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| - If Toronto's Japango and Joeys had a baby, it would be Hapa Izakaya.
The feel of the restaurant is mainstream, with a playlist of classics from Usher and Amerie - yet Japanese, with boisterous and unisonous shoutings of "IRRASHAIMASE!" as you enter. The decor is dark and mysterious, yet warm and inviting. And like mixed kids, effortlessly cool and good looking. If I was Riverside Flowers next door, I would totally have a restaurant crush.
The food looks just as beautiful as the decor, but not as great tasting. The lobster motoyaki and halibut tacos stood out as the more unique items on the menu, but did not live up to the potential of their names. The oshizushi and kinoko ishitaki (mushroom rice in a stone bowl) have a tad too much rice to topping ratio. And just when you thought you found a pesce substitute for foie gras, make no mistake...the smoked sea foie gras is not nearly as good as the real thing.
The desserts all sound really unique and appetizing. So, like any two responsible and health conscious young ladies...we got them all.
Japple pie gyoza - Amazing! The warm cinnamon-appley filling goes nicely with the crispy gyoza shell and cold green tea ice cream
Matcha brûlée - The chefs have clearly perfected their blow-torching skills from the aburi sushi. The top is perfectly charred, a great match for the creamy matcha
Ichigo chocolate fudge - Don't be fooled by the "ichigo" prefix that makes it sound like a super exotic Japanese chocolate. It is simply chocolate truffle-esque bars with strawberry puree. Not bad, but not unique.
Cheesecake souffle - The description reads "lemon" cheesecake, but there were no traces of lemon. Regardless, it is still a cool item as the texture is very different from a regular cheesecake
Basically, this place would be a perfect venue for a first date. The fun and seductive atmosphere would immediately impress your date. The price point is modest, but not too much so. The food is good but not amazing, but marginally so that you won't notice over your first date nerves.
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