Momiji Sushi Bistro & Bar

There is a place in North York that I passed by every day and every night that I have never gone into before….that is not until tonight.  It’s a place called Momiji Sushi Bistro and Bar and it’s located right off Highway 404.  Although it was a weeknight and on a cold and snowy night, we were in no mood to go home and cook so we decided to head into the restaurant and have some good Japanese food. 

My wife and I had the option of having either all you can eat Japanese style food or individual dishes.  We decided to go with the all you can eat and even though it was a weekday they gave us the option of paying an extra $5 dollars and try out the weekend menu.  The weekend menu had far more interesting items on it whereas the regular menu had the usual dishes that one can find at other Japanese restaurants. 

When we got the order sheet, we purposely ordered everything that was on the weekend menu.  Some of the weekend menu also had limited orders and should one order more, one would have to pay extra for them. 

Kimchi and Bean Sprouts Appetizers

Blue Mountain (top) and Spicy Tuna Roll (bottom)

Before the food arrived, they even gave us a couple of appetizers which included kimchi and a very tasty sesame oil bean sprouts.  The bean sprouts were also sprinkled with some black and red peppers which made it one very good appetizer. 

We ordered the spicy salmon also known as the blue mountain and the spicy tuna.    What makes these two dishes unique is that each dish had about 3 to 4 spicy rolls and the rest of the dish was sprinkled with black pepper/tempura like tuna and salmon sashimi.  I know one would wonder how could fish be tempura like and sashimi like at the same time but the texture and feel of the fish were just like it.  Both dishes were quite spicy so proceed with caution. 

Next to arrive was the dragon tongue.  This is a piece of salmon or smoke salmon wrapped around a gently fried asparagus.  They also have a bit of sour cream like white sauce sprinkled with some green spices which made this dish a must try.   One order comes with two pieces only. 

The octopus sashimi was very fresh.  The 8 pieces of sashimi also came with 8 pieces of tuna sashimi.  The octopus was tender and sweet tasting.  I have no complaints at all with this dish. 

Dragon Tongue

Spicy Tuna

Octopus Sashimi

Next to arrive was this special Sam Gye Tang Chicken Ginseng Soup soup.  Wow!  This soup was quite amazing in itself so much so we order two of them. The chicken and rice came separately from the soup.  One needs to pour the soup into the chicken/rice.  The flavor of the soup was A1.  This is a must have for anyone. 

Next up was the beef and tuna tataki.  I screwed up the picture but both dishes were perfected seared on the outside and perfectly raw on the inside.  Adding their special sauce to it and this was a perfect tataki. 

We also had some uni with roe.  The roe were not sour or bitter at all.  It was very fresh, nice and cool and a perfect compliment with the uni.  The uni was good however we have tasted better elsewhere.  It was not as cool as I would like but still very good none the less. 

Sam Gye Tang Chicken Ginseng Soup

Uni

Hikhye and Sweong Gwa

One must wonder if there were any bad dishes to avoid.  There was a couple where I would suggest you should avoid.  There were the barbeque pork ribs also known as kalbi where the rib pieces were very chewy and quite large.  I had a real hard time even tearing the meat apart.  It was spicy but the thickness of it was just unbearable.  The shrimp salad was another dish one may want to avoid.  Despite having some cucumbers and seaweed in it, it was a bit sour.  This may have been the salad dressing they were using.  

We also some maki rolls, a soft tofu soup, hamachi makis, edamame and cold soba noodles.  All of these were amazing to have.  The fish were absolutely fresh tasting and the noodles were nice and cool which help offset some of the spiciness in the spicy dishes. 

We finished off the night with a couple of drink desserts.    One was called the shikhye and the other was the sweong gwa.  They are both ginger like sugar drinks where the yellow one has more sugar in it while the rose colored one had a more ginger taste to it.  It was definitely a very interesting desert to have.  It was like having a ginger sake to close out the night. 

Overall despite the two bad dishes, the rest of it were excellent.  It was only $25.00 per person and personally it was well worth the extra $5.00.  The other stuff on the menu one can try at any other Japanese restaurant in the city.  We wanted some unique Japanese food and we were surely not disappointed.  There are lots of free parking which they also share with a Tim Hortons restaurant.  If you love Japanese food, this is definitely a place to go to.  I certainly will be going again.  For tonight I give this place a 4.5 out of 5. 

Momiji

2111 Sheppard Ave E
Toronto, ON M2J 1W6

Boston Steak House

Today we went out for lunch at Boston Steak House. This restaurant has been there for well over ten years.  They have great lunch and dinner menus and were there before the Hong Kong Tea restaurants invaded the Toronto area. 

We got there just before lunch hour and the place was slowly getting busy.  I know that many of the businesses will come by during the lunch time to have lunch there. 

I decided to go with the Pork Chops and Onion Sauce on Rice.  Before it arrived it also came with a soup of your choice and a piece of bread.  I love bread but for some reason the bread always tastes extra good here. 

The dish arrived within 10 minutes and it was a good dish indeed.  The onions were nicely cooked and the pork chops were well sautéed.  There was also two big pieces of broccoli and carrots to go with the dish.  The only problem I found was that there was not enough sauce for both the pork chops and rice.  The sauce was really good but a tad more sauce would have been great to serve with the rice. 

Overall it was a good experience indeed.  I have been here numerous of times.  Their steak with spaghetti and hoi lam chicken with rice is also pretty good here as well.  Their set menus are usually seven to eight dollars per dish.  There is also plenty of free parking outside.  I give this 3.75 out of 5. 

Boston Steak House

4433 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto

416-298-4903 () ‎

Duke of Kent

This past evening I had an opportunity to go down to a pub and have a quick dinner on the menu.  I wasn’t too hungry but still needed something light to pass the time.  This pub located in the heart of Toronto which is one block north of Eglinton Avenue on Yonge Street served a lot of typical bar food that is served in many pubs across the city. 

There was plenty of free parking on the side street and a paid parking within 100 metres of the place.  The place was packed with patrons and the bar was pretty full too.  The place actually has a couple of floors but we wanted to stay downstairs near the bar so we could watch a basketball game.  It took them about 30 minutes to find us a table but the waitresses and bartender were very nice and sociable and kept us updated every five minutes. 

After finding a place to sit, the waitress came over and got our drinks and food order.  I told her that I wanted something light but filling and she advised me on the honey garlic chicken wings.  She actually told me she wanted to make a special order for me and spice it up with some Tabasco sauce to go with the honey garlic wings however I wanted to try just their honey garlic wings to see what it was like first. 

I apologize for the picture.  I brought the wrong camera and the place was dark. I got the one pound wings with my beer and it arrived within 10 minutes.  Along side were some carrot and celery sticks.  There were about nine small pieces.  My buddies thought the one pound side was on the generous side as we all agreed that it must have been less than that. 

The wings were quite sweet actually.  The honey was on top of the wings which actually made the wings maybe a little sweeter that they should have been.  It wasn’t a thin layer either and seemed a little caked on.  Other than that, the chicken was well made and tasted alright other than being on the sweeter side.  The waitress popped over every ten minutes making sure that our drinks were taken care of. 

Overall it was a good night.  People here were very friendly and very courteous.  They made sure that we were well taken care of.  The food was as I said typical bar food however as I said the wings were a tad too sweet.  Perhaps I should have taken the waitresses’ advice and had the Tabasco sauce added on top of the honey garlic wings.  The price was about ten dollars for the wings and 4 bucks for the beer.  It did satisfy my need for a light dinner.  Overall I give this a 3.25 out of 5.  

Duke of Kent

2315 Yonge Street  Toronto, ON M4P 2C6

(416) 485-9507

Tutto Bene Osteria Italian Restaurant

Last night we had a chance to eat at a fine dining Italian restaurant located in the heart of Richmond Hill.  Named the Tutto Bene Osteria Italian Restaurant, this restaurant houses a few specialty dishes and is known for their great pastas and pizzas.  However we were out to celebrate a birthday so we decided to pretty order everything on the menu. 

When we got there, this place was packed with people.  Thank goodness we had reservations and even though we were ten minutes late, our table was still available. We ordered about nine different dishes because we really wanted to try as much stuff as possible and share amongst ourselves. 

We all ordered a lobster bisque for starters.  Even though we told the waiter that we were all going to share one, he brought out six lobster bisques, one for each person at the table.  The lobster bisque was good and the lobster in it was quite tender and had a strong lobster taste to it.  It certainly was one of the better lobster bisques I have tasted in quite some time. 

Pasta

Lobster Bisque

Peppered Beed Carpaccio

Special Carpaccio

We also order a pasta for my little one. Since my little one is only one, it was hard to really “order” for her however the waiter knew exactly what we wanted.  A little pasta with a little sauce, light on the salt and cut out the seafood.  The pasta even without the extra stuff tasted pretty good.  I know my daughter certainly enjoyed it. 

We also ordered a couple of carpaccio as starters.  One was a special carpaccio order while the other was the Peppered Beed Carpaccio.  The latter had some parmigiano, horse radish, lemon and salad added with it.  Both dishes were amazing! The meat was not overwhelmingly strong in flavor but was just perfect that it blended nicely with the rest of the sides.  It is definitely one of the must-haves when one goes there for dinner. 

We ordered a couple of pizzas and some other main course dishes.  I went with the smoked salmon pizza which had fennel, onion, capers and fontina cheese in it.  Both pizzas I just want to let you know had thin crusts and thin bread which meant every bite contained mouth watering flavored food.  The other pizza was the Sweet Basil Pesto Pizza with frilled vegetables and goat cheese.  The goat cheese was fresh, not heavy and made the overall pizza very tasty.  Personally I liked the smoked salmon better because it was tad bit juicier but honestly both pizzas were excellent. 

Smoked Salmon Pizza

Sweet Basil Pesto Pizza

Seafood Linguini Marinara

For pastas, we order the Spaghettini with roasted garlic tomato sauce and grilled shrimp.  The shrimp was very fresh and beautifully grilled.  The shells were opened for you so that it was not so messy for one to it.  The only concern was that a couple of people found this dish to be a tad salty but I found it to be okay. 

 We also had the Seafood Linguini Marinara which contained mostly pasta and clams.  The clams themselves were a little “rocky” and small but otherwise were nicely cooked.  The dish was simple yet was quite tasty nonetheless.  It is great for people who are looking for a light filling meal.

We also order the Blackened Seabass.  The fish itself was not overdone and the meat was tendered.  Unlike the name it was not blackened which was great.  It was nicely grilled and the vegetables complimented this dish quite well.  It is very healthy and again was not very salty. 

SpaghettiniSpaghettini

Blackened Seabass

Daily Risotto

The last main dish was the daily risotto.  The risotto came with a piece of lamb chop.  Although this was the first time I had a large piece of meat served with my risotto, it too complimented each other well.  The risotto was indeed juicy, not too salty and not too dry.  The rice was perfectly cooked and the lamb with its “BBQ” sauce was nice. 

We finished off the night with a couple of desserts. We went with the tiramisu and chocolate raspberry ice cream.  Both were nicely done, no complaints here.  

Tiramisu

Chocolate raspberry ice cream

Overall it was an excellent night.  Each person coughed up seventy dollars but for the amount of food we ordered, it was all very much worth it.  The staff was very courteous and attended to our table on a frequent basis.  There was lots of free parking and they even gave us a booth to accommodate our little one.  Other than one of the pastas being more salty than usual, all the dishes were very nicely done.  Definitely will go back a second time, maybe a third and fourth as well.  I give this a 4.75 out of 5. 

Tutto Bene Osteria Italian Restaurant

8131 Yonge Street  Markham, ON
(905) 764-0199

Yokozuna Restaurant

We went out for some ramen tonight out over at Yokozuna Restaurant in Scarborough.  My wife decided to go out on date night as we left our little one at home.  When we got in, they got us our table right away.  The staff were quite nice and brought over some hot tea and our menus.  We decided to go with 2 noodles and an appetizer.  My wife ordered the Tenderous Rib Ramen and II went with the Supreme Pork Bone Soup Ramen.  We also ordered the Onigiri Salmon. 

The Onigiri Salmon arrived within 10 minutes.  In it was some salmon and cooked brown rice wrapped with a piece of seaweed.  The texture was dry and crunchy thanks to the piece of seaweed.  One can definitely taste the salmon stuffed inside the brown rice.  Overall it was a good piece of appetizer and a nice way to start the evening. 

Supreme Pork Bone Soup Ramen

The noodles arrived shortly there afterwards.  The tenderous rib ramen also had some corn, green onions, seaweed and broccoli that came with the dish.  The soup was very beefy and salty tasting.  My wife thought it was too salty, I thought it was nicely done.  The tenderous rib was three quarters soft and one quarter rough.  There was some fat on them but they didn’t dominate the meat.  Personally I thought it was a good bowl of ramen for $11.95. 

Onigiri Salmon

Tenderous Rib Ramen

My supreme pork bone ramen was not as tasty as the tenderous rib.  For one dollar less, it came with corn, mushroom and seaweed. The pork were thinly sliced but the miso soup base was not as salty.  Truthfully it was slightly on the bland side.  I needed to add some hot peppers powder to really spice up the dish a little bit. 

The whole experience was a nice one.  The restaurant located on Silver Star Blvd was clean and appeared well kempt.  They had tables in the middle to seat the larger group and smaller booths along the side of it.  The noodles were a nice way to warm up on an otherwise cold evening night.  Good food, I give this a 3.75 out of 5. 

Yokozuna Restaurant

633 Silver Star, Toronto, ON M1V 5N1
Phone: 416-293-9123

Xe Lua Vietnamese Restaurant

First of all I just want to extend a happy belated new year to everyone who follows this blog.  After five months of writing I have had almost 4000 hits where a lot of them come from North America, Russia, Australia, France and Romania.  I love all the feedback I get good or bad.  Some agree with my ratings and some don’t but none the less the interest is there so it is greatly appreciated.

The other afternoon I had a chance to go eat a Xe Lua Vietnamese restaurant in Markham.  I went for their curry chicken on rice for lunch while my wife had their pho with tripe and beef tendon.  I ordered an ice tea to wash my food down. 

The dishes arrived within ten minutes of ordering.  I will start with the pho as I had some of it from my wife.  The soup was somewhat beefy tasting and the noodles were a little soft however overall the appearance and taste was acceptable.  It certainly was worth the 6 bucks for a bowl of pho there. 

For my past readers, yes I love curry chicken however there have only a couple of places that have really impressed me.  The curry was of the dark brown and creamy type which was quite similar to Japanese curry.  The curry definitely had a kick to it and I would give it a 7 on the spiciness scale.  Although the curry itself did not disappoint, the chicken unfortunately did.  Many of the pieces looked like they were “mashed” with the back of the butcher knife.  There were like 8 pieces but they were all very much broken up.  The pieces of bone where jagged and could cut someone if they were not careful when eating this dish.  Instead of the usual potatoes with the curry, they used taro.  Although I am not unhappy with the taro as it adds an extra dimension to this dish, I certainly prefer the potatoes only because the potatoes can trap the curry flavor than the taro.  

Curry Chicken and Rice

Pho with Tripe and Beef

The ice tea was slightly different in that they use lime rather than the traditional lemon.  Again it provides a different twist to the traditional ice tea but again I prefer the lemon in the ice tea. 

Overall, if I had to do it all over I would go for the pho next time.  It certainly seemed more enjoyable and probably more tasty than the curry chicken.  Although I don’t fault any restaurant for trying something different with their dishes, sometimes sticking with tradition may be better.  There is plenty of free parking in this plaza and plenty of tables for one to sit.  I would go back but I would go with the pho and pass on the curry chicken.  Overall I give this a 3 out of 5. 

Xe Lua Vietnamese Restaurant

8380 Kennedy Road  Markham, ON L3R 0W4
(905) 305-6661