Birthday Dinner: Le Modern Japanese Cuisine

I turned 29 today. This is not the important part. (You know, I find after you turn 25, all the other ages until you're 30 is just the "late 20s" and no one gives a shit about it.) The important part is that this was my birthday weekend, and that means eating all the things. It's an excuse to eat out at fabulous restaurants and not feel remotely guilty about it. (Wanna get me a birthday present? Buy me food.) I somehow managed to get the entire weekend off from work and so my mom decided to take me out on Friday night for Birthday Dinner #1 at Le Modern Japanese Cuisine. It is important to note that this is not an all-you-can-eat restaurant, which is usually my first choice when I'm craving Japanese fare ('cause then all I care about is variety and stuffing my face with mediocre-to-decent quality food). This place gets mixed reviews, but I've been there three times now and have been thoroughly satisfied with my experience there every time.

Sashimi sampler
Aburi Nigiri
Pirate Roll (uni, salmon, snow crab, cucumber, and tobiko)
Salmon Oshizushi
Le Modern Japanese Cuisine has become my favourite sushi restaurant in Markham; their ingredients are ultra-fresh, and I find the offerings to be far more unique and more beautifully presented than many other places. They do offer a lot of your regular fare, of course, but they have lots of specialties, too, like oshizushi and torched nigiri. The prices are on par with mid-to-upscale Japanese restaurants, so it is on the more expensive side (expect to spend at least $30 a person here), but I truly think the quality is worth paying for. On that note, I do recommend getting sashimi and sushi over their other offerings because this is where they excel. The flavour combinations in their rolls are interesting but cohesive, their fish is gorgeously plush and so fresh it's almost sweet, and the rice is fluffy, slightly warm, and densely packed (no falling apart or crumbling here). Plus, their plating is really just goddamn gorgeous. The decor is stark but clean and sleek (I guess this is their take on "modern"), and the service is prompt, polite, courteous, and informative (I can't say the same for many sushi places). Really, my only complaint is that they never seem to have uni (or sea urchin). I have asked for it every single time I've been there, and every time, they say that they're out of it. Why have it on the menu if you're never gonna stock it? At this point, it's a freaking unicorn. Stop teasing us. Other than that, I whole-heartedly recommend coming here for special occasions, date nights, or when you just wanna eat some fucking delicious sushi.

Le Modern Japanese Cuisine 8920 Woodbine Avenue Markham, ON L3R 9W9 (905) 604-7800