RL mentioned to me about this restaurant quite a while ago. On a Wednesday, after running some errands downtown, I met up with D and RL, and then we went for some shopping downtown. We walked around the Eaton Center and the surrounding areas. Then we went to Queen Street to continue our jacket hunting. What we had in mind was a jacket that was once on sale during Christmas @ Roots. One night we saw some guys wearing this pretty nice jacket and I couldn’t help stopping one person and asked where he got that. He said “Roots in Montreal”. Then, we checked out all the Roots but still no luck – no size or not the desired color. The price was around $400-500, but it was very cool looking and good quality.
That night, in the last store on Queen Street at 7:00pm, we found this jacket. It was actually not a Roots product. It’s a CANADIAN (yeah!) brand called “Canada Goose” (wiki). Apparently this brand has been around for almost 5 decades. (I wonder why I’ve never noticed it until last month.)
It started snowing so we quickly walked to St. Patrick Street and went in this restaurant. I remember walking by this restaurant quite a few times when I was working downtown. From outside, it has this very traditional look. It’s great that finally I was there. (Another Yeah!)
It is a Japanese-run restaurant. I like authentic Japanese food. The menu was bilingual – Japanese and English. When we arrived, we were greeted by some Japanese servers. Near the entrance, there were some newspaper and magazines. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand a word except the I know it was related to the Canadian Opera Company.
(Again, I didn’t bring my camera, so I used my cell phone instead.)
To start, D ordered a hiyayakko, and RL recommended the beef tongue. Although the weather was a bit cold, the hiyayakko made a good appetizer. The beef tongue is something that I don’t usually get to eat. With some lemon juice, the beef tongue tasted very good! I like how chewy it was, but not sure if everyone would like that texture. RL described that as “kissing with the cow” (no comment).
Besides the appetizers and the salad & soup that came with my Don, we ordered three entrees:
1. Tempura soba
2. Katsu Don (Pork Cutlet)
3. Ramen
All of them were very tasty and filling. I tried my best but still couldn’t finish the Katsu Don. The Ramen was very good (according to D). I tried a bit of the Tempura soba, it was ok – maybe I’m just not very fond of Tempura. Next time if you are there by any chance, also check out their yakimono – I remember they had a selection of grilled and pan-fried dishes. Also, I remember seeing omakase on their menu for about $40-50 per person as well. It was a good experience overall. The final bill was a bit less than $60. Gotta thank D for that, I’ll treat you next time 🙂
FYI: EMATEI
30 St. Patrick St., Toronto, ON. M5T 3A3
Tel: 416-340-0472
Lunch: Mon-Fri: 11:45 – 2:30; Dinner: Mon-Sat 5:30-10:30, Sun 5:30 – 10:00
Hey Marz,
Yeah, CanadaGoose makes the best parkas, definitely a good investment as they will last a lifetime.
Never get a chance to go try this place.
always wanted to. oh well, i guess i will go next time when i go shopping on queen or go there before clubbing.
$40-50 for Omakase sounds fair, but 3 main & 2 side dish already comes to near $60…hmm…
Ya, it’s not that cheap. I can’t remember exactly how much since I didn’t pay for the meal, but maybe I also thought it would be even more expensive… Should give it a try next time when you get a chance.