Kinka Izakaya [Tasting Menu]

Due to the ending of a franchise contract between Kinka Family Inc. and Kitanoya Marketing Corp, all 3 locations of Guu Toronto will be renamed as Kinka Izakaya (@KinkaIzakayaTO).

The name Kinka means Golden Flower and symbolizes Happiness in Japanese and aside from their name, nothing is change. Same staff, menu and quality that we all know. In celebration of the name change, we were invited to a Tasting Dinner featuring their popular menu items.

Love their selection of sake, very reasonably priced, good price range and each location has a slightly different selection.

I never knew that have a 9-course tasting menu for $33pp, all favorite dishes from their menu.

Gomaae $4

~ blanched spinach w/ sesame sauce

Love the sesame sauce, thick and delicious; always love starting my meal here with this dish.

Seaweed & Tofu Salad $7

~ marinated seaweed & tofu on greens

This was a surprise, definitely not a dish I expect at an Izakaya but I kinda welcome the fresh light coldness of his dish, a great palette cleanser from all the saltier / stronger flavor of all the usual Izakaya dishes.

Maguro Tataki $8.3

~ seared B.C. tuna sashimi w/ ponzu & garlic chips

Karaage $7.8

~ deep fried soy sauce marinated chicken w/ garlic mayo

I think I have never been to izakaya and not ordered karrage, it's the perfect bar food 

Kaki Mayo $8.5

~ baked B.C. oyster w/ spinach, mushrooms & garlic mayo topped w/ cheese

Not a lot of restaurant serves Baked Oyster in Toronto and Kinka serves one of the best one. The oyster is huge and meaty while the fillings are super creamy and delicious.

Karubi $7.8

~ grilled miso marinated beef short ribs

Gindara $12.8

~ grilled miso marinated black cod w/ yuzu miso sauce

Perfectly cooked, flaky goodness

Kinoko Bibimbap $9.3

~ rice, mushrooms & cheese w/ seaweed sauce in sizzling stone bowl

One of my fave dish, love the flavorful cheesy goodness with the perfect amount of rice crispiness. We always want to end the meal with noodle or rice and this is my dish of choice at Kinka. It can be a bit oily sometimes but think it's perfect after a few drinks.

Sake Tiramisu $6

Love this, you can actually taste the intense sake flavors.

I attended a second tasting at the North York location afterwards and got to taste some a few other dishes. This is the most spacious location out of the 3 in Toronto (Top photo 1 & 2 are from North York location).

Takowasabi
~ marinated octopus w/ wasabi stem
This is usually a must order of ours, so I was glad that it was part of the Tasting. This is the perfect dish for those who like an extra strong wasabi kick.

Gyu Carpaccio
~ seared beef sashimi w/ ponzu, wasabi mayo & garlic chips
Not a fan of how it's sitting in a pool of sauce with a slightly too strong flavor to my taste.

Tontoro
~ grilled pork cheek skewer w/ yuzu pepper
This a bit too salty, maybe sprinkle a bit too much?

Salmon Oshizushi
~ blowtorched atlantic salmon pressed sushi
The salmon was delicious with the yummy sauce and perfectly torched but the rice was a bit too soft/mushy.

Hojicha Brulee
~ roasted green tea creme brulee
Love the smoothness of this creme brulee, perfect sweetness and green tea flavor.

I recently went with some friends and posted the below sashimi dishes and many people didn't know that they serve sashimi... so I want to share with everyone that Kinka serves incredibly fresh sashimi but with limited choices on their daily special menu at Market Price, so no guarantee. 

Chef Ippei Iwata

Verdict:

Name change will definitely not affect business and now that all 3 location takes reservation, there's no worries of wait or line up.

Food & Service were as good as ever.

***This meal was complimentary but opinions are my own***