Hibiki Japanese Cuisine

A brand new Japanese cuisine opened up in the downtown district of Markham recently and came highly recommended from some of our friends who had eaten there so this past weekend, a few of us decided to give it a try and see what it was all about.  Hibiki Japanese Cuisine is located on the north side of Highway 7 between Kennedy Road and Warden Avenue and is actually tucked inside a small plaza.  I've always stated never to judge its book by its cover and certainly there is nothing to brag about from the exterior, however once inside, one can see that the owners had put in a lot of money and effort to make it a very pleasant and grand affair. 

We actually got there on a Sunday afternoon just around lunch time and noticed that the restaurant was already starting to fill up.  A quick scan of their 6 page menu revealed a combination of many of Japanese's finest dishes including sushi, sashimi, ramens and donburis.  We decided to try a little bit of everything and went with a Chashu Ramen in Pork Bone Soup ($9.00) and Chirashi ($26.00)

All the meals came with a complimentary salad and miso soup.  The salad was a decent appetizer where the lettuce was light and fresh. There were some sprinkles of tomato jellies and cucumbers slices and the vinegrette sauce was perfect.  The miso soup was also pretty good with no complaints from any of my friends.

Salad

Interestingly enough, my Chashu Ramen actually came with a choice of rolls, hand rolls or sashimi.  I opted for the California Rolls as my daughter absolutely loves them as it is one of her favorites.  Naturally, it was the perfect fit and allowed me to share my rolls with her and not have to order anything else for her.  The California rolls itself were pretty uniformed and as close to perfect as they could be.  The avocado was nice and fresh and the fish eggs on top popped nicely as we were eating them.  Everything seemed nice and fresh and again, there were no complaints from my fellow peers.

California Rolls

My Chashu Ramen actually arrived next and it looked really tasty.  I took a sip of the pork bone soup and found it to be quite delicious and delightful.  One thing I truly liked about it and especially for those who are concerned about their health was that I didn't particularly find the soup to be overly salty.  As well, the two pieces of  chashu were not overly fatty and the noodles were just perfect.  There were some seaweed and a slice of fish as well that came with the dish.  Despite all of these ingredients, the ramen was actually blander thansome of the other Chashu ramens that I have had in the past but this blandness again could be a result of a reduction of MSG in the soup.  Personally, I would have liked the soup to be a tad bit more seasoned, but I can honestly say that there would have been others who would have found it to be quite acceptable.

Chashu Ramen

Last to arrive was the Chirashi which was made up of about 8 different types of sashimi on top of a bowl of rice.  The sashimi selection included the traditional salmon, tuna, red snappers and crab but more importantly the two bowls of chirashi that we had ordered were both quite fresh in that the fish was not mushy or chilled and that everything was served to near perfection.  There were plenty of fish and rice in the bowl and both individuals commented that they were quite full following their meals.  Each bowls were colorful and well presented when delivered to our table. 

Chirashi

Just when one thought that it was time to go, dessert and coffee was apparently on the house.  One could have chosen from a wide variety of ice creams which included red bean, green tea, black sesame, vanilla and mango.  We were surprised that there was complimentary dessert as I believe that this was the first time any of the Japanese cuisine restaurants that I have been to had offered it to their patrons.  If one wasn't full from their meals yet, they certainly were full now.

Everything seemed to be in order for our first visit.  The staff was great and everyone left the restaurant happy.  I certainly would visit again in the very near future to try out some of their other foods. The interior looked great and the prices appeared to be reasonable.  As Food For Thought heads to Asia for three weeks, I thought this was a great sendoff to have.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5.


Hibiki Japanese Cuisine
4450 Highway 7 East
Markham, Ontario

905-604-8418