Restaurants
Akai Sushi
Akai Sushi opened in the Annex two months ago. In an area with all too many sushi joints as it is, I was initially skeptical whether another was needed, but unable to tame my curiosity, I decided to stop in for a quick sample last week.
The Korean and Japanese restaurant is decorated with more care than most Annex sushi joints, featuring dark wood and seats not totally crammed together. I was happy to find that there's a lunch special menu that runs from 12 to 3 daily. On this visit I order the sushi lunch ($9.95) which comes with six pieces of sushi and six rolls, as well as a nice and subtle miso soup and salad.
The meal starts out well with nice, fresh fish. I'm particularly taken with the salmon -- so fatty it just melts in my mouth.
I usually find California rolls in the Annex a bit bland but these ones are a creamy delight, with just the right amount of roe and crab flavour. I gobble them up quickly.
My friend orders the chicken teriyaki and tempura bento box ($11.95) which comes with three salmon rolls. When it first arrives I take one look at the teriyaki and my skepticism floods back -- the chicken is pale and looks flavourless. But when I try a piece, I'm surprised to find that it's actually really tasty: it just hasn't been marinated in the teriyaki sauce.
And that's not necessarily a bad thing. All too often, low-end sushi restaurants drench their teriyaki dishes in sickly sweet sauce that obliterates all other flavours.
The teriyaki also comes with a side of tempura which are crispy and not too heavy, and the salmon rolls, my friend tells me, are absolutely delicious. We agree that it seems that Akai's recurring theme is "light and fresh."
I chat briefly with the chef and find out that he was a sushi chef for 10 years in California before coming to Toronto. Apparently his sushi style is rather typical of California because my friend, who's in fact visiting from San Francisco, says that his food reminds her a great deal of what she gets at home.
While we enjoyed our meal I'm still concerned about what will happen to Akai in an area that has all too many Japanese restaurants to begin with. Sushi on Bloor and New Generation Sushi, the two heavy hitters in the area, offer lunch specials for as low as $6. Akai is a cut above in terms of quality, but I can't help but think that even the small four to six dollar price difference might be enough to make students lose interest. But I, for one, am happy to have a quiet little restaurant with good food just off campus.
Our bill, which includes complimentary green tea, tip, and tax, comes up to about $32. Akai offers takeout and delivery, and is open Mon-Wed 12-10 p.m., Thurs-Sat 12-11 p.m., and Sun 4-9 p.m.
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And Amanda, Japanese chefs don't "marinate" their chicken in teriyaki sauce. If you knew a bit about cooking, you'd know that the high sugar content of teriyaki sauce would cause the meat to burn while cooking.
We try to review restaurants that are new first and foremost, and luck of the draw keeps landing me with asian ones, sorry about that. Keep watching though and I'm sure others reviews that will be posted the rest of the week will make you happier. :)
As for chicken not being marinaded in teriyaki. There's no easy way to break this to you. I just am going to suggest you google chicken teriyaki recipes. Maybe this isn't the right way to do it and what we were served the other day was indeed the right way--I have zero argument with that, I just know what I see served often is indeed marinated.
1) do a direct mail drop to the campus
2) have some student special that keeps them coming back
3) have slightly cheaper beer (/25- .50 cheaper than all the joints on Bloor)
4) stay open late late on Friday/Saturday nights to become know as the late night sushi joint
5) Play jap pop over the stereo
6) give out Pocky or some other Japanese candy with the bill
7) encourage patrons to bring their own chopsticks that Akai keeps up on the wall like they do in Japan
Perhaps the meat was tenderized or marinated with salt/sugar before placing on the grill? Nonetheless, they were happy with their chicken in the end.
#7 = disgusting. Can you imagine if people just left their chopsticks all over the place. We are none too organized (or clean enough) to adopt this Japanese practice .... that's just asking for disaster (in the name of rats, or something).
I don't think playing jap pop would suit the atmosphere they are going for.
For a modest increase in price over the bargain carbon copies on bloor you get amazing eats. That being said, they're definitely more into catering toward the spillover crowd from the nearby Loir, Tati, and Harbord House.
Ikkamasho:
#7 = disgusting. Can you imagine if people just left their chopsticks all over the place. We are none too organized (or clean enough) to adopt this Japanese practice .... that's just asking for disaster (in the name of rats, or something).
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Uh, no. Not disgusting. Obviously the f'ing chopsticks get washed and stored properly.
You come to the restaurant
The staff say heyyy! hello mr regular! let me get you your chopsticks
They get the little box off the wall that has your chopsticks
You eat
You finish
They take your chopsticks back, obviously wash them, and put them back in the box and put the box on the wall
They do it at Japango at Dundas+Elizabeth. Stop being so lame.
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Yeah, sure, why don't you tell us alllll those Toronto Japanese joints run by only Japanese people. Can't wait to bask in the glowing aura of your immense knowledge of the topic.
As for a restaurant offering two different kinds of cuisine, "gross' is probably the f'ing stupidest comment one could possibly make about it.
@Chris--have you gone in? I was actually very impressed with the decor. Unfortunately the shots I took to try and capture it didnt turn out (you may notice this photoset in general is weak--I unfortunately didn't notice it at the time but everything was overexposed). I do suggest taking a peek in, and if you decide you still dislike it, at least your decision is informed.
To all: Just a friendly reminder to try to stay as civil as possible. :)
On another hand, funny how much vitriol people keep bottled up only to let it out in comments on a sushi restaurant: Chris, Gonzalo, Seanna - bravo, you win the award for the most bile.
I order the sushi lunch special while my friend ordered a spicy crunch tuna roll and a crunch roll. The food was fresh and service was great. The free fruit dessert at the end of the meal was also very tasty.
Special lolz go out to the person that said Japanese should be done by Japanese. I'm not American...guess I should stop cooking burgers !!!
Next time you go to your favourite french bakery, ask yourself if it matters that the owner/chef is from France and has been trained there. Or, ask yourself if you'd think more highly of an Ethiopian restaurant whose owner/chef is from Ethiopia (and so we assume has more knowledge and understanding of the food) compared to an anglo saxon with no ties to Ethiopia. Or, ask yourself if you'd rather go to a Mexican restaurant where the owner/chef has ties to Mexico, as opposed to ones that don't. The list goes on...
I think people here get so riled up about this topic, b/c of the lack of understanding of East Asian societies. People in N. America generally believe that East Asians (eg Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, etc) are all similar. And b/c of this similarity, people then deduce that it really doesn't matter if a Korean then cooks Japanese food. East Asians are all the same (so this line of thinking goes), so the food is good regardless of where the owner/chef grew up. However, to believe this just demonstrates people's ignorance.
I, for one, know this isn't true. And, so, when I go to a Chinese restaurant, I value the experience more (and prefer) if the owner/chef is from China. Similarly, if I go to a Japanese restaurant, it makes the experience that much more authentic (and better), if the owner/chef is from Japan.
I know this is Canada and not the States, but if you go to any of the highest restaurants in the major metropolitan areas of New York, San Fransisco or LA, including the French, Italian, Asian and Fusion restaurants, all of your actual chefs (that is, everyone other than the executive chef), are Mexican immigrants. And not the kinds who grew up cooking. Just ask Anthony Bourdain, he will be happy to tell you that it doesn't matter where you're from, as long as you understand the food.
The Shannons and Glorias of the world can continue to live in a deluded let's-all-be-politically-correct mindset, a mindset where "made in China" and "made in Japan" doesn't matter, where Italian fine furniture, clothes, and sports car are equivalent to those made by Americans, where Olympians are not grouped by nationality, but simply by gender, etc, etc.
Canadians have no balls. As soon as there's a likelihood of offending a group, cultural differences cease to exist. We are all equal. That's multiculturalism for you.
I just thought I would add a few thoughts:
I would think being from a different country can be an advantage. Why? You treat the experience of learning objectively, from an outside perspective. Your experimenting with flavours, deconstructing the flavours, and understanding the intentions of the flavours, presentation, preparation g etiquette etc. are based on attentive experienced education to your pallette and your sensations as well as to your mind. While I think this can be an advantage to recreating traditional dishes, it also can lead to some very exciting culinary discoveries and new creative dishes. To note, there is nothing I consider wrong with innovation in cooking, and as a lover of Japanese cuisine, I acknowledge that this happens very often in Japan. One can look at Osaka, Japan as a great example for innovation (and originators - as innovations become traditional dishes) in Japanese cuisine.
In a larger sense, to say that one would not eat dishes unless they are made by a person from the originating country leads to some major problems. Food for thought: Was rice originally found in Japan? If not, would you say you are not going to eat rice unless it was made by [nationality of person from the originating country of rice]? some other 'Japanese foods' to consider: tempura, ramen, 'california rolls'
Also, just to show how this issue of eating from the origins argument can lead to problems: When you go to Japan, these dishes are not necessarily associated by nation, but rather by regions of Japan and how they are prepared. So, if you are really being 'true' to your 'authentic' culinary experience, you must also consider what regional style of the dish is being prepared, and what region from Japan is the chef.
Just some thoughts to consider.
Oh! and Amanda, great job with the blog, I just got onto it last week and am loving it!
And all--just letting you know, I'm following and seeing many good points, I just am keeping out of it to see where it goes naturally. :)