St. Lawrence Market

St. Lawrence Market is the oldest market in Toronto that has been around for more than two centuries. Built in the 1800s in Old Town Toronto, the market has become one of the city’s iconic landmark and is now home to more than 120 merchants and farmers that sell various local and international fresh produce and gourmet food. With the abundance of food choices that are available, St. Lawrence Market has also become a culinary hotspot for food enthusiasts. During weekdays, you can find local craftspeople and artisans selling their crafts in the market. On weekends, there are Saturday Farmer’s Market and Sunday Antique Market going on where you can do more shopping.

For a cosmopolitan market, I think St. Lawrence Market is really nice. The place is clean and well-maintained, and the layout of the market is not too cramped in-between vendors (at least on the upper level. On the lower level, the space is a bit smaller), making exploring the market an enjoyable experience. If you’re a tourist or a local who is looking for a ready-to-eat food, there are plenty of choices available at the market. Western options such as meat sandwiches, cured meats, cheese, pizza and fresh seafood to name a few are easy to find but international cuisines are also available such as Chinese food, Greek food and French desserts.

One notable vendor is Buster’s Sea Cove, one of the legendary institutions in Toronto that has been selling the freshest and most delectable seafood inside the market since its flagship opening in 1992. Their house special—the East Coast Lobster Roll—is apparently a crowd’s favorite and ended up making my friend joining the long line in front of the counter to order one to try. 

East Coast Lobster Roll with Salad $25.03 | 7/10

Their East Coast Lobster Roll with salad is served with pickles and a slice of lemon. The chopped up lobster meat is served cold on a grilled bun. The lobster meat is fresh and seasoned well, but I personally think the meat was chopped up too much. I think I just prefer bigger chunks of lobster meat on my lobster roll in general. But overall, it was alright. 

If you want to avoid the crowd, maybe go during odd hours like I did. I went there around 3 pm on a Saturday and the place was not super crowded. There were still a good number of people in the market so you can definitely still experience the market vibe. 

 

St. Lawrence Market

Address:
Farmer’s Market / South Market
The Market Lot
Front & Jarvis | Front & Church | Jarvis & Wellington
St. Lawrence Hall
The Market Lot | Front & Jarvis

Telephone: +1 416-392-7219

Hours:
South Market
Tuesday to Friday 9am-7pm | Saturday 7am-5pm | Sunday 10am-5pm | Closed on Mondays
Farmer's Market
Saturday 5am-3pm

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Gooderham Flatiron Building

Gooderham Building (or Gooderham “Flatiron” Building) is a wedge-like shaped structure occupying the same triangular land as the Berczy Park. The unique design of the building earned it the nickname of Toronto’s Flatiron Building, reminiscent of the famous Flatiron Building in New York. But compared to New York’s 22-story structure, Gooderham Building only comprised of 5-story made out of redbrick. The building was actually built in 1892—10 years earlier than the New York’s Flatiron Building—by architect David Roberts Jr. for the office of Gooderham & Worts, the largest manufacturer of distilled spirits in Canada during the 1830s. 

Other than its unique shape, Gooderham Building is also well-known for its trompe l’oeil Flatiron Mural on the back wall by renowned Canadian artist Derek Michael Besant. The mural facing the Berczy Park was commissioned by the city in 1980 and depicts a canvas with windows façade of a building painted on it. There are four nails painted on the fluttering edges of the the canvas, creating an illusion that the canvas is being nailed to the façade of the Gooderham building.

Today, Gooderham “Flatiron” Building is one of Toronto’s most well-known structure with the skyscrapers of the Financial District and CN Tower (from certain angles) towering in the background.

 

Gooderham "Flatiron" Building

Address: 49 Wellington St E, Toronto, ON M5E 1C9, Canada

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Berczy Park

Berczy Park is a small triangular park in downtown Toronto located between Wellington, Front and Scott streets. The park is named after Willam Berczy, a German-born architect, surveyor and writer who’s often considered as one of the founder of modern Toronto. 

In 2015, the park was renovated for the first time after its opening in 1980. The $7.2 million renovation was commissioned to landscape architects Claude Cormier + Associés of Montreal and the process took two years before the park was reopened again in Spring 2017.

Adopting a more playful theme, in the center of the park, you can find a large two-tiered fountain with dog sculptures around and on it that are sprouting water from their mouths towards center of the fountain. Surrounding the fountain are grassy berms, garden beds and park benches where you can sit, relax and enjoy the view. There’s also a total of 27 dog and one cat sculptures that are placed around the park. And if it’s not obvious by now, the park is dog friendly. They even have a ground level trough that provide drinking water for real dogs. Berczy Park is perfect place for dog owners, Torontonians and tourists alike to enjoy a little bit of green oasis in the middle of the city. 

 

Berczy Park

Address: 35 Wellington St E, Toronto, ON M5E 1C6, Canada

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PAI Uptown

PAI is a Thai restaurant chain in Toronto that serves menu which focuses on authentic northern Thai cuisine with international influence. The chain is run by Thai-born chef Nuit Regular and her husband chef Jeff Regular who own multiple Thai restaurants in the city. The duo are considered as the pioneers who popularized Thai cuisines in Toronto. Following the success of their first eat-in downtown location, they opened PAI Uptown in late 2020 at Yonge St.

When you enter through the unassuming door on the street level, walk up the stairs to the second floor and you’ll find yourself inside the spacious PAI Uptown restaurant. You’ll then be greeted by the host who will lead you to the dining area where yellow lantern-like lamps that are hanging from the high ceiling, giving the restaurant a warm glow and a somewhat intimate atmosphere. The restaurant is decorated with wooden floorings and furnitures with colorful walls and faux facade of buildings decoration surrounding the space. The setup makes you feel like you’re dining at a busy festive outdoor night market, especially with the live band playing on the stage at one corner of the room. The casual, laid-back and quirky vibe of the place makes it a great hang out spot to catch up with friends over some Thai food and a drink or two.

Spring Rolls $14 | 8/10

Three deep-fried vegetarian wheat paper wraps filed with mushrooms, glass noodles, and carrots, served with a sweet and spicy Thai chili sauce.

Crispy thin wraps with generous fillings. The fillings were nicely seasoned as well and tasted pretty authentic. Really enjoyed this appetizer as the opening of our meal.

Shrimp Pad See Ew $25.5 | 7/10

Stir-fried hand-cut rice noodles with sweet soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, egg and shrimp.

The dish is nicely cooked but the flavor profile was a bit different from what I usually have back in Asia. I think the flavor is on the lighter side and not as bold for my personal preference. But the individual ingredients were fresh and it still tasted good. Plus the portion was pretty generous.

Chef Nuit Shrimp Pad Thai $25 | 7/10

Red-flame stir-fried rice noodles in a house-made tamarind-palm sugar sauce with shrimp, beansprouts, tofu egg chives, long leaf coriander, shredded cabbage, fresh lime, and house-roasted peanuts.

Same comments as the Pad See Ew for the Pad Thai as well. Nicely cooked dish with fresh ingredients, flavor twist and generous portion.

Chicken Gaeng Massaman $22.5

Chicken in peanut and tamarind curry with coconut milk potatoes and white onions and topped with deep-fried crispy shallots. Served with steamed jasmine nice.

This was actually my friend’s order and I didn’t get to try it. But it is his favorite menu to order every time he came to visit. Their curry is supposedly good according to my friends who frequent this place. 

Overall, the food tasted good but you can definitely taste the international influence on these northern Thai cuisines. I’m by no means an expert on Thai food, but I’ve had my fair share of Thai food in Asia and the flavors are a bit different. And not necessarily in a bad way, it’s just different. But if you’re like my friend who’s missing a little taste of home, PAI Uptown can definitely satisfy your cravings.

 

PAI Uptown

Address: 2335 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4P 2E6, Canada
Telephone: +16479465226

Hours:
Monday 4:00 pm–9:30 pm
Tuesday-Thursday 11:30 am–9:30 pm
Friday & Saturday 11:30 am–10 pm

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