Shiso Tree Café

I made reservations for Mother's Day dinner with my parents at Shiso Tree Café. I had a few people recommend this place to me, both online and in real life, and I tried it for the first time a couple weeks ago (during which I forgot my camera). I thoroughly enjoyed myself last time, and I wanted my parents to try something new — neither of them had tried Japanese-Italian fusion cuisine — so I figured it would be a good place for go for Mother's Day.

Tomato cream soup with garlic croutons

All three of us opted for the meal set — you can add $8 to any pasta dish to include salad, soup, and dessert in your meal. The salad was simple, fresh, and crisp, and the sesame dressing (with a hint of miso, I think?) was the perfect mix of sweet and salty — it's the type of dressing that makes me want to eat salad everyday (it's that good). The soup of the day was a tomato cream soup — tomato purée with chunks of actual tomato, a hint of parmesan, and topped with garlicky croutons. Creamy and hearty with bursts of bright flavour; don't even think about comparing this to canned soup.

Shiso Clam Vongolé Pasta

For my pasta dish, I decided on the Shiso Clam Vongolé — spaghetti cooked to al dente perfection, tossed in white wine, olive oil, and garlic; diced bacon adds its gloriously salty, smoky flavour and compliments the Manila clams that can be found both chopped and mixed in with the pasta, as well as sitting around the plate, fresh and ready to be consumed out of the shell. Tomato lends a hint of sweetness, and the shiso adds extra spice. I really, really loved this dish — each flavour was clean and distinct, and worked really well together. It's filling but it doesn't leave you with that queasy feeling after having eaten heavier, greasier pasta dishes.

Black & White Mousse Cake

For dessert, a selection of cake slices are presented for your choosing. Tonight, I decided on the black and white mousse cake — milk chocolate and white chocolate mousses in between layers of chocolate and vanilla sponge cake, topped with white chocolate shavings and a strawberry slice. It would've been made better if there was dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate to temper out the sweetness of the white chocolate and sponge cake, but it was still delightful and will certainly appeal to chocolate lovers in general. I also liked that it was light and airy, so it never felt like too much.

Another thoroughly enjoyable dinner at Shiso Tree. Next time, I am determined to try the okonomiyaki fries.

Shiso Tree Café

3160 Steeles Avenue East, Unit 1

Markham, ON L3R 4G9

(905) 479-9319