Ichiki Japanese and Thai is located at 3520 Major MacKenzie Dr. in Woodbridge, north of Toronto’s west end, near Hwy. 400 and Major MacKenzie Dr. Interior is semi-modern, and there are still plexiglass dividers between booths which is welcome; when we were there two of the diners near us were repeatedly coughing. Pop is canned not AYCD, and $3 which is excessive. Disposable chopsticks are used unfortunately, but we bring out own as always. Ginger was not dyed pink. Soy at table was fresh, dark and flavourful.
Both of us described the miso soup as being somewhat dilute even though it would have been delicious if it was at the right strength; it clumped nicely however. Mishy described the seaweed salad as amazing which is a good start. Grilled mushroom was quite good and beware as it is so very hot on the interior. The sauce was tasty. Green salad had radicchio(?) and a nice house vinaigrette dressing. Cheese wontons were very creamy as per Mishy, and I liked the sauce. The hot and sour soup was quite unbalanced with far too much raw vinegar having been added to it; one should not be able to taste it as a separate ingredient as this indicates there's too much of it.
We both enjoyed the chicken teriyaki as the sauce was not overpoweringly sweet, and Mishy for once did not say it was “rubbery” (which I still don't understand after all these years...) Spring rolls had a nice flavor that was slightly smoky, and the sauce was good and not overpowering. They were also fresh and just crisp enough and not soggy.
Mishy was not happy at all with the Philly roll saying they were the worst because there was a definite lack of cream cheese, and I agree with this at least for half of them. The other two had sufficient cream cheese and were acceptable. Salmon nigiri was very fresh and quite good and the rice had good consistency. Surf clam nigiri wasn't bad, but had a slightly fishy odour and was slightly less fresh than it could have been. Butterfish aka escolar was very fresh and good. Red snapper AKA tilapia was similar. Bean curd pocket sushi was actually excellent as the bean curd was not overly sweet and had plenty of flavor.
Beware on some of the appetizer items as they are only available in orders of multiples such as for instead of being able to choose exactly how many are served. Thai satay chicken was alright, but understated to the point of being too mild. We both loved the beef skewers as they were delicious and in a nice sauce; was nice to see them on the menu at lunchtime as well. Mishy tried the chicken katsu and actually liked it, even though she usually doesn't try breaded items, but really liked the crispiness. I liked it too and the sauce was very good. Deep fried tofu was excellent as the sauce was delicious and winy, and complemented it well. Coconut shrimp was good in and of itself but the sauce was the standard peppery hot sauce used with spring rolls which was not very complimentary.
For dessert, Mishy said she is not a fan of black sesame ice cream but I like it as it is different, although it's not my favourite; it was at least very fresh here. Ichiki does have my favourite, which is coconut, and it was delicious. I'm also grateful it was very fresh. We both loved the chocolate ice cream as it was very fresh, and had plenty of rich bitter chocolate notes. Orange and strawberry jell-o shot glass are also available, kind of hard to get that wrong.
Weekend lunch was $29.99. Although there were beef skewers on the menu, given some of the issues this price point wasn’t justified, especially with the excessive canned pop. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll return.
Rating 6.5 – 7 / 10
