Showing posts with label spicy salmon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spicy salmon. Show all posts

The Sushi Bar (Toronto) for delivery

Posted on Saturday, January 23, 2021 by
Note: Prices in post are based on regular menu prices and may be higher when using delivery services

Having had delivery at least weekly since the start of the lockdown, my first encounter with a messed-up order is with The Sushi Bar. Seafood was what we were craving so we settled on four maki and two grilled fish items. Unfortunately, the more substantial hot items didn’t arrive; what a let down when you’re looking forward to grilled black cod and hamachi kama.

At least the rolls were decent. Sushi Bar’s spicy tuna ($7) was stuffed with big chunks of fish, rather than a pulverized paste. If the sauce were spicier and the cucumber cut julienned thinner, it would have been even better as the maki tasted a bit like cream cheese tuna with a prominent cucumber finish. The salmon tartare ($7) was closer to a traditional spicy roll, where the fish is chopped up and mixed tempura flakes and spicy mayo. I did like the bits of green onion incorporated into the mixture, which gave it a nice hit of freshness.

Of all the maki served that evening, the green dragon roll ($15) was the tastiest. It’s essentially a dynamite roll layered with salmon and topped with rice puffs, salmon roe, and green onion. While it looks like there were a lot of garnishes, everything worked together nicely in terms of textures and tastes.

Had I thought to recall my previous experiences with The Sushi Bar, I would have skipped the plain dynamite roll ($9). The shrimp is pre-cooked from earlier in the day so it’s too soft and cold for my liking. With the green dragon roll, at least it’s topped with other ingredients to hide the lacklustre centre.

Whomever packs up the purchases really needs to work on the condiment/cutlery to food ratio. Our order arrived with a full container of wasabi and ginger, but only half a container of soy sauce, an amount sufficient for one person. Luckily, we had a couple of packages left from another restaurant so that we could skimp together enough for the meal.

Surely, soy sauce would have been the cheapest thing to provide. If anything, they could save money by not providing four pairs of chopsticks with an order of four rolls, especially after a customer requests no cutlery.

Perhaps if the experience started off better, I could have overlooked the lack of soy sauce and wasted chopsticks. But, when you were really looking forward to black cod and grilled fish and it doesn’t arrive, everything after that feels disappointing  

Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 3365 Yonge Street
 Delivery: Uber
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Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never order again
  • 6 - decent for delivery and takeout, but there's better
  • 7 - this is good, for delivery and takeout
  • 8 - great for delivery and takeout, it's almost like you're in a restaurant
  • 9 -  wow, it's like I'm eating at a restaurant
  • 10 - I'd happily order this for delivery or takeout instead of dining in any day!

Is That It? I Want More!

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The Sushi Bar (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, February 10, 2018 by

The Sushi Bar’s name isn’t distinctive; in fact, it’s not even accurate, since their menu extends way beyond sushi. They’re actually an izakaya … but I guess The Izakaya Bar would be confusing to those not versed in Japanese cuisine and redundant. So, we’ll go with The Sushi Bar.


While the sushi is decent, it’s not their strongest dish. We tried the special of the day, an aji ($8), and it’s not something I’ll re-order. Having had my fair share of horse mackerel, the fish was cut too large making it impossible to eat in one mouthful, which meant you had to bite through the chewy meat. Moreover, it wasn’t meticulously cleaned so the strong fishy essence remains. There weren’t even enough condiments to cover it up: the dot of green onion was insufficient and the fish could benefit from a swipe of a sweet soy reduction (the regular soy sauce is simply too salty).


Their maki rolls are better, the Red Dragon ($15) was beautifully presented with vibrant salmon slices topped with tempura bits, fish roe, and green onion – although the roll would be more appropriately named as Orange Dragon. Sadly, it looked better than it tasted. It was a bit chewy and seemed like the rice, nori, and shrimp tempura portion was prepared ahead of time and the roll assembled later; or maybe the rice simply lacked rice vinegar and the tempura batter's consistency too thick.


Of all the sushi, the spicy salmon ($6) was a hit: I loved the big chunks of salmon and the spicy mayo seems to be mixed with a tiny bit of cream cheese to give it a thick silky finish.


The tuna tataki ($11) starts off strong with beautifully sliced seared tuna sashimi with grated ginger garnishes on top. The bed of radish and carrot salad was also shredded to a delicate texture. Yet, it was so bland for tataki, merely a bit of citrus and drops of soy. The tuna rub could be more pronounced or at least add more ponzu to everything. The only saving grace was the freshness of the tuna.

Thankfully, the chicken yaki udon ($13.50) was tastier, the thick chewy noodles glistening with sauce and when mixed with the nori simply delicious. The chicken and vegetables could be cut thinner so it combines better with the noodles and eaten together – a small fault I can overlook.   

By far the best dish of the evening was the black cod ($10). It arrives without an ounce of sauce, but the fish is so well marinated that it floods the mouth with a lovely salty sweet essence – sauce be damned! Flaky, moist, and beautifully prepared, on return visits I’m having an order of black cod with a bowl of noodles in soup.


Although they’re no Uncle Tetsu, The Sushi Bar’s Japanese cheese cake ($4.50) was a satisfying finish – not as buttery, but incorporates a stronger cheese taste since it’s denser. Of course, cheese cake is also a dessert that’s often found in izakayas than sushi bars, but we’ve already established – it’s an izakaya.


Overall mark - 7 out of 10
How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 3365 Yonge Street

 Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
The Sushi Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sushi Moto (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 4901 Yonge Street
Website: http://sushimoto.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner
Sushi Moto is a spacious place, there’s large booths and tables in the centre perfect for bigger groups.  Having been there before, my husband and I dropped by for more of the delicious sounding rolls they offered.


Being a little adventurous we ordered the spicy killer maki ($9.95). Sure the name sounds deadly and makes you sweat in anticipation of the spice but it ended up being bearable. Essentially a spicy tuna roll with red chillies (although the menu notes jalapeño) and avocado which is then deep fried so there's a crispy crust and the tuna cooks. The crunch is nice and the heat augments the spiciness. Luckily, the avocado helps to neutralize it a bit so you can still enjoy the flavours. The spicy killer is filled with flavour but is meant to be shared as quite heavy.


We also had our normal purchases the spicy salmon ($6.95) and dynamite ($9.95) maki. The spicy salmon is average with big chunks of salmon rolled with tempura bits and spicy mayo. Sushi Moto leaves the salmon in big pieces rather than chopped up into tiny bits, which I personally like.


The dynamite is large and filling with tempura shrimp, avocado, julienned cucumber, and fish roe. Also a decent roll it could have been even better if the shrimp were freshly fried.


Craving something hot and meaty we also ordered the kalbi ($9.95). Arriving on a sizzling plate with plenty of onions it's fragrant and hot. The thicker cut and sufficient marinade was appreciated but for the price I did expect more than two pieces cut up into smaller pieces.


Additionally, Sushi Moto provides complementary Japanese noodle soup (not quite sure what the soup base would be). And if all the television screens can’t keep you entertained their tea cups offer an interesting read.


Compared to our first experience, Sushi Moto has improved slightly with their food’s flavours. Personally, I feel it’s worth it to pay a bit more for their "special" maki as they tend to have more fillings and often offers a different take on the normal rolls. Other ones that sound interesting include the erotica, tataki attack and the pink lady, which I’m sure we’ll go back one day to try. 
Overall mark - 7 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!


CLOSED: Izakaya Tsuki

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 5182 Yonge Street
Type of Meal: Dinner
Walking into Tsuki, their dim lighting and ample group seating sure feels like an izakaya. But, after sitting down and tuning into the strange mix of music playing in the background (some top 40, folk and country) you can tell already it will be a bit different. Tsuki attracts groups of friends ready to have a great time. With pitchers of Sapporo for $16.99 and bottles of soju for $13.99, drinking is certainly affordable and makes the night more interesting. 

The buttered squid ($8) is a dish I’d recommend ordering. Not only is it delicious, but also such a great deal! An entire squid is grilled and basted with butter. The result is a smoky and tender squid with plenty of pieces to share amongst a group.



As a warning, come with a large group if you're going to order the seafood pancake ($12) - its huge and enough to feed ten. Cut into thick wedges, each has big pieces of green onion, beans and calamari mixed throughout. Personally, I’d like the pancake thinner so there's the chance to develop more crust and the middle wouldn’t be as mushy. Also, a varied selection of seafood such as shrimp and clams would be even better as I found in most dishes we ordered squid was prevalent. And finally, the batter needed more salt; when you ate it without dousing the pancake with the spicy soy sauce on the side it was rather plain.



The cheese buldak ($16) was essentially strips of spicy chicken covered with cheese on a bed of vegetables (onion, cabbage and bean sprouts). The gooey melted cheese over everything gave the dish a sense of eating a protein rich poutine. The thin chicken strips did tend to get a bit dry if they weren’t eaten quickly but generally wasn’t a bad dish.



My friends, who have been numerous times, swears by the spicy snail ($15). It’s served cold and the snails cut into smaller pieces and mixed with sweet and spicy douchouchang sauce and lettuce. If you’re squeamish about trying snails, this is the dish for you as its all covered and hard to see. On the side, were cold vermicelli noodles that were sadly overcooked so it became mushy and stuck in clumps. All in all, I enjoyed the flavours and the refreshing nature of it.



Tsuki’s tako yaki ($7) were disappointing. Indeed, it had enough sauces and bonito flakes on it to give them flavour, but the batter was so mushy that it resembled eating a glutinous rice ball more than the crisp fluffy tako yaki you’d expect.



There was a hefty portion of tempura ($9) with plenty of shrimp and vegetables (asparagus, sweet potato and pumpkin). Each piece was crispy and the light sweet green onion soy sauce on the side was a nice change.



 Maybe it was due to when I received the dish, but found the pork kimchi durachigi ($14) needed more meat – there was simply so much kimchi! Served in a sizzling pan everything stayed piping hot and released an extra level of spiciness to the cabbage. Personally, it wasn’t my favourite as found it was mostly just hot kimchi.



 The maguro tataki ($14) is another passable dish. Although nicely presented it lacked the bold citrusy flavours from being lightly marinated in an onion sauce I normally enjoy. 



 Tsuki’s menu is not all about hot dishes, they also have a variety of sushi rolls. All the ones we ordered were made with a vibrant black rice (actually purple in colour), and similar to what accompanies the soon tofu at Buk ChangDong Soon Tofu. The dynamite roll ($9) was decent with the classic tempura shrimp, creamy avocado and crunchy cucumbers. In Tsuki’s case it is drizzled with a sweet terryiaki glaze.



 The spicy salmon roll ($6) had tons of the spicy mayonnaise on it; not the most esthetically pleasing to look at, but provided a great kick of flavour. There were no tempura battered bits with it at all, but rather a simple large piece of salmon which I enjoyed.



 A great idea for some fun is the Russian roulette roll ($7). The maki itself is just salmon and avocado topped with a tangy mayo sauce. The novelty is that one piece (out of six) has tons of wasabi mixed into it. So, tables are encouraged to have everyone grab a piece and bite into it together – it’s quite entertaining to see the look on the unlucky person’s face (needless to say it wasn’t me!)




All in all, Tsuki offers great service and decent food at very reasonable prices. They are a popular restaurant in the neighbourhood with every table occupied during our weekend visit. The staff are amazingly friendly. Our waiter David was so helpful throughout the night – he even went around to find us extra soju bottle caps for drinking games (who would have known a simple cap could offer so much entertainment)! 

My suggestion is to come in larger groups (six would be ideal) as there are tons of dishes to try and more than enough of each to pass along. Plus, it’s the type of place you can get loud and rowdy and other patrons just don’t seem to mind.


Overall mark - 7 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!

Ni-Ji Japanese Restaurant (Toronto)

Posted on Monday, September 02, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 1095 Ellesmere Road
Website: https://www.facebook.com/ilovenijisushi
Type of Meal: Dinner

 If you read reviews about Ni-Ji Japanese Restaurant, you may be confused why some customers exclaim it’s the best sushi in Toronto and others grumble in disappointment about travelling to eat at the place.  Hopefully, I can shed some light on this disconnect.  Firstly, Ni-Ji is not the best/most authentic sushi you will find in Toronto; establishments such as Hiro Sushi and Nami or maybe even Zen Japanese Restaurant, also in Scarborough, would be better choices. 

 With that said, what brings people to Ni-Ji is its relatively decent tasting dishes offered at extremely reasonable prices. The restaurant is busy, expect waits on weekends, but keeps ingredients fresh (of utmost importance for something like raw fish).

 The spicy salmon maki ($4.95) is an explosion of salmon with tons in the roll and more topping it as well. For under $5 you’re served quite a substantial portion of fish! Besides, I enjoy the roughly diced pieces so they are still distinct pieces rather than becoming a pulverized paste mixed with tempura bits that some restaurants serve. The sauce has a nice hint of spiciness to it but not so overpowering that it makes you think that you’re dipping the sushi into sriracha.



Ni-Ji’s spicy seafood udon ($9.95) contains sufficient amounts of seafood (shrimp, squid, mussels and scallop) as well as vegetables.  I wouldn’t call this a highlight of the restaurant – the noodles are like frozen varieties found in grocery stores and the broth needs to be spicier. But, if you’re looking for something hot and hearty during the winter months, a bowl of noodle soup is one of my favourite things


Generally, my go-to are their bento boxes which provides me with tastes of everything to satisfy cravings. Bento #1 ($11.95) containing salmon teriyaki with bean sprouts, fried tofu, a California maki, rice and slivers of pickled daikon seems popular. Although there's a generous portion of salmon, it's overcooked and too dry for my taste.



Rather, I prefer Bento #2 ($11.95) which has beef bulgogi, fried tofu, a California & salmon roll and rice.  The bulgogi pays homage to the Korean options being offered at the restaurant (which of course shows the restaurant is not the most “authentic”) and is thinly sliced and well marinated.

Their sushi dinners are also satisfying. The Kyoto ($11.95; 8 pieces of sushi, 3 pieces of California and 3 pieces of salmon), Sapporo ($12.95; 7 pieces of sushi, 6 pieces of maki and 1 salmon hand roll) and the maki combo ($11.95; California, salmon and cucumber maki rolls) are fresh and palatable.  For the Kyoto and Sapporo, I found they generally include additional salmon sushi above what’s stated on the menu which is always a pleasant surprise.

All meals are usually served with a bowl of simple salad, Korean congee (has an interesting earthy smoky taste that I like) and green tea ice cream.  If you order any bento boxes, you’ll also be offered a bowl of mediocre miso soup as well.





 Right after ordering, two simple banchan dishes of seaweed drizzled with a sweet beany Korean chilli sauce and marinated vermicelli noodles arrive. Sometimes, Ni-Ji also serves two pieces (yes pieces) of edamame per person with the banchan as well.  


Although Ni-Ji’s dining room is small, it actually sits quite a few people.  Service is lightening quick with the staff running like a well-oiled machine; unfortunately, sometimes too efficient as they take things away when other guests are still eating and present the bill as soon as the last dish is whisked away. However, turnover is usually pretty fast and if you can’t stand to wait, you could always do take-out which seems to be a popular choice amongst locals.

Overall mark - 8 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!

Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this:


CLOSED: Blowfish (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, November 24, 2012 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 333 Bay Street
Type of Meal: Dinner

 Blowfish’s roasted miso-marinated black cod with sautéed seasonal greens ($28) is certainly why I keep going back.  It’s simply one of the tastiest miso black cods I've had in Toronto. Cooked perfectly that it flakes apart with the slight touch and yet still soft and moist. Undeniably, what I love most is the sweet caramel consistency miso sauce smeared on the plate beside the cod.  It’s so flavourful and acts as a dip for the patron to add as much or as little as they feel appropriate. If you’d like to try this without the $28 price tag, go at lunch – you’ll receive the same dish but with one piece instead of two while the price decreases to $14.

Off of the seasonal menu we ordered the binnaga-maguro ceviche.  Diced pieces of albacore tuna, avocado, veggies and pine nuts are marinated with a jalapeño yuzu sauce then served on a Tostito sized crispy taro chip ($18).  I didn’t hate it, but it wouldn’t be something I’d order again.  The tuna was marinated for so long that the texture was sort of chewy.  Additionally, something about the marinade made it taste with salted dried cod fish, not exactly what you look for in a ceviche.

Another highlight for Blowfish is their interesting non-traditional makimono rolls.  The brown-eyed pea ($9) is one of my favourites.  It’s pretty simple - crispy thin spears of asparagus and thinly sliced snow peas all wrapped in dark brown rice rolled in sesame seeds.  The contrast of the chewy rice and crispy asparagus is great.  The brown rice’s texture is also my preferred consistency as I find the white rice rolls can be a little gluey sometimes. Spicy sauce sits on the plate for you to add as you wish.

What we ordered: A simple spicy salmon roll ($10).  Unlike most restaurants the salmon isn’t chopped up into little pieces then mixed with tempura bits and sauce.  I like that each roll incorporates a whole piece of salmon and that the tempura bits aren’t overwhelming.  Nonetheless, the sauce is too mild to truly be considered spicy and would prefer if they kicked it up a bit.

An alternative I’d recommend from past meals: Spicy tuna on crispy sushi rice ($17).  The soft tuna paired with domino sized crispy rice cakes is a great combination.  Also, they top each piece with a thin slice of jalapeño providing the heat I like when you order a spicy roll.

What we ordered: Spicy rock shrimp tempura style ($20).  It was disappointing; the shrimp although looking quite large was really a large piece of batter and ends up feeling like you’re eating a chicken ball.  The spicy sauce is essentially the same as all the other dishes so wasn’t flavourful enough.  The only dish we ordered that had leftover pieces.

An alternative I’d recommend from past meals: If you really want to try the spicy rock shrimp, order their spicy tuna with rock shrimp roll instead ($18).  It’s essentially a spicy tuna roll with a rock shrimp on top.  Perhaps it’s because they have to make the spicy rock shrimp smaller so that it sits on the roll or maybe it’s due to them not being stacked on each other and getting soggy, but the spicy rock shrimp doesn’t taste as bad. 
During dinner, you are also treated with a complimentary dish of edamame for the table which is wonderfully warm and sea salt coated.
I also tried their watermelon mint sake sangria ($16) made with prosecco, watermelon and passion fruit juice and tons of fresh mint.  It was a tasty but mild drink – since you couldn’t taste the alcohol, in the end, the drink tasted like you’re having fruit juice with mint leaves.  With the hefty price tag, I’d rather skip the sangria and stick with wine next time.
Normally, I go to Blowfish for lunch.  This time we went after work and found the service, although friendly and attentive, to be too much.  After all our dishes were served, a waiter would come by every 10 minutes to ask if we were okay.  If that weren’t enough, each time they would try to clear away a plate – most of the time the dish still had a piece of food on it!  This left us either scrambling to take the last piece or just asking them to leave it.  Restaurants should take note, if a table has a dish that still has food on it and looks like they are still eating - don’t clear the plate.  I guess during lunch hours the duration of the meal is limited so we appreciate the fast service, but during dinner I find this element slightly annoying.

Overall mark - 8* out of 10
However, the roasted miso-marinated black cod itself would get a 9!

____________________________
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!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html

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