Torontoan fare pulls inspiration from across the globe

Posted on Saturday 23 June 2012 in Holidays, Canada, Toronto

By Rory MacTavish

As one of Canada's largest metropolitan areas, Toronto is a multiculturally diverse city with an array of influences, including Chinese, Greek, Indian, Russian, Japanese and even Caribbean customs shining through their original Torontoan ways. All of these nationalities are featured in restaurant dishes throughout the urban community, making it easy and fun for Kiwis to immerse themselves in Canadian culture simply by venturing out for a nice meal in town.

At Hawker Bar, visitors to Toronto may think for a moment that they accidentally hopped on flights to Singapore when they step inside. The team behind the newly sculpted lounge aimed to bring some edge to the city's already diverse culinary selection and successfully did so with the advent of the cozy bar situated on Ossington Ave. Offering modern twists on the Southeast Asian city's classic dishes, Hawker attracts not only those who crave signature Singapore meals like chili crab and laksa, but dozens of curious eaters who are dying to try something new. One of the best meals on the menu is the Hainanese chicken rice, with chili sauce, ginger puree and dark soy.

While specialty joints like Hawkers can open a traveller's eyes to one particular style of cuisine, spots like Market 707 provide Kiwis on Toronto holidays with a culinary overload in one central location. The community market offers a variety of world street foods, ranging from Filipino fare like coconut steamed rice muffins, or "puto," Korean classics and North Indian street food. Served from repurposed shipping containers, the meals are home-cooked yet quick, so Kiwis don't have to sit long waiting for their delectable meals.

According to Matador Network, an online travel forum for those with a shared wanderlust to connect, the "Sloppy Bunjo" is a must-try at the Toronto market. Owner Tony Sabherwal hands out this popular takeaway, derived from Indian culinary customs, to dozens of visitors who visit his eponymous stall. Served on a soft hot dog bun, the fusion of curried yellow masala peas, tamarind, scallions and pickled black radish is an explosion of tastes for the sampler's palate. To top off the meal, a split samosa, which is a fried pastry stuffed with a savoury filling, hides underneath the curry to add some kick to the sloppy sandwich.

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