How do I
know a meal is going to be one of my top picks? It’s a twinge of sadness I feel
at the end: signifying the experience is over and I’m uncertain when it’ll
happen again. Oh yes, Ian and Kati Robinson’s Skippa is that good. It’s where
you go for upscale sushi for under $100 (taxes and gratuities included) and the
chef isn’t scary like Jiro.
In fact,
Skippa’s vibe is laid back – an open kitchen so you can see what Ian and team
are doing, Kati at the pass calling out orders. There’s no military responses
of “yes Chef!”, instead the kitchen working as a well-oiled machine, Ian going
around to answer questions and have a taste of broth when he’s not busy
creating the sushi piece-by-piece.
Right
after ordering, a slice of lotus root filled with wasabi infused egg yolk is
presented. For something seemingly simple, it’s surprisingly flavourful and
perfect for those who liked deviled eggs.
Before
getting into the omakase portion of
the meal, we couldn’t help but tuck into a couple of appetizers. A freshly made
chawanmushi ($7) where the egg is
silky and studded with shredded chicken and sliced mushrooms. While the custard
was comforting and savoury, it’d be even better if the broth ratio was lowered as
the custard broke apart so much that it was difficult to scoop using the small thick
wooden spoons.
With two
grilled fish specials, we had to try one. The grilled sawara (Spanish mackerel) collar ($5) was fantastic, cooked
beautifully with a simple sprinkling of salt. We’re told to add a squeeze of
lemon and smear of radish to taste; the citrus was great but I ended up scraping
off the too bitter radish. For those who are afraid of bones, there will be a
few you need to pick out, but the tender flavourful collar meat is well worth
it.
If you’re
just getting into “artisanal” sushi, Skippa is a great place to try it. Their omakase ($42) is a manageable seven
pieces or you can always order by the piece (prices included below) to make
your own menu. Like other upscale restaurants, the sushi is served separately arriving
at the optimal hand-warmed temperature. Ian requests us to use our hands; a wet
towel is provided to wipe your fingers to remove any rice or sauce residue.
If you’re
not overly hungry, the omakase dinner
already includes two smaller starters – a cube of nutty soft sesame tofu with
freshly grated wasabi and a sweet broth; and a spoon of soba where the noodle
is overdone but the rich kombu broth
delicious.
A taste
of sashimi follows, a clean and meaty grouper where I appreciate they include a
leaner and fattier cut so you can taste the flavour nuances. Their house made
soy sauce pairs nicely given it’s slightly thicker (so coats onto the meat
better) and has a slightly sweet finish.
“Each
dish is served as it is ready and in no order.” Skippa's menu warns the diner. Indeed,
the sushi bounces between lighter and stronger fishes and not necessarily in
the order written on the menu. We start with the kinmedai ($4), a goldeneye seabream, which is a light and neutral
fish. Aside from the soy, the piece allows you to focus on the sushi rice,
wonderfully warm and the optimal sticky consistency, but could use more
vinegar.
Chef Ian
previously worked at Sushi Kaji, and you can see Chef Kaji’s influences in the
Western toppings used on the sushi. The piece of madai ($4.25) reminded me most of Kaji, who also uses lemon, olive
oil, and salt a lot as garnishes. At Skippa, the salt is not as powerful and
ends with an almost sweet flavour.
Our
second sawara ($4.50) takes the
Spanish mackerel and smokes it with Japanese hay. It’s very light so the
essence lingers in the background and if anything, the most prominent tastes is
the kick of radish from the dollop on top. Unlike with the grilled fish starter,
the smaller portion of radish works better and nicely rounds out the cool fish.
The sayori ($4.75) is such a beautiful piece
of sushi, with the glint of silver skin against the crystal white fish. Also
known as half beek, the fish is mild and perfect for introducing someone to raw
fish without going the maki route.
I was a
little disappointed the maguro ($4)
on the menu didn’t arrive. However, the aji
or horse mackerel it was replaced with was wonderfully executed, cleaned
well so there was no hint of fishiness. Adorned with garlic, instead of the
customary green onion, it worked.
Luckily,
the tuna did make an appearance in the temaki
($6) handroll. Unlike the other pieces of sushi, these were whisked to each
person (rather than by table) and we’re encouraged to eat it right away before
the toasted seaweed, sourced from Japan’s Tsukiji Market, got soggy. Undeniably,
it was crispy and the flavourful tuna mixed with a spicy sauce so you didn’t
even need the soy sauce.
In terms
of the use of soy, with each piece Ian either tells you to dip or not. The one
flaw of needing to dip is the garnishes make it challenging to fully flip over
the sushi so you’re dipping the fish rather than the rice (the preferred method
to ensure not too much soy is soaked into the rice). I guess it goes with
Skippa’s laid back vibe, but personally think if a chef’s going to be
particular about whether sushi gets soy, he should just paint it on for the
diner to make sure the optimal amount is on each piece.
Before
the final piece of tamago, we added
on the wagyu ($9), the well marbled
beef lightly seared so the oil mixes with the sweet glaze and covers the tongue
in a rich sauce. Absolutely delicious!
The
final tamago ($2) wasn’t the best
interpretation. Perhaps it was due to the thick angular chunk the sweet egg was
cut into, but it was too dense and lacks aroma since it doesn’t include the
seared portion of the egg on top.
While it’s
out of character, I didn’t read any reviews prior to going to Skippa, just a
brief “first look” type of article. Therefore, when I heard our dessert options
were ice cream and sorbet, I turned it down. It wasn’t until I glanced over at
the group beside us and saw them gushing over the ice cream that I flagged down
our waitress in a last-ditch effort get the dessert within our two-hour seating
window.
Skippa’s
roasted green tea ice cream ($5.50) is made in-house and while I’d prefer it
harder, the ice cream was very creamy and has the nuttiness of sesame that goes
so well with green tea. It’s good, you’ll want it.
After
all that, two hours flew by in no time and our dinner was over. Yes, I felt
that twinge of sadness that a delicious meal came to an end, but since Skippa
is affordable, it’s also not a once-a-year-only place. I’m already excited to
return in the summer. Maybe the space outside will turn into a patio, but I’ll
be back at the sushi bar, amid all the action.
