March 21st, 2010 by Dawn Becker

By far one of my favourite informal Japanese restaurants downtown is Tokyo Kitchen located at 20 Charles Street East just east of Yonge Street. Strangely housed inside a municipal Green P parking lot just off Yonge Street, Tokyo Kitchen features an authentic selection of Japanese cuisine from home-style curry dishes to steamy soba noodles in soup to tasty donburi, rice bowls with a variety of cooked or raw fish toppings, as well as the standard nigiri, sashimi and maki sushi.

My favourite dish is their version of oyakodon, salmon sashimi and ikura (salmon roe) on a bed of perfectly seasoned sushi rice. Oyakodon translates into “parent and child” rice bowl and is usually made with a chicken and egg topping on plain rice. This chirashi-styled (raw fish on sushi rice) version at Tokyo Kitchen is a heavenly update. It is absolutely the sushi rice that sets Tokyo Kitchen leagues apart from any other moderately-priced Japanese restaurant in this city as it has such a bright flavour and texture with just the right amount of mirin, sweetened rice vinegar, added to it. Some might think $14.95 for the oyakodon at lunch is a bit steep but when you taste the heaping spoonful of fresh bulging salmon roe and at least eight generous slices of tender, melt-in-your-mouth salmon sashimi plus a healthy pinch of seasoned nori (roasted seaweed) slivers, I think you’ll agree that it’s worth the price. The oyakodon is also accompanied by a side of mixed green salad, not the iceberg lettuce with watery miso dressing variety.

If that price is too steep, Tokyo Kitchen offers daily specials that are seriously wallet-friendly. For $9.95 my friend Marc had the Bento Lunch Box consisting of shrimp and vegetable tempura, salmon teriyaki with rice, green salad and two pieces each of California roll and salmon sushi. Marc’s salmon was slightly overdone but I noticed he finished it all. The tempura batter was crisp with the variety of vegetables including a sliced daikon and a fat shiitake mushroom in the mix. I had the Sushi Lunch Combo for $8.95 which included four pieces each of the California roll and spicy salmon roll plus one piece each of unagi (barbecued eel), salmon, and shrimp sushi also with green salad.

I tried the ankake tofu which had a very homey feel to it. Ankake tofu is like having the more common agedashi tofu (silken tofu lightly coated with cornstarch and deep fried, served with tentsuyu tempura dipping sauce) stewed with shiitake and enoki mushrooms, carrots, and spinach in a thick bonito-based dashi glaze. It’s rather soupy and I’m not sure if it would appeal to all palates as the texture is extremely soft and silky with a distinct fish flavour from the bonito, which I think is fabulous.

Sadly Tokyo Kitchen no longer offers ramen but their assortment of noodles in soup and the cold zaru soba dish are still available. Other standards include the eight piece Spicy Salmon maki and Dynamite maki (salmon, shrimp tempura and avocado roll) for $5.95. If you’re ordering a la carte, two must-haves are the scallop ($3.95 for two pieces of nigiri sushi) and hamachi or yellow tail sushi ($5.95 for two pieces of nigiri sushi). The scallops are delightfully sweet and the hamachi is so tender you will never forget it.

I love the fact that there are as many patrons that are Japanese-speaking as not. And yes, the chef is Japanese and a woman at that. Despite what I’ve seen in various discussions, I am of the camp that feels strongly that there is a noticeable difference if the restaurant has a Japanese, Chinese or Korean chef. Not only does it come down to presentation – Japanese chefs seem to present dishes with a slightly heightened artistic flair – but to me, the rolls are more delicate and appropriately sized, not gargantuan, messy, choke-worthy pieces. Each plate at Tokyo Kitchen is beautifully choreographed and you can taste the care and deliberateness in each bite.

As an endnote, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Tokyo Kitchen has exterior bathrooms. The trek in winter can be a cold one as you have to don your coat and wander into the parkade to relieve yourself. Bewildering to say the least but not enough to stop me from repeat visits to Tokyo Kitchen.

Hours:

Monday to Friday – 11:30 am to 2:30 pm (prompt) and 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Saturday – 5:30 to 9:30 pm

Sunday – closed