[Toronto] Ichiriki Japanese Restaurant

Location Review
120 Bloor St East
Toronto, Ontario
(416) 923-2997
Website

Situated between Yonge and Church on Bloor, Ichiriki is a inconspicuous little Japanese-run restaurant. Like most other eateries in this area, they draw a big lunch crowd from all the nearby offices. However, after-hours Ichiriki is just as lively. Aside from a seasonal omakase menu and a monthly live jazz band night, every Tuesday evening they welcome Soba Canada to take over the kitchen and serve fresh handmade authentic soba.

Ichiriki

[Toronto] Ja Bistro

Location Review
222 Richmond Street West
Toronto, Ontario
647-748-0222
Website



After hearing so much rave for this modern Japanese eatery, I finally took a visit to Ja Bistro (@JaBistro222) in the financial district of Toronto. Boasting a menu of ingredients shipped from all over the world and delicately crafted sushi by Chef Koji, the place has racked up a list of loyal customers as well as red carpet celebrities including Scarlett Johansson during TIFF!

Ja Bistro

[New York] Morimoto

Location Review

88 10th Avenue,
New York, NY, United States
+1 212-989-8883
Menu







Morimoto Restaurant, eponymously named after it's creator Masahru Morimoto (@chef_morimoto) of Food Network's Food Network's Iron Chef , was near the top of our dining establishment hitlist during a short trip to New York City. Most popular with their Omakase menu, Morimoto also offers an a la cart menu that would please anyone looking for an Asian-fusion dining experience.

Morimoto Restaurant

A quick glance at the menu, and regular followers of Food Network's Iron Chef would recognize many of the dishes as ones Masahru Morimoto has prepared for the show. And then there are others which are an untraditional collision of of Asian, Japanese, and fusion cuisines.

[Boston] Avana Sushi

Location Review
42 Beach St
Boston, MA
(617)818-7782



I don't know why, but everything in Boston closes so early. It posed some difficulty one night when we had to have a later dinner. And thats when my sister Amy (@wasabiwaffles), my boyfriend Rob, and my friend John (@j1kim) discovered a hidden gem in the Chinatown area. And when I say hidden, I mean hidden! Even with the exact address and a map of all the streets, my sister and I managed to walk by this place two or three times. But to be fair the store front doesn't exactly scream "FOOD!" infact, I had originally walked passed the building thinking it was an office building. Only when I saw that one sign that said "Avana" did I realize I was here.

The discrete entrance to Avana Sushi

[Vancouver] Sushi Garden

Location Review
4635 Kingsway
Burnaby, British Columbia

Located across from the large shopping complex that is Metrotown, is a strip plaza where today's restaurant review is located. Sushi Garden has two locations in the Greater Vancouver area, and is the restaurant that I've come back to each time I visit B.C. In a nutshell, it's really just too good to pass up!

Optical illusion

Let me clear up any misconceptions this deceiving picture may bring about. You may be thinking "Mary, this restaurant looks pretty empty, must not be very good". Well my friends, it didn't take 2 seconds after I snapped this picture, that people started flooding in. Sushi Garden was open for business in the books at 11am that day, but to our surprise we were able to be seated at 10:50am when we arrived. Felt pretty good to be the first customers in the restaurant!

[Vancouver] Kiriri Japanese Cuisine

Location Review
8780 Blundell Rd
Richmond, British Columbia



One of the many days during my Vancouver trip, my cousin Fiona took us all out to lunch near by her house at Kiriri Japanese Cuisine. From what I gather it's not a very well-known spot, but she loves it for it's authentic Japanese fare and fresh fish. But on top of that, she praised about a cute Kaiseki Set that is served there. At the time I had never had a Kaiseki before, so it was definitely a treat for me! :)

Kiriri Japanese Cuisine

[Richmond Hill] Inatei

Location Review
9021 Leslie St., Unit # 7
Richmond Hill, Ontario

I always get excited when I find a good sushi spot in Richmond Hill (Flashback to the first time I tried Tomo Sushi). To find a Japanese restaurant that isn't all-you-can-eat is hard to come by, and to find one that is half decent is even more difficult. Recently I've heard many people tell me  Tomo Sushi has gone somewhat downhill. I unfortunately have not been able to go back recently to testify the validity of these statements, but true or not, it never hurts to another option to the rainy-day restaurant list. 

Enter Inatei (@InateiJPCuisine). A Japanese restaurant juggling an extensive menu within a modern-chic decor. Aside from just the sushi rolls and bento boxes, they offer a selection of appetizers, robata-yakis (Japanese charcoal grill), whole fish sashimi, and fresh oysters.

[Richmond Hill] Tomo Sushi

Location Review:
9625 Yonge Street
Richmond Hill, Ontario
(905)770-2129




Being an "uptown girl" from Richmond Hill, I always find myself struggling to find good spots to eat. There is one exception though, and that's Japanese cuisine. I find places north of Toronto like Gal's Sushi, Inakaya, Inaho Sushi, are easily better than many of the spots downtown. And now I'm happy to announce one more addition to the uptown list: Tomo Sushi!

[Japan] Ganso Zushi (元祖寿司)

Review Location 
Dogenzaka 2-29-14, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 〒 150-0043

Ganso Zushi

I think you can probably tell by the amount of Japanese food posts I have on this blog, that I really love it. That's why this trip to Japan was such heaven for me. Another day in Japan, another day of sushi!. This time around, Rob and I opted to go conveyor belt sushi. I had gone once while I was in Hong Kong, but you can never really have enough sushi. No, especially not when you're in Japan.

[Hong Kong] Genki Sushi (元気寿司)

Location Review: 
Shop 115-116, 1/F, Fortune City One, Shatin, Hong Kong
沙田置富第一城,一樓115及116舖

MENU

Though its lost a bit of its hype and popularity, conveyor belt sushi is still one of my faves. While there are lots of places to have conveyor belt sushi in Hong Kong, I always end up coming back to Genki because it's close to where I live and can satisfy the sudden cravings. For those unfamiliar with the concept, conveyor belt sushi (also referred to as rotating sushi, 回転寿司), is where plates of sushi are placed on a conveyor belt and rotate around a circular belt structured to reach all or most of the dining guests of the restaurant. Sushi chefs continually replenish the belt, and the bill is settled based on the amount and type of sushi ordered (usually distinguished by the colour of the plate). Of course, if you are impatient to wait and watch for your item to come around the belt, there is an a la cart menu for sushi, as well as set meals.

[Hong Kong] Aji Ichiban (味一番)

22-28 Hillwood Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
山林道22-28號, 尖沙咀

Not to be confused with the popular Hong Kong snack chain Aji Ichiban, this post is actually about a Japanese restaurant! One of the more exciting aspects about being in Hong Kong for me, is having Japanese food. Literally being surrounded by water, there is an abundant amount of fish and other seafood, making it so affordable to have good raw fish! One of my friend's dad brought us here, and is a regular customer so he ended up making most of the ordering choices for the night.

[Markham] Gal's Sushi

Review Location:
3621 Hwy 7
Markham, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Hwy 7 & Warden Ave)

MENU

I've been to Gal's a couple of times, and I have never been disappointed. Each time they have served  consistently fresh fish, great service, and attention to presentation. Definitely a go-to place whenever the sushi cravings arise!

[Richmond Hill] Sushi Tei

Review Location
115 Times Avenue
Richmond Hill, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Highway 7 Rd & Valleymede Dr.)

MENU

Having not eaten sushi for a while, this was a much anticipated meal for me. My blog probably needs this injection of a sushi review as well, since it seems like I had a good dominating Japanese theme going on!

When I found out that Sushi Tei is a Korean-Japanese fusion restaurant, I was immediately skeptical about how much I would enjoy this place. I am a huge fan of Japanese and Korean food individually, but I'm not too fond of is most Korean influenced Japanese food. I'm not saying that all Korean made sushi is terrible (because quite frankly in my opinion Sushi Bong can kick a lot of Japanese place out of the water), just that most of the time I don't find it as satisfying. However, rob had been here before and commented that it was alright so we decided to eat here anyways.

Woo Buffet

Review Location:
10 Dundas Street E
Toronto Ontario
(Main Intersection: Dundas St and Yonge St)





Buffets are usually pretty difficult to blog about since there's so much variability in the food served, but I had such an interesting experience at Woo, that I thought I would share. I went for dinner on a Saturday night, and the atmosphere of the place was absolutely amazing. You might mistaken yourself for going into a club when you first get inside, because every part about it resembles one!

[Toronto] Japango

Review Location:
122 Elizabeth Street
Toronto, Ontario
(Major Interesection: Dundas St. W & Bay St.)







Thus far, 50% of my posts have been on Japanese food. I feel that there are two main types of places. One is the lower end, volume and affordability focused restaurants. The other, is the high end, quality and authenticity focused restaurants that will also make a huge dent in your wallet. I find Japango is one of the very few exceptions in that they offer a really great meal experience at a reasonable price. Definitely a place I would keep coming back to.

[Richmond Hill] Mitsui

Review Location:
10815 Bathurst Street
Richmond Hill, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Bathurst and Elgin Mills)






I'm on a roll with these sushi posts eh? Well this is actually a delayed post. Somehow a whole bunch of my pictures got archived before I had a chance to go through and pick out the ones I wanted to blog about, so be prepared for some backdated posts!


I actually went to Mutsui around March with Elina on a double date. We didn't actually plan it that way, it just so happened. Feels weird referring to it as that now... Anyhoos, this restaurant is right around where I live, and typically when you live this far north away from the city, there isn't much good food. But this place really exceeded my expectations, and I'm definitely short listing this place to combat future sushi and bubble teal cravings! (yes they serve both, this is heaven!)

Dozo (Closed)

Review Location:
230 Commerce Valley Drive East
Richmond Hill, Ontario
(Major Intersection: Hwy 7 & East Beaver Creek)





Under a month ago, a dozen of my friends and I came here to celebrate two birthdays. Not exactly the best place to come before a night of drinking, but this was the close by to where we were going after. I also suggested this place because the atmosphere is really nice here. The decor of the restaurant is fairly trendy, and gives off a calming ambiance with its comfy padded booth seats and dim glowing lights. With it's pink and purple colour scheme, and scattered strands of beads hanging from the ceiling, it almost reminded me of a lounge.

[Ottawa] Wasabi Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar

Location Review:
41 Clarence Street
Ottawa, Ontario

While I was visiting Ottawa for the Victoria Day long weekend, one of the nights our hosts took us to have Japanese food. I absolutely LOVE japanese food, so I was really excited! Jamie (the Ottawa local who brought us here) is actually a frequent and loyal customer, so much that the owners knows her by name. She also mentioned that this restaurant is a very popular spot for many celebrities and players from the Ottawa Senators!

Ye's Sushi

Location Review:
583 King Street North
Waterloo, Ontario
(Major Intersection: King St. N, Northfield Dr. W)

MENU

The other day I was in Waterloo doing some recruiting for my company, and the one day trip there just brought back so many memories...including food! As a result, I have decided to make some tribute posts to some of the food I've had there throughout my university career....starting with the best of the best: sushi! =)

[Richmond Hill] Inaho Sushi

Review Location:
155 East Beaver Creek Road
Richmond Hill, ON


The other day, my friend Jenn and I went here on a weeknight to get some dinner. I've never been here despite it being in existence for a while. I guess I never noticed these small little restaurants next to the bigger East Beaver Creek chain restaurants. When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was that it was a family run business. It is literally run by like 2 people. (okay maybe 3 if there's someone inside washing the dishes). The one waitress attended to all the tables, and surprisingly, the service wasn't the least bit jeopardized. The place wasn't packed, but there was still a good 70% occupancy. She was very friendly and didn't seem like she was flustered with all the people she had to serve. Impressive. The second was the chef. He was Japanese (yay, bonus points!), but there was only one of them serving the entire restaurant. That being said, the food took a bit longer than I would've liked. It also probably explains the smaller menu and the lack of options compared to most other Japanese restaurants. I wouldn't suggest coming here if you were starving.