Monday, June 21, 2010

Wabi Sabi Salon

Being the Japanese cuisine fans Brad and I are, we finally made it down to one of the many Japanese restaurants on Smith St last Wednesday (yes, I'm a bad bad blogger this week!).

We opted to give Wabi Sabi Salon a try, mainly because whilst I was researching online I thought they had a really pretty website and their desserts looked really good.



Whaaat? I can't help my eyes are always wandering straight to the sweets!



I thought the interior was really cute, really charming with all the wood structures, and it almost felt like you were sitting outside, when you were actually inside....there's also a cute outdoor area through the back of the restaurant, which would be great for a little sake session with a couple of friends.



It was a ridiculously cold and rather windy night, so we opted to go for a warm sake and got the house sake, easy to drink, nice n' hearty.



We knew we definitely had to get either some sushi or sashimi to try, so we started with the lightly scorched Oceantrout, Yellowtail and Hokkaido scallop sushi. Perfect for sharing between two, I personally enjoyed the yellowtail the most as it I felt the flavour was really enhanced with the slight char. Brad liked the trout the best, but all the seafood had a beautifully soft texture. Good authentic sushi!



Being the sucker for eggplant I am and being surprised that on the menu it was not slathered in miso (which I do love) for a change, with Tempei and Okura in Ankake sauce instead. Piping hot, eggplant was tender and melted in the mouth. Perfect comfort food, what more do you need?



We also ordered the grilled prawn and shiitake mushroom with yuzu lime miso sauce. Whilst the taste of the shiitake mushrooms were lovely, I found this dish quite unexciting. A little too safe and simple for my tastes I think.



And to finish off (I wasn't able to fit in dessert after all that) we got the tofu steak in a sizzling plate. I didn't realise that the mountain vegetables that came with this were 'blended' into the tofu, so I think in my mind I was expecting a nice square piece of tofu or something, so this was quite a bit different again to what I might have been expecting. Still, it was hearty and very suitable to the weather that was looming outside. Wouldn't have minded some chunkier vegetables with it instead though...maybe more eggplant?

While some of the food may not have been complete winners for me, the atmosphere and the service did completely win me over, it's so nice to be able to go somewhere quiet once in a while. The waitresses were all Japanese (it always a nice authenticity to a place), very friendly and very efficient in getting our drinks and food orders.

Having now taken our first step into the Japanese cuisine scene in Collingwood, we did very much enjoy our meal, although we did find it a bit pricier than what we expected. Suppose we will have to go around the rest of Smith St to compare now won't we?

Wabi Sabi Salon
94 Smith St
Collingwood

Wabi Sabi Salon on Urbanspoon



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