Nothing gets the fat kid inside of me more excited than the
prospect of a new restaurant opening in Edmonton, especially when it is a
Japanese / sushi restaurant. Last month, it was Izakaya Tomo; this month, it
would be Japonais Bistro! Japonais Bistro, unlike Izakaya Tomo, specialized in
sushi (my favourite!) and boasted a contemporary, North American twist on its
dishes. My companion and I were greeted with a few half-hearted “Irasshaimase!” from the head sushi chef
and his staff as we walked into the restaurant. We were particularly impressed
with Japonais Bistro’s decor: it was a large, open restaurant with wooden
tables and dark-wood chairs. It also featured black leather booths, which lined
the perimeter of the restaurant. We were originally seated in a small,
two-person table in the middle of the restaurant – in an empty restaurant – and
my companion politely asked to be switched to a booth, which the hostess
readily agreed to. Note to Japonais Bistro: when the restaurant is completely
empty, it would be nice to be seated in a booth (or at least be asked) so you
don’t feel like a second-rate consumer.
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| Beef Tataki |
As my companion and I had had a long day at the University, we were both a little exhausted; we
were definitely overwhelmed with Japonais Bistro’s extensive menu. The best
part about the menu (but not necessarily for the two of us on that particular
day) is that it is extremely varied and features many new fusion items
including Seafood Ceviche, Salmon Carpaccio, Tuna Nachos, Sushi Tortilla, and
more (none of which I tried that night, unfortunately). There were also a
number of new-age fusion rolls including the Hokkaido Roll, New Style Roll,
Ocean Jewel, etc. After taking our time with the menu (for once), we decided on
the Beef Tataki, Cheezy Dragon Roll, Hokkaido Roll, Cherry Blossom Roll, Volcano
Roll, and New Style Roll.
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| Cherry Blossom Roll |
We were started off with the Beef Tataki ($12.95), which was
served with kelp, red onion, and grated ginger and covered in ponzu and sesame
dressing. The beef itself was tender, juicy, and delightfully flavourful – you
could just tell that Japonais Bistro
used an excellent cut for its beef tataki. Likewise, the kelp added a nice seaweed
flavour to the beef. I almost always find that the ponzu sauce too acidic for
my taste; at Japonais Bistro, the ponzu sauce had just the perfect amount of
acidity and oiliness that enhanced the beef flavour instead of overpowering it.
The combination of flavourful beef, the perfect ponzu sauce, and kelp really
made Japonais Bistro’s beef tataki something special, and it was definitely one
of my favourite beef tatakis.
The first three rolls that came out were the Cherry Blossom
Roll, the Volcano Roll and the New Style Roll. Each of the rolls was served on
a separate dish, which did well for the presentation, but was a little
awkward to fit all of them on such a small table. The Cherry Blossom Roll
($17.95) was made up of chopped scallop, tobiko and mayo, topped with red tuna
and salmon. The Cherry Blossom Roll was delicious! – the chopped scallop,
tobiko, and mayo were melt-in-your mouth and had a creamy, though not heavy
taste to it. The red tuna and salmon were amazingly fresh and was a nice,
refreshing contrast to the creamy chopped scallop and mayonnaise. Even though
the Cherry Blossom at Japonais Bistro was one of the best “Cherry Blossom”
rolls I had ever had, it was still
outshined by the other two rolls (yes, they were really that good!).
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| Volcano Roll |
Our second roll was the Volcano Roll ($16.95), which
consisted of hot spicy chopped scallops, squid, and tobiko sauce over an
avocado and eel roll. The Volcano Roll was arranged very much like a volcano
and featured the spicy chopped scallops as the “lava.” The visual presentation
of the roll was extremely amusing to me and definitely enhanced the flavour in
an intangible way. The Volcano Roll was bursting with flavour from both the eel
and the spicy chopped scallops. The sauce added a mild amount of heat to the roll, a little too mild for my liking,
but still adequate for a “Volcano” roll. The best part of the dish, and what
really makes Japonais Bistro’s Volcano Roll stand out from other versions, is
the use of ash in the dish. I have
had ash used in sushi rolls before and have previously found it a little chalky
or bitter in flavour; in this Volcano Roll, it adds a nice amount of smokiness
to the roll that really enhances the sauce. The only thing missing from the
dish was the squid flavour, though with how the Volcano roll was put together
and flavoured, I’m not even sure that the squid was really a key component of
the dish.
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| New Style Roll |
Finally, the roll I was forward to the most this evening,
the New Style Roll ($16.95), was served! The New Style Roll was composed of
chopped scallop (scallop seemed to be the theme of the night that night!) and
tobiko wrapped with tiny soy shoots and topped with freshly sliced seafood and
seared in their new style way with tobiko on top. The roll, though it sounds similar to the Cherry Blossom
roll, was entirely different. The fresh sliced seafood was fresh and
clean tasting and was amazing when paired with the chopped scallop. The best part
of the dish, however, was the sauce. It had a light, slightly acidic flavour, and
just a hint of oil that really (and I mean really)
enhances and brings out the flavour of the seafood. I asked the waitress what
the sauce was, and she said it was a simple combination of olive oil and soy
sauce (though that doesn’t really explain where the acidity is coming from).
Either way, this roll was easily my companion and mine’s favourite of the night
and definitely a must-try when visiting Japonais Bistro.
Had I stopped eating after the beef tataki and the first
three sushi rolls of the night, I would have definitely given Japonais Bistro a
near perfect review, as the rolls were some of the best sushi rolls I have
tasted in Edmonton or even Calgary and Ottawa. The next two rolls were a major
disappointment, especially compared to the first three rolls, and definitely a
bad note to end the evening on at Japonais Bistro. The first roll that we tried
was the Cheezy Dragon Roll, which was a shrimp tempura, cream cheese roll
topped with eel, avocado, and sweet soy and sesame seeds. I am not a big fan of
cream cheese, on anything really, but especially in sushi (call me a
traditionalist), but my companion usually enjoys a bit of cheese in the more
fusion rolls, and I thought I would give the cream cheese another chance. The
roll itself was actually not that bad, though I did find the cream cheese (they
use quite a dollop of it at Japonais Bistro) a little overpowering to the
shrimp tempura and eel. My companion, who generally enjoys his cheese rolls,
said the roll was fairly average otherwise.
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| Cheezy Dragon Roll |
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| Hokkaido Roll |
Japonais Bistro is the definition of fine-dining sushi: from
its decor to its clientele (almost everyone we saw at the restaurant was in a dress
shirt or had a blazer on) to its preparation, presentation, and quality of
ingredients used in its dishes, Japonais Bistro showed excellent finesse. Its attention to detail, such as having the end-pieces moved to the middle of the roll when serving the dish, were just some of the things that shows true effort in a sushi restaurant. The
service had a few rookie mistakes (booths are always better than tables!), but I
think that with time, Japonais Bistro will fine tune these little hiccups. The
food was a little more polarizing for me – the beef tataki and the first three
rolls were one of the best I have ever tasted, while the last two rolls were a huge disappointment, especially for that
price tag. However, even with the final bill coming out to $100, I will likely
be back to Japonais Bistro to try some of their other new-age appetizers and
fusion rolls (but I’m definitely staying away from that Hokkaido Roll next time!).
Top Pick of the
Night: Beef Tataki, New Style Roll, and Volcano Roll
Rating: 4/5 Erics'
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