The Octopus Sashimi at Kiko Sushi in Ottawa wasn’t plated well but the taste and texture were terrific. I gave it a 4 out of 5 Rating.
Kiko Sushi is a very nice Japanese Restaurant, situated, somewhat incongruously, in Ottawa’s Little Italy District. It is a little out of the way from where I usually stay when I am visiting the City, and, for that reason, I have only visited it once so far. All the dishes I was served, however, including the Octopus Sashimi shown above, were very nice, and made the place worth noting as somewhere to visit again.
Firstly, though, I will have to say that the presentation, or ‘plating job’ in this instance was not wildly impressive. I really like the Bamboo ‘Geta-Style’ serving plates, and the very minimalist layout was decent, but the whole affair was a bit slapdash and sloppy. The ginger seemed to have been just tossed down, rather than placed with care, and there were threads of Daikon on the plate that were clearly not supposed to be there. I probably would be a bit more critical but it would be unfair not to also note that the restaurant was packed and the wait staff were just about running to keep up. Presumably it was much the same in the kitchen, so I a bit of a hurried approach can be forgiven.
Obviously, it is the food itself that ultimately makes for a decent restaurant experience and, here, I was very pleased. I have discussed elsewhere about the way in which Sashimi is sliced and, in my post on the Octopus Sashimi at Ken’s Japanese Restaurant, I complained that the slices were much too thin, and I also noted that the chef, in that instance, had not used the undulating ‘ripple’ cut that improves the appearance and texture of Octopus Sashimi.
Here, the slices were cut to just the right thickness, and you may be able to see, despite the poor photography, that the flesh is slightly rippled as a result of the slicing technique. The texture was very much like that of the tail meat from a lobster in the two-pound range, and the taste was also comparable in terms of sweetness. All the dishes I had on that visit were very nicely done, and this one, in particular, was memorable.