Makimono - Airport (Japanese)

Makimono is located at 636 Dixon Road in Etobicoke, a short walk west of Martin Grove so is accessible by transit, and just east of Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Makimono had a rather loud interior, but it was nicely decorated and very full of patrons even on a weekday lunch. One large caveat is that they don't take debit (cash or credit card only) and there is a very overpriced $3.50 ATM in the lobby. I refuse to pay this and went elsewhere to do my withdrawal; there are BMO and RBC ATMs across Dixon. iPad menus are used. AYCD pop is available for $1.99, however tea is also $1.99 though it is quite good being served with a bag and the hot water is refilled on demand. Disposable chopsticks are used unlike the other Makimono locations... thankfully I bring my own, but on a second visit reusables were out. Soy sauce at table was very fresh, quite good and only moderately salty, so I didn't have to ask for low-sodium. Ginger does not appear to be served by default, but it is available for the asking and is not dyed pink. Also and wonderfully there was salmon, red snapper and crab sashimi available for lunch; this is worth mentioning right at the beginning. 

Hot and sour soup was excellent, flavorful and neither too hot nor too sour, with plenty of savour. Miso soup was very good to excellent also with plenty of savour and not watered-down. Green salad was very good, fresh and had a very good house dressing with orange and interestingly a hint of banana, but it worked well. Mishy loved the wakame salad indicating it was cold and fresh, and the avocado salad and its wasabi orange house dressing, although I did not notice any banana hints as I did with the green salad. Wonton soup was excellent, broth was savory with chicken stock and wontons were light and not doughy. Both were more tasty and enjoyable. Beef udon soup was excellent with savoury broth.

Salmon nigiri very good and fresh, although the rice was a little loose in consistency and tended to fall apart. Red snapper nigiri was similarly very good and fresh and had similarly loose rice. Butterfish nigiri was yellowish so it may not have been escolar and was good. Surf clam nigiri was very good and had nice texture. Crab nigiri was good to very good but the rice is very thick. Salmon and red snapper sashimi were both excellent, very fresh and good presentation. Crab sashimi was good but was definitely surimi, as was the nigiri. Mishy loved the avocado cucumber roll and said it was very fresh. She also absolutely loved the sashimi saying it was among the best she had ever had. Salmon cheese roll, almost a Philly roll, was very good.

Gyoza were very good, not stale or freezer-burned and the sauce was excellent. Garlic pepper beef, another wonderful thing to have on the menu, was fantastically good and savory and had just the right amount of salt… Mishy disagreed and indicated that it was a little too salty for her but I thought it was required to bring out the beef's savour. General Tao chicken was very good and had plenty of sauce. Chicken katsu was a bit crunchy but flavorful, and the sauce was very good, modified ketchup it seems but it worked whatever it was. Beef teriyaki is shredded beef and sauce was quite sweet, but it was still good and it's very nice to have regardless. Chicken teriyaki was excellent, sauce was not too sweet and very flavorful. Mishy loved the salmon teriyaki a lot.

Crab, zucchini, pumpkin, and yam tempuras were all good, but the shrimp tempura was excellent by being lighter and flakier. Beware the size of the pumpkin tempura, as it is about the same size is a large squash sliced through however it was good. The sauce also seemed the best here of the all the Makimonos, but was still a bit too sweet. Chicken skewers were excellent and their sauce worked very well for them. Lemon chicken's sauce was also good, with enough lemon flavor and the chicken also was not dried out.

For dessert, ginger ice cream is on the menu and was very fresh with nice pieces of ginger. Mango ice cream had a rich unique flavor with almost peppery notes. Vanilla ice cream was very fresh. Banana tempura was good in an ideal amount of chocolate sauce. Chocolate ice cream was very fresh and very rich slightly bitter chocolate; we both loved it. Red bean ice cream was good and fresh, though did not have that awesome red bean flavor found at very few places. Mango pudding was mild subtle and very good. Strawberry shot glass Jell-O was good. Mishy loved the steam bun (and hadn't liked it elsewhere.) Mango and mocha cakes are same brand used at many other places we have been to. Service was excellent, very fast and friendly. Weekday lunch $19.99. I hoped to return soon with Mishy, as she insisted on it, and ended up doing so within days. With sashimi and pure beef dishes available on the lunch menu, and the overall quality in that everything was good to excellent, Makimono is a excellent value.

Rating: 9.5/10