Snakes and Lattes

Snakes and Lattes is a cafe / gaming place with lots of board games. I wanted to go there for my birthday, but they don't take reservations because apparently the manager is a moron.

So instead we showed up, no reservation because you can't get one, waited over 2.5 hours. Never got a table. Gave them my cell # so they could call/text when the table was available...

Total time?

4 hours before they called. Complete waste of time.

I give Snakes and Lattes ZERO stars out of five. Complete disappointment.

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Meanwhile my family and I found a glorious Korean restaurant down the street that serves traditional Korean food (including samgyopsal and bulgogi BBQ).

So check out Arisu, if you enjoy fine / traditional Korean cuisine.


Their website is www.arisu.ca.

584 Bloor Street West, Toronto

Phone 416-533-8104 for reservations (and yes, they take reservations, so no worries there).


I give Arisu 5 stars out of 5. The prices are a tad expensive, but the service, menu and atmosphere are all impeccable.

And they had a Korean cinnamon tea drink that I have been trying to find since 2005 when I first tried it in Insadong in Seoul. So that totally boosted their rating simply because they had things on the menu I couldn't find anywhere else (and I am a bit of an expert when it comes to Korean restaurants).

The drink is Sujeonggwa... And here is the recipe if you want to make it at home.

Yield: 4 -5 servings

Ingredients:
4-5 dried persimmons
5 cinnamon sticks
½ cup of ginger, sliced
1 cup of sugar
pine nuts
7½ to 8 cups of water

1. Wash, peel, and slice ½ cup’s worth of ginger. Put it into a pot or kettle.
2. Rinse 5 cinnamon sticks and put them into the pot.
3. Add 7½ to 8 cups of water and boil for 20 minutes over high heat.
4. Lower the heat to medium and boil for another 25 minutes. If it boils over, take off the lid.
5. Add 1 cup of sugar. Stir and cool it down.
6. Remove the stem of the dried persimmons and wash thoroughly.
7. Strain cinnamon sticks and sliced ginger in a colander.
8. Pour it into a glass jar or glass bowl and add the persimmons.
9. Put the lid on and keep it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. It will keep in the fridge for more than 1 week.
10. Serve cold with ice cubes. Use a ladle to give each person a small bowl of punch. Each serving should have one persimmon in it with a few pine nuts sprinkled on top.