Kanji - Sushi Restaurant & Sake Bar
1346 Queen St. W.
Toronto ON M6K 1L4.
Telephone:416-536-8448
Extravagant Dinner for 2 - $60
Rating: 4 out of 5
Since I don't really enjoy working - as a general rule, I tend to do things that will help me save money while still living the lavish (by lavish I mean living in my 1 bedroom flat in Toronto that I don't have to share with anyone while still going out to eat and traveling on credit) lifestyle that I'm accustomed to. To put it simply, if I lived in the US, I would totally be one of those people on extreme couponing! That shit is wicked!! Unfortunately due to our coupon rules here in Canada, we can't really do that here. So I've had to rely on the awesome daily deal websites to help me save money while doing super rad things and eating great food! So a few months back, I had purchased a voucher for Kanji since the menu on their
website looked ridiculously delicious!
My friend and I walked up to the door to Kanji which from the outside is pretty unassuming. We walked in and down a hallway which looked like it went far down and around a corner. Later, after we ordered we decided to go for a walk to see what was down the hallway only to see that the hallway didn't exist and there was a mirror on the wall. I felt tricked! But it was kind of awesome as it made the place look really huge and spacious.
The service was awesome! Even though our server was slammed with a large party in addition to his other tables he was on the ball and really friendly and helpful when we asked for suggestions. Sometimes I go to restaurants in the city and I feel like I'm being a burden on our server. Pardon me for going out to eat and making you work! But not here! Our server was a cute Asian guy who I might have even considered taking home if I was into Asian guys! But.. I'm not. So out of the kindness of my heart I let him finish the rest of his shift instead.
I'm one of those people who asks for recommendations from servers. Why? Because they work there, and if they haven't tried the dish itself, they at least know what's popular. So, Cute Asian Server's number one suggestion was a dish called Treasure Island. It consisted of assorted fish on avocado, topped with fried leeks, caviar, and miso mustard sauce. I think the fish was tuna, salmon, and maybe butterfish. The avocado was half an avocado with the seed taken out and sliced while still sitting together as though it were one half an avocado. The fried leeks were so unusual and added a great texture, and the sauce.... wtf?! Seriously, this was probably one of the best dishes I've eaten in a while (at least since the Spiced Ash Hamachi with Bruleed Lime & Coconut Dust from
Cocktail Parlor.)! I couldn't get enough of it! If I didn't think I would've embarrassed my guest I would have licked my plate clean! I even dipped some of the other roles in the sauce because it was just that freaking delicious!
The other roll that was excellent was the sweet potato roll. I wanted to just shove the entire thing in my mouth it was so delicious! I'm pretty certain Kanji puts crack in their food! I honestly felt like I was super high when I was eating.
The other item we ordered that was delicious was the Seaweed Salad which I believe they make fresh in house. My friend doesn't like Seaweed Salad but decided to try a bite of it anyway. She certainly ate more than half of it that's for sure. Bitch. It was awesome. And fresh. And awesome!
I'm a big fan of mango, so we also ordered the Golden Dragon roll which is shrimp tempura topped
with spicy tuna, mango, avocado, black caviar, eel sauce, and mango sauce. It was good. Nothing mind blowing or out of this world, but good. Also, we got the Crunchy Mango Shrimp roll. Skip it.
For dessert we decided to share the Yuzu Citrus infused Crème Brûlée. I loved the taste. There were a few little pieces of rind that I loved chewing on, although my friend didn't like that part at all. The problem was that it wasn't set properly, which ruined it a bit for me.
All the dishes were presented beautifully with so much incredible detail. My friend that I was with doesn't own a cell phone. I know!! Weird and a bitch. I didn't want to be all camera phone annoying in front of someone who just wouldn't get it, so I avoided taking photos of the food, but darned I really wanted to!!!
I would absolutely go back to this place again! I'm still dreaming of the Treasure Island dish when I close my eyes. If you are craving good sushi, let this be your next stop!
