Charidise – 27 Baldwin St, Toronto, ON M5T 1L1
Country: Taiwan
Seating: Large indoor and outdoor seating
Must-try dish: Taiwanese Minced Pork Rice
Dinner guests: Dani P & The 4th 
The high: Bubble tea lovers can enjoy their favourite drinks alongside Taiwanese & other Asian inspired dishes.
The low: The self service computers don’t accept payment and can cause confusion as you need to pay at the register before finalizing the order, which is not explained to customers. The 4th fell victim to this, ultimately delaying his order.

Did you know that bubble tea is from Taiwan? This drink has gained significant popularity, with many shops serving up this Taiwanese beverage across the city. Mandrea Bike ventured to the outskirts of Chinatown to Charidise, an independent Taiwanese restaurant. This place offers up a wide range of Taiwanese goodies among other popular Asian meals and Bubble Tea, obviously.

As Covid-19 continues to restrict dining service to patios only, we were lucky to snag a table outside on a surprisingly warm November evening. As the gang casually rolled in, appetizers were ordered to help fill the hungry bellies of the group. Taiwanese style Popcorn Chicken, Fried Beef Dumplings, Traditional Fish Cakes and Golden Squid Balls made up the apps. 

The Popcorn Chicken took the starters round. At first glance, it appeared to simply be fried chicken bites, but the Asian spices coating them gave a much more distinct taste, Kentucky Fried Chicken has nothing on these! In contrast the Golden Squid Balls packed big flavours with a crispy exterior with an exciting texture inside, while the Traditional Fish Cakes had a subtle fish taste covered in Taiwanese spices. 

As for the mains, the foursome was on similar wavelengths with Andrea and Mat both ordering the Taiwanese Minced Pork with Rice. Mat shook things up by adding a Taiwanese Sausage over his. At first glance, it appeared to resemble a Bolognese, but parmesan would not pair well with this Taiwanese meat sauce! The flavours were fully Taiwanese and the bowl was accompanied with steamed broccoli, a boiled egg, hoisin sauce, all topped with green onions. 

Dani P and The 4th shared two plates in true Mandrea Bike style – the Taiwanese Minced Pork Rice and the Curry Chicken Rice. The Curry was rich, almost gravy-like in texture and would have been the ideal dish for someone with a big appetite on a cold winter day. 

The food was washed down with an Iced Milk Black Tea with Tapioca Pearls. Bubble Tea isn’t a fine art, it can be ordered at any preferred sweetness level and various toppings can be added to meet the desired taste. Charidise offers several beverage options to keep up with the growing demand of Boba across the city. Options range from fresh fruit slush/milkshakes, iced fresh fruit tea, and of course, the classic iced milk teas. 

Whether you want to grab a quick Bubble Tea or mow down on a Taiwanese meal, Charidise comes highly recommended from this blogging duo. With Covid-19 affecting restaurants and the hospitality industry, we urge everyone to support local small businesses that help shape the multicultural lamdscape that we as Canadians cherish.

Eat with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)