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| - I was very honoured to have been invited for a tasting meal at NOKA and didn't want to pass up this opportunity for a night of creative presentation, japanese cuisine and any other surprises along the way.
On the menu were 8 different dishes showcasing hot and cold, seafood and meat in addition to original dishes, homemade sauces and demonstrations. Watching the chef make their in house salad dressing, I was surprised at the # of ngredients put into it... however, no diary products which was a positive. I must say that the taste of it was very similar to other dressings I've had at other restaurants. Next was the soy sauce taste test. We were offered 3- regular store bought, low sodium soy, and their in house soy. I'm a fan of low sodium and the verdict still stands. Their homemade soy sauce was too sour for me, with more vinegar than the norm. This came with the first course - 3 pieces of fatty juicy sashimi - cut beautifully presented in a little wooden box, with a dollop of in house wasabi. Every bite tasted fresh and I could taste the horseradish in my mouth with a good amount of heat. This was off to a great start.
2nd dish - Green Ocean: Deep friend sweet shrimp on a bed of fava bean and yogurt puree, with edible flower. I didn't understand how the dish came to be and after tasting it, I was still scratching my head. The fava bean tasted mushy with no flavour and did not compliment the shrimp. The flower added a spark of colour in the presentation but did not add anything to my tastebuds. I felt like it was an attempt to make you feel healthy with a deep fried component.
3rd dish - Threesome consisting of the following rolls:
Stuffed Tuna - tuna, spicy scallop, leek. My thoughts on this roll, was extremely bland and dry, wanting soy sauce, and no spiciness whatsoever. There was leek in it? Didn't even notice.
Ex-Girlfriend: Mango, Tuna, Asparagus, Avocado. It was OKAY, with the drizzle of strawberry sauce, it was a sweet roll.
Vegetarian Delight: Avocado, beets, mango, papaya, asparagus. I liked the beet chip that was on top to add crunch to the roll, but once again, the strawberry drizzle really should not have been included because it once again became too sweet. I actually thought the papaya was mango and flavours did not show through.
4th dish: Al-Tofu - oyster and white mushrooms, teriyaki sauce and dill. I thought that this dish was going to be hot but at first bite, it was cold / cool in temperature so the teriyaki sauce was not elevated. The dill was extremely overpowering and not needed - it was a major turnoff. If they had used Enoki mushrooms - it may have added some more textures and variety.
5th - Basil Lamb Chop - baby lamb, eggplant and basil chili sauce. I really liked the baby eggplants because it helped with the extremely overpowering basil chili sauce. I could dip my lamb because there was a taste that resembled licorise but the chili spice was not pleasant, while the lamb, which looked to be cooked well was rather tough to chew.
6th - Bacon dish with two components.
Buta pork belly on pureed carrot, with pickled cucumber. Maybe the cucumber was in the puree but I didn't see it. The pork belly was cooked and seasoned nicely and the carrot had no flavour whatsoever so it was a failed attempt to balance strong and simple flavours.
Creamy Bacon Roll - which was a deep fried roll with bacon, avocado, whipped cream and what seemed to be shaved smartie bits for colour. All I tasted was a deep fried puff. The inside which I broke open had a piece of avocado and the smallest piece of bacon fat. This just left me a little clueless.
7th - Noka Chilean Sea Bass - with magno, miso and elderberry sauce. I was so excited to try this dish and I must say it was pretty tasty, at the the expense of the oil it was soaked in. The fish had a nice charr and grilled very nicely. The flavours did come through but sadly, I was wiping the fish on the lotus leaf it was sitting on as the oil dripped out. The sauce was not necessary as it was way to sweet and took away the simplicity of this beautiful fish.
8th - Mochi, Sorbet: Red Bean Rice cake, Strawberry and chocolate mint. Anyone who knows me knows I love Red Bean so I had high hopes. Sadly, something was missing...I don't know how to explain it but the mochi was bland, with what seemed to be red bean paste out of a can. The strawberry sorbet was too soft, and tasted like strawberry jam. The mint was missing the chocolate component.. I was asking others and we wondered if the chocolate was infused? Still not sure.
The dishes I found most tasty can be found at other restaurants so I don't feel like I would make a trek just for salmon and bass. I can only give an honest based on what was plated and am sad to give this a one star at an outing full of great people and conversation. With so much competition on the street, I think that there is a bit of work to do. I feel that NOKA is trying to hard to be too inventive - stick with your strengths.
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