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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Toronto? |
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| Ruqayyah |
| 05/21/04 at 14:51:30 |
| [slm] I'm planning a trip to Toronto for 3 days with some friends inshallah, and i was wondering if anyone had advice on what to do/see. I've heard of Gerrard St....any tips on what is good to get? There are like 5 or 6 weddings this summer so I could use some new clothes :-* And does anyone know if any of the restaurants are zhabiha/halal? [wlm] ruqayyah |
| 05/21/04 at 14:55:01 |
| Ruqayyah |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| Mona |
| 05/21/04 at 15:17:28 |
| [slm] i think i can help here :D all i know about jerrard st is that it has indian shops. i don't go there so can't recommend anything. your friends will sure know more than me. there is a good kabob place there i think. There are indian clothes stores everywhere though, such as brampton, mississauga, scarborough (suburbs which are 20-30 km away from toronto). i don't shop there, i can't be of help, sowwy. about food, there are places i know down town (not the greatest dining experience though) halal places: ----------- *bilan (somali restaurant) -South-East corner of Jarvis and Dundas West. *ghazale (not sure, never been there) Bathurst and Bloor (across Honest Ed's) *something to talk about (only on weekdays?) great shawarma, falafel- on gerrard between university and bay *tandoori flavour (indian, doh) Just North of Spadina and College *FOOD-911 (lebanese) - 240 Parliament Street there is going to be an isna conference during the long may weekend (tomorrow till monday) - it is not the same as the ones in chicago, but you may want to check it out. sorry, i was not so much help. take care wassalam Mona |
| 05/21/04 at 15:18:43 |
| Mona |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| merimda |
| 05/22/04 at 01:38:17 |
| Gerrard St. is okay..I think it's worth checking out but you might be a little disappointed. I have eaten there a few times at different places and personally I found the restaurants there all right but not the best. As for fabrics and other shoppes I was told that they are a bit overpriced in Gerrard st.. If you're looking to get good deals for South Asian stuff I was told that Brampton has the same stuff but cheaper.. but to get around in Brampton you need a car. Ghazale's has good food but it's a fast food take out joint..It's not an eat in restaurant. I highly recommend: Chopan Kabab House 798 Danforth Ave 416-778-1200 http://www.chopankabab.com/ It’s near Madina Masjid..That area on the Danforth east of Pape is full of Muslim restaurants and stores. Another Halal place I've tried recently and really like was Chin Chyn Chinese Cuisine 2680 Lawrence E Scarborough (416) 759-1446 It's across the street from Abu Bakr al Siddique Masjid. This area also has a lot of Muslim businesses. There is an Afghani restaurant right outside of Tariq Masjid which I hear is really good. I think it’s called Kabul Farms restaurant. I haven’t tried it myself. I've also heard really good things about Hamdi's Somali restaurant but I've never been there myself. It's on 18 Rexdale across the street form the IMO (International Muslim Organization) These are places where you can dine…There are more in Mississauga like Aladdin and Tarboush but I've never been there myself and I'm not very familiar with Mississauga. If you want good fast food places just let me know. As for things to do: You might want to check out some of the Museums when they’re free: The ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) is free Fridays after 4:30 pm and they usually have great events for free Friday nights. Last Friday they had a cool South Asian feature. Check out their calendar: http://www.rom.on.ca/calendar/ The Bata Shoe Museum is free Thursday evenings, 5-9 pm. They have several interesting galleries..They had a cool wedding gallery showcasing wedding costumes and customs from all over the world but it's gone now, replaced last week by an Alaskan exhibit. I used to give tours there: http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/ You also might want to check out all the different districts.. When are you coming down? In June all the districts in downtown tend to have little community festivals.. It’s really nice. Here is a list of some of some districts, parks and other attractions: Little Italy on College St. east of Ossington Little Portugal is West of Ossington..but there’s not much there ..it’s only interesting every four years during World Cup Soccer..Huge celebrations when Brazil wins the World Cup. Chinatown on Spadina south of college Kensington Market: a little nook in the midst of Chinatown with a lot of neat and unique interesting things. Greek town on the Danforth St Lawrence Market Harbourfront and Centre Island The Fashion District on Queen St. Good place to buy fabrics..I recommend the Designer's Showroom on Queen and Spadina.. And what my friend likes to call 'Gujurati Village' east of Pape on the Danforth..(but also has Afghani and Pakistani stores) High Park and Bloor West Village Yorkville (posh part of town) Korean Business District on Bloor St. in between Christie and Bathurst. Good place to get those Korean Walnut cakes. Gerrard St. Casa Loma Dufferin Park is a nice little park across the street from Dufferin Mall not far from the Dawah Centre founded by Shabir Ally. This park has several community events going on throughout the summer. They have two out door baking ovens and an organic garden and farmers market. They have Friday suppers made from the vegetables in their gardens and baked in their outdoor oven. It was a great place to be during the black out last year ^_^: http://www.dufferinpark.ca/home/dufferinpark.html You can also go berry picking on a farm that is a 20 minute drive from Mississauga. Went last year with a bunch of srs and it was a lot of fun..We also went to the Ontario Renaissance Festival in the same town..I think the farm and the festival were in Milton. For more info on those districts and attractions I mentioned just do a search at www.toronto.com . Also check it out for events going on in the city. Hope this helps..if you have any q's let me know. I should work for Tourism Toronto..^_^ salam, merimda |
| 05/22/04 at 02:02:21 |
| merimda |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| AyeshaZ |
| 05/22/04 at 03:04:43 |
| [wlm] Sonii.. u'll like Gerrard! :) They usually have some nice outfits but don't forget to bargain!!!!!!!! Also, beware spicy food don't want u choking on a *green bean* cough ;) I've thus far not really found jackson hts, devon and gerrard any different! Also, if u have time check out the Greater Islamic Toronto center that u can see from the highway (Mona can prolly tell u more about it)... aite chica see ya soon in cleve for our Summer Wedding Galore :-* :-* |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| Ruqayyah |
| 05/23/04 at 23:54:12 |
| [slm] wow, thanks for all of that info :o 5 of my very best friends from school (actually, alhamdulilah, we all graduated saturday from medschool, so i guess i don't go to school anymore, hehe :D) are going to Niagra Falls and Toronto and we're leaving this tuesday and comin back on thurs. so we're only going to be in Toronto for 2 days and 1 night. I think we're going to see a show the one night, so we'll have a couple mornings to explore. Only one of them is indian, and one is taiwanese, and the rest are white, (we're all american) but they're all excited about gerrard street, hehe :) so i'm not sure how good any of us are at bargaining, but i'll give it a good try! So if you only had two mornings to see Toronto, where would you go? It would be cool to see an islamic center or something too, so inshallah maybe i'll try to do that too. [wlm] ruq |
| 05/24/04 at 23:28:02 |
| Ruqayyah |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| theOriginal |
| 05/24/04 at 17:54:49 |
| [slm] Okay...I don't know..gerrard is totally overrated. If you're looking for desi shopping, there's some better places out west (better bargain, definitely better selection). And the food..I once saw something really gross at Lahore Tikka House...I haven't been back since :D Have fun in Toronto...thaz a nice city :) Wasalaam. |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| workingmuslimah |
| 05/26/04 at 12:23:17 |
| [slm] I think the mosque/ Islamic centre that is visible from the highway must be the ISNA Canada HQ in Mississauga which you can see from the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way). Here's there homepage: www.isnacanada.com The Hamdi Somali restaurant on Rexdale Blvd serves delicious chicken and rice. They have a men's section and a family section. There are several Muslim stores in the same plaza - Habeeb Bookstore and 2 or 3 places selling Islamic clothing. The Singapore Gardens restaurant in Brampton (corner of Queen and June Avenue) serves halal Chinese food and no alcohol. It's worth checking out! Have a safe and enjoyable trip! |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| Sunnah_ |
| 05/26/04 at 17:49:32 |
| SHOPPING!!! I can't remember what street, but don't forget to SHOP!!! ps take a [] along with (hehe i love that emoticon) |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| jannah |
| 05/26/04 at 20:09:15 |
| [wlm] Gerard Street! has some awesome shopping. I haven't been there in like 8 years, but I hear that's the best place :) Enjoy! |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| SuperHiMY |
| 05/27/04 at 04:35:03 |
AsalamAlayKum, Peace and e-Greetings be upon all Toronto Visitors... Kensington Market is the BEST place for Bargoooooons galore! It is just west of ChinaTown which is on Spadina Avenue, South of College Street and North of Dundas Street. Kensington has everything, clothes, food, people, languages, drums... and GIANT PUPPETS Too! http://www.redpepper-spectacle.org If you're going to Niagara Falls, do Visit the Tacky Disney-esque tourist trap of 'Niagara-on-the-lake' which is on Lake Ontario and a short drive north of Niagara Falls proper. It's fun anyway. http://www.TARIC.org is architecturally one of the most advanced buildings in Canada. This masjid is at Highway 400 and 401, at 99 Beverly Hills Drive. Lastly, Visiting Toronto and NOT taking the Ferry to visit the Toronto Islands is almost a crime.... Thanks for visiting Toronto, former SARS capital of the WEstern World. ~ HiMY! ~ |
| Re: Toronto? |
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| Ruqayyah |
| 05/31/04 at 14:07:48 |
| [slm] jazakamullah khair for the suggestions :) I had a LOT of fun in Toronto- we went and saw a show called Urinetown. It was actually a really good musical about a town where there was a drought for 20 years causing a water shortage and so now people have to pay to use the restroom. there's only one company in charge of running the public restrooms and they've paid off the senators to pass legislature for price hikes and tax increases. so it's definitely more of a thinking musical- it was actually kind of depressing to see how far corruption can go and how as they say in the musical, our lives are "unsustainable". we also went to gerrard st and we went on a day where they were having a festival at night, so the stores opened later than usual, but we did get a chance to do a little shopping. we had a nice buffet lunch at this restaurant called Handi. My friend also bought a really pretty shalvar kameez suit for only $60. I did get a DVD and a couple CD's. the DVD was a bargain- only $10 canadian for 2 movies on 1 DVD! i also had real sushi (not just california rolls either :P) for the first time and learned how to use chopsticks too :o [wlm] ruqayyah |
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