sat down to finish being amazed at the low price.

I opened it up, oh boy. The heavenly scent of our teas crawled up out of the spout and gave us a nice slap in the face. This is fantastic.  A cup of this for $3? And hold up, that's with whatever add-ons you please! Screw Tim Hortons (not that I've ever tried their teas... or have any go-to place for tea).