Kultura

I have moved to Toronto! It's exciting on all fronts especially the food front! I have a huge city at my fingertips waiting to discover new and delectable places to eat! Montreal is a wonderful city for a foodie like me but I think it's time to move on. My taste buds are ready for new experiences!! I have only been here a few weeks and have already exposed my mouth to incredible food! The first week, I went to Kultura. Kultura is a tapas style restaurant with unique food and interesting flavours!

We started off with the Ahi Tuna Cornets.The tuna tartar was stuffed inside an edible Nori (seaweed) shell with avocado, red miso flakes, shiso cress and jalapeno. It had such a great flavour, especially with the jalapeno spicy-ness. The shell added a great texture with the smooth tartar.

Then came the world's greatest naan bread! Palak Paneer Naan! Naan bread stuffed with paneer (indian cheese), truffle oil, jalapeno and peppered honey. Whoever came up with this, is a culinary genius. I know it's just naan but it tasted like so much more. It was sweet and salty and cheesy! If I could eat one starch for the rest of my life, it would be Palak Paneer Naan!

 

The next dish we had was the Soft Shell Salad. This was truly delicious. I've always liked soft shell crab (especially in my maki) but when left on it's own, I sometimes find it a bit overwhelming. These pieces were so good. They were fried and left crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The salad consisted of a pomegranate dressing, mango, frisee, plums and crispy shallots. A lovey dish that I would definitely order again!

Mmmmm.... Barley Risotto. I love barley so without reading the description, the dish already appealed to me. In the risotto was a Jerusalem artichoke puree, European smoked bacon and topped with a parmesean truffle tweel. The barley was a perfect al dente and it was full of so much flavour and creaminess. When you dip that parmesean chip inside that risotto... holy! The big pieces of smoked bacon? That just sent it over the edge!

I had to order the Pork Belly Tacos. Ever since my pork belly experience at Biarritz, I feel the need to experience as much pork belly as I possibly can. The tacos were tasty. The meat was juicy and overall I liked the dish but it was my least favourite one. It didn't shine like the rest. They were missing pazaz!

Then came our final savoury dish... Chillean Sea Bass on top of a parsnip puree, fois gras foam, beet reduction and brussel sprouts. First of all, it was a beautiful dish. The fish was cooked wonderfully. The pieces flaked off the sea bass. The dish was full of unique flavours that I had never had together. The beet reduction added a lovely sweetness and the parsnip puree was a delicious accompaniment that went so well with the bass. Great dish! 

We ended our meal with the Chocolate Lava Cake. Seems cliche but the waitress said it was unreal so we couldn't say no. It was served along side banana tempura and instead of the orange vanilla ice cream, the waitress suggested the coffee  (which was a great idea). The lava cake was perfect.... absolutely no complaints. The cake was rich and moist with the most ooey-gooey center. The banana tempura rocked! Fried banana is possibly my most favourite dessert. The perfect ending to a delicious meal!