Japanese Food in
Being able to claim some Japanese ancestry on my mother’s side… and mistaken for being one when I walked into Yakitori House… if you remember that restaurant many years ago on Rideau…, I can claim some knowledge of Japanese food and eating….
There is more to Japanese food than sushi! (And ‘presentation’, which is the oft quoted anecdote when the food sucks…). Much much more… the invention of sushi as you might know was that the vinegar-ed rice was put onto the raw fish to keep it fresh… as in pickling… and the rice was usually thrown away originally, before eating the fish… The national dish of
The problem with many of the Japanese restaurants in
All of the places since those halcyon days have been fast food Jap places…. (as in ‘sushi plus’…), except many years ago there was a place in the market… (Taste of 
to the new one…so cannot comment…).This old place in the market (where empire grill is now...) was indeed very up market, very fancy, very stylish, run by a japanese gentlemen.... went there with my ex in a suit and dress… (me in suit and she in dress); and got food poisoned from the grilled fish (shioyaki)….which tasted excellent by the way… but through a process of elimination we figured it was that. Story there was they went back to
Besides sukiyaki, there is yakitori (skewers), domburi (rice bowls with meat on top), ramen (noodles with meat on top), tempura (deep fried foods called agemono as a group)… nabemono (one pot cooking) of which sukiyaki is the fried version and yosenabe and shabu shabu are the boiled versions, similar to the Chinese fondues….
And then there are different kinds of sushi and sashimi as well…. As in maki sushi, nigiri sushi…. Hand rolls... foot rolls… blah, blah, blah… that’s when we start to talk presentation….
With that in context… here are my comments on Genji… a very popular, but in my opinion a so-so Japanese restaurant in
The only Jap restaurant I would recommend in 
Japanese…. All the japs go there… The fish is fresh… But there are others… which have since closed because they can’t compete with the chinks…
Genji… on
My test for sushi is to order Toro (tuna belly), then Uni (sea urchin roe), but when they don't have fresh Tai (snapper).... I start to wonder...
The night I was there they only had Maguro (tuna and a very poor quality one at that), Himachi (yellow tail) and Saki (Salmon).... By the way, Salmon is a recent western phenom for sushi as in teppanyaki.... The japs don’t eat it, why should we…? Salmon also has
the highest bacteria content of all raw fish consumed in the world…(that nice pic with the orange-y colours is salmon).
The sushi chef and cooks are chinese.... sorry I wouldn't try fugu (blowfish) here.... (cute pic found on wiki of fugu, for those who may never try …).
On the positive side this is a great value restaurant for the price of what we got in terms of their packaged dinners for one or two; miso soup is good, hot stuff not bad... but fish is not good... I had their seared tuna, which was essentially tasteless…..
Presentation great, service great, prices great... very good value…. but not raw fish... or even slightly cooked fish... think the fish is just not fresh enough....something to do with the chefs, I’ll wager..... And their tempura surprise called Medusa sucked! The melange of veggies in the deep fry came out to taste like deep fried....
Interesting thing in this place is the Jap/sushi Pizza (see pic) and something else that was unusually… modern fusion… sushi sandwiches I think it was…. But did not try….
And Takara in the market:
Takara has been around a long time as one of the favorites in the market area... I have been there countless times…but it is run by chinese... not japs, and the sushi is ....well so so ... (their eel, unagi, is terrible…!!!)
I think it is more the market rah-rah and atmosphere that spills over from Kinki's... which is another Jap restaurant run by chinese ... you know Stephen Vardy worked at Kinki's....
For really good sushi... one must have a jap chef (not only the knife action…, but also the purchasing function…) ... and
Ichiban is the other one that I can think of ... and I have not tried Totoya yet.... that are actually run by Japanese.
As you know, I am chinese by the way, in most parts... so it has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the taste of the food....
2007 07 03
EatDrinkOttawa.blogspot.com
19 comments:
Richard, I disagree with you. I have been there for dinner few times already. The food there was amazing. Salmon and tune nigiri were ultra fresh. Maybe you had a bad night? The price is excellent! We always left the place with full stomach.
Absolutely entitled to your comment Salina, but I had a great night in terms of company... it was the fish... and perhaps you should read my piece a little more carefully...
Maybe you had a good night with the fresh fish?
Believe Salina is talking about Genji...
Richard,
Did you read "Ottawa Magazine" this month? Genji rating was 4.5 stars out of 5. The photos of the restaurant and the sushi plate just look so beautiful. I was attracted by the review and went there to have dinner on Tuesday. The fish was so fresh and the food was fabulous. We had a great time there. I don't know if we eat at the same place. Definitely a place we want to hang around now.
No, Julia, I actually don’t bother to read a lot of reviews of restaurants and consider them too seriously… Everything has to be in context… and unless I read through the writers’ biases and opinions and tastes, I really don’t care to develop that knowledge. For example, I will read the Citizen’s Anne Desbrisay, not because I agree with her, but I know after reading many pieces that her comments on French and bistro foods are accurate, but e.g., her knowledge of Asian foods is limited to the ability to taste the ingredients.
As for Genji, read my piece in it’s entirety in context…. I did say it was a great place in terms of value and for Ottawa everything was great, except that the sushi chefs are chinese, the place is run by chinese, etc…. They had a sushi apprentice (white kid) from Algonquin that was really having a hard time that night… so… (See I never let them know I speak their language… although that’s another story about accosting the sushi chef in Japanese and then you’ll get better service…)
And did they have the really fresh fish like Toro, Uni, or even ikura, etc… no!!! These are delicacies that go bad quickly… They only had standard fish. The maguro I had was really not fresh, either in the hand roll or seared… so maybe it was a bad night…. But you can’t have bad maguro… it is the cheapest and commonest of raw fishes…. And the sushi on the platter was a pic from ottawafoodies for effect… If you know sushi, you will know that they are standard and non-original pieces… like maguro, shrimp, saki etc… no fancy stuff…
And the only reason why I left stuffed was the fact that they had a deep fried ‘medusa’ filler, which was deep fried deep fired… awful.
Rather than rewrite the review…. I think the raw fish was a D to an F… and for other reasons as well…. The buying of raw fish can never be easy in Ottawa, where it has to be flown in and there are dibs by the jap chefs first… They were obviously catering to the common tastes…. And I have had very fresh sushi before, in Vancouver and even at ‘all you can eat’…., but that’s another story to read in context. Sushi and sashimi is the easiest thing to make and the freshness is imperative….. If you ask them for Toro or Uni and they don’t have it, that’s a first sign of a troubled sushi restaurant….
Salina above has also been fooled by those smarmy chinks as well… I must say again, the service was excellent…. But one chink can’t fool another….hahaha, esp one that speaks jap….
maybe not an F... but a D for sure.... but most restaurants in Ottawa would never see an A because we in the middle of nowhere....
Richard, I think you are very biased. I have been to real authentic Japanese restaurant in the past and I was so disappointed. I was so impressed by the food at Genji. My trip to Hong Kong convinced me that Hong Kong is the best place for food. The hotel buffet in Hong Kong was amazing. I have to say Chinese are good at cooking. You are very biased and you call yourself "chink". This is interesting!
You don't read review and you like to write review. Interesting. Those who write review are food critic experts and are qualified to do their job. I envy that they can go to eat at so many restaurants. Their reviews are quite accurate. I normally go to visit restaurants based on their recommendation. I seldom visit restaurants that are rated below 3 stars. Their rating of Genji was correct in my opinion.
I am not a restaurant reviewer... I write to tell my friends what I think....
i am publishing your opinion...
cultural rhetoric is for effect... as are the pics....
this is the comment on your prior comment...
yes, I am biased... as are you...that's why the context is important...
shows how much you know about Jap food....
Have you tried MHK sushi at Merivale, or Sushi 88 on Somerset?
Yes, Arianna.... and I think they are nice little places run by chinese folks that would try to maximize on the exaggerated cost of sushi....
too expensive and essentially not worth it.... freshness... much the same as everyone else in Ottawa. A 'C' to a 'D' depending on the day the fish comes in... usually Tuesdays.
Your photos are downloaded from www.OttawaFoodies.com. Please make a disclaimer note to respect people's work. Thank-you.
if it is not already obvious.... here the disclaimer that the photos are from ottawafoodies.com, except for the one of fugu, which is from wiki
Hi Richard,
I am very interested in what you have to say. I am addicted to sashimi and sushi, just can't get enough. To get my fill, I go almost every week to 1000 Island Sushi since it is so cheap (20.00 + taxes all you can eat) and i really love it. I know they are chinese and i am very sure that I have many more places (especially out of Ottawa) to discover better sushi but was just wondering what you though about that place. Their sashimi salmon (my favorite) is so fresh and delicious tasting. What do you have to say about 1000 island sushi on Carlin? Thanks so much :)
I have heard a lot about this place and know exactly where it is. It is very popular, especially amongst the cognoscenti in terms of AYCE sushi.
I have unfortunately not been, but maybe one day.
If you like AYCE, in Ottawa, there are not really that many places. Most go downhill in time.
I am not against Chinese owning Jap places... I just want to make sure that there is a point to be made about the cultural nuances to making really good sushi that only the japs have... it's like the martial arts... the chinese for the longest time would not teach foreigners....
Now if you are talking that level of sushi... AYCE just can't cut it... try Ichibei on Bank and ask for omakasi.... It's expensive, but... there is a difference…. (Or Suisha Gardens).
And salmon sushi…. No...no…no… try the exciting stuff and ask for toro instead of maguro… uni, ikura, see other parts of this blog for a treatment of sushi or sashimi….
$20 is not that cheap…. Toronto is cheaper and depends on how much you can eat…. If you eat 20 pieces, then it’s not cheap, if you eat 40, then we’re close…. if you can eat 80… then it’s cheap….(and comparable to Vancouver’s fisherwomen stalls), and I can eat 80, although I tried at ‘funi’ in Toronto once… for $80. Almost died….lol….
And now the big thing in Toronto is AYCE jap food as opposed to sushi…and you can get hot stuff too and other interesting variations on jap food… I have a few recommendations there too… But…
It is alas….. Not Ottawa…. Thank god….
And honey works better than vinegar, my dear….
Richard.
Thank you for responding :) Im looking foward to trying Suisha Gardens. Will take note of your suggestions. By the way, I have been taking the steps to move to Toronto as soon as I possible! Cant wait to have so many more choice of places to go out and compare. Thanks again! Take care,
be careful about Suisha Gardens, a lot of people have a negative response to this place. But ask for the manager, Mike and ask him to inform the chefs that you want some special sushi.... and have him ask them for omakasi.... it works better that way... say a friend suggested this... or richard suggested.... we were kendo partners.
Hi, I just ran into this blog while I was searching for suisha gardens. I came to Ottawa from HK about 15 years ago and I am totally agreed with Richard. I think most of the people in Ottawa have never tried the true authentic Japanese or even chinese food. I would never dare to try any AYCE or Chinese owned japanese restaurants since they all disgust me. I would only go to Toronto to ease my craving for sushi and sashimi. I won't trust any reviews from whoever saying how awesome their teriyaki rolls or california rolls are.. Whoever eat that fucking disgusting rolls with tons of mayo and sauce cannot call themselves a japanese food critcs.. period...
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