A trip to Japan in the midst of Canadiana
Toshi Ryoriten (out of 4) VERY GOOD Address: 1380 Major Mackenzie Dr. E., Richmond Hill, 905-737-1125, toshiryoriten.com Chef: Shinji Mori Hours: Lunch, Tuesday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner, Tuesday to Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations: Yes Wheelchair access: Yes Price: Dinner for two with green tea, tax and tip: $175 With a slight bow, Shinji Mori hands over the sea urchin.
There are two types, a Boston variety at $6 and one from Hokkaido, Japan, priced at $15. Both are wrapped in stiff green nori collars. He watches as I try the first one, then the other. The Boston urchin tastes metallic, unlikely to win converts. The Japanese specimen is lovely: rich and creamy with a gentle taste of the sea.
Mori, a native of Kyushu, is very much at home wielding a sushi knife at Toshi Ryoriten, his three-monthold Richmond Hill restaurant where quality Japanese ingredients get their due — at least on the raw side. The vibe The braided ropes at Toshi’s entrance signal the start of a serene experience. Wood and translucent paper set a Japanese tone, as do the porcelain vegetable chopstick rests and warm towels for washing hands.
It’s more elegant than Mori’s last restaurant, Toshi Sushi in downtown Toronto. Behind the curving sushi counter hangs a rare white marble slab streaked with black-like swimming eels. Canoe frames bring the Canadiana. Smooth jazz plays.
Families come after work, the par- ents in suits and their kids in light-up sneakers. At lunch, it’s local workers ordering $27 bento boxes. Sushi goodness Nigiri sushi is the way to go, with a $65 set menu similar to Yasu, minus the trip downtown. It starts with fiddleheads and snow peas to mark the season. Mori blowtorches a nugget of foie gras just right, then sends forth a white-and-pink parade of seafood, mostly raw, all fresh. The wasabi is detectable but not overwhelming.
It’s not all the meticulous refinement Toshi Ryoriten aims for. While àla carte sushi options such as seared scallop, sweet egg or smoked tuna are fine, the more common rolls can be chewy due to soggy nori. Drinking food Toshi Ryoriten also serves cooked dishes, many of them good foils for sake and beer.
Sadly, the Asahi Black on the menu has been discontinued.
Frilly grilled ox tongue is chewy in all the right ways ($8.50). Japanese clients from Mori’s previous restaurants suggested the non-traditional combination of pork and spicy kimchi ($8.50). Kapow!
Sure, the breaded oysters are heavy ($8.50), but the consistent problem is the willy-nilly service. University students make up the part-time wait staff, general manager Emily Mori later explains.
“A ryoriten is a high-end restaurant. Our menu, the prices: service has to be really attentive,” she apologizes. Road less taken Keep your chicken teriyaki. (I mean it. It’s not that great here.) Go off the beaten path by ordering duck breast stuffed with spinach ($12) or stuffed shiitake tempura ($10.50) or tuna carpaccio ($10.50).
The set menu’s cold buckwheat noodles are one good way to end a meal at Toshi Ryoriten. Fried banana ($5.50) is another. I also recommend the “cream anmitsu” ($5.50): green tea ice cream, adzuki bean paste and fruit salad atop cubes of agar agar, the gelatin so nice they named it twice.
Skip the burnt crème caramel ($5).
Think of it as a quick trip to Japan. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki