This is a separate post for a reason. When you read this menu think of balance. This is the mysterious concept of umami. The elements are all here -- salt/sweet; crunchy/soft even gelatinous; the sea/the land; smokey and fresh; hot/cold. And of course, there's artful contrast visually. The drink is chilled, fine sake.
The next layer added another element...crispy tempura batter encasing sweet scallops stuffed
with creamy sea urchin roe. Beside it, a small battered Japanese green pepper. Both were to be dipped into green tea (macha) salt.
Another bowl....julienned daikon, cucumber formed the base of a snowy tower of the freshest, most tender octopus I've tasted. Again...heat/cool; salt/sweet; crisp/salt. FABULOUS!
The next dish contrasted the earthiness of morels with their ling cod mousse stuffing. Deep-fried they were strewn with small shards of bonito tuna flakes which, literally, danced with the heat.
Under a paper cover tied with rattan and a pine needle garnish, smoked black cod swam in a the lightest fish broth. I was instructed to squeeze a slice of lime over the fish which sat on fresh steamed asparagus and thick slices of king mushrooms.
Then came the cone (the first to eat with soy) of goeduck clam, mayo, wasabi wrapped in a crisp nori sheet.
The 'rolls' followed....a scallop, sweet shrimp, crab all wrapped with eggplant and topped with a spoonful of flying fish roe. Cucumber is sliced into paper thin wrappers and nearer the end of the sequence, Tojo wrapped mango, yam, avocado, asparagus and just-fried tempura prawn into what he named a "Northern Lights Roll".
With a communion glass of plum wine, 'dessert' was ginger-fresh pineapple sorbet, crushed dragon fruit topped with a single, bright red organic raspberry and served with a sesame wafer.
Tojo creates heady food ... but it's also food that honours Canada's finest raw ingredients -- perfectly. He cooks -- he creates -- with heart.
