Eating Out: Momofuku Shoto, Toronto

A trio of amuse to start the meal

Ian and I love discovering incredible places to eat. We'll hibernate for a month so we can splurge and try somewhere new, and when we travel, it's top on our list to research the best restaurants and food experiences in the area, whether that's fine dining, a local market or a food truck. Lucky for us, Toronto is a very good place to live if you want to eat well.

Momofuku's Shoto has been on our list for a while and Ian's birthday was the perfect excuse. Shoto is on the upper level of the Momofuku complex hidden behind the main restaurant on that floor, Daisho. Like all of David Chang's enterprises, Shoto is relaxed and cool. Guests sit at a U-shaped counter that overlooks an open prep area. The sommelier/server was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. The playlist ran the gamut from Metallica to Stevie Wonder. And the sous chefs plating in front of us were doing their thing, no airs and graces.

We opted for the new multi-course tasting, which offers five to six dishes instead of the usual 10. I'm all for these pared down tasting menus because I tend to get uncomfortably full by the end of a regular tasting. Highlights of the meal included a silky cauliflower soup over a delightful nugget of cauliflower tempura, blow-torched mackerel with beet puree and shiso leaf, a ragu with buckwheat noodles and super-tender chicken with earthy lentils and Jerusalem artichoke.

At the end of the service, the chefs chatted with us, asking us how we enjoyed the meal, talking food and restaurants and generally making the experience all the more enjoyable, leaving us looking forward to having another good "excuse" to go back.