FIENDING for FRING'S

Choosing a restaurant for a birthday dinner can be daunting. Especially for someone like me. I am a person who needs the ambiance, the location, the food selection AND the dessert selection to be on POINT. A place like Fring's can appear intimidating on the outside - expensive, upscale, intimate, a cool instagram famous neon sign (from which I hashtagged my whole trip #6onaWAVE), named by and partially owned by Toronto's very own Drake (rumor has it that "Fring" is the nickname Drake gave Rihanna when they dated *shrugs*) - will it live up to the hype? I was pleasantly surprised by the presentation, the flavor combinations and the flair that the restaurant executed effortlessly (not to mention, the playlist that floated throughout the space was poppin' too).

I decided to go with what my mouth was craving since I read the menu online: the pan roasted miso salmon (YUM-MEE). I have no pictures of it because I jumped in without pause as soon as the plate hit the table. This dish was a healthy portion of fresh salmon with miso that was to die for (I had to ask for extra!). It was accompanied by roasted fingerling potatoes, fresh citrus with shiso and green onions. I also ordered a side of the maple roasted brussels sprouts with bacon, fresh thyme and pearl onions. Talk about a burst of flavor! The palettes on my tongue were firing on all 6 cylinders.

My bestie was feeling lucky and daring (and is WAY less picky of an eater than me) so she had the Chef's Choice which was surprise after surprise of deliciousness. The first tasting was a sake oyster shot with lemongrass, shallot and chive mignonette + salmon ikura. She had a moment after this one and proclaimed that it is was one of the best things she'd ever eaten (big words).

What followed was a several plates of epicurean dishes that didn't disappoint from beginning to end. She allowed me to have a taste of each one.

How did they pack so much flavor into a little bitty tuna tartare? A punch of flavor in every morsel!

That was followed by the tomatillo verde and brie stuffed crab cake with a sweet beet puree (dense and perfectly seasoned). Next up was the southern spiced maple fried chicken and hong style waffle with spicy maple syrup glaze (perfectly cooked chicken and juxtaposing flavors). Her fifth and final tasting was this pastry wrapped prawn in a sweet Korean chili sauce, enoki and shimeji mushrooms. Perfection! All of it!

Since it was birthday, they brought me a birthday sorbet but being the sweet treat girl I am, I had to order the molten lava chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream and blueberry preserves. Yuuuuummmy. Of course there are no pictures of my food because I don't know how to wait!

I must go back to try the sake oyster for myself (:)), the homemade gnocchi with chorizo, beef short rib tacos with avocado, spicy mango pineapple salsa, slow braise short rib with garlic potatoe puree. You must visit Fring's on your Toronto visit if you haven't. Please go and tell me everything!