Week 9: Daio Sushi (0.4 km)

Man, things are pretty tight these past few weeks... I actually thought I wasn't going to hit Daio until Week 11, until I mapped out a shorter walking route that shaved about 30 metres off the distance, vaulting it up to this week. Oh, the drama!

Yes, of course I'm a nerd.

Anyway, I remember going to Daio shortly after it first opened, years ago. I'm not sure that I've been back since. Not that I had anything against it, just never got around to it.

Daio joins Solo Sushi Bekkan as one of the more formal (and pricey) sushi joints in the Yonge-Carlton Sushi Axis. The inside is all mood lighting and paper-walled booths, but since I finally hit a patio-equipped restaurant on a day when the weather wasn't god-awful, outside seemed like the place to be.

I started off my meal by trying something new: Chowanmushi. It's a kind of steamed custard deal filled with bits of seafood. It was quite good, a welcome change from the usual tempura veggie appetizers (as much as I like tempura).

For my entree, I went with the Sushi Combo B. Being the sushi expert that I am, I could identify maybe 6 or 7 of the 10 items. Could that actually be real crab meat? At the very least, it's high quality fake crab meat. I don't really care which; it was good. Nice generous portions of all the fish too.

The waitress said they had very good teriyaki sauce, and my dining companion concurred. The teriyaki chicken came on a sizzling iron dish, combining the flavour of fine Japanese dining with the pizazz of Kelsey's fajitas. Rad.

With this week's entry, we are now officially more than half way through Sushipalooza '09. Only 8 more weeks 'til Labour day! Will I ever make it to a place I couldn't hit with a California roll hurled from my balcony? Time will tell!