aKin (*) Toronto

Akin was recently awarded a star and is a relatively new entry in Toronto's fine dining scene. We were quite pleased with the entire experience.

Dishes are all takes on night market food

Snacks/Amuse: Takes on Banh Mi, Kimbap, Papaya Salad and Satay

Chicken Karaage – essentially a chicken sausage fried in its own skin – Caviar for some umami. A great dish which felt like eating upscaled fast food.

Tom Yum- umi, hiramasa, coconut – tomato (and I think carrot) pearls

Haninan Chicken Rice – one bite, explode in your mouth goodness, with some texture from jasmine rice. The second spoon here is the cocktail pairing which was also a one bite explosion – cannot recall the details but a great orange flavor

Dumpling – this was a standout for me – lamb neck, mala broth, allium. The dumpling is a "hundred pinch" dumpling and we were told each takes 15 minutes to make by hand. The broth was outstanding with great depth of flavour typical of bone broths.

Takoyaki – deconstructed – the octopus is flash cooked at high temp and was crispy outside while perfectly tender and moist inside. The "beignet" was a miss for me – mostly dough with some less than flavorful cheese within. While the octopus was great, this dish was the miss of the night for me.

Chili Crab – Dungeness crab, montou, tomalley – rice in various states provide great texture.

Dou Fu Fa – almond milk, kefir and strawberry (missing photo on this one)

Mango Sticky Rice – great presentation – less sweet than I like dessert, however very typical of asian desserts.

Petit Four – one bite confections: Thai Iced Tea, Air Jagung, Bubble Tea, Vietnamese Coffee

Service was friendly and not stuffy – they showed up at the right time and did all the right things, can't fault anything here.

Pairing – I had the wine pairing, partner had cocktail pairing and we kind of shared each. The cocktails stood out more than the wines with respect to experimentation – they play with viscosity in ways I have not experienced and lends both a mouth feel and presentation I haven't tasted or seen before.

Overall, the star is deserved. With respect to competitors in the area, aKin was much better than a recent visit to Alo, and not as good as Peal Morrisette (which recently got a second star). I think it is doing quite well relative to the other one star experiences in the city.