Monday, May 27, 2013

Japonais Bistro


We open the doors. The familiar smells of a Japanese restaurant catch our hungry noses. Instantly my mouth begins watering for the beef teriyaki sizzling on the grill, the octopus being prepared into sushi at the bar or whatever's in the steaming bowls passing by me as we sit. Needless-to-say, I'm excited.

I'm not huge on décor in restaurants because I could honestly not care what the place looks like if the food is fantastic. But this place doesn't fall in the dive category at all, after all it is a brand new restaurant. The owner's keep it simple and clean with the symmetrical layout, clean walls and modern colours and textures - wood panelling, light vs darks and exposed brick. Very slick.



Since it was cold as fuck in Edmonton that day, I decided to start my meal by warming up a bit with a steaming bowl of miso soup. I'm a huge fan of this cloudy soup filled with tofu and seaweed; there is absolutely no better way to start off a meal when you're having Japanese. 



My friend and I decide to order the Beef Tataki and Spicy Mango Prawns to start, then get into a platter of sushi.

The Beef Tataki arrives while I'm slurping down my soup and looks like a delicious piece of art. Thinly sliced, only seared, cuts of beef are arranged in a circle sitting in a pool of ponzu sauce topped with red & green onions and some daikon. Daikon is simply a radish for all of you who didn't know! Between the texture of the rare steak and pickled flavouring from the ponzu, the flavours are distinct and powerful - oh and very, very good.



Next arrives the Spicy Mango Prawns. This appetizer boasts large prawns and slices of mangos covered in a  creamy chili sauce garnished with roe and some greens. Again a very aesthetically pleasing dish. The sauce is absolutely delicious. I love mayonnaise - always have and always will. To me a spicy mayo-type sauce drenching one of my favourite shellfish and one of my favourite fruits - well...nothing can go wrong! And it didn't. It was a wonderful relationship/pairing. Definitely try this dish out.



We finish off with some sashimi and sushi. All I can really say about this sushi is that it is probably the freshest tasting I've ha in Edmonton and was really impressed. Since the menu is primarily comprised of rolls, sushi and sashimi try to plan your meal around that.




So if you're feeling hungry for Japanese fair and don't feel like having a chef throw knives and salt shakers at your face when they miss a beat (sorry Japanese Village, I do love you actually) go to Japonaise Bistro. They just opened so show them some good old Canadian love and go stuff your face.


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http://www.japonaisbistro.ca/
Japonais Bistro on Urbanspoon

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