Tokyo Thyme

One of my friends was in town for reading break so we were meeting up for lunch on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The restaurant is located on West Boulevard right by 38th avenue. I wanted to go to Tokyo Thyme since I first read about it on a local forum  in a thread called “Decent Sushi” and the people that knew about it called it “seriously a hidden gem.”

Were they ever right.

What we ate

Agedashi Tofu 

• Deep fried tofu served in broth
• Their tofu was not overly soft like a lot of agedashi tofu
• The broth was warm, not too sweet, and a good accompaniment to the tofu

Red and White Tuna Stack 

• Stack of red and white tuna, yamimo, avocado, and a quail egg
• This appetizer was served with sushi rice and seaweed. After you instagram it (like everyone will) you knock it over and mix up the ingredients
• The owner’s wife came over and asked us if we had eaten this before and explained that you’re supposed to put a bit of wasabi on the seaweed, and then add rice and tuna and make a little hand cone out of it
• Definitely our favourite dish! It was creative, fun to eat, and delicious!

Negi Toro, Chopped Scallop Roll, Ika Tobiko Shiso

• Negi Toro was the standard negi toro with tuna belly and green onion
• Tuna was super fresh and there wasn’t too much green onion. Perfectly done negi toro!
• Chopped Scallop Roll was chopped scallop, cucumber, and covered in smelt roe
• Scallop was also very fresh. There was more smelt roe than we expected but it added nice texture and saltiness to the roll
• Ika Tobiko Shiso was squid, flying fish roe, and Japanese mint
• The Japanese mint was an interesting flavour none of us have had in sushi before. The flavour of the squid was overpowered by the other two ingredients but it gave a nice slightly chewy texture

Indian Summer

• Unagi and green bean tempura roll topped with unagi and avocado
• The unagi was really good – perfectly cooked and fatty and there was LOTS of it in and on top of the roll
• The tempura green bean was something none of us had had before either! Lots of creativity here

Final Thoughts

Definitely a hidden gem of Kerrisdale! While we ate there it looked like mostly locals coming in to eat. Next time I come back I’d really like to try some of their sashimi and nigiri, as well as their donburis and other warm appetizers!

Pros:

• Very friendly service
• Parking is easy and decently priced ($1.50/2 hours directly across the street)
• Food is extremely well executed (fresh fish, creative dishes, good “staple” dishes)

Cons:

• Portions are proper Japanese portions, so smaller than what you’re used to 

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