My friends Chelsea and Ying took me out for a most glorious early birthday dinner tonight at Inspire. I hadn't been to Inspire in nearly three years, mostly because we had gone there so often before that we started to get sick of the menu, and partially because the majority of their original kitchen staff had left and the quality and creativity of the dishes didn't seem as good as it used to be. But they've revamped the menu and the space itself so we decided to return tonight... and wow, I forgot just how good Inspire can be.
"Lettuce Pray" fried chicken lettuce wraps
Chicken & Waffles with ginger maple butter and berry compote
Dare I say that they have the best chicken and waffles in the Greater Toronto Area, with gorgeous golden crispy skin encasing the most impossibly moist chicken I've ever eaten (and yes, I'm talking about white meat!), paired with the most incredible berry compote that has just the right amount of tartness and sweetness, all sitting prettily atop perfectly fluffy-meets-crispy waffles. It's CHICKEN AND WAFFLES HEAVEN. If you've never been to Inspire before, the chicken and waffles is what you need to try first. It's been a mainstay since the restaurant opened, and for good reason. It has never disappointed. The same fried chicken is also used in their "Lettuce Pray" lettuce wraps, which were the perfect opener to our meal, one wrap per person. The (best ever) chicken is topped with Viet-style carrot and cucumber salad, and wedged between bacon and cheese, so if you think this is a healthy lettuce wrap, think again. But let me tell you, it is worth every fat gram and calorie.
Seafood Udon with rare torched soy salmon
Likewise with the new seafood udon! They still have the old udon carbonara on the menu, but trust me when I say that the seafood variation is better. It's still rich in flavour and creamy in texture, and of course, the udon is still reliably the best noodle as it has the perfect width and excellent chew, but this has way more interest than the udon carbonara. It comes with two pieces of the most gorgeous torched soy salmon, and it is extra luscious if you get it cooked rare. Add to that the seafood, the sausage, and the massive plush mushrooms... It's beautiful.
Hanoi Greens with medium-rare steak
We decided to balance out all the richness with a salad, so we chose the Hanoi salad with medium-rare steak as per Chelsea's recommendation, and it really is a gorgeous, complex salad with pomegranate seeds, beets, papaya, mango, greens, Thai chilis, toasted peanuts, potato strings, spinach, lychee, and mint all tossed in Nam Jim dressing. It's like a much more varied, flavourful version of Thai mango salad. It's sweet but tart but also spicy with a hint of nuttiness. And the steak adds a really nice savoury element to the fruits and greens. It's still hearty and satisfying without feeling heavy or greasy, which is a nice choice for those who might not want something so rich at Inspire.
Old-Fashioned Banana Coconut Cream Pie
Finally, dessert! We used to go to Inspire just for the dessert. Even if we had dinner at another restaurant, we'd forgo the dessert at that restaurant and head over to Inspire instead to end our meal. They've revamped the dessert menu since then, but man, it is just as good as I remember it. There are three desserts to choose from, but since we aren't as ambitious as we used to be, we decided to share two of them. But the owner, Vanessa, who has known us for years now, ended up giving us all three desserts (two of which were on the house because SHE IS AN ANGEL). First up was the old-fashioned banana coconut cream pie, with homemade banana coconut creme in a beautiful graham crust and topped with toasted coconut topping. This is probably my new favourite at Inspire. I didn't even know I liked coconut cream pie, but it somehow married banana and coconut together without being overly sweet or artificial-tasting, and had just the perfect creamy texture that wasn't too thick or too runny. The crust is what won me over, though. Thick enough to hold all the glorious creme but not so thick that it's hard to cut through, and actually tasted with graham crackers, cinnamon-y but not too sweet. Even Ying, who doesn't like coconut-flavoured desserts, ended up loving it.
"Mystery Cone" Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwich
The "Mystery Cone" cookie dough ice cream sandwich is their revamped version of the old Banana Bread Ice Cream Sandwich (which was my go-to at Inspire). The new version is presented in a chocolate-coated waffle cone with cookie dough waffles, ice cream, peanut cereal crunch, and Nutella banana creme. You can't really go wrong with this one, though I do prefer the old version more. Not only in presentation, but I also preferred the banana bread waffles as well as the ice cream they used to use (peanut butter fudge). My personal tastebuds just prefer the peanut-butter-and-banana combo more, whereas this version has peanut and banana flavours as an afterthought, so it's much more subtle. Still, this is the crowd-pleaser of the three desserts. Almost every table we saw ordered this one, and you really can't go wrong with it.
Cardamom Pistachio Panna Cotta
Finally, the cardamom pistachio panna cotta. A cardamom-infused whipped panna cotta, soft and velvety smooth, reminiscent of chai. It's topped with a pistachio granola and homemade meringues to give it a crunchy texture contrast, but the pistachio flavour specifically pairs really well with cardamom. A very nice, light, not-too-sweet dessert option that's great for those who want to end on a sweet note but don't want something overly heavy, especially after a rich, fat-laden meal (which, let's be real, is kinda what Inspire is known for).
Honestly, I had such a great time at this dinner. Not only because the new menu is so good, but also because the service was impeccable. Even though we hadn't been back in years, they were as welcoming, accommodating, sincere, and kind as ever, greeting us like old friends. I will definitely be making return visits. I don't know how I went without them for so long.
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