Restaurants
Koyoi
Koyoi is a newish Japanese restaurant just off Yonge St.. They doesn't serve sushi here and instead focus more on Isakaya-style offerings.
Sardinha The King of BBQ Chicken.
By Nancy Paiva.
- Best of Toronto
- Restaurants
- Events
- Movie Listings
- City and Culture
-
City Guide
Food & Drink
- Bakeries
- Bars
- Cafés
- Grocery Stores
- Restaurants
Recreation
- Art Galleries
- Fitness Clubs
- Hotels
Sunday, May 27, 2012
—
Partly Cloudy 15°C
Search
Find a restaurant
Search Results
Please select criteria from the dropdown menus above to start your search.
Japanese
More Restaurants in this Category
Yonge & Wellesley
More Restaurants in this Neighbourhood
Reviews
Recent Reviews
Contribute
Get published / Submit a news tip / Write a post / Write a review / Suggest an event / Suggest a listing / Report an errorQuick Links
Get Connected
Email Newsletter
Get daily alerts delivered to your inbox.
Subscribe
Freshdaily is Canada's source for hyper-local arts, music, film, fashion, food and news coverage.
We currently publish web sites in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Check out what's fresh.
Copyright © 2004-2012. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 (Canada) license
Disclaimer: Comments and entries represent the viewpoints of the individual and no one else.
Discussion
1 Comment
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
The main menu is fairly straightforward. It's divided into appropriate sections of cooking method (first time I have seen this in any restaurant). There are 3 specific must-order dishes: Kakuni, Karaage, and Tsukune. Kakuni is cuts of pork belly that has been braised in a soy-based broth with a hint of ginger. It's everything pork should be: moist, flavourful, and tender. Pork has a tendency to get rather tough when overcooked. However, when done right, the meat tends to pull apart, which it does in this case. Karaage is a chicken dish, lightly dusted in potato starch, then friend. It sits on a bed of mixed greens, with a drizzle of their special green-onion sesame sauce. The chicken remains moist on the inside, while crispy on the outside. The sauce is well balanced in its tang and sweetness. On my trips to the restaurant, I've seen tables order this dish 2 or 3 times, so it's fair to say this is one of their most popular dishes. Last but not least is the Tsukune: 3 Japanese-style chicken meatballs that are grilled then coated in a teriyaki-like sauce. It's served with a half-boiled egg, used for dipping. Most customers tend to ignore the egg, which is unfortunate. By dipping the meatball into the egg, the coating becomes milder, giving it a lighter taste.
The special menu changes weekly, depending on what stock the restaurant receives. There are two things I really enjoyed from this menu: the Tonsoku and Yam Teppan. Ordering the Tonsoku will depend on how adventurous of a diner you are. It's a pork foot that has been boiled in its own stock, then grilled. It's served with ponzu sauce: a mixture of citrus, rice wine, and soy sauce. From what the Japanese staff has told me, this particular dish is very popular amongst Japanese women. It's rich in Collagen, a natural occurring protein which gives Japanese women their clean and white looking skin. The other dish I would recommend would be the Yam Teppan. It's a pancake like dish, with a mixture of eggs, soup stock, and grated yam. It's topped with mayonnaise, green onion, fish flakes, and seaweed. It's soft and fluffy, with very mild flavours. Apparently, most Japanese people don't even know about this dish, which astounds me. The chef was happy to explain to me that, just like in other countries, Japanese cuisine varies upon the region. His hometown of Fukuoka, serves up this delightful dish. I guess if I'm ever in Japan, I'll be sure to check that place out!
The dessert menu closes the meal with a rather strong finish. Koyoi distinguishes itself apart from other Japanese restaurants by offering 'homemade' desserts. No more red-bean, green tea, and mango ice cream combinations. The cake and parfait (ice-cream's stunt double) selection varies on the day and availability. I believe the current menu offers strawberry cheese cake and black sesame ice cream. The black sesame ice cream is unspeakable! I still find it hard to believe that they make it themselves (not store bought). For those who may be wondering, they do offer a plate of assorted dessert that allows you to explore the entire dessert offerings, in smaller ratios.
Overall, I've had numerous enjoyable moments eating at this establishment. They have their loyal followings, stating that the food they serve tends to remind them of Japan. Anyone who is feeling homesick should definitely make their way to Koyoi. For the locals, I invite you to explore the otherside of Japanese cuisine, free from your typical sushi and sashimi boats and concoctions.