Hosting an Oscars party is going to be tough this year. With 10 nominations for best picture, instead of the usual five, making movie-themed munchies will be twice as hard. To help Toronto hosts get their bearings, we suggest the following dishes from across the city, each inspired by the films hoping for the ultimate Academy prize.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘Japanese’
Restauran-TO
Just opened: Koko! brings casual Japanese and Korean fare to Yorkville

Unexpected ingredients add creativity to Aayama's menu (Photo by Signe Langford)
One of Yorkville’s newest residents is, surprisingly, a relaxed, sharing-style restaurant of unpretentious and affordable Japanese and Korean fare. Called Koko!, which is Japanese for “here,” the business is the brainchild of Sang Kim, who recruited Shin Aoyama as head chef (Aoyama studied under Hidekazu Tojo, one of Vancouver’s great sushi masters and the owner of Tojo’s).
Kim, whose impressive résumé as a restaurateur and consultant includes Ame, Ki, Edo, Lil’ Baci, Fellini’s Shoe, Tasty and Blowfish, admits that serving the food of his homeland is new, but he’s confident. “I have a top chef, and we’re not going to be pushing the envelope too much. We are going to be quality and accessibility driven. We’re not doing exotic modern Korean cuisine.”
Read the rest of this entry »
In Print
Toronto’s most extravagant Japanese dining experience
Restauran-TO
Corey Mintz to Toronto’s Guu fans: chill out
Corey Mintz thinks Torontonians need to get a grip—at least on our obsession with Guu, the city’s offshoot of the Vancouver-based izakaya chain that has everyone from Ryerson students to West Coast defectees lining up for hours to get a seat.
Although the Toronto Star food writer is a fan of Guu’s Japanese pub grub (fried, salty fare that’s perfect with beer), he laments that we have not been “cool” about Guu’s arrival. “We have lined up, kvetch-blogged and snapped iPhone pictures, capturing all the lustre of Nick Nolte’s mug shot… In short, we have spazzed out over Guu.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Required Reading
Lindsay Lohan as Jesus, Abercrombie store scares Japanese shoppers, Tavi talks back

Lilo's Purple cover
• Armani Exchange’s Share the Love Valentine’s Day campaign, which features steamy photos of same-sex couples, has angered the American Family Association, which expressed its displeasure on its Web site onemillionmoms.com. The organization, which aims to rid society of “filth,” calls the ads “poison” to children and urges other parents to “take a stand since A|X is one of the fashion leaders and this is becoming a popular trend.” We’re outraged—Armani Exchange is not a fashion leader. [The Cut]
• Controversial teen fashion blogger and Jeanne Beker stand-in Tavi Gevinson responded to the recent criticisms that have been levelled at her, her big hats and her parents. The gist? Bring it. “I’m going to New York on Saturday. I will be wearing some more hats. If you happen to be sitting behind me and you’d like to be able to see, just ask.” Let’s hope the Fashion Television cameras are rolling. [Style Rookie]
Read the rest of this entry »
Read All About It
Q&A with Guu’s chef, hangover-free alcohol, Corey Mintz’s castrated rooster
• Home chefs are increasingly turning to YouTube for cooking lessons. Eschewing the Food Network’s plucked and preening stars (except Guy Fieri, who is neither) and dishes, viewers are embracing the shaky camera angles and amateur stylings of such series as Maangchi’s Korean Cooking Show. The host, ex-Torontonian Emily Kim, has tens of thousands of subscribers, and her most popular recipe, kimchi, has been watched almost 300,000 times. Good start, Kim, but call us when you reach sneezing panda or dramatic chipmunk numbers. [Globe and Mail]
• The Star’s Corey Mintz extols the virtues of brining, which promises juicier meat and uniform seasoning. The capon—a castrated rooster prized for its tenderness—Mintz cooks for guests gets a 24-hour bath in a solution of salt, brown sugar and water, which produces a near-perfect bird. In talking about the emasculated chicken, Mintz ends the article with the observation that “we all have a tendency to get soft and juicy once we no longer have chicks on the brain.” [Toronto Star]
Read the rest of this entry »
Opening
Just Opened: Hashimoto comes to Toronto proper after years of wowing Japanese food fans in Mississauga

Inside the new Hashimoto (Photo by Karon Liu)
“There’s nothing else like this in Toronto, maybe even Canada,” kaiseki chef Masaki Hashimoto explains over tea at his newly opened location at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in North York. “The Hashimoto in Mississauga was the first step, and this is the second.”
Read the rest of this entry »

















Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS