Peter Hum

Ottawa Jazz musicians, and lovers: Join us on the third Wednesday of every month for our Jazz Jam led by the Peter Hum Trio: A night of great tunes, networking, and collaboration. Whether you play, sing, dance, or just love to watch — you never know who will show up! All experience levels are welcome🎶

While “Mott 32” nods to New York’s Chinatown, this restaurant brand represents upscale Chinese cuisine globally, usually in posh hotels or resorts, in not only Asia but also North America and the Middle East. A location in Melbourne expected later this year. We went to @mott32toronto in the @shangrilato for dim sum and were not disappointed. In our steamers were: hot and sour iberico pork soup dumplings King prawn har gow Crab and caviar dumplings Miso cod dumplings Eel cheung fun braised beef balls with tangerine peel Everything was very, very bougie, and really quite good if you can afford it. The dessert game here was strong. We like soy sauce ice cream, it turns out! The rose and white chocolate panna cotta was as tasty as it was pretty. Yes, this is as much a global chain as any other. The menu in Toronto is the same as in Vancouver or Las Vegas or Seoul or Scottsdale. But the execution and sophistication were still significant, and I’d be ecstatic if I could get dim sum and Chinese food of this calibre in Ottawa PS: They played a lot of Olivia Dean over their sound system. I wonder if the same is true in other Mott 32s #dimsum #dumplings #dumpling #torontofood #torontoeats

We’re glad we followed @mel_kng ’s tip and tried @belleisle__ in East Toronto’s Little India neighbourhood. While the space here was originally intended to be a dive bar, its become a dining spot where what they chose to call “contemporary Cantonese” is served, thanks to the predilections of chefs Keith Siu and Ronan Shaftoe. We had and enjoyed: Char siu pork chop and pork belly with ginger-scallion sauce Turnip cake, a high-end riff on lo bak go that stressed the crisp exterior and creamy interior that this dim sum fave could attain Beef tartare that leaned into cumin-y, arguably northern Chinese flavours An interesting take on cheung fun, that included beef shank and tendon in a rich sauce that made us think of French cuisine Grilled sea bream Duck confit claypot rice with dried tangerine peel. To me this was the must-order, although I confess to being very sentimental about dishes with dried tangerine peel, which are native to the part of southern China where my ancestors are from. Kudos to chef Shaftoe, who came up with this dish and comes honestly upon his Canto-philic cooking, having cooked at @yardbirdyakitori in Hong Kong Snow pea tips Two desserts that were OK but not as compelling as the savoury dishes that wowed me I also had a duck-fat-washed rye old-fashioned-ish kind of drink I really liked the intention, clever mashups and sheer tastiness of the food here and would happily return. #torontofood #torontoeats #easttoronto #contemporarycantonesefood

Chinese food for the soul at @supreme_taste1 . For lunch today, my cousin took me to this place in Toronto’s East Chinatown run by expats from Kaiping, the county in southern China where our ancestors are from. We spoke as much Cantonese and Toisan-wah as we could - I am very basic - and the welcome was as warm as the food was tasty. #chinesebbq #cantonesebbq #torontoeats

Hard to believe, but even after last night’s @canadasbest100 restaurants event, @dglickstal and I wanted to eat some more. Off we went to @thelunchladytoronto , which was slammed at 9 pm on a Monday, where we had: beef carpaccio with peanuts, crispy shallots, Thai basil, mint, perilla, lime vinaigrette - complex, herbaceous, lots of other popping flavours softshell crab - nicely fried, meaty, bolstered by green chili aioli off-menu pomelo salad, with a super-zingy dressing and a crunchy, furikake-tasting rice cracker, possibly my fave garlic noodles with XO butter, parmesan and heaps of sweet red crab - a luxurious finish to dinner I also had a pho-spiced old-fashioned I ate a few years ago at the much-lived, OG Lunch Lady in East Vancouver and really enjoyed dinner there. Happy to say that I enjoyed dinner last night at the Toronto location just as much. #vietfood #lunchladytoronto #ossington

Last night’s @canadasbest100 restaurants unveiling at Queen’s Quay in Toronto was a fun, buzzy get-together. It was great to see some of the country’s best eateries celebrate what they do so well. Congrats to the excellent restaurants that made this year’s list, and to Jacob Richler and his team for compiling their definitive annual take on Canada’s dining scene. The event’s food and drink stations provided a nice window on what leading restaurants from Vancouver to Halifax have to offer. Sadly, no Ottawa restaurants got to strut their stuff. Next year, I hope. From @akin.toronto in Toronto: A tom yum sphere made of lobster, coconut milk, enoki mushroom, lime leaf, lemongrass, Thai chili, lime juice and fish sauce Cappelletti di Cafe from @tribute.restaurant in Nova Scotia: fresh pasta, tallegio, asiago, cinnamon cap mushrooms and prosciutto butter From @restaurantbeba in Montreal: Foie gras-stuffed dates with pistachio and olive oil From @lecrocodilerestaurant in Vancouver: Bluefin tuna tart with shaved foie From @takja_bbq in Toronto: Dry-aged spicy beef tartare with gochujang yukhoe vinaigrette, chives, toasted pine nuts, puffed brown rice, egg yolk sauce in a nori chip From @pasta.pooks in Montreal: Raviolo stuffed with ricotta and spinach From @gatsbysyyc in Toronto: Maitake mushroom tarte souffle From @current_caviar : A bump of Imperial osetra caviar A @oishii.berry strawberry mini-pavlova From @rizzoshouseofparm in Thunder Bay: Tiramisu #canadas100best #canadiancuisine #canadianrestaurants

A recent postprandial stroll in downtown Ottawa, beside @fairmontlaurier , with my colleague @sofsilva.mtl . Thanks to ace paparazzo @nicoleferiancek #myottawalife #chateaulaurier #downtownottawa

Here’s a little recap of the vegan dinner party I was lucky enough to attend last night. The welcome drink was a mix of gin, grapefruit juice, lime juice and preserved lemon puree The meal kicked off with great snacks — mushroom-walnut pate, garlic confit and caramelized onions with @breadbyus bread, plus marinated olives. The soup was a tomato-red pepper bisque The small plate included miso-kombu marinated king oyster mushrooms (standing in for scallops), a corn-based puree and soy “chorizo” The main was potato gnocchi with arugula pesto, asparagus, tofu ricotta and cherry tomatoes Not pictured was the excellent lemon curd panna cotta Thanks to our hosts for the great meal and excellent company, including Samsy the wonder pooch. #vegan #veganfood #veganhomecooking #doggo

The lovely pool at @graycliffbahamas #graycliffbahamas #visitbahamas #caribbean #caribbeanvibes #bythepool

I didn’t do my homework properly before I visited @graycliffbahamas , and so I had a lot to learn about this deluxe hotel and restaurant drenched in history. It was a pirate’s mansion in the 1700s, for example. British royalty, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, have stayed there. It also has a world-class, award-winning wine cellar, with an inventory of over 250,000 bottles from over 5000 vintners in 20 countries. One of its treasures is a 1727 Rudesheimer Apostelwein from Bremen Ratskeller in the “Rheinghau” Region, which would only set you back a little more than $200,000 US if you wanted to taste it. We had a tour of the wine cellar before our lovely al fresco dinner at Graycliff, which is normally only available for those who stay over in one of the property’s guest rooms. You can also dine privately and exclusively in the cellar for $1,100. Maybe you’d like to splurge? #graycliffbahamas #winewinewine #winecellar

The best thing that I ate during my recent trip to @visitthebahamas ? Easy. The stone crab claws with a Dijon dipping sauce at @graycliffbahamas , which I enjoyed under the stars on a perfect Caribbean evening. If you’re a seafood fan who hasn’t yet had stone crab claws, put them on your culinary bucket list. The last time I had them was in Miami in the late 1990s. I’m not going to wait another three decades to have some more. PS: Start with the conch chowder and finish with souffles. #graycliffbahamas #caribbeanfood #stonecrab #stonecrabs #stonecrabclaws

A fun cocktail at @themanorbar : Le Bethune, made with Bahamian Amaro Cascarilla, @giffard_liqueurs_syrups apricot liqueur and bourbon. I asked the cocktail’s creator what I could swap in for the Cascarilla once I got home, and his response was to stress choosing a quality amaro over a taste-alike substitute. #cocktails #bahamas #manorbarbahamas