The Fifth Grill and Terrace (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, July 14, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 225 Richmond Street West
Type of Meal: Dinner


Having never been to the Fifth, other than to go to the club, we decided to try dinner there. Upon entering, I’ll admit it was strange to see the club functioning as a restaurant; where the bouncer welcomes you in and the person selling tickets brings you to an elevator. The club’s dance floor was spruced up with extra furniture and the pillars covered with white veils.  

The restaurant itself is located on the fifth floor, hence the name, and you get to it through an old fashioned elevator complete with operator.  It’s quite large with an indoor dining area and outdoor terrace. The dining room is classically decorated with white, tons of light fixtures and comfy chairs. The only odd décor was a mini disco ball hanging from the middle of one fixture which was whimsical but also tacky.

An amuse, a tomato caeser shooter, arrived as soon as we sat down.  Not being a caeser fan, I tried it nevertheless - it was thick and garlicky without the zing of horseradish but could be refreshing on a summer day.  A basket of bread arrives after ordering, soft French bread but cold so nothing crazy.

 

My appetizer, the house cured bacon and summer melon salad, was beautifully presented.  A combination of sweet melons, sour balsamic and slightly salty and smoky bacon, the salad was certainly flavourful.  I enjoyed the thick cut bacon but could have done without the balsamic glaze over it as with the citrus vinaigrette the dish was a little sour for my taste.

     

While viewing what other diners were eating, the striploin appeared to be the overwhelming favourite so I chose that as well.  A generous portion of steak arrives which dwarfs the small square of sweet potato gratin and sprinkle of French beans beside it.  The steak itself wasn’t the best cut; mine was unevenly sliced which caused half the steak to be perfectly cooked at medium rare but the other half extremely rare.  I also wish the Fifth invested in better steak knives as it became difficult to cut through the thicker rare part.

 

A pat of bercy butter - butter mixed with shallots, parley and white wine - sat on the steak.  It needed more herbs as it’s supposed to add a burst of flavours to the steak but really just tasted like unsalted butter with specks of parsley.  The beans were good, thin and crispy, I wish there were more of them!  However, the sweet potato gratin arrived luke warm and seemed like a bit of an afterthought. 

I ended with the vanilla panna cotta which didn’t really taste like panna cotta.  It was a thicker and creamier consistency than most, but I enjoyed the richness.  The strawberry rhubarb sauce wasn’t too sweet so really lightened up the dish. The dessert was the highlight dish of the night, which is disappointing for someone who likes savoury dishes more.

 

The panna cotta, in my opinion, was better than the lemon lavender cheesecake that my friend had. Although the flavour was spot on, I could really taste the citrus and lavender, the consistency was a bit lumpy.  Additionally, the batter was too watery as it arrives slightly saggy looking. 

 

Accompanying the bill was some individually wrapped chocolate chip cookies to bring home which was a nice touch.  Sadly, the cookies, although buttery, were hard and crumbly.
I was surprised the Fifth’s Summerlicious offer was priced at $45, which is normally reserved for the fancier restaurants in Toronto.  The Fifth simply doesn’t have the same polish and food quality that you would expect for a place charging $45.  It may be a strange comparison, but I felt like eating at the Fifth was similar to eating on the Niagara Falls strip – overpriced but satisfactory food.  Service was great at the beginning with the person at the entrance enthusiastically welcoming us and the attentiveness of the gentlemen operating the elevator; but the service in the restaurant seemed lack luster in comparison.  The food was decent but not amazing.

It was a bit strange they keep plates of food on tables between the elevator/bathroom and dining room before serving.  While visiting the restrooms I could see the various plates left there with slips of paper marking the table.  Somehow, it feels a little unhygienic and it certainly means the food is not under heating lamps and gets cold while waiting to be presented.

On the plus side, having dinner at the Fifth Grill and Terrace does get you admission into the club, so you avoid lines and cover.  So, it’s a good option if you’re looking to go out dancing to burn off calories afterwards. 

  
Is Summerlicious worth it?

As a special feature to the Summerlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Summerlicious - $45

Regular menu - $62 - salad* ($12), striploin ($38) and panna cotta* ($12)

Savings - $17 or 27%

* The summer melon salad and panna cotta aren't on their regular menu; prices based on the chopped salad and chiffon cake
Overall mark - 6 out of 10

Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html







Teroso (Collingwood)

Posted on Tuesday, July 09, 2013 by
Location: Collingwood, Ontario
Address: 18 Schoolhouse Lane
Website: http://www.tesororestaurant.ca/
Type of Meal: Lunch
During a trip up to the Blue Mountain’s Scandinavian Spa, we stopped off in Collingwood for a nibble.  We decided to try Tesoro, which my friend heard about through a poll of the top restaurants in Collingwood - it was voted first place.  Tucked in a quiet lane way off the main road, Tesoro has a nice patio area lined with greenery; perfect for dining on a sunny day.
While at an Italian restaurant, you can’t go wrong with carbs. Since we were outside, it felt too hot for pasta so I opted for their 8” lunch pizza ($11.95) instead.  Chosen from a selection of approximately a dozen choices, I selected “Roberto” which had a tomato-based sauce with mozzarella, Sicilian meatballs, mushrooms, garlic and parmagiano.  The home-made meat balls were enjoyable; not too fatty or salty and really made a meal of the pizza. A ton of garlic was sprinkled over everything and added a fragrant aroma. However, the crust needed some work. Although it was an adequate thickness and had a decent crispy yet chewy texture, too much flour covered the bottom of the pizza.  So, the first thing you tasted is powder when it hits your tongue.  If the chef used corn meal instead, at least a nicer crust would have formed on the bottom of the dough.


The pizza is accompanied by your choice of green salad or soup. Strangely, if you prefer Ceaser salad over garden an extra $1.50 is required. But, since I had a hankering for it, I ordered it anyways and requested it to be lightly dressed as I detest soggy dressing soaked lettuce.  Alas, when it arrived, my request was ignored so I had to scrap off the dressing myself.
Although I'm by no means a regular diner at Collingwood, I'm surprised Tesoro won the top spot on this poll. Obviously, I’m not privy to knowing how many people voted and who the audience was, but having been to a couple of other restaurants in Blue Mountain, I would not consider Tesoro superior to them.

Nonetheless, the prices are reasonable and the surroundings quaint - the patio had European music piping out the speakers which made it a quiet and relaxing environment.  And to be fair, although we were having a later lunch, a steady stream of customers was still visiting Tesoro so it must be a popular destination.  So, perhaps it’s not the food quality that will bring you here but rather the peaceful environment away from the buzz of Blue Mountain.  
Overall mark - 6.5 out of 10

Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html

Café Boulud (Toronto)

Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 60 Yorkville Avenue (inside the Four Seasons Hotel)
Type of Meal: Dinner

After reading the disappointing critic reviews about Café Boulud, my excitement to try the Toronto output of the NYC’s celebrity chef’s restaurant waned.  Since they were part of Summerlicious this year, it was the perfect opportunity to try them and the experience was surprisingly wonderful.

 Situated in the new Four Seasons Hotel the lobby is opulent and a great improvement from the old Yorkville location.  Located on the second floor, Café Boulud’s dining room is much larger than I would have imagined and toned down compared to the hotel.  Paintings and artwork adorn the walls and shelves amongst an eclectic mix of “natural” materials such as wood, stone and glass.  A mishmash of chairs, some a reminder of ones you’d find in an office, are sprinkled throughout the restaurant.  Somehow the hodgepodge of décor works, although a bit busy for my taste.    
Alas, it’s really the food that matters and the night started off on a high with the seared Digby scallops.  Two large Nova Scotia scallops arrived sitting on a sweet corn succotash and avocado mousse, with a flavourful shrimp chip topping it all off.  The scallops had a beautiful caramelized sear on them and were perfectly cooked - warmed and barely cooked throughout.  Sadly, what I loved most was the humble sweet corn succotash which was a rich stew of large corn kernals in a buttery sauce.  I simply want to slather that over everything – fish, bread, rice, you name it!
The roasted Cumbrae beef was laid out in a beautiful fan topped with a generous dollop of salsa verde.  Tender and lightly seasoned, the tenderloin allowed the salsa’s fresh herbs and hint of vinegar and chilies to shine through.  Large sticks of fries accompanied the dish making this a great alternative for meat and potato lovers.  The fries were amplified with fried salted rosemary which is my new favourite combination for potatoes.
My husband’s Mediterranean daurade (a fish that’s also known as sea bream or orata) was good – the fillet’s skin was crispy and meat flakey – but wasn’t a match for the beef, in my opinion.  The boulliabaisse sauce was deliciously thick and deep tasting; almost like having lobster bisque, but without the bisque’s creaminess.


For dessert I opted for the tonka bean sundae, which my patrons agreed was the best of out the three offerings.  I loved all the flavours and textures that were in the sundae.  The ice cream was maple caramel and had a hint of coffee to it so gave the sundae a deep butterscotch smell.  You really need to dig into the bottom of the sundae as sitting on the bottom are pieces of chopped pecans, cubes of brownie and crushed chocolate cookies.  Surprisingly, where the tonka beans, the namesake of the sundae, comes in is in the dollop of Chantilly cream topping everything.  After some research on Wikipedia, I now realize they are essentially like a vanilla bean.  Sadly, not being a whipped cream fan I had scooped it out so really can’t comment on the “tonkaness” of the dessert.



You certainly won’t leave hungry given the respectable dish sizes and a generous bread basket and plate of savoury cheese puffs given before the meal.  Unfortunately, I was hungry and dove into the carbs before snapping a picture.  If you order the daurade, save a slice of the bread so you can dip it into the delicious sauce.   
Overall, my experience with Café Boulud was thankfully much better than the critics.  My husband and I agree that we’ll likely return to try out their regular menu where tasty sounding dishes are abound.  If you’re looking for a Summerlicious choice, try out Café Boulud.  With $45-$55 bottles or a $25 pairing option, now is the perfect time to try out the restaurant at a decent price.  
Is Summerlicious worth it?

As a special feature to the Summerlicious blogs, I will attempt to calculate the savings being offered (based on my meal selection).

Summerlicious - $45

Regular menu - $63 - Scallops* ($16), beef ($36; although on normal menu is a "duo") and sundae* ($11)

Savings - $18 or 29%

* The scallops and sundae aren't on their regular menu; prices based on the octopus appetizer and panna cotta

Overall mark - 8 out of 10

Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html


CLOSED: Day and Day Soup 百家小廚 (Richmond Hill)

Posted on Friday, July 05, 2013 by
Location: Richmond Hill, Canada
Address: 280 West Beaver Creek Road, unit 20
Type of Meal: Dinner
Day and Day Soup is likely the smallest Chinese restaurant I’ve ever been to with only seven tables located in a square non-decorated dining room.  It’s certainly a family affair, with the husband working as the chef and wife & mother acting as servers.  So, although the surroundings are unimaginative – plastic table cloth, multi-coloured tissue paper menus taped along the wall - I can look past that since there’s something appealing about a family making dreams happen.

 Given it was a large family dinner, we preordered the partridge soup which is cooked for hours with a plethora of other ingredients including chicken feet, snow fungus, sea coconuts, dried orange peels and other herbal ingredients.  The soup literally arrived in a huge pot and was easily sufficient for thirteen of us to have two bowls each.  After hours of boiling the broth is infused with a deep fowl flavour but still light.  Chinese people prefer partridges to chicken as it’s much leaner so the resulting soup isn’t as oily and believed to be healthier.


Day and Day also serves a large lobster ($8.50 per pound with lobsters being 5+ pounds each) that’s done three ways:
-       Its tail, yes that entire plate pictured is just from the tail, is stir fried with supreme sauce.  The lobster was cooked well and the sauce was savoury without being overpowering.


-       The claws and legs were broken up and steamed with garlic and rice wine on top on bean thread vermicelli.  This is one of my favourite ways to have lobster, mainly because I love eating the vermicelli which soaks up the lobster juices.  Sadly, Day and Day cut up it up too much and it was overcooked that it ended up being soggy and clumpy.


-       The roe was mixed into fried rice and infused the rice with such a great rich flavour.  My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

 

 The next entree, three cups duck, was another hefty portion.  It’s said to be named three cups due to the flavouring ingredients – a cup soy sauce, sesame oil and Chinese cooking wine. Braised in a clay pot with chunks of taro, hunks of ginger and loads of other Chinese herbal spices, the duck is flavourful from all the braising. Unfortunately, the presentation of the dish could be improved as the duck was chopped into such small pieces that they were indistinguishable and bony looking.
 

 Other meat dishes we ordered included free range chicken with ginger and onion.  The chicken was tender and fragrant for the ginger and onion.  It is less salty compared to other restaurants, but it is a good option for people looking for healthier alternatives. 

 

 Day and Day’s version of the beef and broccoli was tasty with the beef tenderloin stir fried with a black pepper sauce, which added some zing to the dish.  The broccoli was just blanched so a bit bland so you really need to dip it into the sauce.

 

 I’m on the fence about their sweet and sour pork.  On the plus side was the pork was extremely crispy and the sauce not overly thick but still tangy. However, the pieces of pork were much too small and unevenly cut so that the small pieces were dried out and hard.  Additionally, it was one of the most unappealing looking sweet and sour pork dishes I’ve ever seen given there was nothing added (i.e. bell peppers, onion or pineapple) to give it colour contrasts.
 

 For vegetables, we ordered water spinach (“hollow vegetable” in Chinese) with fermented tofu and chilies.  The vegetable retained its crispiness and had a hint of the fermented tofu taste without being too salty.  For those who have never had preserved tofu it’s an acquired taste and sometimes adds an alcohol smell to dishes. It’s made from soybeans brined in a salt, rice wine, sesame oil and vinegar for a long period of time.  Due to its fermentation process the tofu ends up being firm and creamy with a consistency similar to blue cheese.

 

 Another vegetable dish we had was stir fried yu choy with prince mushrooms.  It’s a very simple dish of two ingredients with salt and oil.  Day and Day provided a very generous amount of prince mushrooms.
 

 A large order of stir fried clams with black beans sauce was another seafood entree.  I was surprised with the sheer number of clams given in the dish.  The sauce wasn’t as flavourful as I like it (compared to other restaurants like Congee King), but they still tasted good and was likely better since we weren’t eating rice with our meal.  
 

 Given my uncle is an avid fisher; we brought two of our own freshly caught green sea bass to the restaurant.  Day and Day will actually cook the fish for you for only $4 per fish.  Since they were fresh, we just got them steamed with green onion and soy sauce.  It was cooked well so that it was done throughout but still tender.
 

 The last dish was the deep fried oysters in a honey sauce.  Unfortunately, I can’t comment on it as I skipped the dish but my other family members seemed to enjoy them.

 

 Overall, the chef is good and cooks everything well in terms of doneness and flavour.  Dishes don’t taste as strong as other places but are a healthier option as Day and Day uses less oil and salt.  The dish presentation needs tons of work given most arrive unadorned and haphazardly thrown onto a plate.  Additionally, they don’t provide side plates with their place settings so it’s really hard to take more than one thing at once.  But, given their low prices, Day and Day is really a no frills type restaurant that offers good value. 

Unfortunately, they were unable to provide us with an itemized bill so I can’t advise you on each dish’s price.  However, the total for all the above dishes was only $258.14 (including taxes) and our dishes were super-sized given our party size.  There were thirteen of us and we had leftovers so what we ordered could easily feed fifteen.  As a warning, you will need to go to the restaurant with someone who can read or at least speak Cantonese as the menu is in Chinese only.  Day and Day is certainly a hole-in-the-wall place that only locals know about.


 Overall mark - 7 out of 10


Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html

CLOSED: Aragvi (Toronto)

Posted on Monday, July 01, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 832 Sheppard Avenue West
Type of Meal: Dinner
Having never heard of Georgian cuisine, I was inspired to visit Aragvi after Chef Matt Blondin tweeted enthusiastically about his dining experience.  After some research on Wikipedia, I learnt that Georgia is an independent country located on the Black Sea coastline, neighbouring Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Their cuisine is a combination of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences filled with bold flavours and fresh herbs.


Aragvi is located in a small run-down plaza off of Sheppard Avenue sandwiched between a salon and computer store.  I’ll admit, I had my doubts about the restaurant based on its appearance and less than ideal looking neighbourhood, but am glad we ended up eating there.
The most interesting section of their menu, to us, was the appetizer pages where dishes sounded exotic and offered a chance to try something new.  So, we decided to order a few appetizers and one main to share.


Our first dish, was the Georgian-style eggplant roll ($7.50), located in the cold appetizer section.  The dish was beautifully presented with deep yellow pan fried (?) eggplant rolls topped with vibrant pomegranate seeds and tons of chopped coriander.  Inside the eggplant was a flavourful paste made from walnuts, loads of garlic, more pomegranate and other spices.  To be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the filling was walnut if it weren’t written on the menu; it was smooth and almost had a thick babaganoush consistency to it.  Being a garlic lover, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavourful filling and loved the contrast of the sweet bursts of pomegranate.
We had to try the adjarian hachapuri ($8), a Georgian cheese bread formed into a football shape and topped with a raw egg.  The bread arrived piping hot and just crisped up around the edges.  Our friendly waitress advised us to scramble up the egg while everything was still hot and then break off bits of the bread and dip it into the gooey mixture.  The bread tasted more like salted pizza dough, light from the air pockets, yet still had some chewiness to it.  In the middle, the bread was filled with a suluguni cheese which is the consistency of mozzarella but has the salty brininess of feta.  It’s a very heavy dish that definitely needs to be shared and was delicious but a bit too salty for my taste. 
The Georgian version of perogies is a khinkali ($1.35 each; minimum order of 5).  They are steamed and arrive looking like large versions of the Shanghainese soup filled dumplings (siw long bow).  Our waitress advised us that they should be eaten with our hands by grabbing onto the pinched top and biting into the side and sucking out the juices. Filled with seasoned minced meat (based on Wikipedia is usually beef and pork or sometimes lamb), the khinkali was delicious and one of my favourite dishes of the night.  The dough was like a thicker dumpling wrapper which kept in the lovely juices.  Meanwhile, the meat mixture is tender and well-seasoned with a hint of spiciness to it.  
Chanakhi ($12) a veal stew with potatoes, onions, garlic, eggplant and coriander arrived next in a traditional clay pot.  It can be made with any type of meat with the most popular being lamb.  Aragvi’s version was made from tender veal that was bursting with flavours.  The slow cooked stew let out such a wonderful fragrance.  Next time, I’m going to order it with their plain Aragvi bread so that I can dip and soak up the magnificent sauce.
Aragvi has a small dining room consisting of about six tables.  Unfortunately, because of the small establishment, the dining room gets a bit smoky. So, don’t make plans to go anywhere after dinner as you’ll end up reeking from the food.  Nonetheless, there is a lovely home cooking feel to the place as the women bring out the dishes and converse with you.  Their friendly hospitality was great for someone who has never had Georgian food as they were able to explain the dishes and make suggestions as to what you may prefer.  With their extensive menu there are still so many dishes I want to try that a return visit will be required.   
 
Overall mark - 8 out of 10


Like the blog?  You can now follow me on twitter for notifications - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog

 ____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!
For further general discussions about this blog please refer to http://gastroworldblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/welcome-to-gastro-world.html

CLOSED: Momofuku Shoto (Toronto)

Posted on Saturday, June 29, 2013 by
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 190 University Avenue, 3rd floor
Type of Meal: Dinner

I love tasting menus! How can you not like the chance to give up all decision making and just relax and eat whatever’s put in front of you? It’s often through tasting menus my palette is expanded as I’m forced to try ingredients and techniques that may otherwise sound unappealing.  Shoto, the swankiest of the restaurants in the Momofuku complex, offers a 10-course option for $150 (an extra $80 with wine pairings). 

Indeed, there are various tasting menus available throughout Toronto, what differentiates Shoto is their “chef’s table” seating.  Twenty two patrons sit in its kitchen around a bar banquette so you get to see the masters at work.  When a dish is ready, the chefs serve you and explain what the ingredients in each dish; you’re welcomed to ask questions and inquire about what you see and eat.  It brings a sense of casualness to the experience, which fits into the fancy but laid-back Momofuku brand. It’s almost like you’re visiting Chef Mitchell, Peter and Jed at their home and they’re whipping things up for you to try.




 Shoto's dining area (1)

If you’re afraid of smelling like food due to the proximity to cooking, don’t worry.  An industrial sized venting system sucks everything up so not an ounce of smoke reaches you.  The chance to see all the chefs at work is really something, especially if you’re a business nerd and love analyzing a restaurant’s operations.  They work to a well-strummed precision despite patrons coming in at various times. There is definitely no manic yelling and slamming of dishes that’s portrayed in Hell’s Kitchen. 

 However, before you get to sit in one of the surprisingly comfortable supple leather bar stools, you have to get a reservation first.  Shoto, like Ko in New York, is online reservations only and as they come up you better book quick if you want a Saturday.  Luckily, Shoto’s reservation system is more forgiving than Ko given you’re allowed to book further in advance (four weeks vs. 10 days) and there are more seats up for grabs (22 vs. 12).  So, if you can get to a computer by the early afternoon of a Sunday you should be able to get a Saturday.

 Upon sitting down, complementary still or sparkling water was served by a friendly waitress.  Almost immediately after she leaves, we’re greeted by Chef Jed who presents us with a chewy bread roll to munch on while perusing the drink menu.

Bun (2)
A selection of amuse-bouche arrives shortly thereafter.  We were presented with:
A cube of sticky rice, charred on top, and dipped in salted fat.  Despite its description, it was delicious and light tasting. The rice, a sushi consistency, with a hint of vinegar and smokiness to it.  It was a great preview of what’s to come – Asian inspired dishes with a luxurious twist.
Charred crispy rice with fat (2)

Slivers of marinated chilled beef tendon arrived next.  Shaved paper thin these tasty slices release a great burst of flavour on the tongue.  If you’ve ever visited a Chinese banquet and have the assorted barbeque meat appetizer, it tastes like the smoked pork hock with rice wine (fun tai) except a crispier texture.

 
Shavings of beef tendon (2)

A small cup of curry mousse with Dungeness crab finished off the amuse offerings.  Pieces of plain crab sit at the bottom covered with a light and bubbly mousse foam.  The mixture releases just a hint of heat that hits the back of your throat.
 
Curry with Dungeness crab (3)

 The first dish was spot prawn with house made XO sauce, slivers of snap peas and orange zest.  My first experience of having shrimp sashimi style was interesting but has made me realize I prefer them cooked.  Unfortunately, the soft gummy texture of the raw prawn didn’t appeal to me.  But, the spicy XO sauce and crisp sweet raw snap peas helped mask the peculiar consistency and made it bearable.
Spot prawn (4)

A dry-aged rib eye sashimi arrived next which was beautifully presented.  The beef was so tender the knife could the thrown away with the fork cutting through it like butter. Pieces of crunchy bacon, creamy green peppercorn sauce and bursts of lumpfish roe added a wonderful mixture of textures and saltiness to the rib eye. 



Shoto’s next dish pays homage to barbequing during the summer – teriyaki glazed octopus with warm potato salad.  The pan fried octopus retained a chewy tenderness with a hint of smokiness.   The potato salad is actually the consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes and sits in a pool of thickened chicken stock and parsley(?) oil.  Topped with stalks of roasted ramps and slivers of pickled red onions the dish is a cacophony of flavours.



Next came my favourite dish of the night, the pea custard.  Deep in the bottom of the bowl is a spring pea egg custard, which was a lovely silky texture and beautiful mint green colour.  Topped with shaved radishes, micro greens, trout roe and goat butter it was a great dish where every bite brought new flavours and textures.  A soft boiled pickled quail egg was also in the dish, which was an interesting addition but, in my opinion, ruined the rest of the flavours.



Heavier dishes began to arrive after the pea custard.  To start, we were served chicken liver tortellini tossed with morels and fava beans. Another first for me was trying chicken liver; piped as a smooth mixture inside the pasta you really couldn’t tell it was liver since it was so light tasting.  Overall, the dish was good but nothing rave worthy like the nori spaghetti served with Shoto’s earlier menus I keep hearing about.
Following, was trout topped with a foamy tomatillo and jalapeno sauce.  I believe the fish was cooked sous-vide style and arrived at a perfect doneness. The sourness of the tomatillo was a refreshing alternative to citrus and the jalapeno adds a zing of heat to the palette.  Additions of spears of asparagus were appreciated given the lack of vegetables in the earlier dishes.  I only wish the chunks of almonds at the bottom of the dish were left out, somehow nuts and fish to me don’t really go.
The following dish was presented as “pig face stir-fry”, which although sounding off putting was decent.  Consisting of various parts of the pig’s head including braised (?) tongue, prosciutto like shavings of jowl (i.e. cheek) and crispy pieces of fried ear, it was certainly a medley of firsts for me.  Surprisingly, the tongue wasn’t as horrible as I expected, it resembles an octopus tentacle with a hint of sausage taste.  On the side, a pork consommé accompanying the dish was a miss for me.
Continuing with the meats, lamb, the largest dish of the night arrived.  Since we were the later seating we had the pleasure of previewing the dishes before us.  After seeing the lamb being served to other eaters I was excited to try it.  

All too often, the things you look forward to the most are the biggest disappointment.  There was nothing wrong with how the meat was cooked – it was tender and well-seasoned.  The let-down was from the piece of lamb they chose to serve me where 80% of it was either fat, hard cartilage or bone; there was simply nothing to actually taste!  Meanwhile, my husband’s portion was miles better than mine.  Given Shoto is charging patrons $150 per meal, quality control is extremely important and the cut of lamb that I was presented should have never been served. 
Nonetheless, I enjoyed the cool cucumber geleé gratin and yogurt sorbet paired with the dish.  Both were unexpected yet went well to lighten-up the heavy piece of meat.  Unfortunately, in my case, there just wasn’t any meat to actually eat it with.

“Cucumber”, the first dessert, was a good transition between savoury and sweet as it was somewhat neutral.  Despite its haphazardly put together appearance, it was a delicious mixture of uncommon flavours.  A sweet condensed milk gelato sat on top of cubes of chewy mochi and topped with an herbal lime and juniper granita.  The dish was refreshing and a good interpretation of something for the summer.

The last dessert and dish for the night was more common – vanilla cake soaked in poached rhubarb syrup with raspberry (?) sorbet and drizzles of crème anglaise.  All were good but nothing exciting like the cucumber dessert.  However, I did like the touch of watching the chefs grate frozen white chocolate and pine nut ganache over everything.   


The tasting menu varies depending on the availability of ingredients, but each season has core dishes.  We were advised the offerings we were served would begin to change over the next few weeks, so if any of the above sound delicious to you, book quick before they are gone!

 Shoto may be fine dining, but it has an unpretentious attitude I appreciate. Everyone is friendly and down to earth; simply a great place for people who like good food but not the snootiness that can come along with it.  All staff from the chefs, waitress and beverage director makes you feel at home and invites you to drum up conversation with them.  

 Overall, I was expecting more from the experience.  With the exception of the lamb, there was nothing devastatingly unacceptable with the menu; but, there was also nothing overly memorable and rave worthy.  In the end, Shoto’s worth a try, I’m just not sure if multiple return visits are warranted.

Overall mark - 7 out of 10

Is That It? I Want More!

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