En Hakkore :: Celebrations with Wendy

Sashimi Bop

Kameya :: Dinner Round #1

Orange Moon Roll ($13.50)

unagi, crunch, avocado, cucumber, top salmon, green tobiko, wasabi mayo, unagi sauce

Kameya Roll

White Ocean Roll ($13.50)

shrimp tempura, cucumber, avocado, with s.w. tuna on top of wasabi mayo, unagi sauce

Kameya

806 W Webster Ave

Chicago, IL 60614

773.935.3474

website

Kai Sushi :: Post Studying Dinner with Brian

Daily Special - Avocado Shrimp Soba Salad

Sushi Deluxe Platter ($24.95)

seventeen pieces. includes one piece of tuna, salmon, yellow tail, escolar, fluke, sea bass, albacore, shrimp and octopus with a spicy tuna roll. served with miso soup.

Ocean Roll ($12.95)

shrimp tempura and avocado topped with tuna, tempura crunch, masago and sweet soy sauce

Kai Sushi

1255 S State St

Chicago, IL 60605

312.583.0567

website

Mi-Ne :: After Lab Dinner with the Parents

Complimentary Salad & Miso Soup with Mi-Ne Special Dinner

Tako & Salt Spring Mussel Udon ($18)

CD-8 Mi-Ne Special Dinner ($28.95)

4 pcs of shrimp tempura, 7 pcs sushi & maki, 12 pcs sashimi and teriyaki with beef

Mi-Ne Special Dinner - Shrimp Tempura

Mi-Ne Special Dinner - Beef Teriyaki

Mi-Ne Special Dinner - Sushi & Maki

Torch Rainbow Dragon Roll ($18)

torched rainbow dragon roll with spicy sauce

Mi-Ne Sushi

8865 Woodbine Ave D5
Markham, ON L3R 5G1

website

Kim's Ichiban :: Late Night Dinner with Vince & Joey

Medium Sushi & Sashimi Platter - 40 pcs ($40)

Although the increments of sushi & sashimi platters are medium (40 pcs), large (80 pcs), and extra large (not sure), they are always more generous with their portions than verbally advertised. Meaning, that if it's a medium tray of 40 pcs, they will usually give you about 45-50 pcs. If not, they usually give complimentary hand rolls which is really nice of them. Although it's common practice for them to give out hand rolls or extra sushi, it's not always consistent - so order what you think you can eat opposed to anticipating that you will get complimentary food. Plus for an extra $20 from medium to large, you literally get double the amount.

The restaurant is mainly a take-out restaurant, but if you do dine in, you will get a complimentary bowl of miso soup and unlimited free tea (self-serve). The menu is simplistic, but you do have a view of the sushi bar prior to ordering so you can see what they have (and it's great for accessing the quality of uni they have that day).

The quality of the sushi is average and you won't get as much unique fish varieties (they mainly give out salmon). The restaurant seating is a little cramped, but the extremely jolly service makes up for it. Despite these two points, I still highly recommend individuals looking for a quick bite to check Kim's Ichiban out as it's a great value!

Kim's Ichiban has been my go-to restaurant to come with friends (ever since high school... and the prices haven't changed ever!) and to order trays to bring over to parties. 

PS: Kim's Ichiban is cash only.

Menu Image Courtesy of Zomato

Kim's Ichiban

550 Highway 7 E Unit 99 Building E 

Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3B1

905.881.2583

Le Modern Japanese Cuisine :: First Impressions

Lobster Miso Soup ($5)

Nothing particularly special about the Lobster Miso Soup aside from the fact that there's a lobster claw in it. It would have been nicer if the miso soup was boiled with lobsters such that every of sip of the soup broth is laced with lobster flavour opposed to having to literally bite into the lobster to get it. In addition to the standard miso soup, the lobster itself was slightly dry. I would skip this appetizer.

Tuna Carpaccio ($16)

This is just your standard tuna carpaccio - but I did enjoy it. I did like the sauce and how it was slightly on the sour side. However, for the price, I wouldn't order it again as it was quite pricy and wasn't outstanding enough for the price ($2.67 + tax = $3.02 / piece). Traditionally, I've seen tuna carpaccio ordered at other restaurants with more garnishes - such as scallions, daikon crisps, or chopped green onions - in addition to sesame seeds.

Beef Short Ribs ($14)

The beef short ribs were nice, and they were quite large ribs pieces. These had more flavour than majority of the dishes that was ordered. They were nice and buttery, but a little chewy. I would definitely recommend this over the tuna carpaccio for flavour and value.

Avocado Oshizushi ($10)

This is the first time I've ever seen avocado oshizushi and ordered it because I was quite intrigued by it. It was ok, but unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by it. The avocado flavour was overwhelmed by the mango/tangy sauce (which kind of tasted like salad dressing?) and there was too much bland, dry rice in each bite which superseded the avocado. Considering that the entree is called "Avocado Oshizushi", it should be expected that avocado would be the "key" ingredient opposed to the sauce. I love avocados, but I wouldn't order this dish again.

Salmon Oshizushi ($15)

This was the main reason I decided to try out Le Modern Japanese Restaurant. I was hoping for a Markham alternative to my favourite Japanese restaurant's, JaBistro, signature aburi salmon oshizushi. Although the salmon oshizushi was tasty, I still think JaBistro's aburi salmon oshizushi is better (especially for the price difference of $1). What separates Le Modern and JaBistro is that JaBistro tastes as though the entire oshizushi, including the moist rice, melts with flavour in your mouth.  Similar to the avocado oshizushi, I feel that there is a lack of attention paid to the rice component. The rice is a little dry. The salmon can be delicious (like it was here), but the level of  "umami" can be brought down by the dry rice component. Although it's never really the centre of attention, the rice component of oshizushi is just as important as the topping.

Carbonara ($12)

I was interested in trying the carbonara udon as my all time favourite dish at Han Ba Tang is their Creamy Rice Cake, which is essentially carbonara sauce and Korean rice cake. Like the rest of the dishes that were ordered, it was alright. I felt that the carbonara sauce was a little heavy for the udon noodles and the shrimps tasted although they had been boiled in water and simply added to the dish after the udon noodles and sauce was plated.

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Overall, I felt that the dishes at Le Modern Japanese Cuisine were on the bare basics/simple side (perhaps even slightly bland?). However, because they are a newer restaurant I see plenty of room for improvement (so new that I couldn't even geotag my photo on Instagram!). The restaurant's ambience was quite relaxing and the wait staff was courteous. A small detail, but I also noticed that in all dishes that I ordered, pieces came in multiples of six. I did like the restaurant, but for the price point, I rather dine at JaBistro, Kingyo, Guu, Han Ba Tang, or Ten-Ichi (an all you can eat restaurant with decent salmon oshizushi). If the level of flavour improves, I would definitely return as it's location is much more convenient. Perhaps a second visit in a couple of months may prove me wrong.

Le Modern Japanese Cuisine

8920 Woodbine Avenue, Markham, ON L3R 9W9

(905) 604-7800

website :: email

Le Cafe Michi :: First Visit

Salad

comes with curry katsu

Salad
comes with sushi combos

Green Tea
choice of coffee or green tea with combos

Soy Sauce
no soy sauce bottle was left on the table, but a single dish of soy sauce is brought to your table after ordering (only if you order sushi)

Miso Soup
comes with curry katsu

Cafe Au Lait Chirashi

Curry Katsu (Large)

Chirashi

Strawberry Shortcake

Bailey's Cake

Green Tea Sponge Cake

I have been trying to eat dinner at Le Cafe Michi for a while now and I finally was able to try it for dinner tonight! The first time, it was full and there was no available reservations. The second time, I called in but was unable to obtain a reservation either. However, third's time a charm! I called in and they said they had an available reservation! As such, from experience I highly recommend making a reservation a day before you intend to visit. 

Although I quite liked Le Cafe Michi, I would not return for dinner. In a nutshell, the menu is overpriced for the quality (though it is very good quality food) and there isn't much variation in selection. Portions are considerably small. The sushi was good, but for the price I would rather visit Inatei or Mi-Ne. Additionally, the curry katsu was also not worth double the standard price for the dish.

What I would recommend Le Cafe Michi for is the cakes. I would definitely return for the Green Tea Cake!!! The Green Tea Cake and the Strawberry Shortcake were my favourite! The Green Tea Cake was perfectly spongy and moist, the green tea creme was delicious, and the overall cake was amazing and not overly sweet. The Strawberry Shortcake was light, not overly sweet, and refreshing. I wasn't a huge fan of the Bailey's cake as I couldn't taste the Bailey's and found it too creamy and heavy (but that's my own personal preference). I definitely would love to return to try the Chocolate Sake Mousse.

Other things to note about Le Cafe Michi are that the parking is sparse and that service was on point with a typical Japanese run establishment. It's also difficult to find the restaurant if you haven't been there before as it is located in an obscure plaza and the signage isn't very apparent.

Le Cafe Michi

1802 Pharmacy Ave

Toronto, ON M1T 1K1

416.490.9688

JaBistro :: Post Merger/Work Dinner with Aunty Stella

Sashimi Platter with Lobster ($100 + $30)

lobster addition is optional

Aburi ($27 for 7 pc)

blowtorched sushi

Miso Soup

Uni Cream Pasta

JaBistro

222 Richmond Street W

Toronto, ON M5V 1W4

647.748.0222

website

Mi-Ne :: Quick Dinner with Dad

Spicy California Roll

Chirashi

Dessert - Orange

Mi-Ne Sushi

8865 Woodbine Ave D5
Markham, ON L3R 5G1

website

Mi-Ne Sushi :: Thursday Night Dinner with Dad

Zen Combo CD-8: Mi-Ne Special Dinner (Choice of Chicken, Salmon, or Beef) ($31)

with 2 pieces lobster, 2 pieces shrimp tempura, 7 pieces sushi & maki, and 10 pieces sashimi & teriyaki

Mi-Ne menu indicates that the Zen Combination Dinner are personal dinner combinations. However, the portions that Mi-Ne gives are extremely generous and both my father and I were able to share this combination dinner with a bit of teriyaki left to bring home. The food was delicious and made from fresh and quality ingredients. 

Shrimp & Lobster Tempura

Between the shrimp and lobster tempura, both my dad and I preferred the shrimp tempura since the meat was sweeter. Both tempura types were delicious.

7 Pieces of Sushi & Maki + 10 Pieces Sashimi

Beef Teriyaki

Mi-Ne Sushi

8865 Woodbine Ave D5
Markham, ON L3R 5G1

website