My love of food...: Tojo's

Just thinking about the meal I recently had at Tojo's makes my belly giddy with excitement. The food was unbelievable, the restaurant itself was stunning, the service was brilliant, and the company was spectacular. I literally felt like pinching myself during the meal because it was just too good to be true!

Tojo's is hands down the best Japanese I've ever had. It is classic but unique, simple but complex...to sum it up, every bite you take makes you sigh with enjoyment. Even the tea is unreal. If you are a fan of Japanese, you should definitely try Tojo's at least once in your life. That being said, make sure you save it for a special occassion (or talk a colleague at work into going there for a work dinner like I did) because it's definitely not cheap.

Okay, enough talking...on to the food!

Tojo's Tuna: the Chef's signature dish of tuna sashimi with a special sesame and wasabi sauce. ($20) Heaven! This is a must order.

Left to right: 3 Dynamite Cones ($8 each), 1 Scallop and Asparagus Cone ($7) and 1 Salmon Cone ($5).

Dynamite Cone: wild prawn tempura, avocado, asparagus and spicy sauce. Absolutely delicious!

Scallop and Asparagus Cone: scallop, asparagus and fish roe. The eater of this cone went back for seconds, so it must have been yummy.

Salmon Cone: I'm not sure what was in this one as it was specially made to order, but it looked very delicious and the individual who ordered it, ordered another, so it must have been delightful.

Gyu Sashi (beef sashimi): organic tenderloin, thinly sliced, served with chili and ponzu sauce. ($24) Normally I'm not a fan of raw beef, but this was very nice. If you're a beef carpaccio fan, I'm sure this would tantalize your tastebuds to no end.

It's roll time! From bottom to top:

Golden Roll: crab, scallop, wild Pacific salmon, and sweet shrimp rolled in an egg crepe with fish roe on top. ($26) This was a table favourite. It was so light and almost refreshing. Like no other roll that I've ever had.

Tojo Roll: west-coast dungeness crab, avocado, spinach and egg rolled inside-out with sesame seeds on top. ($14) Very yummy! Reminded me of a real-crab california roll, but better.

Great Canadian Roll: East Meets West - inside-out Atlantic lobster roll with asparagus and smoked Pacific salmon on top. ($26) This roll packed a punch of flavours.

And it's roll time number two! From left to right:

Great BC Roll: inside-out barbecued salmon skin roll with cucumber, sesame seeds and more salmon skin on top. ($20) Definitely the best BC roll I've ever tasted.

Spider Roll: deep-fried soft shell crab, asparagus and avocado rolled in a cucumber crepe. ($18) This was such a unique spider roll. The cucumber made it so refreshing.

Spicy Tuna Roll: inside-out spicy tuna roll with more tuna on top. ($20) This was definitely my favourite roll. I could have eaten it all night long!! The tuna literally melted in your mouth and it was the perfect amount of spice. Definitely a must order.

Suntan Tuna: red tuna wrapped in nori with a light tempura crust and served with sour plum sauce. ($36) This dish was out of control!!! I absolutely loved it...a definite must order.

Tai (Red Snapper) Sashimi. ($24) I had never had red snapper sashimi before, and wasn't so sure when they brought it out because the slices were so thin. I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it, though. I'm not sure whether it was the special sauce that you dipped it in, or the red snapper itself, but it was very nice.