Sunday, 23 October 2011

Kultura

Date: October 21, 2011
Location: 169 King St. E. (east of Jarvis St.), Toronto
Meal: dinner

My thoughts:
This was my second visit to this restaurant this year, but the first time I'm coming here for dinner. (I'd been told that this place is now only available for corporate events and private parties.)

Anyway, my friend and I ordered four dishes to share. One of my favourite dishes of the night was the naan (garlic, black onion seed and harissa yogurt - $6). It was fresh and flaky with a light buttery taste. It came with some harissa yogurt, but I thought the naan tasted better on its own.


Tied with the naan would be the tofu (smoked salt, honey eggplant, ginger soy sauce - $11). The tofu itself was more firm than most tofu I've had, but it was served piping hot and lightly battered. The ginger soy sauce was divine. Didn't notice any eggplant though.


We also had edamame (miso and black bean - $6), which for the size and price, was a good deal. But it was nothing special. This was served in a large, eccentric, asymmetrical bowl and there was a bit of miso sauce on the bottom, which was different but not amazing.


Lastly, we had shrimp tacos (with quinoa salad and tomato chutney - $13). I didn't compile everything into the one taco shell that it came with; instead, I ate everything separately so that I could taste the individual flavours. The shrimp didn't taste very fresh because it wasn't at all chewy, but the seasonings were very tasty. Can't say I really cared much for the chutney, mainly because it was too spicy for me. The quinoa salad had a very light taste - nothing special, but I suppose that was intentional. After all, this dish was meant to be eaten as a taco, and the light salad would allow the shrimp to take center stage.


My friend and I also each had a drink. I had the blueberry lychee cocktail ($16 I believe), which tasted like a typical lychee martini, served with some blueberries and a lychee on a mini skewer. Otherwise, the drink itself didn't have much of a "blueberry" component.

Overall, I would come back again (well, seeing as how this is the second time back, I guess you figured that much, lol). I would only come back once in a while when I want to switch things up. I mean, the international fusion of flavours makes each dish very unique, but you don't get much bang-for-your-buck (our bill came to around $70 - tax included but not tip - and we both felt "just comfortably full", although in all fairness, we ordered drinks, which were quite pricey). Also, while the setup, decor and lighting were nice, I personally prefer a more casual setting over a chic and urban lounge-y one. Finally, I noticed a DJ table, but no one DJ-ed that night. That would have been a nice touch to the evening.

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