Marusan

I was looking for a new resto to eat at with my Asian connection, Jer bear, and he told me about Marusan. I was like hells YES. And that's all the intro you need.

As soon as you step inside, the environment is so peaceful and loungy and very pleasant! It's quite a narrow space, so on one side, you have tables against the wall, and bigger ones on the other side. There's also a long counter at the bar, which makes the place look way bigger.

We shared everything, because, damn it, that's how we dso! We started off with the takowasabi. Lemme be clear here; anything with wasabi, I will taste. When I worked at Sushi Taxi, in Griffintown, I used to participate in wasabi eating competitions. Ya, I'm cool like that. Just making some kind of wrappy thing with the octopus in the nori was just freaking lovely. It was so fresh! The wasabi was strong, but hey, you don't order a dish with wasabi without thinking it'll be at least 15000 heat units on the Scoville scale. Duh. 15000 is highly approximate. Depends on the wasabi. I also have never used the scale. Whatever.

Otsumami cha-shu OR braised pork belly. Just by looking at it, the meat was falling apart. The tenderness on this was at a whole other level. The sauce was made out of mirin, sugar, sake, and according to our waitress, yuzu. There wasn't any yuzu in there. But, you know, good try :p This was such a simple dish but oh ma gawd was it ever good.

Tan tan udon. Sesame paste, ground pork, chili oil, sesame seeds, udon noodles. I loved the noodles, which were cooked to perf, and the crunchy veggies gave a nice contrast to the less crunchy thangs in there. This was just spicy enough. You know, just enough to make Jer bear cry a bit :p The sesame paste made it a thicker broth, which was quite welcomed. Yes, I WELCOME thick broth. The meat somewhat lacked in taste though. It just made the whole thing a bit bland. It was hard to believe, since there were so many tasty ingredients in there.

Pressed sushi: grilled mackerel. I lurve myself a good pressed sush! Hey, I didn't work in TWO sushi restos for FIVE years for nada! I am a sushi expert, yo! The sushi queen, some might say. That mackerel legit melted in my mouth and I loved the citrusy, gingery aspect of it! BUT, it wasn't the best, well executed, pressed sushi around: it kept on falling apart, which, let's face it, kinda sucks, especially for pressed sush.

Service was quick and efficient. Our food came quite quickly, and we had water on the table before even asking for it (now, THAT's the way you're supposed to do it SON!).

And now, les scores!

Food: 8
Service: 9

A great little Asian experience in a cute little Asian resto. Definitely on my I-might-go-back list!