CLOSED - Aji Sai Plus Resto Lounge (Japanese/Thai)

Update 2021-Aug-19: Aji Sai Plus Resto Lounge appears closed... Permanently Closed in Google Maps, Closed in Yelp and its phone # is out of service. Unknown whether this is due to the pandemic or not. This seems like enough evidence that it is no longer around...

Aji Sai Plus Resto Lounge is located at 637 Yonge in downtown Toronto between Wellesley and Bloor Streets so is very transit-accessible from either Bloor/Yonge or Wellesley subway stations. Aji Sai has a darker modern interior, and cuisine is self-titled as Japanese/Thai. iPad menus as well as reusable chopsticks are used. AYCD pop is available for $2. Soy at table was rather salty and not the freshest; so-called low sodium is available but it was not any improvement. Wasabi/ginger was not provided but it can be asked for.
 

Beef udon soup was delicious with nice spicing and plenty of wakame. I did not like the miso soup unfortunately: it was almost completely lacking in dashi savour as well as other flavors being watered down. Spring rolls were good although somewhat generic, the sauce tasty and spicy, although it was also used for gyoza and scallop aka surimi, which did not have the usual sauce on them. They were still good however. Gyoza were moister than the usual dried ones at other places, and were a little tastier than the usual from frozen elsewhere as well. Aji Sai's wakame salad is the only actual wakame salad I have ever had, being in sheets rather than strips of seaweed. It had an interesting flavor which, considering how original it is, was quite good. The more usual seaweed salad is also available, although I did not try that as unfortunately Mishy was not with me. Green salad was alright, although the dressing had a cucumber flavor I didn't know whether was introduced by the cucumber or was already there. Kimchi was all right except the sauce had some unwelcome sweetness in it.

Dim sum option har gow shrimp was very good and savory, as well as pork shumai. Chicken teriyaki was excellent with well cooked chicken, tender and juicy, and the sauce was very good and not too sweet. Shrimp tempura was very good, light thought not too flaky with a touch of oil, but the sauce was very good and tasty. Takoyaki (on menu as "tokoyaki") was very good, considering it may contain octopus, and I enjoyed the tasty sauce. Chicken cutlet aka katsu did not have as crisp of breading as most places, but it was still good with a chicken being moist and tender; instead of the usual brown sauce, it had a yellow sauce that did not taste of mustard very much or anything else.

Atlantic smoked salmon roll was good although it was overpowered by the salty soy sauce. Crab aka surimi nigiri was good and fresh although it had a small amount of what look like wakame crumbs on it. Surf clam nigiri was also good and fresh was good texture, as was salmon, red snapper aka tilapia, and butterfish aka escolar. In all of them the rice was a touch loose and could easily fall apart but was otherwise good. BBQ (torched) white tuna sushi nigiri was very good, it had the same yellow sauce on it but this time it worked very well, a much better pairing. Salmon Rose also had the same yellow sauce and it went well with it, though there was no tobiko.

For dessert, red bean ice cream was fresh and good with a little of that wonderful floral flavor I love. Mango ice cream was quite good and fresh, as was green tea. Mango and strawberry mousse cakes were the same variety at so many other places purchased externally. Sesame ball was a bit dry but still good. Fried banana was quite good with just enough chocolate sauce. Service was fast and friendly and very good. Weekday lunch was $16.99. While not perfect, for the area this is a good lunch price and it was enjoyable for a casual lunch option.

Rating: 7-7.5/10