Alma has the secret to the perfect fish
It is the perfect fish.
The whole sea bass ($38) weighs at least 1 1⁄ pounds and feeds two. De2 boned, steamed and splashed with hot sesame oil and homemade soy sauce, the fish bristles with fresh cilantro, slivered ginger and scallions. Steamed Chinese greens sit on the side.
The Hakka-style fish — beautifully timed, impeccably fresh and easy to share — represents all that is excellent at Alma, an intriguing but uneven restaurant in Bloordale.
Anna Chen, 33, opened Alma last July as a distillation of her life and cooking experiences. Raised in Kolkata’s Chinatown and schooled by nuns in Darjeeling, she worked in Toronto’s Actinolite, Figo and Buca kitchens. Her ever- changing menu includes Hakka Chinese, Indian, Thai and Italian dishes.
There’s a kind of Nordic spareness to the room, fitting because it used to be Scandinavian brunch spot Karelia Kitchen. Alma, Chen says, means “kind and nourishing” in Latin.
With hard seating and nothing on the walls to baffle sound, the room can be uncomfortable early in the evening. But at 8 p.m., the lights and music are turned down to create a cosy vibe. Conscientious service adds further comfort.
Chen admits her 8-month-old restaurant is a work in progress, starting with a wine list incompatible with Alma’s many Asian flavours; Chen plans to add more biodynamic wines and female winemakers, too. On the plus side, Alma is the rare neighbourhood restaurant offering three types of sparkling wine by the glass. (“I do love bubblies, yes,” Chen admits.) And if not the Perfect Manhattan, as the cocktail menu claims, the bartender mixes one that is pretty darn close ($15).
Alma comes out of the gate strong with its flatbreads ($2.50 each). Each round is marvellously puffed and crisp at the same time. The trick, it seems, is adding sourdough starter to the whole wheat flour mix. These turbocharged naans are meant to partner silky eggplant purée ($5) shot through with fenugreek for all kinds of deliciousness. Another breadfriendly starter is the trio of homemade salami ($10): creamy coppa, yeast-cured prosciuttini and spicy ‘nduja, all upstaged by the pickled ramps on the plate.
Pomelo, that giant grapefruit progenitor, is married to Thai flavours in a salad ($14) that balances the salty tang of fish sauce with the heat of red chilies, the bite of lime juice and the perfume of lime leaves. The wooden bowl is soon empty. It is a far better dish than the rubbery, Thai-marinated duck hearts ($8).
Not for nothing was Chen the pasta chef at Buca Yorkville when it opened five years ago. Her gingery lobster spaghettini ($29) is outstanding, with a hint of lemongrass that is as pleasant as finding the pockets of your new coat lined with velvet.
Bavette ($28) is another East- West success thanks to the fine floral yeastiness of brewed rice in the sauce.
But bland buckwheat cavatelli is no longer on the menu due to negative diner feedback.
An unremarkable chocolate tart, the only dessert for a few weeks running, was also struck.
Chen promises to bring on more Indian idioms, starting with a dessert introduced too late for this review: ricotta ice cream garnished with jalebi soaked in chamomile-lime syrup. I might go back to taste it regardless.
Chen further mines her roots with rice noodles and pork wontons ($22). It is straight-up Hakka comfort food, the noodles glossed modestly with pork lard, soy sauce and black pepper. This plain-but-tasty dish, which Chen ate every Sunday growing up, is nothing like the spicy deep-fried Hakka dishes popular in GTA restaurants.
“I’ve had people ask me when I’m going to start serving real Hakka food,” she says.
They should forget Manchurian chicken and try Alma’s fish.
Diners hungry for Hakka cuisine should forget Manchurian chicken and try Alma’s fish