Shiso Tree Café

So, Liz and I finally found some time to meet up yesterday, and after spending the afternoon looking way too many beauty products (what else is new?) at Fairview Mall, we headed over to Shiso Tree Café for dinner:
Bolognese Fries
We decided to share the Bolognese Fries to start which, as the name implies, consists of fries and Bolognese sauce with parmesan cheese. The fries, which are fresh cut, were dependably good with soft innards and a nice crisp golden exterior that Shiso Tree has become known for, but it's the Bolognese that needs some work here. It has a generous amount of meat in it and a good, thick consistency that's slightly thinner than chili, but it seemed like it was completely unsalted. Perhaps they rely on the cheese to add more flavour, but the problem here is that they only top it with cheese rather than layer it so you only get a hint of the parmesan. I would definitely be more inclined to get their more "Japanese-style" offerings next time, like the Tartar Mayo, Nori, or Okonomiyaki Fries.
Cream of Potato Soup with Bacon
You can add a set deal to any pasta dish for $8 here, which includes salad, soup of the day, and dessert, which is what I did. After my bout of stomach flu last weekend, I was literally starved and wanted to splurge on my first real meal out. The soup of the day was a cream of potato soup, which is more like a creamy broth than a true cream soup. I actually prefer this because really creamy soups tend to make me too full to enjoy much else afterwards. Finely diced potatoes and carrots throughout and topped with bacon and croutons. Served piping hot in a mug, velvety, flavourful, and so comforting in the subzero weather. 

Uni Taglialini
For my pasta, I decided on one of the board specials of the day: Uni taglialini. Fresh homemade pasta with cream sauce using fresh Vancouver sea urchin roe, topped with a flurry of nori and a single, delicate piece of uni. I've been craving uni since I went to Izakaya Ju last week, so when I saw it on the menu, I had to order it. The uni was wonderful, of course, fresh and soft and sweet. The pasta itself was tasty and full of uni flavour, but because there's not much else in it, it gets monotonous pretty fast. The sauce was almost too rich, and I felt extremely full and bloated after finishing only half of it. I think this type of pasta works better as a "tasting" rather than a full-fledged portion. I'm glad I tried it, but I'm not sure I would order it again. Moot point because it's not a regular menu item, anyhow. 
Mango Mousse Cake
For dessert, Shiso Tree offers a selection of cakes from the Japanese bakery next door, and as I was already quite full, I picked the mango mousse since I wanted something sweet but not too heavy. Light, airy, and full of fresh mango flavour with a hint of raspberry from the sponge cake. Actually a very satisfying dessert to end such a heavy meal. Either way, it was the company that interested me more than the food last night, and I'm glad I finally got to catch up with Liz after so long (almost a year, I think?!). Thanks for traveling across the city to meet up with me!

Shiso Tree Café
3160 Steeles Avenue East, Unit 1 Markham, ON L3R 4G9 (905) 479-9319