Dinner @ Toku (Japanese)

Location: London, Piccadilly Circus. 

Website: www.toku-restaurant.co.uk

I have always been a really big fan of the japanese cuisine, in fact, I could confidently say that it is a number cuisine that I could happily have for the rest of my life. The thing with Japanese food, is that you can't go wrong with it. It is healthy, fresh and filled with such flavours that one I can not put in to words how fantastic it is. My boyfriend booked us a table at Toku for a early evening meal and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice this restaurant was. A little over crowded when we were there, but it added to the atmosphere. I haven't heard much about this restaurant, nor have I ever come across it. Toku serves up simple yet tasteful dishes, in a surrounding that is bustling with the sound of sushi chefs doing what they do best and waiters/waitress providing a friendly yet knowledgable service. 

What I mostly love about Japanese food is that you can either have it in a style of 'tapas' where you can order a variety of dishes to share, or to just simply have a meal of your own, all of which are normally on the a la cart menu. I personally love sharing because it is fun and you can share the experience together. Toku has a vast variety of dishes available on their menu, but we opted for a tapas style dinner. The sashimi (raw slice of fresh fish) was so fresh that when biting in to the fresh fish, it still had a bit of a bite to it. I usually accompany my sushi with a large amount of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and soy sauce (traditional oriental dipping/marinate/seasoning sauce). I kid you not, the Sashimi tasted like the sea.. it was so fresh.

Along came the mother of all sushi meals. We ordered a 2 plates of delicious sushi rolls, both of which were gobbled up as fast as you can say "moshi moshi". Yes, I was in awe when I devoured in to them, they were absolutely mouth-watering tasty. The first dish we ordered was a teriyaki eel (sweet marinated eel) wrapped in a roll filled with avocado and and prawn tempura (prawns fried in japanese light batter). The second dish consisted of a selection of raw fish wrapped in a roll filed with avocado and crab stick. They both look as good as it tasted.. I wanted more, and more.. and a whole lot more.

With every Japanese meal that I have, dessert is a definitely a must.. it would be a crime not to. Since Toku is in partnership with Japan Center their desserts wasn't unfamiliar to me. I had the Japanese green tea brownie accompanied with a green tea ice-cream, both was perfect to cleans my palette. Green tea ice-cream, in my opinion, is ideal after a heavy meal as it is very light  unlike most dairy based ice-creams, which are heavy on the stomach and scales. My boyfriend opted for the sesame seeded ice-cream with almond flaked ice-cream. They were so light and so refreshing that I even ordered another one for myself.

If I was to be picky about this restaurant, my only complaint would be that it was a little cramp with all the tables slightly too close to one another. But this is a minor glitch, considering the food,  service and the speed of every dish that came out was great!