RAA

Date: July 2011
Location: 4848 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario
Website: www.raajapanese.com

C.C. and I check out daily deal all the time to look for good restaurant deal. Not only that it is a good way to try out different restaurants but also a great way to save money. I have heard of RAA advertising on 680 News when it first open. I always want to try it out. (That's the power of advertisement!). One day, I spotted a deal from RAA $20 for $40 of food on the internet. This is a perfect excuse to try out new food.


There is no free parking on site, however there is a green P at the back of this restaurant. This restaurant is heavily decorated with wood. My first impression is "wow it is very dark but warm and cozy". C.C. and I were greeted by the owner right away and a table for 2 was waiting for us. Next, the waitress gave us 3 different menus (1) Regular Menu (2) Drink Menu (3) Food not available Menu ^o^. At first I was surprise to see the "Food not available menu". Later on I was a bit disappointed because I found out the food which I wanted to order were on the not available menu. Finally, C.C. and I ordered some fried tapas and sashimi to try out.

7 Samurai and Tequi - RAA  sake cocktail

7 samurai is way too sour to drink on its own. It is not my taste.

Tequi - RAA is much better because it is an orange juice based drink.

Spicy Ika Yaki

Spicy grilled squid. C.C. said it is very spicy but I found it average.

It has a strong taste so not good with sashimi together.

Crispy Calamari

Deep fried squid, ginger mayo. I couldn't taste the ginger in the mayo at all.

Overall, this is a very delicious dish. The calamari was still crispy even when it is cold.

Sashimi Plate Medium

Regular Fishy not a big surprise.

House Chicken Rings

Crispy rings with soy ginger flavor. Excellent crispy rings and very juicy.

Shiso Tree (2nd Visit)

Date: June 2011
Location: Unit 1 - 3160 Steeles Ave E, Markham, ON L3R 3Y2

I can't believe I haven't update my blog for such a long period of time. I guess I was getting too lazy.
This time I am going to talk about a restaurant which I have visited before - Shiso Tree. I have been visiting this restaurant regularly  and their quality of food are getting better and better. When they first started there weren't  lot of selections on the menu. However that has been changed. Their menu has 3 different sections: Wafu (Japanese style spaghetti), Cream and Tomato sauce based spaghetti.  As many of you may have notice, Shiso Tree only serve spaghetti and you can't find any other pastas. This time C.C. ordered Spaghettial nero di seppia on the menu of the month and I ordered Creamy Bacon Carbonara. We paid $7 extra to add the pasta set which includes soup of the day and a piece of cake. 

House Salad

greens with tomato in a soy sauce and sesame based dressing.

This is a very fresh and tasty salad. Soy sauce and sesame are a good combo.

Soup of the day - Mushroom Soup

A very freshly blended mushroom soup without lot of cream.

Shiso tree's soup is a must try.

Creamy Bacon Carbonara
I tried their spinach soup before and as always freshly blended. 
This is a big hit.  A very creamy dish yet I didn't have the gluey feeling in my month.
I tasted the egg yolk, cheese, and bacon combined together well. 
The garlic bread is very crispy on the side but warm and soft in the middle. ~$11

Spaghettial nero di seppia 

Spaghetti in squid ink sauce with clam and calamari. 

This is a special dish which is on the monthly menu. I wish they can include it in the regular menu.

This is my first time trying the squid ink spaghetti. Tell you the truth I can't really tasted the "ink".

The taste of the sea came from the clam and calamari which were cooked to perfection.

None of the seafood have the "rubber" texture. The spicy sauce just tied the whole dish together. $15

Lemon mousse cake

light creamy mousse cake with a hint of lemon taste.

 Mango & Strawberry cream cake

The fruits are fresh with the light cream. Not too sweet. Perfect for after dinner dessert.

Shiso Tree Cafe

Date: November 2 2010
Location: Unit 1 - 3160 Steeles Ave E, Markham, ON L3R 3Y2


Shiso Tree Cafe is another new restaurant situated in J-town. C.C. heard from his colleagues that this restaurant served Japanese style pasta so we decide to give it a try. Their menu have 8 different selections of pasta and two of them are Japanese style.

Here is a picture of what the restaurant looks like.

Green & Fruit Tee

Shiso Tree Cafe has a selection of different organic tea.

They are $3 each. I found it a bit pricey.

House Salad

This salad comes with the pasta we ordered.

This is the first time I tried out a soy sauce based salad dressing. 

Very interesting and quite tasty.

Tarako Pasta

Pollock roe flavored spaghetti with shimeji mushrooms, nori and shiso

I can't really tasted the Pollock roe but over all it is a very tasty dish.

Wafu Pasta

Japanese shoyu (soy sauce) based spaghetti with enoki, shimeji, oyster and king oyster mushrooms.

I don't find it to have a big different as compare with the Tarako pasta despite it is $1 more than the Tarako Pasta.

Menu

Izakaya Ju

Date: October 24 2010
Location: 3-3160 Steeles Ave E, Markham, ON L3R 4G9 (J-Town)
Website: http://www.izakayaju.com/index.html


There are 3 new restaurants open this year in J-Town and Izakaya Ju is one of the them. I've visit Izakaya Ju many times recently as their food are very Japanese and delicious. They got the liquor licence recently so there are selection of different Japanese beers and sakes. Izakaya Ju carries a lot of traditional dishes include: Yakitori, and Ochazuke. They use Binchōtan (a type of charcoal)  to grill the yakitori so it has the right amount of distinct smokiness. 

Asahi Dark Large Beer 
I love this dark large. It is very easy-to-drink.
However I don't think it is for sale in LCBO yet.

Gyu Tongue
Very tender beef tongue with spicy onion on top. It is a cold dish.

Deep Fried Sweet Shrimp
This is on the special menu which changed regularly.
The shrimps were very crispy and I can eat the "whole" shrimp along with the shell !!!

Ton toro
Ton toro is pork cheek meat. It is very tender and flavorful.

Curry Rice
Minced beef and veg curry on rice with porched egg.
This dish was covered with grounded beef cooked in curry. 
You don't see the curry sauce but it sure has a very strong taste.   
This is on the lunch menu but can be ordered during dinner as well.

Deep-fried Chicken Knuckle
A very interesting dish. It is a mixture between the crunchy cartilage and  the meat itself.

Motsuni 
Pork intestine and yamcake miso stew.
It has a strong miso taste which makes everything richer. 
The pork intestine tasted excellent because it has absorbed all the miso flavour.

Asari Sakamushi
Manila clams steamed in sake soup.
The clams were very fresh but nothing mind blowing.

Agedashi Mochi
Deep fried rice cake in bonito broth.
The rice cake was deep fried so the surface absorb the flavour from the broth.
The centre of the rice cake was very soft and sticky. Love it!

Chawanmushi
An egg custard dish with shrimp and shiitake mushroom served in a tea cup.
The egg was very smooth and it was not over cooked.

Spare Ribs
Ju style BBQ Ribs.
Very juicy BBQ Ribs. I love the sweet BBQ sauce.

Chicken Salad with Cold udon with sesame oil
This can be found in the special menu.
It is a very refreshing dish and I enjoy the nutty sesame taste a lot.

Neba neba
Chopped natto, okura and Japanese yam on salmon sashimi topped with wasabi and seaweed
Natto is a very Japanese food and not everyone will like it.
I expected it to have a very strong Natto taste but surprisingly it tasted pretty good.
It tasted like regular soy bean but very slippery so it goes well with the salmon

Nankotsu
Grill chicken soft bone or cartilage. It is slightly spiced with salt only. 
I love its crunchy texture. 

Fin Izakaya

Date: April and June 2010

Location: 55 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, ON M4P
Website: http://www.finizakaya.com/

It has been awhile since I decide to update the blog. The main reason is I am being lazy. However I didn't stop searching around the cities and found out delicious food.

I went to Fin Izakaya earlier this year and this restaurant didn't disappoint me at all. A lot of people had been talking about Guu Izakaya. However, I just can't find the motivation to go there. Anyway, let's go back to Fin Izakaya. I tried different dishes in Fin and their food are おいし (delicious). I also had the chance to try out Japanese sake which really opens up my eyes. My C.C. and I fell in love with 玉乃光純米大吟釀 right away as it has a very distinct aroma. Alright, it is dull to just look at words so here comes the pictures. 

Beef Tataki Salad

A very refreshing starters. The dressing was just right not too sour.

The beef tataki is briefly marinated in vinegar with a hint of ginger.

Ika Sugatayaki

The Ikayaki tasted great but nothing too special about it.

Mentaiko
Mentaiko is salty and I don't taste anything. No wonder Japanese always have mentaiko on rice.

Sukiyaki
The soup base was excellent although I have no idea what it was made of.
The beef was marinated just right, very tender.
This is one of my favorite dishes.

Fin's Special Dinner Bento
We were still hungry after all the dishes we ordered, so we ordered a bento box.
This is a great choice for people who never try Fin before.
It has three different layers including 6 starters, sushi, and sashimi.

First Layers

Seaweed Salad
Nothing special but tasted better than T&T

Takowasa
Fresh raw octopus marinated with wasabi and lemon juice. Love this!

Gobou no Wasabi Ae
Julienne strips of cooked burdock root dressed with wasabi mayonnaise.
A very traditional Japanese started. burdock tasted just like a raw potato without the starch taste

Second Layer

Vegetable & Shrimp Tempura
The coating was just right, not too oily

Duck meat with spicy powder on top
I can't find this on the menu but I am pretty sure it is duck.

Tebasaki koshou
Crispy fried chicken wings. OMG this is a dish to die for.
The chick wings were not oily at all yet juicy. A very good dish with beer.

Third Layer

Sushi and Sashimi
I didn't come to Fin for sushi and sashimi so not much a surprise to me.
However it filled my stomach ^0^

Drinks
We ordered "Sake Flight" - a choice of 3 samples of sake (1oz each).

Tamanohikari 純米大吟釀 玉乃光 備前雄町
This is the best zake. Aromatic and rich.
Takara Plum Wine 梅酒
Good for girls as it has a very sweet taste.
Hakkaisan 八海山
This one has a hint of spicy taste after I swallow it into my thoat


Lychee and Tropical Calpis Jucie Vodka Cocktail
I didn't taste any alcohol in my drink.

Menu