Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Toshi Sushi Birthday Dinner

Sushi Bar

We have a family tradition that the birthday person can select any restaurant or meal they want for their birthday dinner celebration. By now It shouldn't be a surprise that Mike selected a Japanese Restaurant for his family birthday dinner. So, on a rainy Halloween night we braved Hwy 26 to find Mike's selected Japanese Pub closed. But not to worry, we were in the land of Portland's Japanese community and we quickly remembered another Japanese restaurant mentioned to us earlier in the week. A few iPhone clicks and we were off to Toshi Sushi. 

Located in a typical suburban stripmall, Toshi Sushi was cozy, friendly and full of Japanese diners! The massive Japanese menu was mesmerizing, but we attempted to order dishes we haven't eaten or seen on other Japanese restaurants. Needless to say, we left stuffed to the brim.

After ordering we each got a started salad was looked basic with bagged lettuce, but boy was it far from average. The sauce studded with tobiko was additive.

Really Yummy Starter Salad

Then the appetizers came flying at us. First up was the terrific Ika Tempura (Fried Octopus). These little suckers were gone in mere seconds. But not before Mike got to make an salute to Simpsons Character Kang & Kodos.

Delicious Ika Tempura
Kang and Kodos Ika

We also ordered buttery potato croquettes and two starters we've never had before, both were a huge hits - Takowasabi (pickled raw octopus with wasabi) and Kanitama (crab omelett with kanitama sauce).

Potato Croquette
Takowasabi - pickled raw octopus with wasabi
Kanitama - crab omelett with kanitama sauce

Then came our dinners. Dad ordered a platter of sushi with the largest and yummiest looking rainbow roll we've ever seen. The rice was terrific. We were also seated facing the sushi bar and there was only one person making sushi and he cranked out the orders with ease, it was mesmerizing and by this time the restaurant had filled up with several people waiting.

Sushi Plate
The Insane Dragon Roll with Tuna, Hamachi, Shrimp, Salmon and Crab Meat

One of the main reasons we decided on Toshi Sushi was we heard they had amazing ramen and it did not disappoint. We ordered a Tonkotsu (pork milk bone broth) and a Negi-Miso (miso broth with green onions and barbecued pork). The broths were wonderful, but the noodles were the stars, chewy, flavorful and just all around terrific.

Tonkatsu Ramen
Negi-Miso Ramen

Toshi Sushi also had terrific Soba Noodles and an order for Soba Tempura was placed. Below the dish of shredded daikon, ginger, wasabi and green onions was the broth for the cold soba noodles. Yummy!

Soba Noodles with Tempura

We nearly forgot we placed an order for the Yaki-Onigiri (Grilled Rice) which went really well with the crab omelette.

Yaki-Onigiri - Grilled Onigiri

We planned to meet up with some friends for an after dinner celebratory drink, but we were so full we couldn't even imagine sitting still for the ride home, so we cancelled plans and immediately changed into our sweats. Now that's a birthday dinner!

Birthday Dinner

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