Conjunction Junction

I was looking for a place to eat Monday evening when I found out that Kanto had opened a small restaurant in The Junction neighbourhood. I had previously only eaten at the shipping container at Dundas and Bathurst. Given the cooking limitations there, I have wondered what kind of food they could serve with a full kitchen.

It was bad luck that the proprietor opened in March 2020 just before the lock-down. They lamented about all the challenges that have happened over the last 18 months. They wanted to only do delivery for now (despite the hefty 30% cut by the various companies) but people wanted a dine-in option. So they compromised and had a small street patio and communal benches inside with cafeteria-style order instead of full service.

I looked over the menu at the counter and settled on fish balls ($5.50) and Bangsilog ($12.95). The first was a bigger item than the 3 pieces shown in the picture. In fact, there were close to 10 freshly fried but fluffy dough balls with a hint of fish inside. As for the entrée, I've had the fried rice and milk fish (bangus) dish before at La Mesa. I mentioned it to the owner who described that restaurant as fine-dining.

It was true that it was more home-cook here than kitchen razzle-dazzle. The rice was tasty but didn't have that deep, fragrant, garlic flavour. At first, the milk fish was a bit soft and so had a much stronger sea tang. But the rest of it was sufficiently firm and flaky. In the end, I quite enjoyed the food here. I promised I'd be back to try the filipino congee but given my tight schedule, I don't know if I can find the time.