Kaji
(plus sushi junkie shields)
(plus sushi junkie shields)
Kuzu cake stuffed w/tomato, plum sauce
(Loved this dish, very concentrated flavours, the plum doing very well paired with tomato.)
(Loved this dish, very concentrated flavours, the plum doing very well paired with tomato.)
Deep dried fish cake
& bamboo shoot dressed w/ bonito flake
(I was not the only non-Japanese Chef at the table to assume you could eat the bamboo sleeve.)
& bamboo shoot dressed w/ bonito flake
(I was not the only non-Japanese Chef at the table to assume you could eat the bamboo sleeve.)
Tuna fat, soya sauce, mountain potato, egg yolk
(Uh, yeah, my new favorite four ingredients)
(Uh, yeah, my new favorite four ingredients)
Sashimi
(Ocean Trout, Lobster, Octopus, Spanish Mackerel - OUTSTANDING)
(Ocean Trout, Lobster, Octopus, Spanish Mackerel - OUTSTANDING)
Conch clam & mango sunomono
(Not convinced Kaji himself handled this... please don't hate me...9 out of 10 still gets the job done...)
(Not convinced Kaji himself handled this... please don't hate me...9 out of 10 still gets the job done...)
Butter squash cake stuffed w/ chicken
(Loved the dashi flavour in the puree)
(Loved the dashi flavour in the puree)
Grilled Mutsu fish-Saikyo style-
(By now we had had enough sake to warm up to our serious but friendly server and told her what the garnish on this plate is called in English.)
Pressed Eel
(The rice. I am ruined forever now. I have tasted why it's taken so seriously. The texture. The temperature. The flavours. My heart. I can only imagine what this guy thinks of Philadelphia rolls.)
(By now we had had enough sake to warm up to our serious but friendly server and told her what the garnish on this plate is called in English.)
Pressed Eel(The rice. I am ruined forever now. I have tasted why it's taken so seriously. The texture. The temperature. The flavours. My heart. I can only imagine what this guy thinks of Philadelphia rolls.)
"Noodle"
(Crazy awesome dashi, ginger, bonito broth)
(Crazy awesome dashi, ginger, bonito broth)
Fluke Sushi
Ocean Trout, Salmon Caviar Sushi
(fyi, the caviar was as fresh as the fish.)
(fyi, the caviar was as fresh as the fish.)
Tuna Threesome
(Flesh, Belly, Fat)
Go to Kaji.
If I actually post a review, it's because the place has influenced a flood of original ideas I have not seen before, creating culinary waves like a tsu...
...like how Kaji very much impressed me this past week.
When you hear of a place where ridiculously talented chefs like Toronto's Scott Woods stagiaire under to learn, go. It's a safe bet their $120 10-course table d'hote menu will turn into a lot of excitement in your pants.
This is why I went to Kaji with a half dozen cooks.
Named after its owner, the locale for the restaurant is so cool it hasn't even been gentrified yet.
There is no a la carte menu, only the choice of two tasting menus updated daily to suit what Kaji brings in. Oh, his ingredients? All from Japan. His fish? Flown in from Tokyo Bay the same day he performs culinary surgery on them. Nothing is used tomorrow.
His soya? From scratch. It's a miracle in a room full of agnostics... or something else that describes mind blowing... It's slightly thicker than what you are using, has about half the salt content (STAY WITH ME), and carries an almost fruity taste. It seriously caused all six adult professional Chefs I was with to first slurp then pretty much make out with the sauce holders when we ran out of sashimi to dip it in.
Sake may have had some influence...
Beneith the photos are Kaji's precise name descriptions, anything in brackets is me. First link is for Kaji's place, and I have attached incredible apres high-end sushi meal music that you must blare in a car filled with drunken chefs.
http://www.sushikaji.com/top.html
-Jerek
(Flesh, Belly, Fat)
Go to Kaji.
If I actually post a review, it's because the place has influenced a flood of original ideas I have not seen before, creating culinary waves like a tsu...
...like how Kaji very much impressed me this past week.
When you hear of a place where ridiculously talented chefs like Toronto's Scott Woods stagiaire under to learn, go. It's a safe bet their $120 10-course table d'hote menu will turn into a lot of excitement in your pants.
This is why I went to Kaji with a half dozen cooks.
Named after its owner, the locale for the restaurant is so cool it hasn't even been gentrified yet.
There is no a la carte menu, only the choice of two tasting menus updated daily to suit what Kaji brings in. Oh, his ingredients? All from Japan. His fish? Flown in from Tokyo Bay the same day he performs culinary surgery on them. Nothing is used tomorrow.
His soya? From scratch. It's a miracle in a room full of agnostics... or something else that describes mind blowing... It's slightly thicker than what you are using, has about half the salt content (STAY WITH ME), and carries an almost fruity taste. It seriously caused all six adult professional Chefs I was with to first slurp then pretty much make out with the sauce holders when we ran out of sashimi to dip it in.
Sake may have had some influence...
Beneith the photos are Kaji's precise name descriptions, anything in brackets is me. First link is for Kaji's place, and I have attached incredible apres high-end sushi meal music that you must blare in a car filled with drunken chefs.
http://www.sushikaji.com/top.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzTLArp6L_c
-Jerek
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