GUU IZAKAYA, TORONTO
Saturday, December 29, 2012
My craving for Japanese food hasn't subsided after eating at Spring Rolls, since we ate lots of delicious foods other than the Japanese kind! So I finally got around to going to the highly-raved-about Japanese restaurant, Guu Izakaya, on a Friday night.
You are greeted with a warm towel upon seating.
I called beforehand to make a reservation, and they said that the waiting time will be 1.5 - 2 hours, so my dear friends, who were already in the area (whereas I was still on the highway), got seats for us first.
When you finally find the restaurant, which is off the main street and is only identifiable by the lit-up black and white sign, you'll have to wait outside in a shelter for your seat: because there's no room inside the restaurant!
Unagi Doria: Unagi with on mixed mushroom rice with cheese on top
This place is great if you only have 4-6 people eating together. Otherwise, you'll have to fight over portions or sacrifice a few mouthfuls to the extra person(s) sitting with you. The good part about these small portions is that it's much cheaper!
But you'll have to order more dishes = you get to try more things. So I'll let you decide whether this place's small portions are a good thing or not *because I'm super indecisive*
Deep fried Brie: with mango and blueberry sauce
Oh, how I love Brie.
I just had some this morning as a part of my brunch, and there's still a whole untouched one in the fridge. I usually caramelize some onions and pears to put on top of it to bake until the inside is all melted - but this place makes it so much better. The cheese bursts in your mouth when you bit into the crunchy outside.
Just describing it makes me want it right now *drool*
There was five of us, and only for pieces, so one of them was split between two. Of course, not between me and the best friend/girlfriend. We like our Brie too much to share :)
Ikapiri: deep fried calamari with spicy ketchup and wasabi mayo
I'm not sure what happened, but by the time I finished taking this photo, there were only ~3 pieces left! So I quickly took my very unequal share of the dish and understood why it all disappeared in a matter of seconds after I took a bite.
Why must deep fried foods taste so good?!
Gyu tongue: Grilled beef tongue with salt
I think Asian people are very accustomed to eating any part of an animal, so eating tongue didn't strike us as out-of-this-world. Guu made this very delicious, alongside a freshly grated pile of wasabi (top right) which is very nasal-clearing!
Takoyaki: deep fried octopus ball with tonkatsu sauce and wasabi mayo
The first thing we decided to upon seating was that we each would pick out a dish, and the best friend/girlfriend picked out this one. I love watching the bonito (dried fish) flakes move/wave around when the dish arrives in front of you.
I had Takoyaki at a Night Market during the summertime, and I think the only difference between the two is the presentation and the sauce - Guu makes it nicer.
After the last of our first five dishes arrived and were finished, we realized that our appetites only got larger.
So we ordered more:
Tontoro: pan-fried pork cheek with salt and yuzu pepper
I love the layers of fat in this part of the pork because it's really juicy and gives it a nice, easy bite.
I don't think I could ever become vegetarian - I fall in love with meat all over again each time I eat it.
Kinoko Bibimbap: Mushrooms, cheese, seaweed sauce atop of rice in a sizzling stone pot
In Korean restaurants, you mix your own bibimbap. But at Guu, the server places the sizzling pot in front of you, whips out two spoons and mixes it all in a very experienced manner, then finishes off by smoothing the top and letting us spoon our own servings.
BBQ Pork: BBQ style pork with yuzu honey soy sauce
Another reason we kept ordering more (another reason I kept calling our waiter over to tell him which dishes we wanted) was because our waiter was rather good looking :)
Guu knows how to make money - with good looking waiters.
Scallop Carpaccio: Hokkaido scallop sashimi with wasabi dressing
I'm not sure if the Hokkaido part of the description poses any sort of significance to you, but after google-ing this, it seems that scallops from this region of Japan are renowned for their freshness and high quality.
And I suppose so! Because it was sweet, silky, and with only ~2 pieces to a person (there were five of us), it was the perfect amount to amuse your tongue, and urge you to order another...
Until your next dish comes shortly after you've finished your previous one:
Gyu Carpaccio: seared beef sashimi with ponzu, wasabi mayo, & garlic chips
I've always preferred my beef medium-rare: I like the juiciness that comes with a bloody slice of steak. So I knew I would like beef sashimi. And I did.
The best friend/girlfriend doesn't like raw meat/seafood, so I had her share of scallop and beef *muahs to her*
Almond tofu dessert
Despite the many dishes we ordered, we still had to order dessert (although I think it was only us girls who really wanted sweets after the meal).
With or without the sweet goji berry, I would still be able to eat this cup of almond tofu all by myself. It's like the Chinese tofu dessert on a whole new level.
Deep fried banana: with coconut icecream, mango puree, and chocolate sauce
I was too occupied with the almond tofu to have enough of this. But the few bites that I did have, I really enjoyed. I really like coconut flavoured things, which is why I liked this dessert so much :)
Please look forward to the desserts I make in the next post :)
X
MUAH MUAH MUAH
VICKI CHOW
P/S
I still have yet to talk about the desserts I've made with butter! I'm sorry... but please anticipate it in the next post for sure (I swear I said this exact same thing in my previous post).
I'm guilty for procrastination and delaying posts *sorry*
I'm off to go to a dinner with minimum meat because we've all agreed that we've been consuming way too much meat these few holiday days.
So, don't eat too much yet - there's still the New Years around the corner = even more meals to come~
I still have yet to talk about the desserts I've made with butter! I'm sorry... but please anticipate it in the next post for sure (I swear I said this exact same thing in my previous post).
I'm guilty for procrastination and delaying posts *sorry*
I'm off to go to a dinner with minimum meat because we've all agreed that we've been consuming way too much meat these few holiday days.
So, don't eat too much yet - there's still the New Years around the corner = even more meals to come~
Have you been eating yummy food at restaurants this holiday season?
