1. Saku’s Saku roll
Queen West bargain fiends have been going bonkers for this sushi counter since it opened last fall with a menu of sashimi, rolls and Japanese tapas. Massive maki might have fallen out of vogue in Toronto, but I challenge you to creep their Instagram (@sakutoronto) without your mouth watering. The house signature pairs scallops and tuna with coriander and jalapeño for a fresh yet novel touch.
SAKU 478 Queen West, at Denison, 416-368-7258, sakutoronto.com.
2. COO Café Bread or Rice’s tempura dog
Just as the name suggests, this Bloor West café lets you pick between rice-based entrees (straight-up Japanese combos like yakitori don or miso cod) or sandwiches (a global mix, including schnitzel and Mediterranean cod). Their Japanese snack-style tempura dog – shrimp and veggie tempura pieces piled on a hot dog bun with shishito peppers and tartar sauce – offers the best of both worlds. This oughta tide us over until Japadog finally decides to open here.
COO CAFE BREAD OR RICE 1049 Bloor West, at Havelock, 647-351-5166, coocafeborr.com
3. Kyouka’s signature ramen
Chicken broth with a touch of kelp and clam is the standard at this Beaches-by-way-of-Tokyo ramen spot, but the broth in their eponymous ramen bowl is long-simmered with extra pork bones for a velvety, rich consistency. After that, they pile on the toppings: egg, fish cake, mushrooms, chili, green onions, sprouts and a slab each of chashu pork and chicken.
KYOUKA 2222 Queen East, at Beech, 647-748-6288, kyouka.ca
4. Boku’s aburi sushi
Opened last year (originally as an offshoot of Touhenboku Ramen), Boku has the distinction of being the Distillery’s very first sushi spot. It’s not the first in town to do aburi sushi (that would likely be JaBistro) or the fanciest (the Financial District’s up-up-upmarket Miku), but Boku makes the trendy preparation, which involves searing box-pressed sushi or nigiri with a blowtorch, accessible through a healthy variety of species and samplers.
BOKU SUSHI 42 Gristmill, at Trinity, 416-368-8686, bokusushi.ca
5. Nohohon’s Tokyo Fog
This delicate little Japanese tea room/café took over half of Aji Sai on Queen West, offering classed-up takes on Japanese boba and mid-afternoon munchies like cookies and onigiri. Its signature beverage is a Tokyo twist on the ol’ Starbucks classic: a matcha latte spiked with vanilla, poured over a base of tapioca or sweet red beans.
NOHOHON 467 Queen West, at Cameron, 416-603-2366, nohohontea.com
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nataliam@nowtoronto.com | @nataliamanzocco
