I’m back….
One thing I am always on the hunt for is the BEST sushi, the best Japanese, the best Asian fusion and when I heard the soft opening for Moto Restaurant, sister restaurant of Sushi Raku (in Saskatoon) was on my 34th birthday, I made it my mission to head on down there, and I managed to snag my dad to come along with me!
I walked in at 11:59am and asked if you needed a reservation for the soft opening, I received warm smiles and was told no! Just pick a seat! So I did. We sat down and reviewed the menu. As it was lunch time, we opted for lighter options, ordering the beef tartar, the hamachi and salmon ceviche and omakase sashimi (which I’m pretty sure is an offering on the Sushi Raku menu or similar).
First up came the stunning ceviche. While many may think of ceviche in the traditional sense (cubed fish cured in citrus), this appeared more like a spin on tataki without the searing. In essence, beautiful, delicate sashimi slices with a very interesting garnish of a soy jelly which I imagine was done with agar agar or gelatin. I was initially a bit perplexed, could “soy jello” be good? Well, let me tell you, I was eating those little jello pieces off the plate long after the fish was done. The fish was perfectly paired with crispy onion, scallions, some nice greens with a ponzu drizzle and a dash of some sort of chili or cayenne pepper across the top. The contrast of jelly to fish would have been overwhelming if it wasn’t for the crunch of the greens and onions, the combination of all the garnish is what made this dish absolutely incredible. You wanted to eat the dish all together, a piece of everything in every bite, and the way it was plated, Moto delivered on this. The umami flavour stood out, and frankly, I’d go back 3 times a week for that dish alone. We ended up ordering another serving of this dish at the end of our meal because it was just that damn good, and so unique! I always thought when restaurants played with molecular gastronomy it was always fruitless with no real purpose or function in the dish — Moto proved me wrong. My dad and I talked about this dish for a solid 5 minutes after while we patiently waited for our next item.
Next up came the beef tartar. Of course, the spelling led me down a mental path to look up the difference between tartare and tartar. Tartare would be the correct name, but as it is spelled tartar on the menu, I will continue with their terms.
The tartar was extremely unique, the beef and vegetables were a perfect brunoise — I haven’t seen that precision anywhere in Saskatoon recently. I would say in terms of ratio, the dish could have used a bit more beef, but what needs to be talked about was the delightful addition of what I’m fairly confident was chopped octopus! The texture variation was excellent with the addition of the creamy egg yolk, cured meat, and crunchy veggies all served with perfect taro chips, it made for a very interesting experience! Not traditional beef tartare at all! I will admit, I would have liked the beef to be seasoned, I did find myself looking for salt which was exclusively provided by the taro chips. My North American palatte just needed a bit more than that, but I will chalk that up to the fact that our culture loves salt and probably anyone else would have found the dish balanced.
The final dish for our fantastic lunch was the omakase sashimi. The presentation was jaw dropping. Three pieces each of salmon, hamachi, tuna, and spot prawn. One thing to note about spot prawn is these prawns are safe to eat raw! Another thing, feel free to crunch down on that prawn head! It is a fun palette cleanse and texture provider! They nailed the fry on that prawn head, so I was a happy camper! Now back to the sashimi. It was SO fresh, and sizeable pieces! We heard through the grape vine they just got in their tuna and salmon that morning, so as fresh as Saskatoon can get! Woohoo! The rumours were true because that sashimi was perfect. The salmon sashimi made me giggle as they added some salmon roe garnish which added a great pop of flavour every bite!
For my birthday, I did get the dessert for free. It was a creme brulee. This stood out as odd to me based on the type of restaurant, and honestly, it wasn’t a show stopper. Unfortunately, the cream/eggs had cooked a bit too much and the texture was off, though it had a great crunchy top (properly torched) and the flavour was spot on. Perhaps they’ll have more Japanese offerings in the future.
Of note, I had a quick chat with the server. The menu I post here is temporary, it will change next week and then eventually grow to be a significant offering. I cannot wait to watch this place become a go-to Japanese/Asian place in Saskatoon.
So why is Moto different than other places? Moto is providing a wide variety of fusion dishes, what I didn’t try was the plethora of Korean and other Asian offerings. Those are more “supper time” choices for me, and you bet I’ll be back to try those out! The point is if you and your friends are all over the map for likes under the large Asian cuisine umbrella, Moto will cover you. Your sushi lovers will be happy, your bibimbop lovers will be sated, hot pot and noodle lover? Moto has your back.
I would highly recommend heading down to the old Leyda’s location on 20th and checking out Moto. You will not be disappointed. I am SO happy I got the honour to be Moto’s very first customer, bucket list item checked off!
We paid just over $100 for 2 beers and 4 dishes. Well worth it.
The Saskatchewan Foodie 