My final Summerlicious restaurant pick was Arisu. A Korean-Japanese fusion restaurant that ended my Summerlicious experience on a very high note. I actually made reservations at Arisu much earlier but had to cancel. I’m glad I did because it was a great ending to a week long of eating. Right off the bat, the menu they presented online was very intriguing. I wanted to try everything on the menu just out of curiosity! I have eaten at Korean and Japanese restaurants before separately so I guess I was excited about how these cuisines’ marriage will translate. For the most part that’s what makes fusion cuisine exciting. You’re trying to combine two different worlds into one and how you do so affects the overall outcome. Choosing techniques and flavour combinations appropriately determines how successful your dish may be. For that very reason fusion cuisine is tricky and requires someone who understands and respects both cuisines and culture.

So, for the last time (until Winterlicious or in a few days because your girl needs to eat), I asked the server for his recommendation. We went with Pumpkin Porridge to start, their concoction Galbi Connection Roll as my main and cinnamon punch with persimmon roll for dessert. First and foremost, our server was very enthusiastic about their food. It’s always great to eat a restaurant where servers are proud of the food they’re putting out. He raved about the Galbi Connection roll because he believes that there is nothing like it at other restaurants. He expressed how this dish exemplified the Korean-Japanese fusion cuisine that Arisu wants to achieve. Well, all I can say is that I’m glad he suggested it. It is quite a hearty roll comprised of crabmeat roll with their signature galbi beef short ribs topped with fried scallions. The crabmeat roll itself had a few components such as the crabmeat, avocado, cucumber and roe inside. Adding the galbi beef short ribs made it over the top! The meat was tender, seasoned well and complimented the crabmeat roll. They also provided some pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi on the side as per usual when eating sushi. So of course I tried the roll with the pickled ginger and a tiny dip of soy sauce. I don’t say this much but it was quite orgasmic. I slowly melted in my sit with culinary ecstasy savouring every chew. I finished that dish in an instant.

Before I exit and give myself some quiet time reminiscing about that dish I should also mention that they provided us with a few side dishes during the meal, as it was customary for Korean cuisine. Here’s what I found impressive, after bringing our side dishes our server came back and replaced one of them because it was not up to their restaurant’s standards. He assured me that it was a good side dish but it wasn’t quite good enough for them to serve their diners. Now I don’t know what that side dish tasted like but the fact they took the initiative to replace an item because it didn’t meet their standards shows that they care about their food and want to ensure that their diners have the best dining experience they can have at Arisu. With that, I end this extremely long and consolidated Summerlicious post to go for a run because sometimes it pains to write about food. You know, just a little.

Always,

-K

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