Blowfish Restaurant

Blowfish (Facebook: Blowfish Restaurant + Sake Bar, Twitter: @BlowfishResto) has two locations in downtown: one at King & Bathurst (original location, established in 2003) and the other at Bay & Adelaide (opened in 2011). When my friend Amy (@lu_amy7) suggested to go to  Blowfish for dinner, I picked the Bay location only because I have a $20 gift card for that specific location. If not for the gift card, we probably would have ended up at the King location which was closer to the both of us.

Very chic lounge decor: structured dark wood panels, glossy bronze / high black leather booths, pink neon lights...

I found the general vibe at Blowfish pretty similar to Ki.

Coconut Lemongrass Nigori: Moonstone, Forest Grove, Oregon ($14)

"Aromas of creamy coconut + crisp lemongrass that follow through the palate with hints of bubblegum, anise and citrus followed by clean + fruity finish"

Warm, salted edamame for the table

HOT PLATE (Seasonal Menu)

Tempura Spicy Eggplant Gyoza - Yam, soy pulp, taro and corn wrapped in eggplant, served with soy mirin vinegar dip ($12)

BLOWFISH MAKIMONO

Truffle Albacore - Spicy albacore tuna paste, tiger shrimp and avocado; topped with a garlic chip and truffle oil drizzle ($16)

BLOWFISH MAKIMONO

Red Hot Curry Salmon - Hot smoked salmon, mango, cucumber, lettuce pine nuts, tobiko, sesame seed, Japanese 7-spice, curry drizzle ($13)

COLD PLATE (Seasonal Menu)

Unagi Banana Makimono - Barbequed fresh water eel, tempura banana, avocado, and tempura bits; with kewpie and unagi sauce ($15)

Yuzu Meringue Tart - with blueberry compote ($11)

Amy and I couldn't resist ordering mostly maki that night simply because they all sounded so unique and interesting on the menu. I mean...maki rolls with truffle oil? Hot curry salmon? Unagi banana? These flavour combinations were too cool to pass up! My favourite was the unagi banana, probably because I'm familiar with tempura banana in desserts. My taste buds were extremely confused when it came to the curry salmon and truffle albacore; I realized I had a hard time incorporating the curry and truffle oil flavours with sushi... probably a psychological thing on my part :) 

Blowfish's menu of hot and cold plates is all about a fusion of old with new, classic with modern, traditional with contemporary, combining Japanese and Pan-Pacific with European and North American tastes. Blowfish's makimonos live up to that concept and are definitely one-of-a-kind.