Toku is located in Landsdowne mall and the inside looked so modern and posh. There were lots of stair cases everywhere and the seating was divided to allow for lots of privacy.
Our dinner party was quite big so we were split off into 3 different tables but since we were technically still part of the same group, we were seated in the same general area. So I guess one downside seating wise is that it wouldn’t be able to seat a group of 25 very easily. Plus since the tables were divided by steps and stairs it was difficult to interact with each other.
Although it was a family dinner, everyone ordered whatever they pleased at their own tables because as I mentioned above, we were a little segregated and apart. The menu at Toku was quite limited in that they didn’t offer many sushi rolls and they focused more on appetizers, a la carte items and sashimi.
They also have quite an extensive drink menu on the back and since brother deer was feeling spontaneous, he decided to get the Japanese melon mall cocktail. He said that it didn’t taste like alcohol at all…but that’s expected because it was just melon liquor and pineapple juice.
We asked what type of sashimi it came with and our server told us that it came with 3 of the freshest fish the chef had to offer. But when we inquired further, she told us that it was possible to choose 3 types of sashimi for the platter instead of we wanted. I thought that that was a very nice gesture especially if you’re a diner who’s not a fan of certain types of seafood. Anyways, the fish itself was very fresh and the pieces were thickly cut. I was very content with this and wished we could of ordered another platter!
Old bean was the one who ordered this on which was a bit of a surprise to me because I wasn’t aware he liked sashimi. Old bean said that it was well prepared and fresh.
Plate of raw beef topped with ponzu sauce
This was my first time trying beef sashimi presented this way. The beef was nice and buttery and the ponzu added nice acidity
We ordered this steamed egg dish for lil’ bun because we knew that a majority of the menu wouldn’t be suitable for her taste. The fun thing about this dish is that you never know what you’ll find in it. This one turned out being a seafood chawan mushi because it was filled with japanese mushrooms, fish, crab, shrimp, calamari, and fish tofu. The twist they had on this dish was that they added orange zest to it…we found this to be a little odd because we didn’t think the flavors blended well together but there wasn’t too much of it to make it unappealing.
One order of these came with 2 oysters and they took a while to come to the table. I guess this means that they are prepared to order! I was told by mother deer and old bean that the oysters were plump and the sauce on top wasn’t too overboard so they could still taste the juicy oyster itself.
These took forever to come to our table, we actually had to ask for them twice. Even then it still took them an hour to bring them to us.
Both brother and mother deer love their grilled squid so we had to get this one. I only managed to snag one piece but that one piece was very flavorful and delicious! The teriyaki sauce kept the squid moist and it wasn’t overly grilled to the point where it was chewy! A very nice preparation and at a decent price too!
Honestly, grilled meats are not their strong suit here. It was overcooked and tough.
They have many creative rolls here which is cool! However, the rice was very mushy, hard and not very well seasoned. The roll could have turned out fantastically but the rice ruined it for us. With that being said, I wouldn’t recommend getting sushi here because of the rice and getting sashimi would be a safer bet. You would think that they would have perfect sushi rice coming from Japanese chefs..but apparently not.
This was a plate of 7 aburi nigiris. As I mentioned above, the seafood here is very fresh so that part was good. The bad part was the rice. It was not prepared very well and it was very sticky and mushy.
Brother deer was curious as to why there was a duck dish on a Japanese menu so we had to order it. The duck was prepared medium rare so it was still a little red on the inside. I think this was one of the most “worth-it” dishes on the menu because it wasn’t overly expensive and you got a decent portion of food. However, mother deer thought that the dish could hae been prepared better because the duck breast was sliced too thick so it made it hard to eat and was on the chewier side.
Pan fried udon noodles that didn’t have very much flavour. Unfortunately the toppings were sparse too.
It really could of used more chicken and cabbage in there as it was only comprised of soba noodles. They all said that the chicken was moist and tender but the miso paste sauce on top was a little strange.
We ordered this because Old bean wanted something with rice in it. I wasn’t complaining though because it meant that I got to have the sashimi on top because he doesn’t like fish. As you can see, the bowl was filled with lots of goodies that included salmon roe, saba (mackerel), tako (octopus), maguro (red tuna), hamachi, tai (red snapper), salmon, and tamago (egg). As with the sashimi we had earlier, everything was thickly sliced and very fresh tasting.
We’ve never had this before so we decided to try it out. This pastry reminded me of a baklava because it was a piece of phyllo pastry wrapped around a mixture of sweet mashed taro and sweet potato. It was a little too sweet for us but it was a well executed dessert.
We decided to get this because we rarely see it on menu items. It’s basically a variety of jellies topped with fruit, mochi, syrup and red bean paste. I liked that there were different types of jellies (coconut, coffee, matcha, agar) in this dish because it gave it some variety but it was a little difficult to eat because of how the glass it was served in was shaped
Summary
Would I come back?Yes
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