Izakaya Ju

1st time good, 2nd time eh, 3rd time no more.

I've been to Izakaya Ju 3 times already and that first line pretty much described all 3 experiences. What I will be blogging about here will be my 3rd trip.

On my 3rd dinner here all the items I ordered were all dishes I haven't tried on my previous 2 trips. So something new but maybe that's where I went wrong.

This osaka style fried rice was the highlight of the meal. When it arrived my friend was like "whoa it's ALIVE!!!". What he was referring to were the bonito flakes lol. This dish was very flavorful and tasty even though it was mostly rice. I don't even remember what else was on this dish nevertheless, the most yummiest dish of the night.

Guu Sakabar

Guu is Guud. If you don't know what Guu is then you must be living in a cave.

My first Guu experience was at Guu Izakaya along Church. That was the first restaurant I have ever waited in line for. One hour to be exact but it was so worth the wait.

Now another Guu restaurant opened up just a few months ago, Guu Sakabar. Surprisingly, this time I didn't even have to wait in line at all. Yayyy!

This location has 2 dining areas. One area is similar to the other location where there are communal tables and seating by the bar. The other area looked like you are sitting on the floor but there's a space in the ground to dangle your legs so technically you're not really sitting on the floor. Note you have to remove your shoes before entering this area so be sure your feet don't smell otherwise it's just unpleasant for those around you. Luckily I didn't have that issue.

Here was the specials for the day.

Mi Ne

My mommy called me and said she was bored. Since I was hungry I ended up taking her out for dinner at Mi Ne.

I ordered seaweed salad for my mom since she loves seaweed salad.

I got the maki set C with the 8 piece dynamite roll and 8 piece spider roll. I also ordered 2 other rolls. I was going to order more but the waitress stopped me and said that was already more than enough. She was right. In fact it was too much. We ended up doggie bagging a quarter of it.

When the sushi arrived, I couldn't help smiling from ear to ear. It was so pretty and colorful. I took so many pictures that my mom kinda got impatient and was ready to dig in with her chopsticks.

Le Cafe Michi

From the outside it kinda looked sketchy. I wasn't sure if I was at the right restaurant but the sign read Le Cafe Michi so in I went.

It was a small and narrow restaurant with about maybe 10 tables or so. Me and my girlfriend ended up sitting across from the sushi bar since it was empty there. We talk loud or actually I talk loud so it was nice to have the whole room to ourself.

We both had our eyes on the unatama dinner special which was barbecued eel, green onions and simmered egg on rice. The special also came with miso soup, salad and get this, CAKE. First time seeing a combo that came with cake rather than ice cream. Yayyy! This was insanely delicious. It sucked that I had to share otherwise I would have finished the whole plate on my own.

Sushi Kaji, best sushi place EVER!!!

Hands down, the best sushi experience EVERRRR!!!

I would never have expected that the best sushi place would be located in Etobicoke. Sorry no offense to those who live in that area but c'mon there's really nothing around there. For sushi places you normally head to either downtown or uptown, not in the west end.

This little restaurant named Sushi Kaji is what proved me wrong.

Matsu

A new restaurant opened up by my workplace so me and a colleague decided to give it a try.

Matsu is suppose to be a fusion of Japanese and Thai cuisine. Being the greedy one that I am we went for the lunch buffet. Maybe we should have gone with the regular menu instead because the buffet was a disappointment.

Here was the unagi and avocado pizza. It was a huge pile of mess. I couldn't taste the eel but I definitely tasted the avocado but that's about it.

Inatei

Umazura.

That is the name of the $68 fish we had at Inatei.

Pure Rice @ Shinobu

I took my mommy to Shinobu for her birthday.

What a disappointment. I just couldn't wait to get the bill and leave.

First off we couldn't even find the restaurant. Kept looking for Shinobu but this is what we saw.

When we checked it was this place after all.

The restaurant is owned and operated by Japanese people. When we entered, the whole restaurant was filled with Japanese patrons except for one table. Let me point out the place was really tiny. There were only 5 tables in total which seated approximately 20 people or so. One chef and 2 waitresses.

I was excited since I thought the food must be good since it would be authentic Japanese cuisine. Also after perusing through the menu the prices were pretty high so it better be good for the price they charged. Boy was I crushed when the food arrived.

Inakaya

Inakaya is now at the top of my list for the freshest fish in the city of Toronto.

Hidden along Willowdale Ave, this little sake bar was packed with people when we arrived. Also let me point out there were a lot of Japanese people dining there as well which was a very good indication of the authenticity of the place. If Japanese people are eating there then it must be good well at least most of the time this theory is true. In this case, it was.

To start off the meal we had the Sunomono salad. It consisted of King crabs, cooked shrimps, octopus, clams, seaweed, and cucumbers all dressed in a Japanese vinaigrette. It was a refreshing salad and the dressing was not too vinegary just perfect.

Next is the Zaru-soba. It is cold boiled soba noodles served with a soy bonito dipping sauce. It was tasty but my boyfriend found the noodles to be a tad overcooked.

Here is the beef amiyaki which is certified Angus beef cooked at the table on a small hibachi served with sweet red wine dipping sauce. I loved the little burner. It was small and cute with the Asian writing all over it. The meat itself was juicy and delicious.

Here is the ume yamaimo sushi roll. It is made up of shiso leaf, plum paste, Japanese mountain potato and sesame seeds. My boyfriend thought this tasted like candy but to me it just tasted minty. Not pleasant at all.

Now this was the main star of the meal, the sashimi. We had ordered 9 pieces of tuna, 4 pieces of scallops, 3 pieces of octopus, and 9 pieces of fluke. It was amazingly fresh and did not have that fishy taste at all. It was silky smooth and cut perfectly. My boyfriend absolutely loved the fluke so much he ordered another 9 pieces of it. Also our table was situated directly in front of the sushi bar so you can watch the chef's extraordinary knife skills at work. You can see the chef carefully examining the fish and cutting it with precision and skill.

This last dish was a fiery finale. The volcano roll. It included sauteed sliced onions in butter and olive oil, blanched zucchini, torched sliced Angus beef on top served on an iron plate with teriyaki sauce and sliced scallions in a pool of fire. This was pretty cool when it arrived to our table. I tried to snap as many pictures as possible. It was tasty.

This is the place to head to if you want really fresh sashimi but be sure to either arrive early or after the rush since it's a very tiny place so seats are limited.

TOTAL BILL $160...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Inakaya

126 Willowdale Ave.

(close to Sheppard)

416-224-8881

Tsuki Izakaya

Raw octopus and raw beef?

Who knew I would love it so much.

I wanted to try some place new and I remembered seeing Tsuki Izakaya one day while walking along Yonge. It is located seconds away from North York Centre Station about 2 stores down from Asian Legend.

I got my boyfriend to come with me to try out the resto.

It used to be a Chinese restaurant before it changed to a Korean restaurant called Ehwa and now it is Tsuki.

I hope Tsuki is here to stay because it is absolutely phenomenal.

Here is the complimentary tofu dish. It was pretty tasty. Not sure what kind of sauce was in the bowl but it was yummy.

At the very top is the sashimi salad with vegetables, seafood, sashimi and sesame dressing. It was refreshingly delicious. I loved the dressing. It went perfectly well with the fish and greens.

Next is the Tako wasabi which is raw octopus with chopped wasabi stem and sliced onion served in a martini glass. It was like the Asian version of ceviche. It was scrumptious with a nice kick from the wasabi stem. I never tasted raw octopus before and now it will not be my last.

Here is the magnificent 21 piece sashimi. It was one of the freshest fish I have ever had in a long time.

Here is the spider roll. It was tasty just like any other spider roll so not much to comment here.

Last, but definitely not least, is the Korean style beef sashimi with soya dressing, shaved green onion and raw egg yolk. Do not be intimidated by the color nor the rawness of the meat. It is sublimely the best way to eat raw meat. I ate the delicious food in a kind of shell-shocked state hardly believing it was actually raw beef. It was exquisitely well prepared and seasoned to perfection. Also it didn't even feel like meat. It had a buttery texture which just melted in your mouth.

Every dish was outstanding except for the mediocre spider roll. Not one dish I would complain about. I can't wait to return and try the remaining dishes. Great spot to hang out with friends and have a beer. Although I don't really drink beer however, these dishes are meant to be eaten as an accompaniment to alcohol. In Japan, an izakaya is a spot people head to for a drink and the food is just an added bonus. Here at Tsuki I say, "Hold the sake! Give me the food!".

TOTAL BILL $65...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Tsuki Izakaya

5182 Yonge Street

(close to Sheppard)

416-229-6719

Benihana

At 5:30pm on a Saturday, me and my friend went for dinner at Benihana located at the Fairmont Royal York. My friend wanted a sushi fix but sadly when we left it was just a tease. Did not satisfy her sushi craving at all.

The hostess asked if we had any reservations. We replied no. He told us the teppanyaki tables were all booked up. Luckily we were primarily there for the sushi so it did not apply to us.

We got a small little table right near the entrance.

Both of us have never been to this restaurant before but apparently it was known more for its teppanyaki rather than sushi but we didn't care for table cooking that night.

For our starter we decided to go with the oysters. When it arrived I have to say it was the smallest oysters I have ever ate. Think I got ripped off. $15 for 4 tiny oysters. Honestly it wasn't even appetizing at all. It had that unpleasant fishy smell. At first I thought it was rotten but it was just the way it was prepared. Another negative aspect was the fact that it tasted gritty. Don't think they scrubbed the shellfish properly since it felt like I ate a bunch of sand mixed with bits and pieces of tiny rocks.

The sushi menu was very limited. There were only around 5-6 options available. So we ended up pretty much ordering all the rolls.

Here is the spider roll, dynamite roll and spicy salmon roll. Tasty but just not enough.

My friend also ordered the salmon toro sashimi.

One thing that irritates me is when restaurants tip themselves. How do they know whether they deserve that tip?

With Benihana the service was good so it didn't bother me as much that they tipped themselves however, the portion was too little.

I was not stuffed but not starving. Just about right till a few hours later I was hungry again.

I think Benihana was overpriced. For only 5 dishes, grand total, including tip and tax, amounted to $83 for only 2 people and we weren't even full.

Wonder whether the teppanyaki is any good since it was all booked before the restaurant was even opened. Still I'm pretty sure it will cost way more than the sushi.

TOTAL BILL $83...MAY EAT AGAIN?!

Ematei

Last Thursday I went to watch a movie with a friend. We watched "Life as We Know it" starring Katherine Heigl and hottie Josh Duhamel. The movie was a decent chick flick. It had its moments.

After the movie we were hungry so my friend took me to this authentic Japanese restaurant along St Patrick Street called Ematei. She claimed they had the best curry dish. I don't like curry but thought I would give it a try since I never tried Japanese curry before.

Since it was my first time there I just let my friend ordered the food.

She ordered kare raisu ebi frai which was basically curry rice with deep fried prawns.

At first the curry aroma really got to me. It definitely smelled like curry. I can't stand the scent thought I would have to plug my nose to eat it but surprisingly the food didn't taste like the way it smelled. It was quite tasty.

I can now say I like curry. That is Japanese curry. Now my friend wants me to try Thai curry next which I'm not quite sure I'm ready for just yet. For now baby steps for me.

The other dish we ordered was nabemono aka hot pot. I never knew there were so many types of Japanese hot pot. The one we had was sukiyaki which included thinly sliced beef, tofu, vegetables and starch noodles all stewed in sweetened soy and eaten with a raw egg dip.

It was scrumptious but man was there a lot of food. There were only 2 of us yet we couldn't help ourselves. We were starving and when you're hungry you just want everything. Also we were given complimentary fried okra to begin with as well.

Next time I want to try the cod since my friend said it was good. Also some jelly dessert as well. We couldn't even finish our food so sadly couldn't sample any sweets.

Thanks Sue for introducing me to Japanese curry and hot pot. We definitely need to make a second trip and try out the other dishes as well:)

TOTAL BILL $80...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Ematei

30 St. Patrick Street

(close to Osgoode Station)

416-340-0472

Ippai

On Friday night I went to Ippai for dinner with a friend.

At first I almost couldn't find the place since it was so dark so didn't know where it was located. According to the map it was close to Apple Creek Blvd. I drove past the road and just randomly turned into the next plaza. I almost left the plaza since I didn't see the restaurant but luckily caught a glimpse of the pink colored sign on my way out.

The menu was full of options. We didn't know what to order. Ten minutes later after browsing through the pages we settled on a few rolls and an appetizer.

Here is Okonomiyaki which is Japanese styled pancake. The word okonomi means 'what you like' or 'what you want' and yaki means 'grilled' or 'cooked'. There are a variety of toppings and batters used to create this Japanese style pancake so think the name Okonomiyaki means what do you like cooked.

I love the Japanese language. It sounds so adorable and it's fun trying to figure out how to pronounce the words. Can be a tongue twister at times but the nevertheless I would love to learn the language one day.

Out of the four flavors available we opted for the BBQ pork. The remaining flavors were seafood, chicken and beef.

This was delicious. I think the meat tasted like those BBQ pork buns from dim sum except this had other ingredients along with it which I don't quite remember what they were. The only thing I remembered were the flakes of onions on top which were moving when it arrived.

For sushi, we ordered the spider roll, spicy salmon roll, dragon roll, and some sort of hand roll my friend picked out which I'm not quite sure what it was but it was all very scrumptious.

Lastly our desserts. No matter how stuffed I am I always seem to have room for sweets.

Here we have rice cake with black sesame ice cream and green tea ice cream with fried banana tempura.

It was delicious. I never ate black sesame flavored ice cream before and this definitely was true to its name. Although the appearance looked like a lump of grey charcoal however, it was yummy.

My friend enjoyed her dessert as well but portion wise it was a meal itself. Think it could have used some sort of sauce on the tempura but other than that she thought it was decent.

The food here was pretty good but too bad I can't say the same for the service. In the beginning when we were seated our waitress was very attentive. But near the middle of the meal she completely ignored us. I wanted some more tea so I kept looking around hoping to catch her attention but she completely avoided me. There were two servers in total and neither of them cared to come and refill our teapot. They were bustling around attending to others but don't know why they wouldn't come to our table. I assure you we were not loitering we have only been there for an hour which is decent timing for a meal. We finally received our drinks after we asked for our bill.

Aside from being deprived of my tea, the food was decent. I would return to try out their ramen next. Hopefully the service will be much better the second time around.

TOTAL BILL $60...EAT HERE NEXT!!!

Ippai

8865 Woodbine Ave.

(b/n Hwy 7 & 16th)

905-470-1688