Showing posts with label yakatori. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yakatori. Show all posts

Sake Bar Kushi (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 257 Eglinton Avenue West
Website: http://sakebarkushi.ca/
Type of Meal: Dinner
Now this is what I expect from an izakaya – semi closed off tables allowing patrons to get a little rowdy. Loud enough so that you feel you don’t need to whisper yet quiet enough so you can still talk and unhurried service so you feel comfortable getting multiple rounds of drinks. 

Sake Bar Kushi proves that you can still get the izakaya experience without having staff members constantly scream at the top of their lungs; we were greeted in unison by a couple of people as we entered and left and personally I felt this was more than enough. Moreover, they should be recognized for their willingness to take reservations, which makes visiting with larger groups easier.  Really, isn’t that the whole point of an izakaya – an easy-going casual atmosphere to hang around and drink?

With 30 bottles of sake to choose, drinking can easily be accomplished. With prices ranging from $9 to $380 per bottle, there’s selections for all.  Staying at the lower end of the spectrum, we ordered the Kinmon ($24) which was dry and light tasting, great for sake novices like ourselves. Afterwards, we continued on the night with pitchers of Sapporo which were only $19 each.


In terms of food, there were some hits and misses but with such an extensive menu (literally four different ones) we likely could have missed their house specialties. To begin, we ordered a round of skewers to go with the sake.  The majority of them being offered were grilled (yakitori) rather than the deep fried kushi I was expecting. This just seems a bit strange given kushi is in their name, but to be honest, I wasn’t that involved with ordering the skewers so we could have misunderstood the options.

The yakitori selection arrived with negimi or chicken with green onions ($2), hotate or scallop ($4.20), shrimp ($3.50) and buta bara or pork belly ($2.60). Note: prices are per skewer. To be honest, none of them were impressive as they were a tad over cooked (especially the scallop).  The pork belly was extremely fatty and could have benefited from being breaded and deep fried. 


The katsu ($2.80) or deep fried breaded chicken was spot on - juicy and succulent with the right amount of flavor from the tonkatsu sauce. If only all the skewers were this delicious! Considering it was the best skewer of the night, Sake Bar Kushi should consider dedicating more of their menu to kushi. We also got a single sausage ($1.80), that I didn't try, but judging by my friends’ comments it appeared mediocre. 


Not in the mood for their set dinner ($37 a person), we ordered a mix of tapas to share. The first dish to arrive, the tuna tataki ($11), was an amazing start and my favourite of the meal. Lightly seared so that a thin ring circled the fish, the tuna was fresh and just flavoured enough from the ponzu and garlic chips without being overpowered. A bed of grated radish laid below and added a fresh crunchiness to contrast the tender tuna. 



The lobster roll ($13) was decent with pieces of meat rolled in rice and more lobster on top. The meat itself was rather bland and lacked the natural sweetness you’d expect, so any flavouring came from the spicy mayo and soy sauce topping it. All in all, it was good enough but rather tame for something that features lobster. 


Meanwhile, the kaki fry or deep fried oysters ($6) was better. What appeared to be freshly shucked oysters had a seafood essence to it and benefited from being just lightly breaded. Served with tartar sauce it is a simple but tasty dish and quite good for the price. 


Continuing with the ups and downs, the grilled pork ($11) was poorly executed. I found it so over cooked that it became tough and barely edible; sadly, the quality reminded me of some barbequing experiences I’ve had where I’ve left pork chops on the grill and forgot about them. Given its sole flavor came from salt (even then there wasn’t much of this), little could be done to improve the dish. 


The most disappointing dish of the night was the gindara or grilled cod ($11). Perhaps it’s because this is generally one of my favourite dishes, I eat it often and have high hopes. Sake Bar Kushi’s was overcooked, bland and slightly bitter from being burnt. That tender, flaking apart, buttery texture I’ve come to expect was nowhere to be found. 


As long as you’re not squeamish about tentacles, the kadako karaage or deep fried baby octopus ($11) may be a tasty option. Given they used baby octopus it was tender and an interesting combination between the soft chewiness of the body and the crispy tentacles. 


The last dish we ordered, kimchi pork ishiyaki bibimbap ($14), ended off the night quite well. The heated stone bowl was a flavourful cacophony of ingredients and sauce, which thankfully helped mask the overdone pork. I’ll admit, it’s not the best bibimbap I’ve ever had, but compared to some of the other dishes we had that night was a pleasant ending. 


After the food, we decided to stay for more beers and as the night went along the chef presented us with two complementary dishes. The first, a salmon tempura topped with greens, was very nice. The cooked salmon was tender and covered with a light crispy coating. Tons of chopped scallions topped the fish and really brightened up the dish.  Even the sweet and sour type sauce was a nice change compared to the mostly mayonnaise based ones from earlier dishes.


The second, a take on poutine expect without the gravy, was a miss. The fries, although made fresh with potatoes, were limp and slightly hard and needed to be double fried. Since there was no sauce, the melted cheese was congealed and hard by the time it reached the table. Even so, we appreciated the chef’s gesture at giving us the dish and ate most of it. The waitress advised us the fries weren’t part of their regular menu; some changes should be made before its ever added on.


Our waitress for the night was extremely nice and pleasant to be around. The dinner brought me back to memories of dining in Japan where my experiences with service are similar - attentive, respectful and always doing everything they can to ensure the customer is pleased.

Overall, although not all the dishes we had were spectacular, there were some good ones including the tuna tataki, katsu kushi and salmon tempura. Generally, I found the grilled dishes poorly executed (primarily on account of everything being overcooked), so would suggest ordering the fried, stone bowl or stir fried items instead. However, it’s the overall experience that shines through. Maybe one day the chef will adjust the cooking time for some of their dishes and the experience can be improved that much more.
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: Ryoji Ramen & Izakaya (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 690 College Street
Type of Meal: Dinner
Toronto’s love for Japanese food continues with another ramen house/izakaya on College. Ryoji is the first North American offshoot of an Okinawa chain and proclaims itself as the first Okinawan-style izakya in Toronto. When my friend heard about a special tasting menu being offered ($26 with taxes and gratuities included), we thought it’d be a great opportunity to see how Ryoji would differ from all the competition.

Esthetically, Ryoji is much larger than other izakayas boasting a prominent store front and spacious interior. A mirrored ceiling cleverly gives the illusion of high ceilings so makes the dining area seem larger than reality. Ryoji also has two large tables (one by the entrance and another near the kitchen) that offers great eating areas for big groups. The one by the kitchen has a much better view, in my opinion, and was where our tasting was held for the evening.



To begin, we were offered a choice of hot or cold sake or a non-alcoholic drink. Sake was the popular choice and I got the cold one which was fairly smooth and easy going. The portion sizes were impressive, enough for about two and a half shot glasses. 



The first dish was a cold appetizer consisting of Ji-MaMi, pickled vegetables and cucumber wasabi. The Ji-MaMi was quite interesting, a peanut tofu with a smooth texture and a consistency between silken tofu and buffalo mozzarella. The tofu didn’t have the typical bean taste but not quite peanut either, most of its flavour came from the thick sweet sauce and was quite enjoyable. Although the cucumbers appeared to be lightly blanched in salted water, the addition of freshly grated wasabi added a nice contrast to make an otherwise simple ingredient interesting.



Next, were slices of sashimi - lean tuna and mackerel – and were good, with the mackerel being one of the better ones I’ve tasted (slight smokiness and very tender). But, what made the sashimi different were the dipping sauces – an emulsified soy sauce (akin to foam), matcha salt and sumiso sauce (a thick sweet miso glaze). I loved the various blends that could be used to complement each of the fishes. My favourite combinations were the soy foam & wasabi with tuna and the sumiso sauce with mackerel.



Skewers of chicken and beef yakatori arrived next with more freshly grated wasabi. I’m quite happy that everything arrives with wasabi and the beef really required it as was fairly bland. Maybe it was just the cut of meat received as certain more marbled cubes were an improvement. On the other hand, the chicken was much better, likely aided by a liberal brush of teriyaki sauce and pieces of skin laid in between each cube to add flavour and keep the meat tender.



Normally, I’d say you can’t go wrong with a platter of deep fried food. However, my first bite of the fried ball was a disappointment. I was expecting it to be takoyaki (a deep fried octopus ball) but it was closer to fried mashed potatoes with a small piece of octopus inside; the texture was too soft and overall wasn’t hot enough. The shrimp coated in a miso mayonnaise and tartar sauce was decent, but a bit heavily battered for my liking.  Surprisingly, the best part of the dish was the zucchini fritters which had a nice dusting of garlic powder and parmesan cheese mixed into the batter and served with a cool tangy sour cream dip. I would have definitely preferred more of those.  



One of the most anticipated dishes of the night, by my friend, was the miso braised pork belly. Having been slowly cooked for four hours, it arrived tender with the fat melting away without being overly heavy. It may be shocking, but I’m not a huge fan of pork belly (perhaps its why I don’t enjoy bacon), and the piece I received was just too fat for my preference. Even so, I enjoyed its flavours and admittedly found it to be one of the nicer non-crispy pork bellies eaten; thus, if you enjoy fatty meats I sense you’ll love it.  



Last to arrive were pieces of albacore tuna (?) and scallop sushi. The tuna appeared to have been marinated to ponzu making it very flavourful (accented by the crunch of soaked red onions), but made the fish’s texture a tad rubbery. Remarkably, the scallop was more of my fancy; Ryoji chopped up the scallops and mixed it with Miracle Whip (?) so that it was well flavoured and helped to mask any strange textures. The crisp piece of nori wrapped around it also rounded out the sushi nicely.



On a subsequent visit, my husband and I were in the area and stopped by for a drink. We were in luck and ventured in on Thursday when Ryoji offers pints of Sapporo for only $5. While enjoying our drinks, we started talking to Matt Knight, Ryoji’s friendly bartender, who introduced us to an amazingly crisp sake “Morning Dew”, made from mountain water and newly imported into Canada. 
For a place that is imported from Japan, Ryoji is surprisingly “un-Japanese” – top 40 blares from the speakers, the staff is notably diverse and there’s no screaming entrances & exits (thank you!). But, it still offers diners a chance to enjoy something different – the peanut tofu is definitely worth a try. All things considered, I’d say it’s one of the better izakaya’s I’ve been to - no crazy line-ups, I believe takes reservations and above all provides the ability to actually hear your fellow diners. It’s a place that’s just a bit more refined and for that I like it.   

Overall mark - 8 out of 10
Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!

Yakitori Kintori (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2014 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 668 Bloor Street West (2nd floor)
Website: http://yakitorikintori.com/
Type of Meal: Dinner


The newest addition to the Guu/Kinton/Ja Bistro empire, Yakatori Kintori has a similar set-up to its sister restaurants. A clean yet warm environment, efficient use of seating space and an open concept kitchen so diners can watch as chefs make skewer after skewer over hot grills.


Unfortunately, also like Guu, no reservations are taken after 5pm so if you want to eat at a normal hour be prepared to wait. Luckily, there are many bars in the surrounding K-Town area that helped us kill the 40 minute wait. Surprisingly, for a place that offers a limited menu, tables turned over slower than expected; our meal lasted for over one and a half hours.

We couldn’t visit without trying their yakatori, which are essentially grilled skewers holding various ingredients. In most instances, the menu offers a choice between teriyaki sauce or salt as the flavouring agent. We relied on the expertise of our waiter to choose the best one.

The meat and vegetable combinations were ones I enjoyed most as there was a bit more contrast in terms of flavors and textures. The enoki bacon ($2.5) is a nice take on the izakaya dish I generally like (except in Yakitori Kintori’s case wrapped with bacon rather than beef) and was a decent combination of well cooked bacon and crunchy mushrooms. The jalapeno nikuzume ($3.50) was a bit bland since the heat of the ribs and seeds of the pepper were removed so it tasted more like bell peppers. But, the smoky pepper with some ground chicken was still respectable… but would have benefited for a thicker sauce or something else mixed into the ground chicken.


If you enjoy meat balls, the cheese tsukune ($2.30) may be a good option, given it’s essentially a giant ground chicken meat ball stuffed with a sizeable piece of gooey cheese. Like the jalapeno, it was a bit bland, so an extra drizzle of glaze on top could improve the dish. The momo ($1.90) is a simple skewer of grilled dark chicken meat – nothing amazing but quite tender and always a safe choice.


Lastly, we shared a skewer of the buta bara ($2) or pork belly. It was well rendered so wasn’t too fatty, yet still have enough of the fat that there was a tender gelatinous bite to the pork.


Another skewer, which isn’t part of the yakatori section was the chicken karaage ($6). The deep fried chicken was quite delicious, juicy and tender. Complete with a dish of mayonnaise and ketchup it at least provided patrons with the option to season it to their tastes.


An interesting sounding dish was the yakionigiri ($3) described simply as a charcoal grilled rice ball, with a choice of plum or konbu kelp in the middle. We opted for the plum version which tinted the middle of the rice a lovely pinky hue. In the end, there’s nothing different from what’s described – it was a ball of rice which is lightly grilled. The crispy toasted exterior was a nice contrast against the soft sticky rice but the yakinigiri needed some sort of sauce on it.


One of my favourite dishes of the night was the takowasabi ($4.50) a cold octopus mixture that’s spiked with plenty of wasabi. Unlike the other dishes which were relatively tame, the takowasabi certainly awakens your senses and clears out the sinus. But, more pieces of nori are required as the amount of mixture far outweighs what could be wrapped. I ended up adding some of it to the grilled rice ball (yakionigiri) which also helped calm the blast of wasabi down a bit.


Our table was quite excited when the dekitate tofu ($7) arrived, a fresh tofu that’s made table side. Unfortunately, ours didn’t work out very well and hadn’t set. Our waiter immediately took it back to prepare a new one for us – this time doing it in the kitchen and checking it to make sure it’s done correctly. We were pleasantly surprised with the finished product – piping hot silken tofu that can be seasoned to your heart’s content with the salt, pepper and ponzu they provide. The soy was finely grounded so it’s not as grainy as other tofus and delicately flavoured. Even if you don’t normally like tofu you may enjoy the dish so it’s worth a try.


Our waiter was customer service savvy enough to give us a complementary portion of the tofu & kaisou salad ($7) to tide us over while waiting for the table side tofu dish. The cubes of ponzu jelly tossed throughout really helps awaken what otherwise could be a boring cube of cold tofu with spring mix. This tofu salad certainly held its ground against the ones I’ve had at Bent and Zen.


To finish, our waiter treated us to the beer sorbet ($5) and sake ice cream ($5).  You could certainly taste the alcoholic content in both. Personally, I found that each of the desserts by itself was forgettable and the beer sorbet too bitter - especially since I had just finished a glass of the sweet Kintori white sangria ($7). But mixed together the sorbet and ice cream became a much better dessert with the ice cream sweetening the sorbet and the sorbet adding a nice crunch against the creamy ice cream.


On a side note the sangria was a bit disappointing – really wine with some pear juice in it. When I had read the menu describing it with lychee, orange and pear I was expecting actual wedges of the fruit. Alas, it arrived with only one lonely slice of orange. In my opinion, the sake was a much better option. Our table shared a 10oz portion of the junmai ginjo ($25) and it was a very easy going with hints of fruity sweetness (without being actually sweet).


Kintori is a welcomed addition to the family - a nice alternative to the loud screaming of Guu and as much as I love JaBistro, Kintori is a more wallet friendly. If only they extended the time they take reservations it would be so much better. 
 

 Overall mark - 8 out of 10

Like the blog? You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - 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!



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