Learning to love charcoal with Izakaya Ju

Izakaya Ju is a Japanese restaurant that is located in J-Town, the same plaza where Shiso Tree Cafe is located.  The interior resembles that of Guu, but with less of a crowd and quieter.  I generally prefer a quieter/less rowdy dining experience so this suited me just fine!

We actually had a bit of a rough start with this restaurant; however, we have definitely grown to love this izakaya and it is now part of our regular dining rotation.  Our first visit to this restaurant was a little disappointing- based on what we gathered from our subsequent visits, I would probably chalk this up to a combination of an off day and ordering the wrong items..

Tako yaki ($5)

Octopus balls

These are definitely a must-order for me whenever I visit an izakaya.  They were delicious and a reasonable price.  I realize that these are only little balls of dough and are really easy to make, but they just taste so darn good!

Japanese/Italian Fusion at Shiso Tree Cafe

This cute little restaurant is located in J-Town, which is a plaza that houses a Japanese grocery store and many other Japanese/fusion restaurants.  We've actually tried most of the restaurants in this plaza and I dare say we've enjoyed eating at all of them!  Particularly, Shiso Tree serves up a number of Japanese/Italian fusion pasta dishes, which sounds odd but actually tastes really good!  This is definitely one of our favourite uptown dinner spots (read: we come here often).

At our most recent visit, we brought some friends and ended up trying some new dishes!   Unnecessary snacking before dinner ruined our appetites so we decided to get something for the table to share, and split a pasta and salad between each couple.  (To be clear, each order of pasta does come with a small salad.)

Smoked Salmon Hors D'Oeuvres ($8)
Smoked salmon, Japanese mayo, ikura (salmon roe), caviar & dill on toasted garlic bread

Chicken Noodling: Touhenboku

Being back in Toronto is great. I love the city - there's great food, it's busy, tonnes of traffic during rush hour, and the food is delicious. Did I mention that food is good in Toronto?

I picked up my blogging buddy from downtown this one Friday evening and we decided to go out for ramen. While there were many options to choose from, we had little time to spare (for waiting in queue), so we opted to go to Touhenboku Ramen. The limited street parking was a mild inconvenience but we found ourselves a table as soon as we entered the restaurant.

In actuality, this was our second visit to Touhenboku since its grand opening. Their claim to fame is Chef Zuimei's special chicken-based ramen broth (as opposed to the typical pork- or miso-based broths).

Spicy (RED) Touhenboku Ramen ($10.50 CAD)

Tiffany loves a good kick to her food. It was only natural that she would pick the only spicy option on the menu. She opted for a spicy broth with sea salt, thick noodles, and chicken chashu. The ramen came topped with a soft-boiled egg, some wood ear mushrooms, green onions, and a sheet of seaweed. Tiffany said that it good but not particularly memorable...

Ramen Down-Under: Ippudo Sydney

Ramen was on the uptick in Toronto thanks to the booming successes of Kinton Ramen, Momofuku, Sansotei, amongst others. Still, prior to my departure from my hometown, Ippudo had yet to grace our mediocre metropolis with their fine Japanese ramen. Having missed Ippudo in my last visit to NYC, the discovery of its presence in Sydney was a welcome surprise. Located on the 5th floor of the Westfield Sydney, this upbeat ramen shop buzzes with activity. The line of hungry customers in front of the restaurant is a long-standing fixture.

Quick Eats: Menya Mappen

Menya Mappen is the epitome of Japanese assembly line fast food. All orders are serviced in a queue - hungry customers enter from one end, happy customers exit from the other. The food selection consists primarily of their noodles, rice bowls, in addition to an assortment of Japanese sides.

I passed by on one fine Thursday afternoon in search of lunch and happened upon Menya Mappen as I entered a building just off of George St near Liverpool St. Inside the building, there were plenty of other options (Pepper Lunch, Oiden, etc.), but Mappen happened to be in my direct line of sight. At the entrance of the restaurant, signs directed customers to an entry queue on the left.

A closer look at Menya Mappen's regular menu.

Night Shift: Umi Sushi

It was a late Thursday night and work had just wrapped up. My colleagues and I were ready to call it a night but the pangs of hunger beckoned for a tasty meal. I asked if there were any good Korean restaurants in the neighborhood and my colleague told me there was a place real close. A couple minutes later, we ended up in front of Umi Sushi + Udon, a Japanese restaurant.

Located in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Umi Sushi + Udon was one of many dining establishments along the strip. Like others in the area, this restaurant has an open storefront and patio seating. Inside the restaurant, one will find a sushi bar with a conveyor belt that runs along the perimeter.