Essence of Unionville (Western)

Essence of Unionville is located is Markham, the town bordering Toronto northeast, at 8800 Warden Ave., in the Hilton Toronto/Markham suites. Weekday buffet breakfast is served (it's à la carte brunch on weekends.) Essence has a very nice elegant open interior. Grapefruit, orange and apple juice and coffee is included.

Mishy loved the bacon and said it was perfectly done and crisp which I definitely agree on... very good. Unfortunately the syrup for pancakes is in plastic containers rather being loose, which definitely indicates it isn't real. It was still pretty good and the pancakes were as well. Chicken apple sausages were good but would have been better if not cold... we noticed that almost everything was too low temperature even thought we didn’t let it sit after getting it. Scrambled eggs seem to be from a pre-made mix, and were also too low temperature as Mishy also noted.

Mishy indicated her strawberry danish was stale. Cinnamon roll was full of flavour and fresh. Charcuterie cheddar, brie and possibly havarti cheeses were very good. Cold meats were also very good and fresh; prosciutto was quite good. Breakfast potatoes were not too cold... happily were just the opposite and were delicious even on their own. Oatmeal was good with accompanying raisins and brown sugar is present in the table display. Fruit yogurt was excellent and a great finisher. Weekday breakfast buffet was $28. This is pretty typical pricewise currently. There were some shortcomings and we found the nearby Crave to be better (including in cost as it was even cheaper on a weekend) but this was still alright.

Rating: 7.5 - 8 / 10 + 0 value adjustment (standard pricing) =  7.5 - 8

Crave - Richmond Hill (Western)

Crave is located in the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North at 600 Hwy. 7 at Leslie in Richmond Hill. Breakfast buffet is served. We went on a weekend. There were plenty of customers, and the location has a nice interior, which was not too noisy.

Mishy loved the breakfast burrito, saying it was even better than Sinaloa Factory's which is a dedicated Mexican place; I found the flavour muted but still enjoyed it. However, she indicated the French toast needed more cinnamon or other seasoning, and was basically just bread... I agreed as it had a slight cinnamon or other flavour bud it was barely noticed. Omelette was good but had not much other than egg ie no mushrooms, onions, cheese, bacon, and there doesn't seem to be much seasoning nor any available to add such as Worcestershire or pepper sauce.

Mishy loved the pancakes indicating that they were not too thick, as she doesn't like them like that because they vacuum up the syrup. I put syrup on mine and it disappeared within about five minutes; I enjoyed them nonetheless as they actually had some flavour of their own. Charcuterie prosciutto, Genoa sausage, cheeses and deli chicken were all very good. Bacon was very good to excellent, not too oily or salty (just enough), and crisp. Chicken apple sausages were delicious.

Several cereals are available and I opted for Froot Loops with almond milk which is a nice option. There is also granola. Vanilla low-fat yogurt was good, but berry yogurt was fantastic, and I had a large seconds... with granola. Oatmeal was very good with the available toppings such as dried pineapple, dates, raisins, cranberries and yellow sugar.

Mishy noted the offerings were more interesting and varied than other hotel buffets. It was $25 for the weekend breakfast buffet and this is a very good price for a better-than-average breakfast.

Rating: 8.5 / 10 + 0.5 value adjustment = 9 / 10

CLOSED - Daisy Chinese Restaurant

Update 2026-09-08: In an unfortunate coincidence, Daisy actually permanently closed a week before this review was posted. Well, there's a first for everything.

Daisy Chinese Restaurant is located at 1200 Lansdowne St W., in Peterborough, the small city about 125km NE of Toronto. It's a short distance from both Loon Ho and Mei Mei which are also Chinese buffets... quite a few in a city of this size. We went for weekend lunch. Pop is slightly overpriced at $3 per can, but at least there is Coke Zero. 

Mishy loved the lemon chicken and chicken stir fry. I also enjoyed both of them and the lemon chicken had a lovely flavour, more than just lemon. General Tso chicken was very good, although it was more like sweet and sour, but was good whatever it was. We both loved the Szechuan beef, and for a more expensive dish like this it was actually excellent, which is impressive. Mishy said the chicken balls were good and they are one of her favourites. I liked them too and they contained plenty of chicken, not just excessive breading. 

Hot and sour soup was not hot nor dark and not like any I've had before, with peas and vegetables and only sour flavour and tofu, but it was still good and it worked. Wonton soup wasn't bad but was nearing the brink of going stale. Stir fried veg was good and also fresh enough. Chow mein was understated but also good and fresh. Fried rice was very good and fresh, classic takeout style. Chop suey was quite good and fresh, which is important as it will go mushy if kept in the tray too long. Chicken wings looked like they would be dried out, but weren't and were actually pretty good. Unfortunately egg foo young was egg foo old and was noticeably stale... at least it was still mostly edible. Unlabelled celery and chicken stir fry was very good, fresh and well-seasoned.

Fries were very good... I like how these restaurants try to do something creative with the fries to make them tastier by adding seasoning. Onion rings were good though a bit dry. Spring rolls were a little low on flavour so may have been a few days old but were not bad.

For dessert, butter flake pastry was a bit stale but still good, similarly sesame ball. Milk flaky cake and mango mousse which I know now to be from King's Pastry of Mississauga were fresh. Vanilla and mango ice creams were very good. Orange and cherry jello were good, but hard to get that wrong. Rice pudding didn't have much seasoning, but did have raisins and most importantly was fresh. Butterscotch and cookies and cream and chocolate and strawberry ice creams once they had melted a bit were pretty good. Weekend lunch is $18. As would be expected from its similarity to other establishments in the area, the shortcomings are made up for by this excellent value (other than the slightly expensive pop.) We did enjoy lunch there.

Rating: 7-7.5 / 10 + 1.5 value adjustment = 8.5-9 / 10

Nak Won Korean Restaurant

Nak Won Korean Restaurant is located at 9625 Yonge St., just n. of 16th Ave. In Richmond Hill, the town that borders Toronto to the north. It's transit accessible on the blue YRT line running from Finch station. We had reviewed another location of Nak Won on Yonge Street, the Kisa discount one. There was also another location in Markham that I had discovered accidentally, but unfortunately never got to visit as it is now permanently closed. We went for weekend lunch. Nak Won has more traditional enclosed booths at the back, which we love. Disposable chopsticks are used unfortunately, so we brought our own as usual. Pop is $3 canned not AYCD, but at least there is Coke Zero. However there is a carafe of barley tea left at the table, which we preferred anyways so we skipped the pop; the tea was excellent, and Mishy loved it so much from Nak Won Kisa that she started making her own. Ordering is through smartphone menu via QR code, so it is essential that at least one per party have a smartphone with data. Be careful as there are two menus, lunch and all-day, and the all-day is $10 more. 

Kimchi had some heat but at least it wasn't persistent and painful, and it was quite good. Corn and cheese was delicious and had plenty of cheese.  Ramyun aka ramen soup was excellent and beautifully seasoned, but beware as it's a large bowl and it was a good thing that we didn't order two... we ended up splitting it. Miso soup was rather mild and had an interesting flavour like zwieback toast. Mishy didn't like it at all saying that it was too watery, but I didn't mind it.

Some banchan items arrived... they weren’t ordered but are delivered nonetheless as a standard part of the meal. Not into the pickles, as they remind me too much of bread-and-butter which I don’t like (kosher dills for me please.) The corn chips(?) were nice as were the spicy pickled radish, possibly kkakdugi which is kimchi radish. I didn’t document and can’t recall what I thought of those juliennned strips, but it wasn’t anything bad. I think Mishy enjoyed the japchae as well.

On to the BBQ, beef bulgogi, thin and thick cut pork belly, pork butt(!), spicy marinated pork and chicken were all excellent especially with the middle sauce which resembles ponzu. Mishy especially enjoyed it and she's usually not as much of a barbecue fan as I am. Even the luncheon meat and sausage were very good to excellent, although Mishy doesn't partake of them.

For dessert, there are only Melona bars, one per customer.  Weekend lunch menu was $32. This is pretty much the standard price these days and considering the time, location and offerings. We certainly  both enjoyed it!

Rating: 9-9.5 / 10 + 0 value adjustment (standard pricing) =  9-9.5 / 10

Daata Grill (Indian/Pakistani)

Daata Grill is located at 585 Ontario Street in Milton, the municipality about 40 km west of Toronto. It offers a weekend brunch buffet. Daata is a smaller place but nicely decorated. Chai is included with brunch, and was delicious... there is also real Splenda rather than cheaper substitutes such as cyclamates available for it.

Mishy raved about the chanay aka chana masala, and saag spinach. I loved the saag as well, as it was just hot enough to be hot but without being painful, and the flavours were blended very well. Omelette is not really an omelette, but instead eggs and onions and peppers, and was very good nonetheless. Halwa was beautifully flavoured, just sweet enough and with plenty of other flavours as well. I absolutely loved the aloo flavouring, which was seasoned I think with parsley and other things and reminded me of chicken soup broth, but Mishy didn't like it at all for some reason.

Nihari which is stewed beef (can also be made with goat or mutton but apparently not here) was phenomenally seasoned and super tender. I don't know how paya tastes as, well... I tried, but it is made of steamed veal feet and it jiggles, and when I pulled it open it was all fat and cartilage so I just couldn't eat it. Perhaps it's excellent, so I won't let it affect the rating, but it’s just not for me. The large oil-fried flatbread was labeled as puri but was probably not that as it was not a ball and also not thin or crunchy. I think it was paratha. Mishy thought it had a fish oil flavour, but I did not notice this and it was pretty good. Naan was delicious although I waited too long and it was cold.

Weekend brunch buffet is $18. It’s a small buffet with not many items, but all of them save the disregarded paya were very good to excellent and made with more costly ingredients (especially the nihari!) For $18 and included excellent beverage this was a phenomenal value.

Rating: 9 / 10 + 2-2.5 value adjustment = 11-11.5 / 10 = 10 / 10