Uoshiki Sushi

There were so many new restaurants that opened up at the northwest side of Midland and Finch Avenue that it making it hard to keep up with all of them.  One of the ones that caught my eye ever since it opened up was Uoshiki Sushi.  Having eaten at so many all you can eat Japanese sushi restaurants in the past few years, this one sure had its work cut out for them.

As usual, prior to going to the place, I placed a reservation with the restaurant.  There were the five of us including my little one and we decided to go on a Friday evening.  We got there right at 7:00 pm that evening and were given our table immediately.  The place was nicely decorated with bold black and red colors encompassing the restaurant.  Their menu was on an Ipad where one could easily click and select the foods they want.  Since it was a Friday evening, the price they charged us was about $29.99 per adult. 

Seared Scallops on Cold Tofu

With the extra price one pays for being there on the weekend, they give you a choice of four special items in which you could two of them as part of your extra value items.  All of the extra special items were available which was comforting to hear.  That evening I chose to go with their Seared Scallops on Cold Tofu and Uni Shoots.  Both the uni shoots and the scallops were an excellent choice.  The uni shoots came with a quail egg in it which made the shoot extra tasty.  The scallops were nicely decorated with a cold piece of tofu on the bottom and some red roe on top.  Appearance wise, both dishes would have easily passed as a delicate dish in a high class restaurant.

Sashimi Platter

The sashimi was satisfactory.  There was an extra "bounce" in some of the sashimi that we had order which led us to believe that the sashimi had been kept in the fridge for more than a couple of days.  The good thing was that any sashimi we had ordered was available.  The portions were decent and much of the pieces were thinly sliced. 

Uoshiki Special Sushi Rolls

One of the more interesting items that we had ordered was their signature Uoshiki Special.  A combination of barbeque eel, tempura shrimp, mango, avocado and cucumbers were wrapped with rice paper.  Then a couple of them were squirted with what I think was mango sauce and maybe a cherry sauce.  Both sauces were rather sweet.  The pieces were large and two of them came with four pieces while the other one had eight pieces each.  The rolls were decent in that they were very filling.  The sweetness of the rolls were certainly different as I certainly was not use to it.  The pieces were cold and because of the sweetness of them all, it almost tasted more of a desert than as an actual sushi roll.  The other problem with such a large filling dish was that it left little space for some of their other items.  My advice would be they should reduce the quantity to just one piece of roll per person or reduce the size of each of the pieces given. 

We tried many of their items on their menu including noodles, tempuras, sushi rolls, and vegetables .  We had three solid refills that evening and we all came out pretty full.  One of the things I really appreciated was that I think it was the first time an all you can eat restaurant had given us everything that we had ordered.  The food was decent although to be honest with you, there wasn't anything spectacular outside of their specialty extra dishes.  If you look at their menu online, they tend to use the more common fish for most of their sashimi dishes.  The staff was pretty courteous although they did at one point encourage us to finish more of our food as too much was still left on the table upon checkout.  It wouldn't have been a problem had the Uoshiki Special not be given to us as those portions were just huge and almost kept from finishing most of our other dishes.  Having said that, they really never gave one a reason to never go back, so chances are, a re-visit is probably in the offering.  Overall I give it a 3.5 out of 5. 

Uoshiki Sushi
3250 Midland Avenue
Scarborough, Ontario

http://www.cgi-solutions.net/uoshikiSushi/?page_id=7
416-901-8865

Red Wine Tavern

Looking for a great place to sit, chat and have a great dinner after a long day at the office then look no further than Red Wine Tavern located right in the heart of downtown Toronto.  This two story restaurant provides a great atmosphere for any occasion and with plenty of space and tables, one could stand at the bar to have a drink or two or sit down at one of their many tables and enjoy an amazing meal. 

We had a company function during the day and decided to have dinner at this restaurant.  We were given a set menu where we were allowed to choose one appetizer, one entree and one dinner from a list of three of four dishes per section.  On that particular evening, I went with the Baby Kale and Quinoa Salad, Crispy Roasted Chicken and Flourless Chocolate Cake. 

Prior to our meal, we were given five, yes five, different types of finger foods including prosciutto, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheeses, meat skewers with yogurt sauce and some sort of seafood sandwiches. We were amazed at the quality and the amount of finger foods just prior to dinner time.  The finger foods were absolutely amazing and to be honest with you, they could have fed us this all night and many of us would have been completely satisfied.   

My salad arrived shortly afterwards.  Upon first glance I was really surprised as to the size of the salad.  I didn't think I was going to be able to finish it especially after being fed so much already.  The salad however was super tasty.  Mixed with a little bit of lemon juice and a bit of mustard sauce, it provided the perfect pizazz to this salad.  There was plenty of quinoa and the greens were just lightly but perfectly dressed so that it provided a perfect balance with each bite and yet not be completely overwhelmed by it all.  The salad also contained small bits of cheese which really provided even more flavor to the salad.

Baby Kale and Quinoa Salad

The Crispy Roasted Chicken came next and at first glance, it too was rather large.  I knew for sure I was not going to be able to finish it no matter how good it was.  The chicken was roasted to perfection on the outside where the skin was nice and crispy.  The meat on the inside was tender and juicy and mixed with the sage and onion jus on the outside, the chicken sure did not disappoint.  I actually had struggled between the steak, the fish and the chicken and when the waiter came around, he highly recommended the chicken.  There were also some wild mushrooms and asparagus on the bottom of the chicken to provide the ideal compliment to the chicken. 

Crispy Roasted Chicken

 The showstopper for the evening however had to have been the dessert and for that evening I went with the Flourless Chocolate Cake.  I am not a huge fan of dessert but I have never ever tasted a more amazing dark chocolate cake in my life.  The chocolate cake itself was like chocolate pudding except it was thick, so unbelievably rich and amazingly sweet.  The only problem was that it was hard to eat more than a third of it.  It was shared amongst my peers because there was no way, no matter how good it was, that I could finish it on my own.  The slices of the banana were also unforgettable.  They were coated with a little bit of sugar and hardened on top just like a creme brulee and made this banana more desirable than any other bananas that I have ever tried before.  A definite must have to share if you do come by and have desert at this place. 

Flourless Chocolate Cake

It was a spectacular night with all the food and the atmosphere was buzzing all night.  They even had a live DJ spinning tunes on the ground floor to keep the party moving.  There were many people on hand that evening and making reservations is a must if you were to attend this restaurant.  I will not forget the night and would not hesitate one second to invite some friends down to this restaurant to share a drink or dinner.  The food was great, the waiters and waitresses were efficient and the atmosphere was perfect.  With such a great night, this to me was a no-brainer as it was a solid 5 out of 5 in my mind.

Red Wine Tavern
77 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario

416-862-7337

Globe Bistro

A recent search on the internet revealed a coupon to Globe Bistro which is considered one of the most highly recommended restaurants in Toronto.  With its 5 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor.ca, the restaurant boasts some of the best meals in the city.  The coupon that we found online allowed us to take part in their tasting menu for about 25% off.  It included a six course meal which ranged from sirloin steak to fish to a couple of appetizers.  A few of my friends had been here before and forewarned us that as good as their food, the amount of time spent at the restaurant could take upwards to three hours.  I said if the food was good then extra time spent waiting for the meal would be well worth the price.

We made reservations for the evening and were given a seat in the back of the restaurant since there were about eight of us. Looking around, the interior of the restaurant was nicely decorated with beautifully lit dim lighting giving it a modern romantic feel to it.  Since it was tasting meal, there really was no need to look at their menu as their meals were set.  With the coupon this evening, each individual was charged $45.00 per person.  We also got a bottle of red wine to go with our dinner as most of their wines are half price off on Sunday evenings.

The first meal to arrive was this Crouton Pate Spread on a small piece of toast.  There were eight pieces, one for each person at the table.  The portions were quite small and unfortunately many of us were pretty hungry.   The bite size appetizer was good however a bigger portion of it would have been better.

Crouton Pate Spread on Toast

Next to arrive was the Celery and SunChoke Puree Soup.  The soup was presented nicely with a simple and clean look to it.  The soup itself was very smooth which many people at the table were able to take notice of it.  The taste was unfortunately a little bit heavy on the salty side. Although I am personally immune to such saltiness, many of the people were saying that the soup was too salty for them.  The taste was however not all salty all the way to the end.  As one got to the bottom of the bowl, the soup actually became sweeter so that it actually ended up being a sweet and salty soup.  An interesting combination of tastes giving it a very unique flavor however the majority of the people at the table found the soup to be too salty for them.

Celery and SunChoke Puree Soup

The Greens arrived next which basically consisted of cauliflower, raisins, quinoa and frisee all mixed into one. The salad was a little dry as there was little to no salad dressing in it.  Eating quinoa dry is sometimes a little bit rough for the throat.  With little to no dressing in it, the only moisture coming from this salad were from the raisins. 

The waitress then came back and told us the next dish was "a break dish" in that it was to give us a break prior to the entree meal.  I wasn't too sure what that meant when all that was served up to that point were the soup and the salad.  As many of us were pretty hungry up to that point, the last thing we wanted was a break.  The dish they brought out to us was a small scoop of  Niagara Cherry Sorbet Ice Cream.The ice cream was good but real food would have been greatly appreciated. 

Niagara Cherry Sorbet Ice Cream

The entrees finally arrived.  First to arrive was a Lake Erie Pickerel which was a piece of pickerel immersed into a crab chili broth.  The fish itself was very fresh and tasty.  The soup itself was very similar to a tom yom soup in that it had the sourness of the vinegar in the soup mixed with a bit of chili spice gave it a spicy and sour taste to it.  Personally, I would have separated the two in that the soup practically overwhelmed the great sweet taste of the fish. Others around the table mentioned that the two went well together.  Either way, this was probably one of the better dishes of the night no matter how it was served.

The meat entree of the evening was the Foie Gras Puree mixed with Sirloin Steak.  The foie gras puree sauce I have to admit was very good however it was more or less a substitute for the lack of gravy or sauce for the dish.  My steak was made to well done even though it would have been better if was served medium rare or rare for that matter.  The pieces were rather small and there were only four pieces available.  What made it more difficult in addition to chewiness well done of the meat was that the meat was lukewarm at best.  I thought it was just my dish but none of my colleagues steaks were hot.  A little disappointed in that it sure looked good when it came out and considering it took almost half an hour for it to arrive after the last dish, I was expecting the quality to be better.

Foie Gras Puree mixed with Sirloin Steak

The next two to arrive were desserts. The first one to arrive was Cheese Mixed with Fresh Honey and Nuts.  The cheese was pretty decent however what really made this dish stand out was the fresh sweet honey.  The honey was pure, very sweet and had everyone lick their spoons clean.  The rest of the dish I found was unremarkable.  There were some nuts, a few slices of apple and that was about it.  If they had just served the honey, I think most people would have been satisfied with it.

Cheese Mixed with Fresh Honey and Nuts

Last was the White Chocolate Lavendar Mousse in Dry Meringue with Saskatchewan Berries Sauce.  This dessert was pretty decent in that the sweetness of the berries sauce mixed with the dry meringue and white chocolate lavendar mousse really had a bit of a wow factor to it.  This dessert was probably my favorite dish of the evening.  My only complaint was that all the dishes were somewhat disporportionate.  Some had bigger pieces of meringue, some had more pieces, some had way more berries sauce and some had considerably less. 

The problem I had with the entire meal was that the portions were extremely small and for the amount of money paid person, some felt that it was hard to get equal value for the amount of food tasted.  It was not overly filling and I'm sure some of my friends went out for late evening snacks afterwards.  The portions were all quite small and yet it still took two and half hours from start to finish for the 6 courses to arrive at the table.  Pictures of their actual meal look stunning on their website and I could only hope that the food is much better there and have bigger proportions.  I loved the second dessert and that was about it.  I was a little disappointed partly because I had high expectations.  Thank goodness for the Groupon discount coupon.  It would have been harder to stomach if we had paid full price for it.  For me, I would give my experience a 3.25 out of 5.

Globe Bistro

124 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, ON M4K 1N1 (416) 466-2000

Firefly Seafood & Steak House

Tucked in the corner of First Markham Place is a well known restaurant known as Fire Fly Seafood and Steak House.  When one hears about the name, one thinks that it will cost one an arm and a leg in order to eat there.  That however is far from it.  The restaurant is quite affordable, very tasty and each plate is filled to the top.

A friend and I went to go visit the place a few weeks ago for afternoon lunch.  I personally have been there many times before but have never had a chance to talk about it.  I especially like their menu because one can get anything from a $5 dollar noodle to $30 dollar lobsters.  Since it was lunch I decided to go with something lighter and went with their Pork Chop in Onion Sauce ($7.49) while my friend went with the Parmesan Pork Neck ($8.99).  Both items were located on their one page laminated lunch menu.

Pork Chop in Onion Sauce

Both meals took about 15 minutes to arrive and both of them arrived at the same time.  The plates were blazing hot as were both meals.  My meal was rather large in the sense that I was given two large pieces of pork chops, a good spoonful of corn and roughly about a bowl and a half of rice.  There was a large quantity of onion sauce as well that covered the entire plate of food.  The pork chops were nicely cooked and seasoned with black pepper.  The meat itself was not lean but not overly fat either.  Overall the meal was absolutely what I wanted and with a dollar more, I had a nice cold ice tea to go with my meal.

I really don't have any complaints about this place.  Every time I go there, there is a table ready for me.  The place is pretty big and has about thirty tables or so to accommodate all their guests.  There was plenty of staff on hand and they know how to treat their customers right.  Their food comes out fast so that we're not left sitting there for long periods wondering if our food will ever arrive.  Completely satisfy with everything. Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.


Fire Fly Seafood and Steak House

3229 Highway 7 East, Markham, ON L3R 3P3 (905) 479-6188

Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine (Bridlewood Mall)

Normally I don’t write about sister restaurants where we have eaten before however this was a brand new restaurant that had opened up very recently in Scarborough.  Yamamoto All You Can Eat restaurant opened up at Bridlewood Mall sometime last month and from what I could tell, it was slowly becoming one of the main attractions in the mall.  

The menu itself looked pretty thorough where each person on the weekend was charged $25.99 and kids under 5 were charged $6.00.  The extra cost on the weekend was due to their specials on the weekend which for this weekend was half a lobster.  One could actually take the deal or opt out for $2.00 less if they didn’t want the lobster.  The other special they had was one could order 10 pieces of sea urchin sashimi for  $15.00

Sashimi Combination Platter

As with all my all you can eats, it would be completely impossible to go through every dish that we had ordered.  One of the dishes that impressed me a lot was the sashimi combination plate.   With the traditional  salmon and tuna fish in the center, it also included our sea urchin request and scallops sashimi.  The scallops were my favorite as they were very fresh, nice and cold and tasted very, very good.  The other thing that impressed me the most was that the entire sashimi dish was set on top of a bowl full of ice which kept the entire plate of sashimi nice and cool.

Other things that impressed me were the Beef Ribs and also their special Kansai Unagi Sushi rolls. I ordered the special rolls because they were under Chef's Recommendation and that it would take about 15 minutes to make.  The rolls were presumably wrapped up with tin foil as it was warm to touch.  There were about 12 large pieces of rolls in it and each one was sprinkled with some sesame, hot eel sauce and pickled radish.  It was quite good and the fact that one did not have to put extra money for it made it pretty decent to have. 

Grilled Mackerel

Another dish that arrived that impressed me the most was the Grilled Mackerel.  They added some sort of special soya sauce on top of the mackerel which may it super tasty and beautifully seasoned.  It was very different compared to some of the other places I have had before.  The mackerel was so good that my daughter alone ate one mackerel all to herself.  Interestingly enough they had mistakenly put three plates of mackerel on our table when we actually had only ordered one plate however it was so good that we ended up keeping all three of them. 

If there was one thing I didn’t like it was the size of the Udon or noodles that had arrived.  The noodles themselves were excellent.  Immersed in miso or onion soup and with a couple of pieces of beef in it, the Beef Udon was a welcome dish to have on a cold winter night.  The bowl was rather big however there was only enough for about three mouthfuls full of noodles.  I guess they were worried about wasting considering most people would be pretty full or would have other things to eat.  I guess it was just the inconvenience of having to keep ordering one noodle bowl after another to satisfy our stomachs.  

Overall, it was a pretty decent night.  The many servers on staff kept a good eye on our table and cleared our any empty plates on a consistent basis.  Another great thing was that my liking their page on Facebook and by giving your name and phone number on the spot, they would give you a VIP card that will give you 10% off every time you eat at this location or the one at Market Village and it was also applied to the meal that evening.  The food was pretty good and everyone went home full and happy.  Overall I would give it a 4.25 out of 5. 

Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine

2900 Warden Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

416-492-1234