Sushi Kaji

Sushi Kaji is listed as one of Toronto's top Asian restaurants, and probably one of the two best Japanese restaurants in the city (the other being the Kaiseki restaurant, Hashimoto %EXT%

I wrote about this in my February 2009 blog, but this page has more details and pictures.

The location is not what you'd expect, opposite a Baskin Robbins and a Tim Horton's (Canada's ubiquitous coffee house), and in the same block as a nail parlour.

Step inside, however, and you are transported back to Japan. The chef and staff are all Japanese, and the food and service are good and very authentic.

Sushi Kaji Chef
Sushi Kaji Chef

Sushi Kaji offers three fixed price menus, and no a-la carte, however they were happy to cater for my no-meat request, and remembered the other instructions I'd given when booking. Each menu includes Sushi and Sashimi, desert plus a couple of other dishes. I went for the mid-sized Waka menu with about 6 courses. Service started with hot towels, something which every decent food place should offer, but often don't.

Appetisers

Appetisers
Appetisers

Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo Shoots

Crab Appetiser (I think!)
Crab Appetiser (I think!)

Pretty Okra and Shrimp
Pretty Okra and Shrimp

Sashimi

Beautifully presented Sashimi - the Sea Bream sprinkled with Yuzu rind was heavenly. The Crab on a Potato Mountain was actually topped with gold! The presentation was superb.

Sashimi Course
Sashimi Course

Sashimi
Sashimi

Sashimi
Sashimi

Sashimi
Sashimi

Sashimi - Octopus and Sea Bream
Sashimi - Octopus and Sea Bream

Other Courses

Snow crab in Broth - this was memorable for my error. I'd previously read somewhere that the shell was balanced on a pile of salt, however this didn't prevent me from taking a spoonful to work out what it was!

Snow Crab and Taro Potato in Ginger Sauce
Snow Crab and Taro Potato in Ginger Sauce

Bamboo Shoots in Three Colours of Miso
Bamboo Shoots in Three Colours of Miso

Butternut Squash Cake and Chicken
Butternut Squash Cake and Chicken

Fried Fish Pyramid
Fried Fish Pyramid

Lotus and Yuzo Jelly (with Shrimp Underneath?)
Lotus and Yuzo Jelly (with Shrimp Underneath?)

Pyramid with beef and other things...
Pyramid with beef and other things...

Sauteed Daikon Radish and Sea Eel
Sauteed Daikon Radish and Sea Eel

Sushi (and Noodles)

Sushi with Sea-Urchin - never tried this before and it was lovely. I've heard of people eating them straight from rock-pools, with a little lemon, which is a bit too fresh for me! This was delicious, superbly tender.

Sea Urchin Sushi
Sea Urchin Sushi

Sushi with Sauce (Crab?)
Sushi with Sauce (Crab?)

Nigiri Sushi
Nigiri Sushi

Noodles
Noodles

Desert

Finishing with a light version of the classic Green Tea Tiramisu, or a Cute Grape Mousse.

Green Tea Tiramisu
Green Tea Tiramisu

Grape Mouse
Grape Mouse

Throughout the meal, we drank very fine green tea, though this was the one point where the service could have been better, there were no automatic refills, we had to ask each time. (Though I'm not complaining - it's just that there weren't hovering, watching, waiters)

A great place to eat, and I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

One note, the table next to us had a woman who didn't eat raw fish or several other things on the menu, though her companions assured her that "Sushi is rice and vegetables", was slightly hysterical and rude to the staff - saying in front of one waitress "she doesn't speak English". I thought they dealt with it flawlessly, and managed to provide her with a personalized menu.

Topic attachments
I Attachment ActionSorted ascending Size Date Who Comment
appetisers.jpegjpeg appetisers.jpeg manage 38 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:25 Unknown User Appetisers
bamboo_shoots.jpegjpeg bamboo_shoots.jpeg manage 30 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:25 Unknown User Bamboo Shoots
bamboo_shoots_in_three_types_of_miso.jpegjpeg bamboo_shoots_in_three_types_of_miso.jpeg manage 29 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:26 Unknown User Bamboo Shoots in Three Colours of Miso
butternut_squash_cake_and_chicken_in_bonito_broth.jpegjpeg butternut_squash_cake_and_chicken_in_bonito_broth.jpeg manage 35 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:26 Unknown User Butternut Squash Cake and Chicken
crab_qm.jpegjpeg crab_qm.jpeg manage 29 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:27 Unknown User Crab Appetiser (I think!)
fried_fish_pyramid.jpegjpeg fried_fish_pyramid.jpeg manage 31 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:27 Unknown User Fried Fish Pyramid
lotus_and_yuzu_jelly.jpegjpeg lotus_and_yuzu_jelly.jpeg manage 33 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:28 Unknown User Lotus and Yuzo Jelly (with Shrimp Underneath?)
nigiri.jpegjpeg nigiri.jpeg manage 40 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:28 Unknown User Nigiri Sushi
noodles.jpegjpeg noodles.jpeg manage 38 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:28 Unknown User Noodles
okra_and_shrimp.jpegjpeg okra_and_shrimp.jpeg manage 39 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:29 Unknown User Pretty Okra and Shrimp
pile_of_beef_and_something2.jpegjpeg pile_of_beef_and_something2.jpeg manage 32 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:29 Unknown User Pyramid with beef and other things...
sashimi_all.jpegjpeg sashimi_all.jpeg manage 96 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:30 Unknown User Sashimi Course
sauteed_daikon_radish_and_sea_eel.jpegjpeg sauteed_daikon_radish_and_sea_eel.jpeg manage 34 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:31 Unknown User Sauteed Daikon Radish and Sea Eel
sushi_with_sauce.jpegjpeg sushi_with_sauce.jpeg manage 31 K 03 Mar 2009 - 21:31 Unknown User Sushi with Sauce (Crab?)
Topic revision: r1 - 03 Mar 2009, andyp
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