Nami Japanese Restaurant

If one is looking for great Japanese sashimi and sishi in the downtown area, one does not need to look further than Nami Japanese restaurant on the east side of downtown Toronto.  Once inside, this restaurant gives one the impression that one is actually in Japan when dining in.  There are about 6 to 7 private booths on the side and multiple tables at the front of the restaurant.  The sushi bar is on the right as well as a mini teppanyaki style grilled area for those who are interested in a more lavish experience.  My wife and I, and it was just the two of us, decided to go with the traditional sushi and sashimi type dinner for the evening. Scanning their extensive menu, we decided to go with a couple of appetizers and a couple of entrees.

First to arrive was the BC Tuna Tataki ($13.00).  Upon first glance, it looked like cooked pink salmon meat. It appeared dry and looked as if it had come from a tin can.  But as they always say, never judge a book by its cover.  This dish was in fact far from it and was actually quite appetizing and very, very tasty.  The tuna meat was hardly dry.  In fact, it was soft, very fresh and the outside of the tuna was gently seared.  The garnish on top of it brought the flavor out some more.  This BC tuna actually tasted even better than the regular red tuna that is often found with the tuna tataki.  I was thoroughly impressed as the dish truly came through.  It was definitely one of the best tatakis I've have had of the tuna type in quite some time.

BC Tuna Tataki

The Black Cod ($14.50) arrived soon afterwards.  The waitress explained to us that the extra "half piece" was because there was extra fish remaining that they could not serve as a whole and they did not want to waste it so the chef grilled it up and gave the extra half piece to us.  Appearance wise, there wasn't much to go on.  It was literally one and a half pieces of fish placed on top of a piece of lettuce.  The only part I didn't like too much was the fact that the outer skin was grilled to a crisp.  For those who are health conscious and are worried about eating too much of that blacken part, it might be wise not to touch the outer skin. The meat itself remained nice and soft and was quite juicy overall.  There was a touch of butter simmered with the black cod however it was hardly overwhelming and did not take over completely the taste of the cod. Otherwise, the dish was kept simple and other than the over burnt skin, the fish presented itself well.

Black Cod

Once we were done our appetizers, the waitresses quickly cleared our table and presented us our entrees.  My wife went with the chef's special ($45.00) while I went with the Jouzushi Moriawase ($29.95).  I will start with the Jouzushi Moriawase.  It basically came with 9 pieces of sushi and 6 pieces of makis.  Quoting directly from their website, the pieces included tuna, salmon, ebi, hirame, hamachi, hotate, unagi, and ikura. The 6 pieces of maki were 3 pieces of kappa maki and 3 pieces of negihamachi makis.  There really is no need to describe all the tastes of the fish but one thing that is important to note was that every single piece of fish of my plate was extremely fresh.  There was not a hint that the fish had been frozen for long periods of time and even the rice tasted as if it had just came out of the cooker.  It was very tasty and it very easily filled one's stomach up.  The quality of the fish certainly lived up to its billing and it was well worth the price as advertised.

Jouzushi Moriawase

The Chef's Selection ($45.00) was very similar to my moriawase dinner that evening.  The only difference was that there was no maki which was replaced with tuna sashimi, scallops sushi, butterfish sushi and bluefin totoro sashimi.  Again every piece of fish on the plate was very fresh.  Did the price match the quality of the fish? It would be close however if I had to choose between the two, I think that one would get more bang for their dollar with the Jouzushi Moriawase.  This is not to say that the quality of the food wasn't good but for $45.00, personally I would have expected maybe 3-5 extra more pieces.  However this is just my thoughts on this dish alone.  As well, there was more rice in my Jouzushi Moriawase which would fill up one's stomach a little better.

Chef Selection

Overall, it was a fantastic night nonetheless.  Other than the slightly over burnt black cod, I really had no complaints at all.  Of note, none of the dishes came with a miso soup or salad.  For those who want some of those items, one would have to order one of their other set courses or order them as a side.  Since it was a weeknight evening and not a Friday there was plenty of parking on the side streets.  Looking around the place, it certainly gave you that authentic Japanese feel.  I certainly would come here again.  Overall I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Nami Japanese Restaurant
55 Adelaide St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1K6

(416) 362-7373

Chinese Halal Restaurant

For many of my friends who are Muslim or who can not eat pork or have a huge craving for lamb, then Chinese Halal Restaurant is the place to be.  The restaurant is located in the north east corner of Leslie Street and Finch Avenue, on the back side of a plaza, just on the inside border of  North York.  As you walk into the restaurant, one gets the feeling of cleanliness, a sense of grandness and a strong odor of lamb meat emulating from the many different types of lamb servings.  

A buddy and I decided to give it a try for lunch one afternoon.  He had been here numerous times and encouraged me to give a try.  Since it was my first time at the restaurant, I passed the menu over to him and asked him to placed the order for the two of us. Between us, we decided to split three dishes.  We went with the Deep Fried Sesame Lamb Chops, the Spicy Lamb Chops and the Hand Made Beef Noodle Soup.

Deep Fried Lamb Chops

The Deep Fried Lamb Chops are one of the few signature dishes that the restaurant has to offer to their guests.  It comes in about 6-7 pieces and the lamb chops are fried nicely and sprinkled with sesame on top.   It also came with a sauce of its own.  I grabbed the meat with one of my chopsticks and I could tell the meat was soft and tender.  The meat themselves were not very fatty and none of the meat looked over fried or burnt.  I sunk my teeth into the meat and it was absolutely delicious.  It was very juicy and I was surprised at how moist the meat was despite it being deep fried. The sauce aided the taste however one really didn't need as the meat alone had provided an abundance of flavor and taste to it.  There was plenty of meat as it was not just all bones being served to you. 

Spicy Lamb Chops

Next to arrive was the Spicy Lamb Chops on a Skewer Stick.  We only ordered two sticks of these things as my friend said the spiciness on the meat had a pretty good kick to it.  Each stick contained about 8 pieces of lamb rolled onto the skewer sticks.  One bite into the first piece and I could tell why my friend only recommended two sticks.  These pieces of lamb were super spicy.   On a scale of 0 to 10, I would have given it a 8.5 on the spiciness scale.   The spiciness does overwhelm the taste of the meat however the taste of the lamb is still there as you get deeper into the meat. This dish will for sure leave an impression on you.

Hand Made Beef Noodle Soup

Last to arrive were the Hand Made Beef Noodle Soup.  This was a basic noodle soup that had about 3 juicy pieces of beef mixed with the noodles.  The soup base was delicious and went well with the noodles. The noodles were wide and soft with every bite.  I was very happy with the noodles as it really helped fill the stomach and complimented well with all the other lamb meat as well.

Overall I was very impress with my first ever visit to this restaurant.  The staff were friendly and the food was brought out promptly.  Everything came as advertised and I will definitely make a second visit in the very near future.  The total price for the three dishes plus gratuity and tax was just over twenty dollars.  There was also plenty of parking in the front and in the back although lunch time could be a little packed.  However still give it a try one day. Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.


Chinese Halal Restaurant

101 Ravel Rd, North York, ON M2H 1T1 (416) 498-9800