Rain Restaurant and others in Toronto

On this vaca in Toronto, we revisited Casa Imperial restaurant (Cantonese) and checked out La Chine Cuisine (Cantonese), Aoyama (Japanese) and Rain (pan-Asian).

Impressed by the "seabass soup" we had there last winter, we went to Casa Imperial and ordered the soup again. Milky in color, light and tender in taste, the soup comes in big port size and big tab (CAN$50) only. It was enough to share for a table of 4-8 people. Other good dishes from our two visits there were "Lychee Beef", "King Oyster Mushroom with Conch".

La Chine Cuisine was decent. But not magnetic enough to revisit in the future. Perhaps we did not order its most outstanding dishes. We ordered lobster, oyster, beef, vegetables, but the most memorable dish was the complimentary "Black Woodear with Wasabi Mayo". We don't like mayo in general, but liked the wasabi kick. A smart fusion of Chinese and Japanese. I certainly will experiment the woodear at home with some other forms of wasabi.

Aoyama's chef used to work at Katsura restaurant in Prince Hotel, which we tried a few years ago. Aoyama is the opposite from the high-end Katsura, located in a strip mall with a basic setting, it offers good quality fish at awesome prices. Chirashi for CAN$14 and it's enough as the whole meal!

Rain was the star from this trip. In fact, it's one of the best among all high-end restaurants we tried anywhere.

I've been having some fatigue with high-end restaurants-- not only one can guess out most of the dishes on the menu without reading them, but the ways the food are cooked are similar. (Also I can make many of the dishes at home just as delicious :-) From one high-end to another, often some variations in the sauces or side dishess or garnishes are the distinctions among them, but not significant.

Rain is different. It's uniquely exciting and dazzeling. It explores many Asian cuisines, although chef Guy Rubino emphasizes that he does not fuse between cuisines. Well, pan-Asian alone does not make it that special. It's Guy's creativity that makes it special. It's Guy's Asian, he plays with classical ingredients and concepts. Also, in many dishes, the leading ingredient is often cooked in 3 to 4 ways. The creativity in cooking and beautiful presentation reminds us of Susur Lee's Suzur. (I did not bring my big camera and used my small camera, so the pictures don't show the plating art fairly.) But we think in food's taste, Rain is more delicious than Susur. (We went to Susur a few years ago and felt the taste was inferior to the creativity in use of ingredients and presentation. However, Susur Lee remains one of the chefs I respect highly, and we probably will revisit his restaurant in the future. His cookbook is another example of his creativity, very unique in binding and presentation. I have to say though, the recipes are more for restaurant chefs.)

Rain's open and airy space. Through the half-moon, the guests can see the chefs working in the kitchen.





















































Main:
Left white porcelain plate: Hamachi & Pineapple
Sake lees filet, egg-less custard & shirota roll

Right glass plate: Alaskan Black Cod
Cedar Bamboo roast, noodles (made with cod) in mentaiko





















Main: pairing of Beef, Miso & Berries
hatcho miso striploin with lingoberry, mugi miso short rib with black currant and black den "hot rock" sashimi with huckleberry











Main: Pairing of Beets, Plaums & Arctic Char
Seared filet, tartare & squid flower

















Side: Four Mushroon Tasting
Chinese turnip cakes, Chinese fermented black bean reduction with Mao Tai liquor



















Side: Steamed Dungeness Crab Dumpling
Sakura mayonnaise, green apple relish & crab snow

















Side: Kimchee Tasting
Oyster & seasonal pickle, spicy carrot froth

















Desserts:

Trio of Apricots: vermicelli pudding &cardamon wafers, crunchy masala custard & apricot sorbet, composed salad & yogurt honey

Cholate with cherry

Mango: lassi & pistachio dumplings, cardamon kulfi, darjeeling sorbet & candied chili


















Although Manhattan is a heaven for gourmet lovers, Guy Rubino and Susur Lee make us jealous of the Torontonites.