Tokyo Tokyo

What a truly wonderful Japanese restaurant this is. A
wavy pond of giant Koi is cleverly built into the floor and
covered with heavy glass. It was a bit intimidating to
walk on, and something to see. The enclosed outdoor
patio seating has Tiki torches, heat lamps and frequent
live bands. Inside are inviting semi-private rooms with
the walls a serene shade of light blue and low tables
where you are required to trade your shoes for a pair of
disposable slippers before entering. This made for a fun
meal with the kids. On our first visit we ate at the sushi
counter where sushi chef Charles was friendly and
informative, educating us on the differences in tuna. My
husband liked the Blue Fin Tuna while I liked Charles
favorite, the Toro, also known as fatty tuna, which was
smoother, more tender and came from the belly of the
fish. It lacks the tang that the Blue Fin Tuna has and is
valued at market price. On the sushi counter was a fish

bowl containing little live crabs that some might view as pets, but here they'll fry
them up for you upon request. After being seated we were handed small
complimentary bowls of the evenings offering. On this particular visit we had a
sweet stir-fried fish. While on our last it was stir-fried garlic snails. Sake can be
purchased by the glass or bottle. The large bottles which are quite a bit bigger
than a bottle of wine and is a better value. These bottles are great for large
groups and if it's too much for two they label it with your name, put a mark to
verify the amount and store it for your next visit. The Frozen Saki was another
interesting and delicious sake. We really enjoy the sushi here. Charles knew we
were looking for a culinary adventure, suggestion a variety of rolls. The WMCJ
Roll, aka "white men can't jump" (how that relates to sushi I don't know) it was
yummy anyhow with spicy crab, raw scallops, shrimp tempura, avocado and their
sweet Anago sauce all wrapped up in a delicate soy paper. The Tokyo Taco was
another excitingly different roll with raw spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, rice and
avocado cradled in a lettuce leaf. Charles even made one of his own creations
which he had no name for that was unusually good and isn't on the menu with eel,
spicy crab, avocado, raw scallops, wrapped up with a crunchy cucumber skin and
sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. Our least favorite that night was the
Crunch Roll, just because it wasn't kinky enough for us and the Leopard Roll which
had an unusually spotted seaweed that was wrapped around raw fish and
avocado and was a bit plain. By the end of our meal Charles shared part of our
bottle of saki with us, and we toasted to great food and lots of laughter. On our
second visit we sat in one of the private rooms. The kids ordered "kid meals",
which come with a Japanese Jello, fruit, rice and the Tempura Fish came with a
side of french fries for around $6. On this visit I preferred the more tender
Chicken Teriyaki to the Beef Teriyaki and the Egg Drop Soup is the best I've ever
had. While marveling over the rolls we had chosen on our third visit it was
becoming more apparent that Ken was turning into a hard core "foodie" since he
was still talking about it first thing the next morning. We had the Empire Roll with
cooked lobster, asparagus, shrimp and avocado which would have made a good
impression had we not had the Small World Roll to compare it to. This roll was
baked and filled with chopped yellow tail, white fish and mayonnaise and topped
with shrimp and spicy Sriracha. The warmth and creaminess gave it a homey
flair. Our favorite roll is the Fireboat Roll, with shrimp tempura inside, white fish
on top wrapped in soy paper then baked with garlic butter and topped with green
onion, spicy Sriracha sauce and garnished with lemon wheels. We both eyed the
last piece of this roll for a while, knowing we both wanted it, I conceded,
expecting some give from him too, but it was gone in a flash. Our fourth trip we
were thrilled to have Charles again. On this trip we gave him free reign to
impress us with anything he felt like creating. He baked several rolls that had no
names, cause of course he was making them up, but he used tender soy paper in
all of them and I really thought I'd about died and went to heaven. We had
Oyster Shooters, which was my first raw oyster experience, but my husband had
them before and said these were the best, by far. The oyster were chopped and
put in a glass, topped with smelt egg and a few dabs of this and that, then filled
with your choice of saki or ponzu sauce. I liked the ponzu best, the oysters were
tender without the livery taste that I so dislike from cooked ones I've had in the
past. Then we had a Salmon Skin Handroll, something I've seen on sushi menus,
but it never sounded appealing to me. It was crispy fried salmon skin wrapped in
a seaweed cone with rice. As odd as this one sounds, I really liked it, it was a bit
fishy, but reminded me of salty fries. This last trip turned out to be THE best meal
of the year. Charles is a master! I am going mad with thoughts of this visit and
have got to get here again soon!

Tokyo Tokyo is open for lunch Monday through Friday 11:30-2:30 p.m. and dinner
every night starting at 5:00 p.m.

Located at 990 Ontario Mills Drive, Suite "H" in Ontario.

Telephone (909) 987-7999

Website: www.tokyotokyousa.com