This post is long overdue but better late than never. I spent the Canada Day long weekend with some friends in Montreal, QC. Some of the landscapes in the city were really breathtaking but my main focus was on the food. I spent my last night in Montreal eating at Vargas. The restaurant was only an 8 minute walk from The Marriott Chateau Champlain (where I was staying), so it was pretty close by. I was not in the mood for a very long walk anyway :P 

Vargas is a steakhouse and sushi restaurant located in downtown Old Montreal. I was a little skeptical of the idea at first since the two were a rather odd but interesting combination. Stepping foot into the restaurant; I found the interior very spacious and well decorated with modern pieces. There was also an outdoor patio, where most of the customers that night were seated. The four of us opted for indoor seating instead.

Our waiter for the night came over to hand us the menus and brought us glasses of water. We were given a few minutes to decide on our meal for the night. I thought that our waiter was friendly, witty and helpful as he did check up on us throughout the night without being overly imposing. He evened suggested my boyfriend and I to get a dish called The Lost Paradise ($16.00). The dish is described on the Vargas' menu as a creation of "red tuna, spicy crab, avocado, tobiko, smoked salmon topped onto four pieces of salmon tempura leaf". The Lost Paradise was delicately prepared by the chef, and the ingredients that were used taste extremely fresh. The red tuna and smoked salmon were really soft in textures which contrast well with the crunchy tempura leaf. One word = delicious!!

For my main course, I ordered the 18 oz rib steak ($36.00) and had it cooked medium. The food took a few minutes to arrive, and I was pretty much starving. When it arrived, it came out piping hot, and it was huge in size. I thought that the steak was juicy, tender, but a little salty. I chose fries as my side order (as usual). Their fries were cut rather large, but it had a very crispy crunch to it, and it was soft on the inside. I actually liked their fries a lot due to its crisp.

My boyfriend ordered the Caribbean rock lobster tail ($45.00), which was an 14 oz tail with garlic butter. The lobster was pretty large, and the meat tasted so delicious with the butter. My two other friends ordered the chicken teriyaki ($17.00), and braised lamb shanks ($27.00) respectively, and the both of them appeared to have enjoyed their meals. Overall,  I had a nice dinner, and it was a great way to end my trip in Montreal.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food:4/5

Service: 4/5

Dining Experience: 4/5

Price: $$$$ || Online Menu

Address: 690 René Levesque W, Montreal, Quebec, H3B 1X8

Toji Sushi is a small family-run Japanese restaurant located in the west end of Toronto. The restaurant was clean, and decorated with lanterns, and wooden-panels seating. Toji Sushi has several lunch bento specials which are served from 11:00 am until 3 pm. I opted for the #34 BBQ Galbi bento box ($9.95). 

The bento box (#34) that I ordered came with three pieces of California rolls, steamed rice, four pieces of agedashi tofu, four pieces of galbi, and green salad.

Overall, I enjoyed my bento box. For those who are not familiar with galbi (Korean cuisine); it is marinated beef ribs with special sauce. The pieces of galbi were well-marinated and very sweet. I also liked the tangy salad dressing. The pieces of agedashi tofu ($4.50 for a full dish) were also delicious as they were soft, and the sauce was really good. Additionally, I normally don't like California rolls but the ones here were actually made well.

The toro (tuna belly) ($6.50) was neatly presented on its plate. The two pieces of sashimi were both fresh, smooth, and not overly thick slices, which made it enjoyable to eat. 

The sushi chef was friendly, and had a good sense of discipline. My overall impression of Toji Sushi was that the food was really good, and the service was friendly and relatively quick.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 4.4/5

Service: 4.4/5

Dining Experience: 4.4/5

Price: $ (lunch)

Address: 5088 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, ON M9A 1B9

Sushi Kai is known for their business model of offering cheap discounts using voucher deal sites in the GTA. They have sold thousands of vouchers as I have seen their deals posted every single month on various sites. I bought myself a voucher from Dealfind ($17 for $45 worth of food) back in late 2011 and completely forgot to use it as I am rarely in the area of Eglinton. I realized that my voucher was expiring in a couple of weeks so I decided to venture out to Sushi Kai for dinner with my boyfriend.

I arrived at the establishment with him at 8:00 pm (we made a reservation a couple of days ahead as  stated on the voucher). Both of us were ignored by the waitress who walk by; even though we made eye contact with one another. After 15 minutes of waiting, she finally came up to us and asked us to wait for another 5 minutes as she needed to clear the table. It was a little frustrating as there were 4-5 other (unoccupied) tables.

The green salad and miso soup came with the combo that I ordered. The salad dressing was pretty decent, but the miso soup was a little salty. 

I ordered combo #6 ($14.99) which gave me a choice of two types of teriyaki meats, so I chose chicken and beef.  It also came with steamed rice, shrimp tempura, salmon roll (3 pcs), cucumber roll (3pcs), and 2 pieces of melons.

The chicken and beef teriyaki were decently edible. However, I found the sushi and tempura to be mediocre. There was just way too much batter on the tempura pieces. Additionally, I thought that the fish used for the rolls were a little warm but it had an okay fish-to-rice ratio.

Our waitress forgot to bring out my (salmon) sushi pizza ($8.99), and it was left sitting in the back of the kitchen. It was finally brought to the table when I was almost done my meal. No surprise here but the fried patty was really cold, and the salmon was mushy. I didn't bother asking for a new one though, cause I had to go, and the entire dinner was pretty cost effective.

Below is the sushi bento box ($9.00).

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 2.7/5

Service: 2.7/5

Overall Dining Experience: 2.7/5

Price: $$

Address: 168 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto, ON, M4P2K5

Sushi Inn is apparently a staple within the neighborhood of Yorkville. My friends and I were in the area doing a photo shoot one Saturday afternoon, and we became hungry, and decided to try this place out for lunch as it was conveniently across the street from us. The place was pretty busy when we arrived at around 3:30 pm, so we had to wait about 10 minutes for a table to open up. 

We were seated at two tables put together, and I found the space to be a little cramped, but it was bearable.

The service was kind of lacking due to the large numbers of customers, and there were only 3-4 waitresses on the floor working. I am not too sure if they were understaffed that Saturday afternoon, but the service was slow. My friends and I finally got a hold of one of the waitresses, and we ordered our food.

I ordered the Sushi Inn salmon pizza (sushi pizza) ($8.25) which is pictured above. I really liked the deep fried patty; it was super crispy. Although the sprinkling of the roe atop of the sushi pizza was a little bit of an overkill. Needlessness to say; it was still a great tasting sushi pizza.

The edamame ($4.25) tasted like the ones found at any other sushi places, so nothing special. For those who are not familiar with this appetizer; it's pretty much boiled soy beans with salt.

The salmon and cucumber rolls came with one of my friend's combo; I forgot which one though. 

The restaurant was very busy; so the sushi that we got were fresh. It did not taste like it was left out in the open for hours on end, which is always a good thing.

My friend, Steve, ordered Combo J (from the lunch menu) ($9.25); which is pictured on the right. This combo included spicy tuna roll (6 pieces), salmon sashimi (2 pieces) and tuna sashimi (2 pieces).

If you have a big appetite, then I would not recommend this specific combo. My friend complained that he was still super hungry after finishing his meal. 

I didn't try this sushi, but the picture to the left is of the kani (surumi crab) ($5.75).

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The lunch specials serve up good quality food at reasonable prices. I ordered the chicken teriyaki meal ($8.25), and it came with steamed rice, soup, and salad. I thought that the portions were pretty decent for the price, and I was full by the end of the meal.

The lunch specials ranged from $8.00 to $12.00, and they are available 7 days a week from 11:00 am - 3:30 pm.

The day started out with John, Martin and I going to The Harborfront to take engagement photos for our friends, Suzy and Jason (who have been together for nearly 7 years). The photo session took about 2 hours, and so by the end of the shoot ... all five of us were famished. So we decided to go for lunch at the nearest sushi shop which was Ichiban Sushi located on Queens Quay West. 

Ichiban Sushi is a sushi franchise within Canada, and there are several locations in the GTA areas. My first impression upon walking into the restaurant was that the place was relatively spacious, and well decorated. We were seated in a decently lit private booth (with curtains); there was a good amount of spaces between us five. Once seated; we got the menu and green tea/water. I thought that the service was prompt, and our waitress was friendly. 

In my opinion, the prices were a little on the higher end of the spectrum when compared to the mediocre quality of the food. 

As we waited for our food; we received complimentary soup (tiny bowl of noodles and chicken soup base), which is the very first picture posted at the top.

I can't comment on the taste of the seafood udon ($10.95) (as I didn't order it), but from the looks of it; the portion was large enough for one person.

The sushi pizza ($9.95) looked appealing, but it tasted alright. The fried patty was way too thin, and crunchy compared to the extreme mushy textures of the salmon. I didn't really like it.

The beef teriyaki dinner ($15.95) consisted of miso soup, salad, white rice, beef teriyaki and some veggies on the side. I actually liked the miso soup, as it was not too salty, and there was actually pieces of seaweed underneath. The beef teriyaki was a little on the dry side, and I had to constantly rub each piece of beef across my plate so that the extra sweet teriyaki sauce that was on my plate would coat the pieces. Overall, the beef was thinly sliced and tender enough for my liking.

Sushi Club is a small restaurant specializing in Japanese cuisine. The restaurant underwent renovations a couple of months back and the interior is now a little more contemporary looking. 

My dining experience at this restaurant was for the lack of a better word … lackluster. The service was exceptionally slow, the waitress was inattentive, and the food took a long time to arrive to our table (despite the place not being full in capacity).

However, despite the sub-par service; I thought that the food at Sushi Club was great. Although, I have not returned to dine in; I have ordered for delivery on several occasions. The food usually arrived within the estimated 45 minutes time.

The beef teriyaki box ($12.95) was served with miso soup, salad and steamed white rice. The beef was tender and delicious, and there was an abundant amount of beef in the foil container.

The chicken teriyaki box ($9.95) was served with miso soup, salad and steamed white rice. The chicken was thinly sliced and had a lot of flavor to it.

Additionally, the servings of the dinner boxes are incredibly generous.  

We also order the sushi & sashimi tokyo (27 pcs) ($20.95). This combo consists of miso soup, salad, 13 pcs of assorted sashimi (tuna, tai, clam, salmon), 6 pcs of assorted sushi and 8 pcs of spicy salmon roll.

This combo was extremely well priced for the amounts of food that you get. Besides the good price, the presentation of the sushi and sashimi was pleasantly appealing. The most important thing was that the fish used was extremely fresh which you can tell by its smooth textures.

To the left is another photo of the 13 pcs of assorted sashimi (tuna, tai, clam, salmon) and 8 pcs of spicy salmon roll from the sushi & sashimi tokyo combo.  

Additionally, Sushi Club offers a good selection of sashimi, and it is also excellently prepared.

The 6 pieces of assorted sushi from the sushi & sashimi tokyo combo (pictured to the right).  

The gold box ($12.95) comes with soup, salad, rice, 2 pieces of tempura shrimps, vegetable tempura, 2 veggie spring rolls, 6 pieces of California rolls, and your choice of 1 meat (either chicken, salmon, beef, or pork cutlet).

This specific box is a great value for your dollar, and you will be satisfied by the end of the meal.

Pictured to the right are the tempura shrimps, veggies tempura, and the vegetable spring rolls that came in the gold box combo (described above).

The tempura and vegetable spring rolls are nothing special; they are just like any other ones that you'd get at other sushi joints. 

For delivery orders over $40.00 (before tax); they will include a free order of a spicy salmon tempura roll (pictured to the left). Free is always nice ;)

The salmon pizza ($6.95) with mayo & tobiko came in six pieces, and it was scrumptious. The fried patty was crispy and the salmon was super fresh. I devoured the entire sushi pizza quickly.

RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 4/5

Service: 2.5/5

Overall Dining Experience: 3/5

Price: $$ || Online Menu

Address: 41 Charles Street West, Toronto, ON, M4Y 2R4