Address: 222 Richmond Street West
Website: www.jabistro.com
Type of Meal: Dinner
This post is my second visit to the restaurant where I've had enough new dishes that I felt an update was warranted. To read about my first experience and general thoughts of the restaurant please head over to my first review.
At last, we return to JaBistro to visit their new rooftop
patio. Although not very big, the layout
isn’t crowded with tables so the patio feels rather spacious. Additionally, we went for a late dinner so
the after work drink crowd had already left leaving the middle bar stool
seating area empty. Given the
surroundings were dark; I didn’t want to take pictures and annoy tables around
us with large flashes of light. So, for
this post I’ve sourced the pictures from the internet and thus may not look
exactly like the dishes we ordered.
Given my love for the JaBistroll ($22) on this visit we
had to get the full order of it.
Luckily, they didn’t stock out of the snow crab again and by the time it
arrived we were salivating! Although
still delicious, it wasn’t as good as the last visit. Likely, it’s due to our proximity to the
sushi chef on the first visit where we sat right at the sushi bar. When you sit
on the patio, it takes time for the food to be brought up, so the JaBistroll
lost the heat and smokiness from the blowtorch.
So, if you’re going for the taste - ask for sushi bar seating. However, if you rather enjoy eating outdoors,
be prepared to sacrifice the essence of the dish.
JaBistroll (1)
During this visit, the focus was more on the bistro side of the menu. After noting they updated the kani ($15) to
use coconut curry sauce we decided to try it again. The soft shell crab was just as fresh and
delicious as our last visit, but I did notice they have shrunk the dish and it
now only includes 3 pieces (1.5 crabs) rather than the 5 pieces (2.5 crabs) we
had the first time. To be fair, the pieces
were larger so perhaps the amount of soft shell crab is the same, it just makes
sharing in large groups harder.
Kani (1)
The coconut curry sauce was an improvement to the chili
and complimented the seafood well.
Unlike the curry crab dishes you may have at Malaysian restaurants,
JaBistro’s sauce is a bit thicker and creamier.
Instead of pita chips our dish included fried shrimp chips. Sadly, they were the regular run of the mill
Chinese restaurant variety. Rather, the
chef should consider using the Thai/Malaysian version instead which is thicker
(to help pick up the sauce) and is more flavourful.
My husband’s a huge fan of beef tartare so we decided to
try their yukke ($11), which is essentially beef tartare with a quail egg on
top. I was interested to see how they would add the Japanese twist to this
normal steakhouse appetizer. JaBistro’s adapation
was served with pieces of toasted nori, in place of bread, and flavoured with
ponzu and gochujang (a Korean red chili powder) to give it tons of flavour and
heat. Topped with sprouts and green onion this was the best beef tartares I’ve
had (although to be honest I’ve only had three so that doesn’t mean much).
Yukke (1)
Lastly, the gindara ($22) had to be tried given black cod
is normally one of my favourite Japanese dishes. I’ll admit I was turned off by the
description on the menu, which noted the dish had bacon in it. Unlike most individuals, these pieces of crispy
smoked pork are sometimes good on its own with eggs but not something I like
added to dishes it can be overpowering.
Fortunately, it was used in moderation and only speckled into the
coating that crusted the cod and offered an interesting smoky saltiness to the
fish.
The fish itself was a nice thick piece and cooked well so
that it flaked apart. Thin pieces of
crispy salty shrimp toast accompanied the cod; they were okay but didn’t really
complement the fish. In the end, there were
just too much heavy ingredients and flavours used with the fish and just not my
cup of tea. However, it’s a matter of preference, because my husband loved the
gindara. But then again he loves bacon and I don’t so this dish is meant to be
enjoyed by bacon lovers. Alas, JaBistro,
when will you make a version to suit people like me?!
All in all, the second visit was still a good experience
and solidifies the 9 being given to JaBistro.
It’s good to see their quality hasn’t gone down and there continues to
be a changing menu to provide some new excitement.
Overall mark - 9 out of 10
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Photo Sources:
- JaBistroll, kani and yukke - JaBistro's Facebook site (https://www.facebook.com/jabistro222)
