Went downtown with Chelsea and Braden this afternoon. I had asked if they wanted to go so I could stop by a BTS Jimin birthday event before walking around, maybe do some shopping, and eat dinner together. We stopped by Bloom Cafe first for the Jimin event, which didn't really work out as planned, but we did get some drinks to tide us over until dinner. (Bloom Cafe makes an excellent iced matcha latte.) We then spent a couple of hours walking around (I did over 14,000 steps today!), perusing random stores and passing through the Eaton Centre. Looking for a good place to eat dinner (a.k.a. my first meal of the day), we found ourselves heading down to King Street. Chelsea had wanted either sushi or tacos for dinner, and as we were waiting at a stop light, we saw a sign for The Haam, a Japanese-Mexican fusion restaurant that specializes in — you guessed it — sushi and tacos. It was fate. And they have an open patio!
Salmon Tataki
"Queen" (Front) and "Ladybug" (Back) Special Rolls
We decided to start with the Salmon Tataki (seared salmon with truffle oil, ponzu, arugula, balsamic, and pico de salsa) and two special rolls: the Queen (seared salmon, spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, and garlic mayo) and the Ladybug (seared tuna, avocado, cucumber, kani, honey chipotle, and poblano cream). These were all excellent. The fish was fresh, the textures are harmonious, and the flavour combinations are impeccable. I did prefer the seared char flavour of the Queen more than the smoky tart flavour of the Ladybug, but both of them are absolutely worth ordering again. The Salmon Tataki is especially noteworthy — the truffle oil and ponzu make the flavour of the salmon absolutely sing.
Bulgogi Beef Tacos
For our mains, we got three different types of tacos: the Bulgogi Taco (bulgogi, honey chipotle, guacamole, Chohula, onion, green onion, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro), the Gochujang Barbacoa (gochujang, ancho marinated beef brisket, mozzarella, guacamole, iceberg lettuce, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro), and the Teriyaki Tinga (chicken breast, mozzarella, guacamole, onion, green onion, teriyaki, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro). Okay, firstly, I must note that I normally prefer soft shell tacos, but these ones feature homemade deep-fried crispy shells rather than those prefabricated hard-shell corn tortillas (a.k.a. Taco Bell-style), and these made all the difference in both flavour and fragility of the taco. They are so good, in fact, that they have converted me into a hard-shell taco lover.
Gochujang Barbacoa Tacos
My personal favourite was the Gochujang Barbacoa — the flavours of all the components just worked so beautifully together, with the gloriousness of the ultra-tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket. This was truly the perfect fusion food for me. The Bulgogi came in second — it was delicious, but pickled radish or kimchi would've really elevated the flavour of the beef. The only disappointment of the meal was the Teriyaki Tinga. It had many of the same components of the other two — mozzarella, guac, crema, queso fresco — but the chicken was really lacking. It was bland and didn't have any discernible teriyaki flavour, and the texture of the meat was almost soupy. Like, it was literally leaking out broth. These just stuck out like a sore thumb in a meal with so many amazing choices.
Teriyaki Tinga Chicken Tacos
The prices for the rolls and tataki are pretty standard when compared to Japanese restaurants offering similar fare, but the tacos do get on the pricier side at $5.40 per piece. After tax and tip, our bill came out to about $60 per person — not exorbitant, but definitely not cheap, especially considering none of us had any alcohol. Still, this is the average price for casual dining in downtown Toronto, and overall, it was a truly excellent, enjoyable meal and absolutely deserves a return visit. This is all to say that it made our trip downtown today entirely worth it, even if I didn't get a Jimin cup sleeve.We decided to start with the Salmon Tataki (seared salmon with truffle oil, ponzu, arugula, balsamic, and pico de salsa) and two special rolls: the Queen (seared salmon, spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, and garlic mayo) and the Ladybug (seared tuna, avocado, cucumber, kani, honey chipotle, and poblano cream). These were all excellent. The fish was fresh, the textures are harmonious, and the flavour combinations are impeccable. I did prefer the seared char flavour of the Queen more than the smoky tart flavour of the Ladybug, but both of them are absolutely worth ordering again. The Salmon Tataki is especially noteworthy — the truffle oil and ponzu make the flavour of the salmon absolutely sing.
For our mains, we got three different types of tacos: the Bulgogi Taco (bulgogi, honey chipotle, guacamole, Chohula, onion, green onion, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro), the Gochujang Barbacoa (gochujang, ancho marinated beef brisket, mozzarella, guacamole, iceberg lettuce, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro), and the Teriyaki Tinga (chicken breast, mozzarella, guacamole, onion, green onion, teriyaki, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro). Okay, firstly, I must note that I normally prefer soft shell tacos, but these ones feature homemade deep-fried crispy shells rather than those prefabricated hard-shell corn tortillas (a.k.a. Taco Bell-style), and these made all the difference in both flavour and fragility of the taco. They are so good, in fact, that they have converted me into a hard-shell taco lover.
My personal favourite was the Gochujang Barbacoa — the flavours of all the components just worked so beautifully together, with the gloriousness of the ultra-tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket. This was truly the perfect fusion food for me. The Bulgogi came in second — it was delicious, but pickled radish or kimchi would've really elevated the flavour of the beef. The only disappointment of the meal was the Teriyaki Tinga. It had many of the same components of the other two — mozzarella, guac, crema, queso fresco — but the chicken was really lacking. It was bland and didn't have any discernible teriyaki flavour, and the texture of the meat was almost soupy. Like, it was literally leaking out broth. These just stuck out like a sore thumb in a meal with so many amazing choices.
The Haam
342 Adelaide St. W.
Toronto, ON M5V 1R7
(416) 977-7258
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