Restaurant Review: Kobachi
KOBACHI 200 Festival Lane, Sherwood Park | kobachi.ca Instagram: @kobachi_restaurant Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew
I love the concept at this teeny-tiny Japanese restaurant because it feels timely. It's simple and clean. They have a major focus on sustainability (as evidenced by their partnership with Ocean Wise). If you're used to a Japanese dining experience that is full of bells and whistles and deep fried foods, Kobachi is not the place for you. Expect straight forward, locally-sourced, conscious food. This is what we should all be moving toward, after all. Named Best New Restaurant on CBC Edmonton's Best Restaurants 2019 list, I was excited to head out to Sherwood Park on a Saturday night to experience a fresh new level of Japanese cuisine. You'll find the restaurant in a modern area full of glass-sided buildings. Kobachi's bee logo catches the eye and assures that you have found the right place. Inside, you are met with a very, very small room. I counted 14 seats. Because of this, reservations are highly recommended - there won't be any alternate options for seating if they're full (which they are, consistently). The kitchen is open and right there in the space with you, the friendly staff busily working away. There is one long communal table that they separate with dividers for different groups and a few counter seats in front of the window. I literally cannot stress how small this place is. The decor is clean and simple just like the food. I really enjoyed the ukiyoe-style art on the walls. I ordered a Sugarcane Cola ($4.75) because it sounded unique and casual. Plus I'm a big fan of more natural colas.
It definitely looked like a classic cola except the taste was anything but. Less sugary and fake, this cola had a distinct citrus flavour to it. My guess is that there's a bit of yuzu in there and that's what they're talking about when they say that there's a "twist" added. This drink was refreshing and paired well with the food. Of course there is also a whole array of sake, shochu, and beer available as well. They even offer a sake flight that sounds like a lot of fun. Our server told us all about the daily specials (there were quite a few) and brought us pre-poured dishes of soy sauce. The menu comes on a clipboard with a dry erase marker so that you can mark down everything that you want. We went about ordering a selection of dishes that would hopefully showcase a nice example of everything that Kobachi has to offer. The first to arrive was the Sashimi Sanshu ($25.00) in which you are served 9 pieces.
The sashimi is one of the most popular items on the menu probably because it's the purest way to taste their beautifully sustainable fish. With eight fish to choose from, we opted for Tuna, Salmon, and Aburi Cured Mackerel. These were certainly exceptional cuts, generous in portion size. In fact, we noticed little extra pieces, likely scraps that they were not letting go to waste. We were more than happy to eat them! I loved the soft, melt-in-my-mouth tuna. But my forever favourite is mackerel. It's so rich and buttery and the flame-seared preparation enhanced the flavour a lot. Very clean, this was my favourite dish overall just because it encapsulates what Kobachi is all about on one plate. I'd heard good things about the Hotate Butter ($13.00) and wanted to give it a try.
"Hotate" means scallop! This dish was pretty small, as were the scallops themselves, but there were quite a few of them. Simple ingredients, I liked the combination of mushrooms and onion. I would have liked a more obvious use of butter since it seemed like it was supposed to be a key component. The scallops themselves were delightful meaty bites and were cooked perfectly. Super tender, moist, and not at all overdone. The next little plate that I'd also heard about is the Parsnip Kimpira ($6.00).
For a small dish this one packed a lot of flavour. Tangled ribbons of parsnip and carrot were bathed in a delicious sesame oil. There weren't many ingredients used but so much was accomplished with so little. I loved the use of parsnip - a vegetable that feels incredibly seasonal at the moment and also rarely served. This was a great way to add some veg to the table.
I was excited to try the Sushi Combo ($18.00) because this is another pretty famous and popular dish on the menu.
Again showcasing beautiful fish from the sea, I liked that they used this opportunity to bring in some interesting flavours. The two tuna pieces were probably my favourite just because I enjoyed the different ingredients used, making them unique. The shrimp mayo reminded me of a chop chop roll - very creamy and delicious. Overall, each piece of sushi was nicely composed and tasted very fresh. It's just good sushi, which is entirely the point. One item that I eagerly anticipated was the Real-Crab California Roll ($11.50).
This must be some kind of a revelation because I don't think that I've EVER had a California roll made with actual real crab before. Unfortunately, the roll was pretty sloppily-made. The rice barely held together and the whole thing was hardly in any sort of shape at all. I did love the real crab however, and I felt that it brought a whole new experience to what this roll is usually like. The flavour was different, fresher, and the texture was different too. I really liked it! This roll could be really special if the execution was more of a success.
Lastly, we saved room for dessert. (Actually, that was easy to do. It felt like we ordered a lot but in all honesty the food didn't seem to go very far. We probably would have needed to order 2-3 extra plates to feel substantially full.) The Yuzu Purin ($9.50) was our dessert of choice.
This dessert was light and simple and I loved it! The custard pudding was very thick and had a really distinctive texture. I'm not even sure what to compare it to. It was almost thick like frosting except more eggy and with a lovely yuzu flavour. A bit like lemon curd but much more dense. The light and flaky cookie reminded me of a Passion Flakie without the filling. This dessert was one part perplexing and five parts a total delight. I really appreciate everything that Kobachi is trying to accomplish and I give them a lot of credit for taking extra steps with their cuisine in an attempt to create a product that is not only healthier to eat but better for the world as well. I admire their commitment very much. Japanese food is pretty familiar to most people at this point and it's easy to get set in our ways. Kobachi's fresh take on sushi and sashimi is well worth a try and hopefully they will inspire other restaurants to follow a similar path. どうもありがとうございます
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