Japan Archives - Global Toronto Eats

Sushi Nishinokaze

This restaurant closed on 30 April 2022 and will be moving to a new location. Thanks for the memories!

21-days aged sushi in Toronto, edomae style

Sushi Nishinokaze is the latest darling in the omakase space. It opened in late 2021 and is one of three restaurants specializing in edomae sushi. If you’re wondering, the other two are Shoushin and Sushi Masaki Saito. Nishinokaze is also the cheapest at $169.50, compared to $316.40 and $680.00 respectively. Lots of Japanese air-flown imports and the intricacies of fish curing push up the price.

Exterior of Sushi Nishinokaze — Sushi Nishinokaze

The 19th-century ancestor of contemporary sushi

Edomae (江戸前) literally means “in front of Edo”. Edo is understood to refer to the castle in Edo, now modern-day Tokyo. Edo is also the name of the imperial period from 1603 to 1867 before Japan opened up to the world and brought about industrialization, political reform, and World War II, among other things.

The sushi from the Edo period was quite different from that of today. Because of the lack of refrigeration, fresh fish sushi was rare. Chefs had to think of ways to preserve fish like curing in soy sauce, salt, or vinegar. To put it in a nice way, fish could be “aged” anywhere between a few days to a few weeks. There’s less moisture and the protein gets more mushy from enzymatic action.

Box of fermented fish from Sushi Nishinokaze — Chef prepping fish slices. Box of aged fish on the right.

Edomae sushi is slowly gaining awareness in North America. Mainly in top-end omakase restaurants going for hundreds of dollars. Such an irony considering that edomae sushi was originally fast-food for peasants. I guess it can be justified because there’s more chef work compared to regular sushi.

Prepared fish from Sushi Nishinokaze — Prepared fish

For example, one defining characteristic of edomae sushi is the red vinegar (赤酢; akasu) used to prepare the rice (酢飯; shari). It gives the rice a brown hue. This vinegar is more expensive to procure and the taste is more complex than the white rice vinegar used in regular sushi. If you arrive early like I did, you can watch the chef make the finishing touches to the giant tub of rice.

Shari tub in Sushi Nishinokaze — Tub of shari on the right

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Yasu Sushi Bar

The omakase for contemporary nigiri sushi

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.

Exterior of Yasu Sushi Bar — Yasu Sushi Bar

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Imanishi

Sumptuous and immaculate bentos (COVID-19 takeout edition)

Imanishi is a contemporary izakaya (Japanese bar) and one of the top ones in Toronto. The contemporary part comes from its adaption of traditional izakaya foods like karaage (唐揚げ; deep-fried chicken chunks) and goma-ae (胡麻和え; salad with sesame dressing). They mostly stay true to the original but are plated nicer, in tapas format. Serendipitous additions like fried chickpeas and monkfish liver further differentiate Imanishi from old-school izakayas.

Well, that was before COVID-19. When indoor dining was shut down, Imanishi pivoted to donburi (rice bowls) and bento (boxed meals with assorted sides). This was perhaps a blessing in disguise because I like their bento even more than their a la carte options.

A short primer on bento

Bento (弁当) is a compartmentalized meal with rice and at least 3 or more side dishes. It’s designed for takeout. It originated from Japan and has spread across Korea, China, and Taiwan. Southeast Asia also has a similar thing but it isn’t packed as exquisitely. Hawaiian plate lunches can also be considered a form of bento if you squint a little.

For Korean bentos in Toronto, try Hawk and Chick. Taiwanese bentos are more common but I haven’t found a stellar one yet. Chi Chop and ZenQ are convenient if you are downtown. Wei’s Taiwanese for value. And as for Japanese bentos, they are everywhere. Quality varies a lot.

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Onnki Donburi

Skillful and generous Japanese rice bowl dishes

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.

Exterior of Onnki Donburi — 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.

Sake Lover don bowl from Onnki Donburi — Bowl of Sake Lover don

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JaBistro

Blowtorched Canadian-Japanese sushi for a treat (COVID-19 update)

JaBistro is one of two famous aburi oshizushi restaurants in Toronto. The other is Vancouver transplant Miku. While Miku has the edge over variety and is slightly better executed across the board, JaBistro has better prices and the single best aburi sushi dish in Toronto: the JaBistroll. Both offer more than aburi sushi and have traditional nigirizushi as well. They also have entrees and lunch specials but Miku has more variety and offers desserts too.

Before we go on a detour about what aburi oshizushi is, I want to complain. Why do so many high-end restaurants try to look invisible? JaBistro looks like an abandoned steel workshop from the outside. If you are not looking for it, you are likely to miss it. Whether it is to keep the riff-raff out or to maintain an air of secrecy and prestige, it clearly doesn’t work in the world of Yelp and Tripadvisor. When a restaurant is outstanding, people will come.

Exterior of JaBistro — JaBistro with an industrial exterior

Canada’s own sushi: aburi oshizushi

Most people associate sushi with two forms. Nigirizushi (握り寿司) is a rice mound shaped by hand and has a slice of seafood pressed on top of it. Makizushi (巻き寿司), also known as maki roll, is encased with seaweed and rolled with a bamboo mat. The fillings are in the centre of the maki roll.

A lesser-known sushi type is oshizushi (押し寿司). It is formed with a rectangular mold and requires the least amount of skill. But if you are into geometrical shapes, this looks the prettiest because everything is angular and precise. This form of sushi has really taken off in Canada in the past decade, starting in Vancouver and spreading to Toronto.

To be precise, it is aburi oshizushi that is a Canadian specialty. Aburi (炙る) means scorched. Aburi sushi is blowtorched on top to give extra colour and flavour. This is not new. Aburi nigirizushi has been around in Japan for a while but remains a novelty there. The Canadian twist is to apply this technique to oshizushi and use non-traditional ingredients like jalapeños.

Some people say that aburi sushi is a way to mask poor quality seafood and shoddy knife work. I say aburi has a more tangible impact on flavour and a better test of cooking skills. Knife skills can make something pretty and mold texture but it won’t help a lot with taste. If aburi sushi allows chefs to use lower grade seafood and reduce prices accordingly, I am all for it.

Oh, and if you are wondering why sushi is sometimes spelled as zushi, that’s because the Japanese s sound changes to z when it appears before certain words.

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Ikkousha Ramen Chicken

Best chicken ramen in Toronto, beating most pork ramen

COVID-19 update: 20% off all orders!

Ikkousha (一幸舎) may be a global chain but its ramen are among the best in Toronto. The original store near Hakata train station in Fukuoka, Japan, is famous for its tonkotsu ramen and its rendition in Toronto is just as good. It’s a close second after Santouka (山頭火), another Japanese chain.

While the first Canadian outlet sticks closely to the formula from the original Japanese location, Ikkousha recently opened a restaurant two doors away that focuses solely on chicken. Even the side dishes like gyoza (pan-fried dumplings) are based on chicken. This is the first Ikkousha restaurant in the world that specializes in chicken ramen. And it is out-of-this-world good.

Exterior of Ikkousha Ramen Chicken — Ikkousha Ramen Chicken

Table seating in Ikkousha Ramen Chicken — Table seating

Ok, technically, this isn’t the first Ikkousha restaurant that serves chicken exclusively. Some branches in Indonesia only have chicken ramen to appeal to Muslim diners. However, the menu here is completely different and this Toronto restaurant is the first to be branded as “Ikkousha Chicken”. If you are wondering, there is no halal or kosher certification.

Ramenology primer

There are many ways to classify ramen. Broth seasoning, broth base, and noodle type are the most common. For this review, you just have to know the difference between broth bases. Ikkousha has long been associated with tonkotsu (豚骨), a whitish concoction from boiling pork bones and cartilage for hours. Their second restaurant in Toronto focuses on chicken broth bases. The two types are tori paitan (鶏白湯; literally chicken white soup) and tori chintan (鶏清湯; literally chicken clear soup). Like tonkotsu, tori paitan is made by boiling chicken bones and cartilaginous parts like chicken feet until all the fat and connective tissue melds into the broth. The result is a creamy, umami-rich, high cholesterol chicken soup.

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