East is East
I have to admit I had high expectations before coming to East is East, I’ve seen their Instagram account and I really wanted to experience the uniqueness of the place, it truly looked like a place with a lot of character. I was very interested in trying out their food as well. And after my dinner I can say that my expectations were fulfilled, I left happy and with a full belly.
When we walked in through the restaurant's doors we were offered to try some of their traditional Chai Latte - it is made with black or green tea, raw cane sugar, milk, ginger & secret blend of spices brewed for hours. It was very rich, spicy and delicious. Definitely a must to try!
The Menu is straight forward, just the way I like it. East is East offers The Chai Feast option. It’s a signature tasting menu, the Chai Feast is served with your selection of soup, salad and any of the two dishes. You get a variety of vegan, vegetarian and meat options. It comes with boulani, hot chutney. Afgan & Basmati rice. You can choose more of some or different dishes throughout your meal. It’s a $35 per person, if it’s a vegetarian Chai Feast the price is $30 .
We had the Chai Feast and it consisted of:
- Persian Salad & Quinoa tabbouleh salad.
- Mystic soup - Mushrooms cooked in coconut milk infused with lemongrass, basil, ginger and green Thai curry paste.
Main dishes:
Wild Salmon - which was so nicely done, the green Thai Coconut milk curry was a perfect sauce for it. I truly recommend trying it.
Tibetan Mantu - Steamed dumplings stuffed with cheese, green onions, chives and herbs. I was very interested about this dish. And I really liked it, the texture the mix of the flavors.
Besides the Chai Feast we also tried having one of their main dishes - Mango Prawns. Sautéed prawns in a spicy mango lime leaf, star anise curry sauce served over basmati rice. It was my favorite dish it had so much taste and the shrimp were tender. I loved it!
East is East offers a nice variety of cocktails and other drinks. Like Lassi, coffees and teas.
We had:
Lassi Kashmiri Sunset - organic yogurt, mango, rose water, cardamom.
Iced Hibiscus tea - so refreshing!
LIVE PERFORMANCES
At the end of our visit we got to watch a show, they have live performances every night (usually around 7:00-7:30PM)
You can find the schedule of the performances here for both locations: http://www.eastiseast.ca/music.html
To sum up, East is East is definitely worth checking out if you are looking to spend your evening in an exotic, different kind of way with great ambiance, good quality food and excellent service I am absolutely coming back to try more of their food!