Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 777 Dundas Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner
Address: 777 Dundas Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner
It’s been
years since I’ve eaten at Susur and Madeline; so, when news that Susur would be
teaming up with his sons to open Bent was announced, I was excited to try his
Asian fusion creations again.
Bent is much
like many of the new west-end restaurants – small with compact seating where all
that separates you from the neighbouring table is half a foot of space. Much is discussed about its décor – it’s
designed by Barbara Bent, Susur’s wife, and pays homage to them and their son’s
childhood by including their toys and school pictures. Indeed the family feel is interesting but what
makes Bent great is the food.
As a warning,
if you don’t like dishes that are strongly flavoured and a mixture of varying textures
and tastes, you will not like Bent.
Undeniably, the main ingredients are often covered with so many sauces
that you won’t be able to taste its natural flavour; but, it’s these
distinctions that make Susur’s creations his own.
The highlight
for me was their ceviche, which is surprising, as I'm normally not a huge fan
of acid cooked seafood. My favourite was
the Peruvian style ceviche ($15) that incorporates tart lime juice, the heat of
chili and freshness of cilantro. All are
laid on top of carpaccio slices of white snapper, pieces of mussels and
calamari and a few in shell clams. I
love being able to fill the clams with the sauce and eat the clams straight
from the shell. The shaved red onions add
a great crispy texture against the tender fish.
The tuna and
watermelon ceviche ($15), although also chili and citrus based, has a sweetness
to it from the cubes of watermelon. The
tuna is cut into cubes and more like the ceviche you’re typically used to. I
actually prefer the carpaccio slices as it soaks up the flavours more and you
can cut slices of the snapper and wrap it around the herb mixture. Topping the tuna and watermelon ceviche were croutons
of fried Chinese dough stick, which is an interesting play on the Asian
traditions. The croutons are great for
soaking up the citrus spicy sauce.
We had many
fish dishes that night, aside from the ceviches we also tried the tartare 2
ways ($10) - spicy tuna with avocado and onions and salmon with shallots,
capers, gherkins and dill. Both are
served on top of a crispy sushi rice cake so it resembles eating a mini sushi
pizza. The dish was good but I found the
rice cake a bit chewy and tough. If it
were perhaps thinner it may be crispier and add a better contrast to the tender
fish.
Another was the
smoked cod taro tacos ($15), which was personally my least favourite dish. I liked to tomatillo and jicama salsa that
topped the taco – it was refreshing and crunchy. The shells were interesting as
they were made from fried taro slices; I liked the starchy crispiness. The smoked cod mixture itself reminded me of a
tuna fish salad and was okay.
Some of the
meat dishes we had included the rare beef ($14), thin slices of what seemed like
tenderloin beef that’s quickly seared and sits in an olive oil and ponzu sauce. I’m normally not a carpaccio fan but, found
this to be quite good, perhaps because the raw beef was masked with so many
flavours. The menu states it’s served
with a crispy rice cake but on that night arrived with a parmesan crostini
instead. I didn’t mind the substitute
but found the strong parmesan overwhelmed the delicate beef.
The duck salad ($14) was an interesting mix of tender shredded duck and vegetables dressed with a sweet and salty sesame dressing which reminded me to having cold sesame noodles. The coleslaw type mixture was topped with crispy taro slivers and served in a fried vermicelli bowl. Given the mixture of ingredients it was difficult to taste the duck itself unless you specifically pick it out. The duck was surprisingly tender and I wish it was served in a slice format, rather than shredded, so it could be better appreciated.
Overall mark - 8.5* out of 10
* Mark could have been a 9 if Bent had a bit more polish in terms of servicing customers. The food was good but it’s the small things (like the recommended changing plates and having serving utensils) that scores higher marks.
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Gastro World's Grading System
The
Shanghainese steamed pork belly ($19) is marinated in Shao Hsing wine, although
it was really hard to distinguish. It’s likely due to the Romano bean &
turnip puree and poached apple sauce being so sweet that it covered up other
flavours. In the end, the pork belly ended up tasting like any other braised
meat, which isn’t necessarily bad, but just not very Shanghainese. I liked that
the dish came with a mixture of fattier and leaner cuts to give variety to
patrons. I had the leaner slice and
because of that it was a little tough. The poached apple, although to me tasted
like pear, was too sweet for my taste and could be left out.
If you were
going to get one hearty meat dish, I’d suggest the braised spiced short ribs
instead ($22). The meat is tender and
went really well with the thick demi glace (?) and the silky truffled parsnip
puree. Even the roasted baby potatoes
accompanying the dish were great. Crisp
on the outside, yet tender and light on the inside, with just a hint of
rosemary; all baby potatoes should be prepared like this.
To balance
out all the proteins we ordered the vegetarian roll ($10). It had a good mix of flavours – sweetness
from the braised daikon and eggs, earthiness of the shitake mushroom, saltiness
from soy sauce and the bitterness of the legume on top. However, overall nothing remarkably different
from a typical futomaki roll you’d get at a sushi restaurant.
The duck salad ($14) was an interesting mix of tender shredded duck and vegetables dressed with a sweet and salty sesame dressing which reminded me to having cold sesame noodles. The coleslaw type mixture was topped with crispy taro slivers and served in a fried vermicelli bowl. Given the mixture of ingredients it was difficult to taste the duck itself unless you specifically pick it out. The duck was surprisingly tender and I wish it was served in a slice format, rather than shredded, so it could be better appreciated.
A salad I shockingly liked better was the kale and tofu salad ($10). I know, it
sounds very healthy and bland so how could it taste good? But, I loved the soft tofu and crunchy kale
mixture. Domino sized slices of tofu are
marinated in a miso soy sauce and sesame dressing, so even when eaten by itself
was wonderfully flavoured. Topped with large amounts of chopped kale coated
with a sweet dressing (similar to the Japanese seaweed salads but less sugary),
the dish was refreshingly light.
At Bent, all tables receive a complementary dessert, which pays is similar to getting fortune cookies, sliced oranges or red bean soup from Chinese restaurants. Given there was four of us, we got to try all four desserts (guests get one per person).
At Bent, all tables receive a complementary dessert, which pays is similar to getting fortune cookies, sliced oranges or red bean soup from Chinese restaurants. Given there was four of us, we got to try all four desserts (guests get one per person).
- The lemon curd was a welcomed addition after feeling so full as it was nice and light.
- The coffee pannacotta with foam was nice and rich a favourite of my friend.
- The chocolate mousse with crispy cocoa rice bits was good and tastes just like it sounds.
- The fried sesame ball with red bean filling in a rum caramel sauce was a bit tough as it’s likely made ahead of time and gets cold and stale.
Service was
good – the staff were pleasant and checked in to make sure we actually liked
the dishes. But, what could have greatly enhanced the dining experience are
some simple cutlery improvements:
- After some of the saucier dishes, Bent should offer to change the patron’s dish. My plate ended up having such a mess of sauces after 10 courses that flavours blended together. I’d like to enjoy the dishes as they were meant to taste;
- Given Bent encourages sharing dishes they should offer serving utensils – some simple like chopsticks, a spoon and a fork for the table would suffice; and
- A utensil holder, similar to the chop stick and spoon rest some Chinese restaurants use, would be helpful given Bent provides four utensils and it’s very difficult to ensure everything is balanced on the small plate once used.
Overall mark - 8.5* out of 10
* Mark could have been a 9 if Bent had a bit more polish in terms of servicing customers. The food was good but it’s the small things (like the recommended changing plates and having serving utensils) that scores higher marks.
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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!
