Having known of Eden as a typical east district nightclub with the glitzy clientele and party-till-dawn atmosphere that come with it, stepping out of the glass elevator at mid-day and into the club is a bit of an odd experience. But Eden recently underwent a major renovation that saw its one remaining floor redesigned to include a comfy circular bar, plenty of couches, a balcony that overlooks the rooftops along Da'an Road and in one bright orange corner a sushi bar. People may ask: "A sushi bar? In Eden?" But sure enough, there it is.
The man behind the counter is the funkily dressed Japanese-Taiwanese-American Ikutoku Kimura, who goes simply by "Toku" and who makes a truly impressive array of fusion dishes. They're called "fusion" because of the various elements of different regional cuisines -- French, Thai, Vietnamese -- that he incorporates into traditional Japanese food. The experimentation with flavors can be credited to his experience opening a restaurant called Deep Sushi in a trendy district of San Francisco.
PHOTO: MAX WOODWORTH, TAIPEI TIMES
Toku has several trademark dishes, but the one of which he is most proud is the sunflower roll (NT$320), which is a roll of rice and razor-thin slices of salmon with luscious chunks of deep-fried shrimp tempura in the middle. The rolls are placed in a thin layer of the chef's own sauce made with mayonnaise, garlic paste and soy sauce and on top is a dollop of flying-fish roe with a quail egg yolk that when broken spreads the bright orange eggs nicely over the roll.
The mayonnaise-based sauce and the deep-fried tempura make the sunflower roll a fairly heavy dish that is probably best shared among several people and washed down with plenty of sake. By sharing, you'll have space for some of Toku's other specialties, like the Marilyn Monroe, the South Park, the classic California rolls or the naughtily named ganja roll. The flashy rolls are a departure from the generally austere esthetic of sushi bars both in presentation, with Toku's signature swipe of wasabi along the rim of each plate, and in the ostentation of the flavors.
Some apprehension that a sushi bar in a popular nightclub may be more about style than substance is perhaps justified, but Toku does a good job in dispelling those fears. The food is unique and given the address and venue, surprisingly affordable.
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