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| YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL FIND AT MASA |
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 Toronto's Japanese restaurant Masa, offers a slick menu providing enough variety to make choices difficult. Starting with appetizers, engage in the comprehensive selection of fragile-crusted tempura dishes (well drained of grease) such as savory eggplant, deep-fried tofu sprinkled with flakes of bonito and a drizzle of sauce; the boldly tasteful, chewy squid or an agreeable vegetable version.
Other savvy opening options worth considering are sweetly soothing barbecued eel, or the chef's special pan-fried, buttery spinach. It should be noted that slippery green seaweed salad is best prepared lightly seasoned and thoroughly defrosted. The menu also lists soups, among them Toronto's finest miso. Aficionados of raw sliced fish will fall for the plethora of sushi, house special rice based rolls, sushi/sashimi combinations, the most fulfilling being the resplendent 62 piece array labeled Tokyo Sushi or Sashimi Boat. There are good buys among the roster of a la carte sushi dishes. The extensive main courses likewise include a significant number of complex rice and noodle creations. We fancied, for example, Masa's aromatic fried chicken and rice admixture. The Japanese-style pork cutlet came to table exuberantly tasteful albeit a pinch dry. Legendary Teriyaki dishes are crusty on the surface yet reasonably juicy. As for surroundings, the multi-roomed Masa, which also hosts a Tapinaki Room, has produced one of the city's most challenging eating environments. Visibly backgrounded almost entirely in black, it is softened by romantic lighting and outfitted with an off-entrance sushi bar, easeful booths, chairs and tables; its spaciousness bracing myriad eye-catching decorative wooden screens. Hushed service is brisk, efficient and personalized. A meal at Masa is coupled with dipping and sipping and drinking, leaving one satiated, comfortable, feeling well treated and well fed. By: Sheldon Landwehr Masa Sushi, in the Comfort Inn Hotel, 15 Charles Street East, Toronto, Canada. Telephone: 416-920-3388. Lunch and dinner daily. Entrees $11.99 to $89.99. Accepts major creditcards. |
