Azul Beach Hotel

I must admit that I am literally a month behind in my blog posts, partially because my phone crashed and I lost all my notes, and partially because my son doesn't nap as much as he used to which means I have less time to write. Nevertheless, I decided to deviate from my regularly scheduled programming to talk about the fabulous time that we had in Mexico!

Restaurant: Azul Beach Hotel
Location: Mexico
Meal: All
Day: All
Son's Age: 8 months

Azul Beach Hotel is an all-inclusive resort by Karisma, located in Puerto Morelos near Cancun. It's different from your average all-inclusive in that, while there are some buffets available, the food is actually available across several different restaurants on-site with full service, which allows for a different quality of food that I haven't seen at a resort before. It is also a boutique hotel specifically designed for families with babies and young children, so you don't see drunken party people running around at all hours of the night. If anything, all the bars close at 1am (although all rooms are stocked with a mini bar and there is 24 hour room service, so yes, I did order a late night piña colada to be delivered to my room). Since I know how hard it is to travel with a baby, I wanted to include this review for any Toronto moms looking to plan a family vacation.

Accessibility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Like I said, this place is designed for babies. They provided a crib, stroller, baby bath/change table, baby monitor, bottle warmer, and sterilizer.

The restaurants are all equipped with baby high chairs, restaurant high chairs, and booster seats to suit children of all ages.

While there are several pools, one is a kids' pool that is warm and shallow, which is perfect for babies! It's even lined with kid-sized beach chairs!

Speaking of beach chairs, instead of fighting for chairs in the morning and draping towels all over the place, you can reserve a beach bed the day before. 

These are particularly nice because it makes it easy for baby to take a nap while you read your book and relax by the water. They even have some hanging beds if your baby likes the swaying motion. 

If you are used to doing circle time at home with parent and baby groups, they actually have an indoor kids' playground that is air conditioned, and circle time in the morning!

If you like any of the toys there, you can also sign them out for the day to let your baby play with them on the beach. Actually, if you forgot sunscreen, they also have some kids sunscreen you can use! Finally, there is a partnership with Nickelodeon which means your baby can meet characters and attend an orange carpet event. 

I think my son was too young to appreciate what was happening, but if you have an older child, this would probably be very exciting. From an accessibility standpoint, this resort was pretty much made for babies, and I can't imagine it gets any better than this. 

Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The staff here are all pretty much trained to deal with babies and young children, so everyone was very cordial and helpful. High chairs are regularly cleaned. I brought my son's bib, which the staff offered to clean after most meals and bring back. Because it is a small place, the staff is pretty good at remembering people, and the server bringing drinks around the beach remembered our drink orders and would bring us new drinks without us asking. I have to remove a star, though, because there were a couple incidents that could have been improved. Specifically, on he first day, we were told to wait in the tequila lounge while they got our information to check us in. Later, I realized it was one of the few indoor or conditioned places on the resort (the restaurants are open air), but at the time, this was not explained, and we waited quite a whole before anyone told us what was going on. Also, the baby amenities were not in the room when we arrived, and I had to call the front desk three times before they were delivered. Finally, at one point we ordered room service, and it took much longer to arrive than they had said it would. Granted, they then brought us a bottle of champagne as an apology, so they were clearly aware that there was an issue. I bring these up because, other than the room service,

 the issues were all on the first day, which gave us the impression that we were in for a stressful vacation, when this was nowhere near the case. Everyone was nice and happy to interact with my son, and we even managed to book a baby friendly trip to Chichen Itza and bring the resort-provided stroller. 

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Obviously, this is a food blog, so my focus is going to be the food. And oh boy, the food alone was totally worth it! Everything was restaurant quality. There are five restaurants in the resort. The main one is Blue, which is the only one open at breakfast and one of two open at lunch. Upon arrival at lunchtime, they always bring some bread with hummus and aioli. 

Now I was here for a full week and did not initially intend to blog about this, so the rest of my photos aren't going to be categorized. But all the restaurants provided an assortment of Gerber baby food so you don't have to worry about packing food for the baby. 

Also the rocket salad with tuna carpaccio was fantastic but you can see the presentation of Gerber food in the photo. The bad news is that my son does not digest Gerber food very well (let's just say results were explosive). The good news is that they were happy to cook food for the baby instead, so he was able to eat banana, avocado, steamed vegetables, chicken, pasta, peanut butter on toast, etc. 

I include this information as part of my food review because really, he was eating baby portions of the adult food, and he definitely enjoyed it. The other restaurants are Chill (lunch only - burgers and sandwiches), Roma (Italian), Tainan (Asian), and Latino (self explanatory). For dinner, Latino was definitely my favourite, but the food was delicious everywhere so you won't be disappointed. And now for my onslaught of random food photos from the trip:

Oh also I know I didn't take any photos but they had some of the best ice cream ever - I swear it must be made in house because the coconut ice cream definitely has real coconut and same with the strawberry and the lychee. Plus they have a separate crepe and panini place and I never would have thought peanut butter and berries go together until I tried their crepe. 

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ 

If you are looking to go on vacation but you are worried about travelling with a baby, I highly recommend Azul Beach Hotel. They really take care of everything for you, and if you just want some sun and some seriously amazing food, this place is worth every penny. 

Fabbrica

I found myself in the northeast region of Toronto one day and in need of some lunch. It was just me and the baby, so I decided that the Shops on Don Mills were probably a pretty safe bet. From there, I decided to give Fabbrica a try.

Restaurant: Fabbrica
Location: Don Mills
Meal: Lunch
Day: Thursday
Son's Age: 7 months

Fabbrica is owned my Mark McEwan, aka Canada's version of Tom Colicchio, as far as Top Chef is concerned. So far, my experience with celebrity chefs' restaurants have been relatively good (a couple of exceptions that I will not name now but probably suffered from too much hype), so I was actually really looking forward to my meal.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first tip off that accessibility would be good was location - the Shops at Don Mills are both baby friendly and wheelchair accessible (which generally also means stroller accessible). I brought my son in his stroller and the hostess made sure I got a table where I could easily park him next to me.

The next table over had three young children - one in a car seat, one in a high chair, and one in a booster. Thus, I was able to determine that this restaurant is prepared for children of all ages. There is also a family washroom available.

While there isn't a change table per se, as you can see, there is a long counter spot which you could easily use in lieu of s change table. The front entrance also has a handicap button to open the door automatically, which is nice when you are pushing a stroller alone.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As I mentioned, the hostess was nice enough to find me a table where I could park my son. I was also able to check my coat at the front, which is always useful when I'm going out with baby and don't want my coat in the way. My server also brought me a little pot of hot water to heat my son's food.

I like that there's a lid too - it makes me feel like I'm heating the food up quicker (not sure if it's actually true but the placebo effect can be surprisingly useful sometimes). When I was torn between two different dishes for lunch, my server helpfully let me know that I didn't need to make a decision because I could order half portions of both! He was very interactive with my baby, which I always appreciate. I couldn't ask for better service.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Moment of truth. I really wanted to like the food, and we were off to a good start with the bread.

Served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the bread had a nice crunch to the crust but was soft and warm on the inside. For my main, I ordered a half portion of Nonna McEwan's ravioli and a half portion of the pappardelle.

The ravioli was made with veal, pork, beef, tomato sauce, and reggiano. I figured this must be a signature dish because of the naming, but it was shockingly bland. In retrospect, I wish I asked for some chilli flakes or oil just to add any kind of flavour to it. The pappardelle, on the other hand, was more promising. This came with braised short rib, tomato, and basil. The short rib was delicious but a touch saltier than I'd like. This actually worked in my favour as it balanced out the boring ravioli. The pasta itself was good but a tad thicker than I like my pappardelle. Flaws in this dish were minor, and if I had only ordered the pappardelle, perhaps I could give a more generous rating, but I just can't believe how underwhelming that ravioli was!

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
While the food didn't live up to my expectations, the restaurant is extremely accessible for families with babies, and the service is impeccable. If you are in the area with your baby, I would say this place is worth a try.

Golden Jade Restaurant

For my aunt's birthday, my cousin arranged a surprise family lunch in Markham, and of course I brought my baby along with me.

Restaurant: Golden Jade Restaurant
Location: Markham
Meal: Lunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 7 months

Apparently, this restaurant actually relocated from the Steeles and Silver Star area. The entire meal was ordered ahead of time so I must admit that I am not always aware of what I ate or what it would be called on the menu, but I can still review how I liked it!

Accessibility: ⭐️
The good news is, there is a dedicated parking lot. I brought my son in his car seat to place on a chair at the table.

Of course, since this was a family function, the moment I set the car seat down, a family member came and scooped him up, so here is a photo of the empty car seat! The washrooms, on the other hand, are far from accessible.

There is absolutely no counter space to change a diaper and no change table. If you drove, I suppose you could change your baby in your car. Also, I did not see any high chairs around, nor was one offered to me, so I suspect they don't have any, in case your child is old enough to sit in one.

Service: ⭐️⭐️
Despite the fact that it was a surprise lunch, my aunt was actually quite punctual. Lunch was already late (1pm), but food did not arrive until an hour later. I'm particularly aware because my sister could only stay for an hour and thus was not able to eat anything for lunch. In general, the servers barely acknowledged us, and the only reason I give two stars is because they helped arrange the surprise birthday party and helped us take a group photo afterward.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am going to try my best to describe each of these dishes as accurately as possible. First, we started with soup.

Generally, I enjoy soup, and I found that this was no exception. It was a nice way to start the meal on a cool day in November (although it would be nicer if I didn't have to wait an hour for it). The next dish was chicken and jellyfish.

The chicken was served cold (intentionally - not a product of the late start). It's quite good once you wrap your head around eating cold chicken, and it goes surprisingly well with the jellyfish, which I usually associate with pork. Next there was this dish.

I have to admit that I don't remember what this was or how it tasted, but clearly it did not leave any kind of impression on me, good or bad. We then had some fried fish.

This dish was pretty tasty albeit a little dry. There was a little bit of chilli on it, so it gives a little bit of a kick but still manageable for those who can't handle their food too spicy. This was followed by beef and mushrooms. 

This was also good but relatively generic, so it provided a bit of variety to the meal but was not a standout. We also had sweet and sour pork. 

I actually really enjoyed this because it wasn't too greasy. For those of you who are not accustomed to Chinese food, this is not the sweet and sour pork you get from Manchu Wok. It has fresh peppers and onions and a good amount of sweet and sour sauce. The next dish was bok choy. 

While it doesn't seem impressive, this was a welcome reprieve from all the other heavier dishes we had been eating thus far. Plus, it's always good to eat your veggies! After this, we had a much more memorable dish. 

I don't know what this was exactly, but it was shrimp coated in something orange and fried. Flavour wise, it was delicious and unique. Texturally, the coating was very powdery, which I thought was strange and off putting, as it left a weird aftertaste in my mouth. The consensus around the table seemed to be that the flavour more than made up for the texture, though, so I guess I kind of recommend it? Although how would you even ask how to order this? That weird orangey powdery deep fried shrimp? I don't know. Anyway, the next two items were your standard noodles and fried rice. 

I actually don't even remember the noodles, and I remember the rice even less 

As far as the whole meal goes, the food ranged from delicious to unmemorable yet inoffensive. I'd say that makes to a rather enjoyable lunch overall. 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️½

The food is pretty good, but the service was less than impressive and the restaurant itself does not make it easy to bring a baby. As such, I wouldn't recommend bringing a baby here (not to mention that the location itself is already pretty inconvenient if you live in the city). 

Sushi Moto

I'm actually writing this post while I am on my vacation in Mexico, but I realize it's been a while and I'm just relaxing anyway so why not! I should caution that my memory is a little hazy on this one, but I know that I was near my sister's office so I decided to meet her for lunch. I asked her to pick a restaurant and she chose Sushi Moto.

Restaurant: Sushi Moto
Location: Willowdale
Meal: Lunch
Day: Friday
Son's Age: 7 months

This seemed like it would be a decent spot for lunch, and when we arrived, they seated us in a private area that was curtained off, which seemed very considerate for both the baby and the other patrons.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️
For starters, there is a step to get into the restaurant, which is not ideal for strollers. That being said, I was able to get my stroller next to the table.

I should probably start asking for high chairs but my baby is actually quite long and skinny and extremely wiggly so I'm worried that he'll fall out. That being said, no one offered a high chair either, so I'm not clear if that was an option. The washroom was located downstairs which is also not so stroller friendly. 

There is no designated change table but if your baby isn't inclined to roll around her, there is a long counter top that could be used to change a diaper. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What Sushi Moto lacks in accessibility, it more than makes up for in service. As I said, we were given a private seating area. I asked for some hot water to heat up my son's lunch, wondering in my head if a baby cube would fit into a tea cup, and the server brought the water in a small bowl.

This was perfect for me to put the cube in and take out without burning my fingers! Service overall was excellent and everyone was very accommodating to the baby.

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I ordered the salmon teriyaki bento box, which interestingly enough was served with two soups.

One was a standard miso soup, and the other I'm not sure about since it wasn't noted on the menu, but as you can see, there are noodles in it. Both tasted fine - I generally enjoy soup so they were both satisfying but nothing particularly outstanding.

The bento came with salad, tempura, California rolls, and rice. Everything was delicious, but similar to the soups, it all tasted pretty standard. If you like Japanese food, particularly bento boxes, the food here will not disappoint you, but it's not very memorable either.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
The service here really helps to make the place baby friendly, and the food is good enough. I would recommend bringing your baby here if you are in the area. 

The Good Fork

So I've been trying to get to the Good Fork for a while and finally managed to meet up with my bestie there! I used to come here all the time when I didn't care about waiting 45 minutes for a table (aka before I had a baby), but luckily my friend was able to meet me for brunch on a weekday.

Restaurant: The Good Fork
Location: Bloor West Village
Meal: Brunch
Day: Monday
Son's Age: 6 months

I had made a reservation, but once we arrived the hostess asked to wait a few more minutes because they had originally reserved a table upstairs, but upon seeing my baby in a stroller, they thought it would be better for me to wait for a table on the main floor. The hostess also noted that the second floor was a bit colder.

Accessibility: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
High chairs are available but since my son isn't great at sitting still they let me park the stroller next to the table.

There is also an accessible washroom on the main floor with a change table provided so it's easy to just wheel the stroller in. 

There's not really anything more you can ask for to be baby friendly, so as far as accessibility goes, the Good Fork gets five stars. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I appreciated being seated on the main floor and everything went smoothly - food arrived promptly and there were no issues splitting the bill. My small quibble is that I had to ask for a coffee refill a couple times, but overall service was great. 

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is one of my favourite brunch places in the city. A lot of times, I find one restaurant and one good dish and I order the same thing every time I go. Not here. There are genuinely multiple dishes that I would recommend, and it's great for larger groups or pickier eaters because there's a large variety of brunch and lunch items, with a good mix of meat versus vegetarian and healthy versus indulgent. On this occasion, I had to order the fork scramble.

This is a puff pastry topped with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, whipped chive crème fraiche, and dill, served with a side of salad. The puff pastry is light and fluffy and all the components just go so well together. It's filling without being heavy, which is just lovely. Lest you think that I'm on a diet all of a sudden, I should explain that I wanted something light to offset my order of a side of red velvet pancakes.

Yes, you read that right. Red. Velvet. Pancakes. Seriously. If you don't order this, you are insane. It's served with a vanilla cream cheese frosting, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. These are without a doubt my favourite pancakes in the city. You can actually get a full sized order of this, but I opted to get the side and split with my friend so that I could ultimately get a combination of sweet and savoury without stuffing myself.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
This is such a great place to brunch with baby. The restaurant itself is so baby friendly and accessible, and the food is delicious. If you come on a weekday, you can actually make reservations too. I highly recommend trying this place out if you haven't already. 

St. Clair Banh Cuon Pho Ga

There are actually a few Vietnamese restaurants in my area, but my favourite, sadly, has closed down. Determined to find another one, my husband and I decided to try St. Clair Banh Cuon Pho Ga.

Restaurant: St. Clair Banh Cuon Pho Ga
Location: Corso Italia
Meal: Lunch
Day: Sunday
Son's Age: 6 months

I admit, typically when I think Vietnamese, I think pho. Specifically, I think house pho (probably menu number 101) - made with rare and well-done beef, tendon, and tripe, sometimes with beef balls and/or brisket thrown in. My husband is a little more adventurous with the menu (with the exception of my favourite place which had six courses of beef - and that's the last I'll say about that since, as I said earlier, it closed down). However, as the name of this restaurant suggests, their specialty is in banh cuon and pho ga, so naturally, we had to give these a try.

Accessibility: ⭐️
This shouldn't really be a surprise, but this place is not super baby friendly. We brought our son in his car seat and placed him on a chair.

There is a step to get into the restaurant, and there were no high chairs in sight. The place is quite small, and the washroom is down in the basement, so definitely not stroller friendly. On top of that, there is definitely nowhere to change diapers in the washroom. 

I suppose if you were really desperate, there are some deep freezers in the basement as well right outside the washroom that provide a flat surface. 

Please note that I am not recommending you do this, because, you know, hygiene, but I'm acknowledging that sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Service was pretty much what you would expect from a Vietnamese restaurant. Everything was fine, but nothing was particularly memorable and servers certainly don't go above and beyond. 

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We decided to order the banh cuon cha lua banh cong, which, according to the menu, is steamed rice flour rolls with ground pork, sausage, and cupcake. We also each ordered a bowl of pho ga, which is chicken pho. 

So I feel the description needs to be clarified. The rice rolls are similar to Chinese cheung fun stuffed with ground pork. The sausage comes on the side and is reminiscent of cold cuts. The cupcake is like a deep fried cake with shrimp inside, about the size of a small cup, so while the description is technically accurate, it is somewhat misleading. The dish is served with fish sauce. Personally, I found the whole dish to be very tasty, although I could have done without the sausage. My husband didn't think it was particularly special, but I really love cheung fun so this dish was right up my alley. As for the chicken pho, I definitely recommend it, especially for people who like chicken more than beef. I thought it was delicious, although I personally prefer beef. The pho was served with a plate of bean sprouts, lime wedges, and basil leaves, as well as some cut up chilies, which I like better than the whole chilies that most pho places give you. I wouldn't mind eating here again, but I should note that my husband wasn't impressed so it's not a place for everyone. 

Overall: ⭐️⭐️½

Despite the food being different and enjoyable, this place is really not designed to be baby friendly and the service doesn't help improve the situation.