You don’t have to fly to Tokyo or New York City for a good sushi omakase (お任せ; blind tasting menu). Over the last 10 years, Toronto has gained several high-end sushi restaurants with their own niches. They are also better value here, other than Sushi Masaki Saito which starts at $600 per person—the most expensive meal in Toronto.
Yasu’s strength is non-orthodox nigiri sushi. By non-orthodox, I mean the willingness to venture beyond traditional Japanese produce and flavours. That’s the trend of top-end restaurants around the world. Delivering the classics isn’t enough—chefs have to impress seasoned foodies with dishes they have never had before. Of the 16 courses I had at Yasu, only half were traditional. Everything else had some modern spin on it.
Top-notch, approachable Modern Canadian food (COVID-19 takeout edition)
Just a block south of Queen subway station is Richmond Station. Except it’s a restaurant, not a subway station. The choice of name is deliberate. Its logo even features a subway train. Think of Richmond Station as a stop on the metaphorical culinary train.
Richmond Station
It’s difficult to put a finger on the cuisine served here. It ranges from pasta to braised meat to ethnic inspirations like mulligatawny (British-Indian curry soup). They are dishes that you might have seen in other restaurants but with Canadian twists. The menu changes seasonally. So, I would say Richmond Station is the exemplar for Modern Canadian cuisine.
Let’s get the bad news out of the way. The English name for this bakery is awkward and cringeworthy. The original French name is better: “Aux Merveilleux de Fred”. Although “Marvelous by Fred” is a technically correct translation, it doesn’t invoke the same personal touch.
Marvelous by Fred is a chain bakery originating from Lille, Northern France. Their signature dessert is the namesake merveilleux (pronounced mair-veh-year; marvelous in English). It’s a unique creation of their own consisting of a meringue shell with bits of goodies inside it.
Competent crowd pleasers with a contemporary Israeli flair
I’ve passed by Cafe Landwer over a hundred times but have never tried it until last year. Before COVID-19, it was rather popular but cafe fare like salads, sandwiches, and hummus didn’t seem that interesting to me. The pandemic provided the opportunity for me to give it a shot during one of my downtown strolls. And it exceeded my expectations. 10% off online orders helped too.
Cafe Landwer
Cafe Landwer is an chain cafe from Israel. The downtown branch is the second in Canada, opened a year after the first one in Vaughan. Its international presence is tiny compared to its home base at Israel. Cafe Landwer only started expanding overseas in 2017 starting with Canada then USA. If its popularity is any indication, they are set to grow rapidly.
Makan stands out as the only Malaysian restaurant in downtown Toronto. Ok, it’s Malaysian-inspired rather than actual Malaysian. The only recognizably traditional dishes are their nasi lemak (coconut rice), rendang (dry coconut curry), and chicken curry. Still, it is a welcome change from the usual chain restaurant and food court fare. The food is above average and well-priced to boot.
Makan. Fugo, a dessert store, is also co-located there.
The food
The menu can be summarized as (1) stuff on baos or rice and (2) tater tots. Tater tots are an oddball for the restaurant’s concept. I didn’t try them for this review. I would have preferred Malaysian sides like begedil (croquettes), curry puffs (curry pastries), or rojak (savoury fruit salad).
Fika means coffee break in Swedish, or for some, a social ritual. That’s what FIKA Cafe in Toronto offers. Some coffee and sugary treats and a lazy afternoon lounge surrounded by Scandinavian designs. Well, at least that’s what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, FIKA does a brisk business with takeout coffee and pastries.
FIKA Cafe
FIKA has less than four traditional Swedish foods but it does them well. For a proper Swedish restaurant, IKEA is the only option, unfortunately. FIKA sells Scandinavian-inspired sandwiches like ones with smoked salmon. However, their strength is with coffee and sweet pastries, the very essence of fika.
Patio of FIKA. Losers have vandalized the handwritten welcome message on the railing.
The food
Their pastries sell out as fast as they did before the pandemic. Get there before noon for the full selection.
Pastry display case. Clockwise from top left: cinnamon rolls, ginger snaps, pecan brownies, spiced oatmeal currant cookies, spiced carrot cupcakes with lemon icing, semlor.
Yonge-Dundas Square is a mixed bag when it comes to food choices. There are a few great restaurants but there are many more mediocre chains that survive on tourist and shopping traffic. Well, if you are in the area around lunch time, it’s worth seeking out Elm Street Italian Deli for their subs.
Elm Street Italian Deli
They sell Canadian-Italian subs, or at least that’s what I call them. They are not traditional Italian panini because they come loaded with more meats and ingredients. Also, the ingredient combinations are not something one finds in Italy. It’s closer to American/Canadian-Italian sandwiches. Regardless of origin, I recommend them for a quick, quality bite.
Donburi (丼) is a general term for rice bowl meals. Literally a bowl of rice with stuff on top. There is no rule on what goes on top, but traditional combinations are gyu don (牛丼; stewed beef slices and onion), ten don (天丼; tempura), katsu don (カツ丼; schnitzel), and unagi don (鰻丼; grilled eel).
Oddly enough, the best donburi restaurant in Toronto eschews these classic bowls and goes for modern interpretations. It’s still recognizably Japanese though.
Onnki Donburi
Onnki Donburi has the elusive winning combination of taste, presentation, portion, and price. The cooking and plating is like a mid-range to top-end restaurant, yet the portion sizes are perfect and don’t leave diners wanting. It hasn’t forgotten the casual roots of donburi either and is moderately priced.
A head-to-head comparison of Dagu, Fudao, Shi Miaodao, and Yunshang Rice Noodle
For some reason, four specialists of crossing-the-bridge noodles have opened withing walking distance of one another in the past few years. They are centred in downtown Chinatown. I don’t quite understand the appeal of this dish but apparently the market is large enough to sustain them all. So, I decided to go on a taste test.
This review was done over the course of a year because of interruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a dish that has to be eaten on-premise for a fair assessment.
The most famous specialty from YunnAN
Crossing-the-bridge noodles (过桥米线; guoqiao mixian) gets its unusual name from a fable about a devoted wife bringing her husband these noodles. She had to cross a bridge to reach him, hence the name. Traditionally, the soup has a thick layer of oil to keep it warm. Restaurants in Toronto (and most in China) don’t bother with that because no one is doing any lengthy bridge crossings.
This dish originates from Yunnan province in Southwest China and is the representative dish. The novelty lies with diners quickly tossing raw ingredients in the boiling soup just after it is served. It’s an interactive affair. Deluxe versions can be an impressive feast. Other than that, it tastes like regular soup noodles.
I was remarkably underwhelmed by the everyday versions sold in Yunnan. It’s as sad as it looks.
Crossing-the-bridge noodles from Jian Xin Yuan (建新园), Kunming
Enterprising Chinese from outside Yunnan spiffed up this ancient dish and packaged it for the modern market. It now comes with an earthenware pot and better presented ingredients. This is the style used by Toronto restaurants.
Guoqiao mixian with original soup from Fudao Noodle House, Toronto
Lai Wah Heen is the grand dame of luxury dim sum, incorporating ingredients like lobster and caviar since the 1990s. It won critical acclaim but standards went downhill for a long time before rising again. Today, it’s still a decent place to try high-end dim sum if you don’t want to make the trip to Richmond Hill and Markham.
Hotel entrance to Lai Wah Heen
Lai Wah Heen
Online reviews are harsh, mainly because the price doesn’t meet expectations. Indeed, some items like char siu bao (barbecued pork buns) don’t taste that all different from average restaurants but are priced higher. The trick is to select the right things. Research on their specialties beforehand and get the unique ones. Then, the experience won’t be as bad as detractors claim.
