PROMISING ASIAN PLATES REQUIRE MORE PRECISION
It had been a while — almost 20 years — since I’d had a restaurant dinner while a nearby TV showed a kung fu movie.
Two decades ago, that striking juxtaposition took place in Hong Kong. A few weeks ago, it happened again at Makita Kitchen & Bar on Bank Street, in the north end of the Glebe.
Makita, which happens to mean “due north” in Japanese, opened in November where the Indian restaurant New Nupur had been since 2001. Significant renovations have created an appealing open space of brick walls, black walnut tables and large, monochromatic paintings reminiscent of Chinese ink brush work. There’s an aquarium embedded in the wall of the vestibule, a golden Buddha at one end of the bar, and on the back wall is perched the TV. We caught glimpses of Shaolin monks, probably seeking some bone-crushing vengeance, while we ate our steamed buns and ramen.
The food and ambience attest to the Asia-philia of Caroline Murphy, Makita’s general manager and the former chef de cuisine at Town, and Makita’s chef, Elliott Gosselin, who previously cooked at the Manx for seven years.
They’ve hopped on the bandwagon for Asian-inspired small plates, displaying a wide-roaming interest in flavours and dishes from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Of course, Ottawa has more than a few such places, Asian-run or not. Some are more authentic, some are more fusion-focused. Makita falls on the trendier, more loose and creative end of the spectrum.
How’s Gosselin’s cooking? Over three visits — one at dinner and two at lunch — I’ve eaten with mixed results. A few dishes were quite satisfying, but more dishes elicited constructive, if not major, criticisms.
The dish that topped our list was Makita’s chicken wings, which were massive, crisped on the outside but juicy inside, and given a Vietnamese-Thai twist with ginger, scallions, umami-rich fish sauce and potent bird’s eye chilies (which we requested on the side). The fame of the well-known Portland, Ore., restaurant Pok Pok is based on a similar dish, among others, and Makita’s execution of something along the same lines helps to show why that is.
Among other snacking items, the pork and shrimp spring rolls ($4 for two) were fine and by the book. More interesting was Gosselin’s version of shrimp toast, the indulgent deep-fried dim sum dish. Its paste of minced shrimp, cilantro and betel leaf was undeniably tasty, but we also thought the cooking had been a little harsh, leaving the treats too dark and crunchy.
Similarly, a too-dry spicy fried chicken sandwich ($8), served at lunch, stumbled due to overcooking. Better at that meal was a moist burger made with patty of pork and shrimp ($10).
Makita’s three salads ($6 and $12) were interesting counterpoints to the protein-forward dishes. Some tweaking, though, would have helped. The soba-edamame salad’s dressing needed more brightness and punch, and the soba noodles were too soft. The kale salad, made with seaweed, butternut squash, pumpkin seeds and a yuzu vinaigrette, intrigued, although it could have equally been billed a kale-seaweed salad, given the prominence of the latter. The papaya salad was fine, if on the milder side.
Given the efforts and dedication that specialty restaurants put into making reputation-defining ramen or pho, I’m usually a bit surprised and also wary when one or both of the iconic soups show up elsewhere on much wider menus. I tried Makita’s ramen ($15) a few weeks ago, and while it basically met the definition, its noodles, unceremoniously clumped in the bowl, were a letdown.
The ramen has since left Makita’s menu, and chicken pho ($12) has replaced it. I had a bowl of pho this week, and it was just OK. Best about it was its copious amount of chicken. It struck me as odd, though, that it was laced with slivers of bird’s eye chilies such that spiciness overwhelmed the broth’s good points and obviated the use of the Sriracha on the side. Kudos though to the kitchen for offering to make me a second, chili-free bowl when I raised the matter.
Makita’s versions of the steamed buns ($5 each), the trendy Asian snack of the moment, fell somewhere in the middle of the Ottawa pack. Its pork belly bun relied on the classic template, with its slab of fatty-good meat, hoisin and cucumber. A green curry pulled pork bun was good, but could have used more curry flavour and heat. Vegetarians get their own Middle Eastern-themed bun, made with falafel, pickled turnip and garlic aioli. On the whole, bigger jolts of flavour and savouriness would raise the Makita buns’ standings in the field.
Makita takes a Korean spin on fried chicken and waffles ($18), which, while not as unusual as it seemed on paper, had its ups and downs. The moist, flavourful chicken was a plus, but more questionable was the marriage of potent kimchee and waffles that seemed neither hot and fresh and which became soggy.
Hanger steak frites ($22) were better, with the relative finesses of meaningfully marinated meat and a ginger-green onion topping. Nori-dusted fries were interesting, but frankly, rice topped with furikake (seasoned seaweed sprinkles) would have been better.
Desserts were a strength at Makita — well-priced at $6, creative and satisfying — from the Vietnamese coffee cake with Moo Shu green tea ice cream to the Asian pear bread pudding with green tea whipped cream to an Asian pear turnover with sake-infused chocolate sauce.
The restaurant is admirably local in its choice of craft beers, Top Shelf gin and vodka, and produce.
Overall, I give this almost fourmonth-old restaurant credit for its vibe, reasonable prices and its enthusiastic exploration of foreign cuisines. But it will take more precise practice and execution, and even boldness — kind of like those kung fu masters on TV — to make consistently delicious and impressive food.