Raku Ramen & Izakaya

My dad’s birthday was on the weekend and shockingly and surprisingly he wanted to have uni sashimi for his birthday dinner.  My father has always been weary of us consuming raw foods which was why we were all kind of shocked that he wanted to Japanese sashimi for his birthday.  At the same time, some friends and acquaintances of mine had visited Raku Ramen & Izakaya recently and said it was one of the better places for izakaya in Markham.  So after booking reservations for a Friday evening there, we made the trek up there to give this place a try. We got there right on time and we could see that our table was ready.  After checking out their menu, we decided to go with a little bit of everything from stone pot rice to sushi and sashimi, to lamb chops and fish.  There were six of us and we were quite the hungry bunch that evening.  

Not knowing which rolls we wanted, we decided to go with their signature Raku Rolls ($13.00).  These rolls looked amazing.  The rolls were all heavily smothered with avocado, cucumber strips and tobiko.  They were then covered with a fairly spicy sauce on top.  I don't know whether it was because this was the first food on the table or the fact that all of us were super hungry but these rolls actually tasted extra good.  The spicy sauce eliminated the need for any wasabi or soya sauce for that matter as the rolls alone tasted amazing.  It was a great first dish to have and pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening. 

Raku Rolls

Next to arrive was the Grilled Mackerel ($7.00). The mackerel was neither gutted nor de-boned although for those who have never had mackerel before it is next to impossible to do because the fish contains many, many small bones.  The meat itself was pretty good and the outer part was gently grilled so that it was not burnt at all.  The only bad part about it was that I accidentally ate either the stomach or the gall bladder of the fish which for those who don't know, could certainly clear one's sinuses in a heartbeat.  Still it was as advertised but watch out for those organs. 

Grilled Mackerel

When the Stone Pot Pork Shogayaki ($10.50) arrived, I could see everyone's attention suddenly shifting towards this dish.  It was the first hot meal of the evening, it smelled good and everyone wanted what was inside the hot stone pot.  The pork was nice and lean and the meat was perfectly seasoned.  The only thing I would like to have seen with this dish was just a little bit more sauce to go with the rice.  There was just enough sauce for the pork but it left the rice a little dry.  I personally think that if there was just a little bit more sauce, one could have mixed it really good with the rice and make this dish even more better.

Stone Pot Pork Shogayaki

The Lamb Chops ($11.00) looked equally impressive.  Three pieces of nicely seared lamb chops placed beside two pieces of baked potato and yam put together.  The meat on the lamb chops were very juicy, soft and perfectly seasoned.  The sauce blended with the meat very well, not overwhelming it too much so that one could still taste the sweet taste of the lamb as one was chewing through the meat. The proportions were a little small but the taste sure made up for it.

Lamb Chops

If there was one dish that I had to say was pretty funky, it was probably the Black Cod ($12.00).  There was nothing wrong with the fish itself nor was there anything wrong with how dark the skin was after searing it.  What made this fish funky and interesting was the mango like sauce they had used for this dish.  It gave the fish a sweet and sour taste to it which was totally not what I was expecting.  One could say it was something different and would provide more of unique taste with its tangy taste but personally  I would prefer a more traditional taste to my fish.

Black Cod

The highlight of the night was of course the Sea Urchin Uni Sashimi ($10.00).  This dish mind you is not always present in restaurants as sea urchin is very seasonal.  We went with a couple of orders for this dish as one order only contained three pieces of sea urchin uni sashimi. There are many ways of eating this but for this night, we recommended placing the sea urchin inside a piece of seaweed and adding a couple of pieces of cucumbers with it.  Truthfully, I only had a tiny spoonful of the sea urchin as we had bought a couple of boxes earlier in the day of this stuff and since my father had never had it before and it was his birthday, both my brother and I gave up our pieces for him.  From the spoonful of sea urchin that I had, i could tell it was very good, very fresh and had just a slight tinge of that fishy ocean taste to it. 

Sea Urchin Uni Sashimi

Sashimi Set B ($12.00) was a mixture of the more common sashimi out in the market.  Each fish was nice and vibrant and very fresh.  The only issue I had with the fish was that slices were quite thick.  Again it's probably more of a personal preference but I usually like to eat my fish nice and thin.  However having said that, there was nothing wrong with the fish itself and it came as advertised. 

Sashimi Set B

The next two to arrive were the Chicken Soft Bone ($5.00) and the Beef Tongue ($7.00).  We just wanting something different and these two were both the perfect dishes to do that.  The Chicken Soft Bone was a little chewy and even though it looked like it was well marinated, the overall taste was just slightly lacking.  It is difficult for the soft bone to absorb all the juices as the soft bone itself is somewhat "non absorbing".  The Beef Tongue on the other hand was the complete opposite. It was a little bit more juicy as the meat was able to absorb much of the surrounding juices. 

Chicken Soft Bone and Beef Tongue

What really made the Grilled Duck Breast ($8.00) really unique and interesting was that the restaurant decided to use "Wax Duck" as the meat for duck breast.  This made the duck meat much more saltier and gave it that really unique taste to it.  I personally have never had duck breast like this before and it was certainly unique and quite tasty.  The chefs certainly deserve top marks for ingenuity in taking a specialty dish and make it even more special. 

Grilled Duck Breast

After all those dishes up there, surprisingly a couple of us were still very hungry so we ordered an additional Tonkotsu Ramen noodle soup ($9.00).  I have to comment in that I was actually shocked at how quickly this dish arrived after I had ordered it.  It actually took the waiter two minutes for him to bring the dish over.  When I asked him about it, he said more or less the noodles were already pre-made and all they had to do was just pour the hot soup over it.  What was equally impressive was how tasty these noodles were.  It was absolutely delicious and even though there were people who were "very full", they too asked for a portion of it as it smelled great and it certainly tasted great.  For those who do not like traditional sushi, sashimi and izakaya foods, this was certainly an amazing alternative to have.

Tonkotsu Ramen

Overall, we all had a great time at Raku Ramen and Izakaya.  All of the food that was brought out were ate cleaned off their plates.  The staff was very friendly and cost wise it was very reasonable. Total price was about $150.00 tax and tip included.  Looking for parking at Peachtree Mall however could be adventurous but it was certainly worth the walk.  If you are up in Markham and are looking for a good combination of ramen and izakaya up there, I would certainly recommend this place to you.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Raku Ramen & Izakaya
8360 Kennedy Road
Unit 87-90
Markham, Ontario

905 477-3828

Cha Me Cha

A newer Hong Kong Tea Restaurant had opened up recently in Markham and because of its proximity to a TNT supermarket, we decided to give it a try after visiting the supermarket.  We chose a Saturday afternoon to visit the place for lunch as we had just finished shopping and thought it was a great time to give this place a try.  A once around the place showed the restaurant was nicely decorated throughout the interior.  There were plenty of tables and booths all around where about three-quarters of them were occupied and had many hungry patrons eating there. 

I quickly scanned the menu and decided that I was going to go with their Curry Chicken with Rice. ($9.99).  I also order an Apple Green Tea ($4.49) as no drink came with the meal.  Since their menu also came with a kid's meal, we decided to order a Sausage and Minced Pork Kids Meal ($4.99)

The Sausage and Minced Pork Kids Meal came rather quickly.  The guys at the restaurant even made it appealing for the kids by placing the food inside a bowl that resembled a car.  There was one hard boiled eggs, 6-8 pieces of sliced sausages, sliced cucumbers, a bowl of egg custard and a rather large amount of white rice buried under the sausage.  For a kids meal, I have to admit that there was certainly a huge amount of food in the bowl.  So much so, my little one could only finish half of it.  There wasn't really anything wrong with the meal itself as everything tasted satisfactory but the quantity of food for a little one was just a bit overwhelming.  My only recommendation would be to serve maybe half the amount of rice and cut the pork and sausage quantity by a half as well.  No one will ever complain for the amount of food they got for the price, but if the food is not taken home, then unfortunately much of it will go to waste.

Sausage and Minced Pork Kids Mea

I went with the Curry Chicken with Rice and it took a long time for it to arrive.  I was a little surprised at the length of time since it was largely promoted on one of their menus.  The curry chicken did take about 28 minutes to arrive from the time that I had ordered it which for a Hong Kong Tea restaurant would be an extraordinary amount of time.  When it did arrive, everything seemed like it had its own "section".  The curry chicken was inside its own bowl,  the rice was on the other side,  the corn mixed with peas and carrots were on the left and there was a hard boiled egg on the final quarter panel. The curry itself was a tiny bit spicy and had a strong aroma of curry.  I would have to almost lean on it being a Japanese style curry as that was what it had closely resembled itself as.  There were about three to four pieces of chicken, three large pieces of carrots and one large piece of potato inside the bowl of curry.  The whole meal was delicious and filing since there was a rather large quantity of food on the plate.  As for the drink, the Green Apple Tea was equally good however I could see how the price might scare off some people in ordering it.

Curry Chicken and Rice

Overall, I thought the meal was decent.  There were no lineups which was good as sometimes when one is hungry, the last thing one wants to see as they approach a restaurant, especially a HK Tea restaurant is a huge lineup outside the door.  I wasn't really too sure as to why my lunch took so long to arrive.  My wife actually had to ask a waitress to follow up on it.  One thing I noticed was that there were a long of young adults in the restaurant which was a good sign.  I also noticed that in some places they had outlets where people could actually plug in their laptops and eat and work at the same time.  I like the place and I certainly would not hesitate in going again.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.

Cha Me Cha
8333 Kennedy Road Unit 1078
Markham, Ontario

905-470-8836

Fraticelli's

Looking for a good Italian restaurant in Richmond Hill sometimes requires a bit of sleuthing however this restaurant really required no research as many of my friends had eaten there before and had a really good time over there.  This restaurant is Fraticelli's which is located just off of Highway 404 in the Richmond Hill area, just north of Toronto area.

We had made reservations and were promptly given our seats upon entering the restaurant.  There were four of us including a friend, my daughter and my wife at the restaurant that evening.  We decided to share about two appetizers and three entrees for the evening so that we could taste a little bit of everything.  For this evening, we decided to go with 2 Zuppa Del Giorno (for this evening it was the Mushroom Soup) ($6.25), 1 Meatballs al Forno ($9.00), 1 Spaghetti Del Pescatore ($19.50), 1 Veal Picata ($23.25) and 1 Short Ribs Stracotto ($29.75).

The Zuppa Del Giorno (Mushroom Soup for this evening) arrived first and looked quite yummy.  The rich brown greenish color looked marvelous under the dimly lit lights.  The texture of the soup was nice and smooth and perfectly pureed.  I took one sip of this soup and I was taken aback by the quality and texture of the soup.  The mushroom taste was very strong with each sip and it hit one's senses right on the nose.  There may have been a touch of coconut milk in it as well although I'm not entirely sure about that.  It was just rich in flavor and was one of the best starter soups I had in quite some time.  This starter was a no-doubter and was well worth the price.

Mushroom Soup

The other appetizer we had that evening was the Meatballs Al Forno.  As the title states, this was basically three rather large sizes of meatballs immersed in a rich and cheesy pasta sauce.  One could tell that the meatballs were all hand rolled as the meat inside the meatball was "fluffy" and the meat separated rather easily when biting into it.  Personally I actually loved the pasta sauce more so than the meatballs.  The sauce was absolutely amazing and it's no wonder the pastas in this restaurant had always scored high ratings.  Either way, the dish came with three rather large meatballs, one for each person at the table.

Meatballs Al Forno

Once we were done with the fabulous appetizers, the three entrees all arrived at the same time.  The Short Ribs Stracotto came with about two beautifully seasoned ribs surrounded by its chianti sauce and mashed potatoes.  The ribs had absorbed the sauces really well however although the meat did fall off the bones eventually, the meat was just a tad bit tougher that evening as it did take a bit of muscle to cut the meat into its various pieces.  The sauce was delicious and the mashed potatoes were nice and creamy and soft and was a perfect side with the short ribs.

Short Ribs Stracotto

The next dish I tried was the Veal Picata.  The first thing one notices when the dish was placed on the table was the size of the basil pesto orzo that came with the veal.  It was a good thing that there were about four of us because there was no way one of us could have been able to finish the orzo alone.  The veal was interesting.  Truthfully it didn't looked like the greatest piece of meat despite being served with lemon herb piccata sauce however once again this was where looks could be deceiving.  The meat actually absorbed the sauce very well and was actually soft and juicy. One could taste the veal despite the creaminess of the sauce but overall it was a nice dish to have.  Oh and the orzo, that was about as perfect of a rice as one could ever have.  It was nicely seasoned and moist to perfection. 

Veal Picata

The last thing I tried was the Spaghetti Del Pescatore.  Translated, this was basically your seafood spaghetti where hand made spaghetti was stirred and mixed with mussels, calamari and large tiger shrimps.  The spaghetti was mixed with a spicy tomato white wine sauce which was absolutely perfect for this pasta.  The reason was that the seafood in this dish was fresh and tasty and any stronger sauce would have potentially overwhelmed the seafood's taste.  By going with a lighter white wine sauce with a touch of not so spicy tomato sauce, it was perfect blend for the spaghetti and not to steal the overall taste of the seafood.  It was ingenuity at its best and made this a wonderful spaghetti dish to have.

Spaghetti Del Pescatore

Overall, we all had a great time.  With a couple of Ceasar's to go with our dishes, the total price was just around $150.00 CDN tax and tip included.  The server was around our table all night and kept our drinks full throughout the evening.  The meats were not perfect however they were still both above average while the mushroom soup and the spaghetti received full marks all the way.  Another visit to this place will definitely be the case in the future.  Overall I give it a 4.25 out of 5.

Fraticelli's
10 Vogell Road
Richmond Hill, Ontario

905-883-6841

Green Tea Lounge

My wife and I were cruising though J-Town in Markham when we noticed a brand new restaurant that had opened up in that area.  Seeing that it was fairly new and it was a little quiet on a Friday afternoon, my wife and I decided to go have a look and have lunch at that restaurant.

We got there around one o'clock in the afternoon and I'm guessing most people had already had their lunch and had already gone back to their offices. When we went in, we noticed that it had a deck of cards theme where there cards taped to the walls and suits of cards scattered all over the floor.  Seeing that it was Halloween, the staff was even all dressed up for the occasion which I thought was pretty cool.

They had a special lunch menu which had a couple of interesting combinations so we decided to give it a go.  I went with the Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice ($10.80) while my wife went with the Tempura Udon.  ($10.80)

Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice

After ten minutes or so, our meals arrived.  The Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice looked pretty good in value in that there were two rather large bowls of items.  The Curry Chicken covered half my plate while the other half was a solid bowl of rice.  The Soba on the other hand was immersed in a bowl of  soup where a large piece of mushroom and a couple of fish slices were also present in it.  The curry was nice and thick and had a good curry coconut taste and spice to it.  There were about three pieces of chicken and plenty of potatoes.  I really liked the fact that it was very filling which almost had me in trouble in finishing the soba.  The curry was delicious and one that I had thoroughly enjoyed.  The Soba was also very good however my only drawback was that the soup was a tiny bit bland despite the dark color of the soup.  A tad bit more salt, chicken stock or miso soup flavoring would have helped.  It was still however was a great compliment to the curry chicken rice and a meal that I liked as a whole.  There was also a small bowl of garnish that appeared to be turnips that unfortunately I did not get around to but was also included in the meal.

Tempura Udon

My wife had the Tempura Udon and in comparison, hers was not as large as mine in size.  The udon, according to my wife, was delicious as the noodles were smooth and thick and blended well with the miso soup base.  The two pieces of shrimp tempura was served on a separate dish so that it was not soggy when it arrived at the table.Also present were what appeared to be a couple of pieces of croquette.  The mashed potatoes and meat mixture taste good and had a smooth texture on the inside and was thinly fried on the outside.

Overall for ten dollars  I thought the Soba and Curry Chicken and Rice was good bang for the buck.  I think if my wife's Tempura Udon had a couple more extra pieces of tempura in it then I think it too would have been worth the money.  If I didn't have my own meal to compare, then I would not have had any issues at all however seeing how big my dishes were and that how much smaller my wife's were, I thought mine was probably better value wise.  Taste wise, both meals were pretty good and as I said, the dishes satisfied all of our hungry spots.  As I said, the soup base was just a tad bland and that was pretty much my only complain of the day.  Neither meals came with a drink so drinks were extra.  I certainly would give it a try again one day and would like to give some of their other meals a go.  Overall I give my experience a 4 out of 5. 


Green Tea Lounge
3160 Steeles Avenue East Unit 118
Markham, Ontario

905.470.0758