Sushitto

Sushitto (food truck found on University Avenue, near Toronto General Hospital)

Julie was raving about wanting to try this food truck that sells sushi burritos. I imagined a bastardized, oversized sushi roll wrapped in a tortilla, and told her to have fun with that. 

We passed by the truck at 11 a.m. on a weekday, but the sign said they open at 11:30. When we returned at about 11:35 a.m., there was a line of about 20-30 people waiting to order. Julie joined that line in anticipation of awesomely weird truck food. 

Prices seem a bit high, but I guess that's normal for downtown. 

The Cermaq box says "sustainable aquaculture", so that seems decent.

The wait in line was long, but the wait for the food was longer. Julie noted that the cash person was very focused on collecting cash and orders, and waited for a row of orders to be ready before beginning to hand out food. 

About thirty to forty minutes after lining up, the half shrimp tempura burrito was served - accompanied with what was described as sweetened sriracha sauce.

It looked like a hungry student made it. There was, however fake crab meat and alfalfa sprouts in it, which was considered a perk. It seemed like the wait and the price were too much for the product. Julie's review: "Sushitto was so shitto". 

Would I try it? I don't know... eating this would mean foregoing my lunch break nap. And I could actually get a full meal with beverage at McDonald's for those prices.

Han Ba Tang

Han Ba Tang (4862 Yonge Street, Willowdale)
Phone number(416) 546-8218

The inside signs are much clearer than the outside ones.

Drink list! Includes a variety of infused soju cocktails. I enjoy their beer selection, too, which included Innis & Gunn and Samuel Adams. On tap, there was also Rickard's Red. A few of my favs.

 Two clean cuts. Not both for me.

It's a bit sweeter than I expected it to be, but still pretty tasty.

Kalbi tacos

Not bad. We liked that there was 'stuff' in the taco shells.

 Creamy rice cakes. 

Tasted like alfredo sauce on rice cakes. Sounds like something I'd concoct if I were out of pasta. Julie mentioned this being a different taste for her, thus making it her favourite dish of the night. 

Lobster tacos.

I like lobster! 

Pork belly and tofu.

Phoebe said it tasted really Asian. It was okay, but since I split one, I didn't get the tomato to see if that would've tasted weird.

 Scoop pizza.

Jenny said all she tasted was cheese. I actually didn't get that much cheese, so much as potato. It's a sweet potato base, but subtly sweet. I think this might've been my least favourite dish.

Spicy seafood soup.

It didn't taste like the usual Korean soup flavours that I was introduced to in Korea. It wasn't bad, just a lot more black pepper, and a lot less Korean red sauce taste.  

Crispy king prawns.

This was my favourite dish of the night. Shrimp was tasty, crispy sticks of sweet potato was awesomely salty. 

Would I return? I might. Now that I know which food items I prefer, I wouldn't mind trying their other stuff, and that drinks menu looked pretty interesting. Cocktails are $7 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Total damage: Approximately $15.50 per person (6 people), minus drinks, and minus the prawns which were on a different bill. 

Kaiju

Kaiju (384 Yonge Street, Toronto)

647-748-6338

kaijutoronto@gmail.com

Hours: 

Mon - Fri: 11 AM - 8 PM

Sat: 12 PM - 7 PM (only day they sell tofu cheesecake by the slice)

Sun: closed

Trouble finding this place? It's in this maze of a basement under Aura, part of what looks like a semi-abandoned food court. 

Kaiju poutine $6

Curry and grated cheese on seasoned, thick cut fries. Good-sized fries. Could do with some double frying for extra crispiness. Salty enough for me, and the sweetness of the curry adds some contrasting flavour. Overall, not bad since the curry has gravy-like consistency. I wonder what it'd be like with cheese curds.

After being offered a sample of their Japanese curry, it's pretty evident that it tastes different from other curries (at least the ones that I've had). It's sweeter, and it kind of has a slight fruity taste. 

They heartily advertise their curry, which includes various spices, fruits (makes sense to my tastebuds), and vegetables; however, I think the most unique thing about my experience there is that they came out of the stall to bring our food to us in the food court. They also came by as we were eating, and checked with us how the food was. Food court service. Cool.

Would I return? Yes. I think I'll definitely have to try the katsu next. And I really want to try their tofu cheesecake, but it's only sold on Saturdays. Prices are not so cheap, but it's downtown, and what I tasted was pretty good. Plus, I totally got served in my seat in a food court. Who does that? Kaiju.

JJ Japanese Thai

JJ (6485 Mississauga Road, Mississauga)
http://www.jjjapanesethai.com/

For a weeknight, this spacious restaurant was pretty packed. I'd suggest making reservations.

No complaints here. I was really impressed with the beef sashimi appetizer. The rib-eye steak teriyaki was also very tasty. Blue rare is available here and highly recommended. 

I ordered the smoked ginger duck for myself. The pieces of duck were flavourful and not dry. There was no skimping on the meat, and the dish filled me up nicely.

Smoked Ginger Duck:

The dessert menu offers fancy items such as deep-fried cheesecake, crème brûlée, mango sticky rice, deep-fried ice cream, etc. I don't normally eat anything berry related, but I have to admit that the deep-fried cheesecake (berry) had a good crunch to it. It was served with a green (probably pistachio) sauce on one side of the plate, and orange (probably mango) sauce on the other.

I'd definitely go back when I head to that side of town again.