Sushi Kaji Return

I don’t want to be dramatic but this blog wouldn’t exist without Sushi Kaji

Legends, the year was 2012. The Mayans had yet again failed to predict the apocalypse.

It was also my first time at Toronto’s Sushi Kaji. Kaji first surfaced on my radar thanks to the Zagat guide. If you’re not familiar, before there was Yelp and Google, we all relied on a secret cabal of Zagat critics to tell us where to eat. It was crazy.

Fortunately, society has evolved. We now rely on a secret cabal of Michelin critics to tell us where to eat. Progress.

13 years is more than long-enough for a re-review

Check out my 2012 review here; fair warning, it’s a hilarious time capsule of this blog. Or read on for a more updated version.

Sushi Kaji – just Kaji Japanese Cuisine on the marquee – sits in a non-descript Etobicoke strip mall.

Mitsuhiro Kaji opened his namesake in 2000, and family members have joined him since. The ratio is about 1 staff member for every 2 customers, and the sushiya is naturally renowned for excellent service.

It’s also known for great sushi

Speaking of 2012, Kaji is regularly more packed than the Guvernment was (IYKYK). 10 counter seats and 4 tables are turned twice a night, at 6:00pm and 8:15pm. Omakase-only, with Okonomi (a la carte) after. Nigiri at the counter is served one-at-a-time, while the tables are served by the platter.

For this visit, we requested (politely, as one does in Canada) to sit in front of Kaji-san. That’s not for the sushi; during our visit, Kaji-san prepared the nigiri for the tables. It’s for the show.

Kaji-san interacts with everyone, often chiding customers – playfully – for not finger picking their sushi, or, even worse, dumping it into the provided shoyu (Sushi Kaji does not apply nikiri, another unique quirk).

We ordered the 17 course, $125  – CAD! – Omakase

That’s less than $100 USD with one of the continent’s true shokunin (artisans). Think about this – there are chalkboard omakase spots in New York that cost more. Shit, there’s a movie theatre in New York that costs more.

It also left room to order a la carte (Okonomi) nigiri at the end. Big brain stuff.

More sushi at a sushi temple seems like a smart way to approach life.

The sushi starts with Honmaguro (bluefin tuna)

That’s atypical for an Omakase, where milder tasting fish like shiromi usually lead. No qualms from me or my dining partner.

Kaji-san and his oshizushihako

Oshizushi, or pressed sushi, is a form of sushi that originally comes from Osaka, in Japan’s Kansai region (remember that little nugget for later). Shari (sushi rice) is packed into a wooden rectangular box called an oshizushihako, and then a topping – usually seafood – is layered on top. Here, it was Unagi, and Kaji-san makes it himself. Neat process to watch.

Most ingredients are from Japan, but Sushi Kaji will source elsewhere where necessary. Case in point, Ocean Trout, from Scotland.

Quick revisit of the honmaguro

I’m going to be careful, because I’m no fishmonger (or really any monger, if we’re being honest).

But I’m 94.3% sure that Kaji offers a wild (pun intended) variety of tuna cuts.

Take the Chu Toro

You legends all know what Chu Toro is. You’re smart. But did you know that it comes from multiple parts of the Tuna? And that taste and look vary depending on where?

Kaji does. That’s why the Chu Toro on the Omakase (below left) and the Okonomi (below right) look different. To this untrained eye,the left looks like a more typical Chu Toro cut, from the middle back, while right looks like Chiaigishi, which comes from a very small part in the middle near the ‘red muscle’. It declines in freshness quickly, perhaps why it’s a special.

Then there’s the O Toro. On the left, likely Jabara, the bellows underbelly. It has, as you can likely tell, more sinew. On the right, likely Shimofuri, or marbled flesh.

The shari is fantastic

It’s not just the temperature or consistency, its the flavor – sorry, flavour – which is sweeter than typical. Turns out that Shari from the Kansai area leans that way, and Kaji-san has ties to that area. No surprise that Kaji-san plans to retire to Nara, apparently in three years.

Oh ya, he claims he’s retiring in three years

So you better go soon.

Let’s get deep: It’s not a great sign that Kaji is still Toronto’s bellwether

Putting aside Sushi Masaki Saito – which I reviewed here, and fits in a completely different category – Kaji is still at the top of the Toronto sushi food chain. On one hand, very impressive. On the other, the lack of competition – the lack of progress in the market – over 25 years is concerning. To wit, my dining partner, who joined me at the new-ish and very disappointing MSSM (review here), much preferred Kaji.

It’s like me weightlifting (I promise this is going somewhere). After a rigorous set, perhaps a dropset or superset because I’m a beast, I’ll get a head rush when I stand up. On one hand, it feels great. On the other, there’s probably an underlying issue I should be deeply concerned about.

But fuck it feels good. Just like it does when I’m sitting at the counter at Sushi Kaji.

Recommended.