SPARKLY Japanese and Thai (Pan-Asian)

SPARKLY (yes, all uppercase) Japanese and Thai is located at 11 Colossus Drive in Woodbridge, near Weston Rd. just s. of Hwy. 7. Happily it's within walking distance of the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station, the northernmost stop on the line. If the location seems familiar, it was a Spoon & Fork before this (which we reviewed) but although the staff are the same it's under new ownership unconnected with the chain's. We went for weekend lunch. AYCD pop is $3.50, only Pepsi products. Ordering is direct to wait staff. Soy sauce was very rich, burgundy, savoury, not too salty and very fresh. The Spoon and Fork tradition of a wrapped pair of reusable chopsticks, a spoon and fork at the beginning of the meal is still present. And sashimi is on the lunch menu! On the subject of menus, another nice touch is that the menu is embedded on the table under the covering so can't be stained or lost.

House green salad was very good and fresh; had a bit of the peanut oil flavor I associate with Spoon and Fork but this time it didn't overpower everything else. Miso soup was very good, though could have been a touch richer, but still very tasty and savoury. Hot and sour soup was excellent, delicious and rich with a hint of five-spice. Tomago sashimi was very good, crab surimi, red snapper also fresh and delicious. Salmon sashimi was excellent. Philadelphia roll was delicious and fresh, with a good ingredients balance.

Chicken teriyaki very good with a sweet but tasty dipping sauce. Mishy loved both it and the beef. Beef was light in color, but still good with the teriyaki and dipping sauce. Mishy said the garlic beef tasted burnt, but I didn't have issue with it. Pepper beef was very good and savory. Mishy loved the lemon chicken, her favorite dish, as the sauce was delicious and not too syrupy. Sweet and sour chicken we both loved; good sauce with chunks of pineapple. Coconut shrimp was delicious even without the dipping sauce. Yam tempura was a bit oily but still quite good including the sauce. Japanese chicken fried rice was delicious and smokey. Mishy found the chicken pad thai delicious, though with too much sauce and not enough noodles in relation to the bean sprouts it was a bit runny.

There are no desserts on the menu (unless one counts sesame balls,) but chocolate, green tea and vanilla ice cream is available on request. Mishy loved the chocolate, vanilla was delicious French style, but unfortunately green tea was slightly freezer-burnt. Weekend lunch is $22.99 and given that prices have gone up everywhere since the pandemic's expenses for patios and reduced patrons, what with included sashimi, this is actually quite good, with a couple of shortcomings. The $3.50 pop was excessive though, even AYCD. But we had a very enjoyable lunch and would happily return.

Rating: 8.5/10