What an incredible find! I was in Toronto for a few days, and came to Kingyo based on a local's recommendation that it was very authentic and delicious.
Staff: Super friendly. And whenever customers arrive or leave, the whole staff greets/bids farewell in Japanese.
Ambiance: Really clean and cool. Jazz music playing in the background and Japanese film projecting on the back wall - an odd combination but I was digging it.
Food: Just amazing - two of us shared 4 appetizers and a noodle dish and were beyond stuffed.
1) First was the "death" chicken, which was basically deep fried chicken thigh in a diablo chili sauce. Super juicy and moist, but the sauce was a bit one-note (a bit too salty) and was probably my least favorite dish.
2) Next came Agebitashi, which is marinated eggplant in sake, mentsuyu, and crispy bonito flakes. Fresh, flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth goodness.
3) Yuzu ankake bokkake udon, which came with stewed beef tendon, soft boiled egg, sour plum, scallions, marinated kelp and tempura bits, all accompanied by a thick yuzu flavoured sauce. This was my absolute favorite! The blends of flavors and textures were spectacular.
After eating the first dishes, we were so impressed and decided to order more!
4) Stone bowl mushroom tofu, thick mushroom paste on deep-fried tofu. This came out sizzling and delicious. They added okra and dried scallops to the sauce which made it extra sticky and flavorful. This was really fun to dig into and eat!
5) Tako wasabi, which is raw and/or cooked diced octopus marinated with wasabi stems and sea kelp, and served with nori seaweed paper. I preferred the cooked octopus over the raw, which was slightly too wet and slimy.
All in all, an amazing experience. Not sure if I'll have the chance to travel back to Toronto anytime soon. But when I do, I'm definitely paying a visit to Kingyo!