Taro's Fish

If you want great sushi , then Taro's Fish is the place to be.  I had the opportunity to check this restaurant out last night as I had heard many wonderful stories from this establishment.  Located in the heart of North York, this restaurant does more than just serve its customers.  Not only do they do take outs and in-house dinings, they also do catering for many personal and business functions. As it was just myself, my wife and the little one for the evening and it was one place that we really wanted to try, we decided to give it a go and ordered  their Sushi for Two menu ($50.00) and a separate order of scallops sashimi ($9.99)

The 30-piece Sushi for Two order included 9 different types of nigiri and 2 different types of rolls.  The types of nigiri included were salmon, maguro (tuna), ebi (or shrimp), medium toro, mackerel, white fish, sardine, hamachi and uni.  Every single piece of fish presented that night was amazing.  They were all extremely fresh, rather large compared to the rice and very pure tasting.  Personally I thought the quality of the fish that the chefs chose to make up the Sushi for Two order was pretty good.  Where other restaurants in the past would load up an order like this with butterfish, salmon and tuna, the variety provided I thought was fair to the price one paid for this particular order.  My biggest enjoyment of the night however was not from the nigiri.  It was actually from the scallops sashimi.  The scallops sashimi was simply put amazing!!!!  The scallops sashimi were just as fresh as the fish.  It was smooth, it was slippery and it literally melted in your mouth.  For $9.99, one got to consume 6 large pieces of fresh scallops sashimi and believe me when I say it was definitely well worth the price.  Had I known it tasted that good, I might have placed a second order for it.  The argument could be made that there really isn't anything to scallops sashimi since all one needed to do was crack them open and serve them however one bite into these scallops and you could tell that there was something different about these particular scallops.  It's possible that their chefs might be taking their time and thus are choosing the best scallops for their inventory and not those that are at the bottom of the barrel which of course would make a big difference.  Compared to other restaurants, these scallops were bouncier or more jelly-liked, much larger compared other scallops that I have eaten at other places and "sweet" tasting as Chinese people would like to say. 

Sushi For Two plus Scallops Sashimi

The two types of rolls that were served included the California Roll and the Spicy Salmon Roll.  Both rolls were made to perfection.  The rice was perfect as it was not the really bad mushy type that some other places tend to serve.  The rolls were packed with all their necessary ingredients and presented in a nice manner. Although it was not really a major complaint on my end, the spicy salmon was actually not that spicy at all.  I have tasted some really spicy salmon before but these spicy salmon rolls actually didn't have that much kick to it.  Nonetheless, the rolls were still very good. 

I really enjoyed the sushi and the sashimi from this place.  I had heard great things from them and the fact that they are opened for only five days a week and are closed on Sundays and Mondays and still have the entire restaurant packed is a strong testament as to how well they are doing.  I would highly recommend one make reservations if you could before going as it's not that big of a place.  I don't think you will be disappointed as we certainly were not.  For any sushi lovers, this is one place you must give a try.  Overall, I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Taro's Fish
800 Sheppard Avenue East
Toronto Ontario

416-730-8555

Red Lobster

It had been quite some time since I ate at any Red Lobster restaurant however when there was a special deal on Red Flag Deals and from what we were told a brand new menu with four new entrée combos, then a visit to this long time establishment was definitely warranted.  We decided to go there on a weeknight thinking that it would be quieter however when we got there around 6:30pm and without reservations, we were surprised at the amount of people standing at the door waiting to get in.  The place was packed and there were people actually leaving because they were told that the wait was going to be 45 minutes long.  We were fortunate however because despite getting the same message, we were given a table within ten minutes of waiting. 

Scanning their brand new menu, we decided to go with a few of their new combos including the Ultimate Feast, Wood-Grilled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops and the Bar Harbor Lobster Bake.  We also got ourselves a Red Lobster Signature Pizza and the Lobster Crab and Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms.

Red Lobster Signature Pizza

I personally had the Ultimate Feast myself which consisted of an Atlantic coast lobster tail, snow crab legs, garlic shrimp scampi and Walt’s Favorite Shrimp.  The lobster tail was made to perfection.  With its juicy buttery sauce to dip it in, the lobster tail was succulent from the first bite to its last. The lobster meat literally fell right off the shell and was tender all the way through.  The crab legs were perfectly steamed.  As an added bonus, not only was there plenty of meat in the crab legs itself, but there was plenty of meat near the body where are the crab legs were held together.  The garlic shrimp was my personal favorite although it was probably quite fattening to the average person.  The shrimp was immersed in hot melted garlic butter sauce and there were about 8 pieces of wonderful tasty shrimps inside its bowl.  The shrimps were all fresh and nicely de-shelled from head to tail.  Lastly Walt’s Favorite shrimp was actually shrimp placed in deep fried batter and served to us hot and crunchy.  The shrimp was great and I certainly had no complaints with them.  Personally I would have loved it had they fried in coconut beer batter.  That to me is my all time favorite with deep fried shrimp. 

Lobster Crab and Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms

The Wood Grilled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops were all grilled to perfection.  The scallops were nice and tender and had a good bounce to them.  All the seafood was cooked to perfection and there was plenty of rice and broccoli to go with the seafood.  There was again a small bowl of melted butter that went well with the seafood.  This was a wonderful entrée especially for those who didn’t want an all-seafood plate. 

Ultimate Feast

 The Bar Harbor Lobster Bake was probably one of the most filling entrées on the menu and if you are super hungry, this was one entrée that one should go and order.  The seafood on top consisted off lobster tail, shrimps, scallops and mussels and this was placed on top of a large amount of linguini on the bottom.  Watching our friend eat it was exhausting as there was a lot of seafood and pasta to consume.  Needless to say, not all of it was eaten and what was left over was doggied-bag home that evening. 

Wood-Grilled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops

The Lobster Crab and Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms were a combination of broccoli, rice and cheese stuffed inside the mushrooms. The mushrooms were then immersed in white Cheddar cheese and baked to a nice golden brown color.  The cheesy flavored mushrooms were fantastic.  The cheesy mixture was quite similar to ones that were used by other restaurants where seafoods like escargots and mussels were mixed with similar cheesy sauces.  Despite the amount of stuffing inside the mushrooms and the amount of cheese on the outside, one did not feel bloated or stuffed after eating this dish, which is good considering the amount of seafood one would have to consume later in the evening.   

Bar Harbor Lobster Bake

The Red Lobster Signature Pizza was a thinly crusted pizza topped with lobster meat, melted cheese, fresh tomatoes and sweet basil.  Texture and appearance wise it appeared to be just a simple pepperoni pizza except the pepperoni was substituted with lobster meat.  I personally enjoyed the novelty however I would prefer pizza with the pepperoni.  The lobster didn’t really provide any extra taste to the pizza and with the lack of pepperoni in it, it almost made the pizza somewhat bland.  If you are a huge fan of thin crusted pizzas, then this pizza is for you as the bottom was almost paper thin. 

Overall, it was certainly a night not to count one’s calories or cholesterol.  The food was really good right to the very last bite.  My own thinking was that even though I have not stepped in a Red Lobster in quite sometime, most of the food that was presented was something I had seen and eaten before.  The only thing that was different with the entrée menu in my mind was just the combination of the foods put together.  The lobsters were made the same way as before as were the shrimp and seafood.  Maybe I’m wrong but it sure felt like the same, just a different combination.  Still, the food was great and it was good to get reacquainted with a great restaurant.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5. 

Red Lobster Restaurant

3252 Sheppard Avenue East

Toronto Ontario

416-491-2507

Spoonful by Imperial Buffet

Spoonful by Imperial Buffet is a restaurant located in Brampton right by the airport which specializes in special unique foods and experiences not seen in other buffet places in which they serve raw scallops, raw oysters, has one of Canada’s first rotating Tonda ice cream display, and a donut making machine to name a few.  Of course it also has all your other traditional foods embedded within its grand buffet menu including crab legs, prime ribs and sushi.  We picked a Saturday night to go there so that we could have the opportunity to try out their entire menu.  For that Saturday evening, it was $27.99 per adult and kids under five were $2.00. 

As with my previous experiences in a buffet restaurant, it would be extremely difficult to go through every single meal that I had that evening.  We wanted to try as many different types of foods as possible and I believe some of the raw oysters and scallops were only available on the weekend menu.  Upon entering the restaurant, you will notice how grand and upscale the place looks and the amount of different types of dessert that they had.  They definitely had a lot of desserts to choice from and my understanding was that they even won an award for their dessert selection. For this place, I will go through the good, the bad and the ugly as I have done so in previous buffet experiences. 

Raw Scallops

The good and probably the best were the raw scallops.  The raw scallops were nice and cold and immersed in a tray full of ice as it came out of the kitchen. The raw oysters and scallops come out approximately every fifteen minutes.  The scallops were fresh, healthy looking and quite tasty.  As per restaurant rules, you could only get three at a time however it doesn’t say that you can’t go back afterwards and go get some more at a later time.  The scallops itself were certainly well worth the wait.  Make sure you give them a try.  It's where you will get some of your money's worth.  Also good was the prime rib that evening.  The meat was nice and pink that evening and I was given a beautiful center piece. I had about two of those pieces that evening.  They also had a variety of hams and other meats available for one to choose from.  Another nice feature they had was a running chocolate fondue station.  People can gather as many marshmallows and fruits from other stations and have them drenched in a running fountain of chocolate.  This was very yummy and had many people flocking to its station.  

Some of their seafood

In terms of the bad, the squid legs in my mind were not the greatest here at this restaurant.  They seemed stale and almost had a hard rubber texture to it.  I’m not really too sure whether I got some tentacles that had been sitting there for quite some time but the squid legs weren’t really my cup of tea that evening.  It actually took some effort to chew it apart and the bland taste of it certainly did not help matters.  My gut feeling was that it had been sitting out there for quite some time and unfortunately I was the recipient of it.  The hardest part about buffets is that it is sometimes very difficult to determine how long some of the food has been sitting at their stations.  Most places won’t even consider throwing it out because after all it is food.  Regardless of the situation, the squid legs were just average at best. 

Raw Oysters

The worse part of the evening had to have been the raw oysters.  These oysters I know were “fresh” from the back because a lady had wheeled out a whole tray of them out from the back.  There was a lineup forming and the lady made sure that you were only to get three raw oysters each time around.  The three I took back were all somewhat deflated. (They are not the ones depicted in the picture)  Personally I could tell that they probably had not been sitting in the ice tray too long as the oysters were a little warm when I had them.  Needless to say, my fears were soon realized as I tried one of their oysters.  The oyster was warm and actually tasted like damp cardboard.  It didn’t taste good at all and I actually ended up spitting out the first oyster I had on my plate. The second one was slightly better and by then I didn’t even bother consuming  the third.  The problem with the raw oysters was that if they had been opened and just left in a tray and not iced for a long period of time or if the box itself has been sitting out for a while, then the oysters could potential begin to dry.  Another problem with eating raw oysters in an all you can eat buffet restaurant is that sometimes you could get shortchanged by getting some of the cheaper oysters of the sea.  With the oysters on my plate, all that was left on them was just the skin from what I could tell.  Good oysters, even the cheapest ones, still have some “stuff” on the inside so that the oyster looks healthy and inflated. The ones I had were all dehydrated and deflated to say the least. 

Overall it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either.  The raw scallops and their dessert section were actually my favorite especially with the huge variety of desserts that one could choose from.  I know I ate my money’s worth however as mentioned above, the quality of some their seafood could have been better prepared.  Despite the odds and ends, the place was super packed and I would highly recommend getting reservations prior to going.  Overall I would give it a 3 out of 5. 

Spoonful by Imperial Buffet

499 Main Street South

Shoppers World Brampton 

905-453-8388

JA Bistro Modern Japanese Restaurant

Sunday night we were treated to a night on the town to JA Bistro Modern Japanese Restaurant which is an upscale Japanese restaurant served in the most stylish way possible. The place was not overly busy when we first entered the restaurant around 6:30pm but by 9:00pm, the place was lined up all the way out the door.  Reservations were a must if you didn’t want to stand and wait for a table.  We made reservations to this place earlier in the evening and we were promptly led to our tables.  The hostess took our jackets and we were given a nice seat right by the chef’s station.  They also had a nice bar at the front where one could sit and just chat if they so wish. 

Appetizer from Tasting Menu

Three of us decided to go with the tasting menu for the evening while one went with the assorted menu.  The tasting menu was a three-course menu that included an appetizer, entree and dessert while my friend went with a sushi platter and a special rice that was on their special menu for the evening. 

I will first describe the tasting menu items.  The $55.00 tasting menu basically consisted of a platter made out of chef’s choice for sashimi, a deep fried soft shell crab, fried chicken, seared black cod and lobster miso soup.  On this evening, they apparently had run out of beef tartare so the menu was changed upon our arrival however we did notice it being served at the table next to us so we don’t really know whether it was true or not that they had run out or that they did not have enough for all three of us.

Chef's Choice

The sashimi served for the appetizer was quite good.  The squid, the lobster, the octopus, the salmon, and the yellowtail fish were all very fresh.  It had its fishy taste to it but the fish was nice and tender and extremely tasty.  The black cod was seared to perfection.  I noticed that they had blow torched a lot of their foods however I am not too sure if this was the case for the black cod or if it was pan seared.  Either way the cod was amazing.  It was a little oily however when the fish was placed in one's mouth, it felt as if it had melted in one’s mouth.  It was quite delicious to say the least.  The fried chicken was also quite good.  Served underneath some red and green onions, the chicken was lightly battered and held true to its own.  The meat was not chewy and despite a lack of ingredients, it was still acceptable.  It did not seem too fattening and the onions provided a good compliment to the meat.  The lobster miso soup was different but again it too was still tasty.  One could actually taste the lobster in the miso soup.  The only thing I wished for was that this soup be served hot.  The soup for the most part was lukewarm. I think that if the soup was hotter, it certainly would have been even better tasting.  Last on the appetizer plate was the fried soft shell crab and again this dish was served at best lukewarm.  I would have preferred it if the crab was hotter especially with all the batter surrounding it.  My crab unfortunately also had a slight bitter taste to it.  I wasn’t too sure if this was the case because the crab had gotten colder or whether it was just the crab itself.  Despite the soft shell, the entire crab was consumable however just like the soup, a hotter crab would have been much preferred.

Chef's Choice from Tasting Menu

The sushi platter from the tasting menu looked really amazing and consisted of 7 pieces of sushi and a piece of fried spotted prawn head. The sushi platter included a piece of tuna loin, hamachi, blowtorched pieces of salmon, sea bass, ebi and their signature Ja Bistro cucumber sushi.  Every piece of sushi presented and eaten were fantastic however my personal favorite was the blowtorched salmon sushi.  They had taken a fat piece of salmon and blowtorched the top of it.  The fish was placed on top of the sushi rice and embedded inside the rice was a small piece of jalapeno.  The combination of the fish, the oil and the jalapeno really knocked my socks off.  It was delicious and spicy but the entire piece literally just melted in one’s mouth.  I was concerned that blowtorching the fish would give it that burnt propane smell and taste to it, but one could only get a very minute trace of it.  Their signature JA Bistro sushi was also quite good but if I had to rank them one two and three, I would have probably gone with all three of the blowtorched pieces of fish. 

Dessert was pretty good too with what I believe was home made vanilla ice cream and two pieces of cheesecake.  The cheesecake felt as if it had just come out of the oven. It smelled very good and the taste was amazing. It was not very cheesy yet it was very refreshing. Mixed with an alcoholic blueberry jam, these two pieces of cheesecakes were probably two of the best pieces I have ever had.  The vanilla ice cream was pretty good as well.  Even though it was not of the sorbet type, it was pretty darn close to it.  It was very exhilarating and it tingled when placed in one’s mouth.  Yes, for a guy who doesn’t eat a whole lot of dessert, even I have to admit dessert was quite amazing for that evening. 

Vanilla Ice Cream and Cheesecake

My friend went with a ($45.00) sushi platter and one could not feel but slightly jealous as it contained pieces of kobe beef, mackarel, lobster and lumberjack fish.  He said the lumberjack was his favorite however I could tell every single one of the pieces of his dish were delicious, made to perfection and with good workmanship.  Although the price seemed high, when you factor in the quality of the fish and the kobe beef I think it was well worth the price.

Everything other than the crab I thought was amazing that evening.  We watched them bring out the lobster sashimi and some of the beef and tuna tartares for the tables around us and all of them looked so beautifully done. I would certainly try this restaurant again when I’m down in that area and give some of their other foods a try.  There was plenty of parking at the front and in the back alley way and if you are into live entertainment, the place is located right beside Yuk Yuk’s on Richmond Street.  It was certainly a beautiful night to remember and the food that night was exceptional.  As we left at 9:00pm, as mentioned from above, there was still a line up to get into the restaurant and this was a Sunday night!! So yes give it a go!! I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.  Overall I give it a 4.75 out of 5, losing 0.25 on the lukewarm soft shell crab. 

JaBistro Modern Japanese Restaurant

222 Richmond Street West

Toronto Ontario

M5V 1W4

647-748-0222