Wabora Sushi - Bracebridge Muskoka
A New Japanese/Korean Restaurant in Ontario's Cottage Country
Aug 23, 2007
Those who like to spend time in the Muskokas north of Toronto know very well that authentic Asian food is hard to come by. Well, no more, Wabora restaurant has splashed onto the cottage scene and it's getting lots of buzz.
Sushi is, no doubt, one of the greatest inventions of Japanese cuisine and culture. Its clean taste speaks to the Japanese aesthetic and now, it's as ubiquitous as Chinese food restaurants.
One of the areas that has yet to see a sushi revolution is the Muskoka cottage area north of Toronto. This traditional summer haunt is also presided by superstars now – ever since Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell set up a summer home there, they've been followed by a cavalcade of millionaires and movie stars. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are said to have summer homes there, too.
The Muskoka cottage country (deemed the "Malibu of the North" by the New York Times) centres on three lakes - Muskoka, Joseph and Rosseau – by the way.
Hawn has said the family (which includes starlet Kate Hudson) often spend the entire summer at the cottage on Lake Rousseau.
I have often wondered what these superstars eat up there, I'm sure their fair share of burgers and steaks but hey, let me introduce them to Wabora.
SOFTSHELL CRAB AND SEAWEED SALAD
I was fortunate to stumble on Wabora on a recent trip to visit a friend in Bracebridge (one of the area's key towns). WABORA – Japanese Fusion Restaurant, is located on the corner of a strip mall.
What's wonderful, when you enter, is the cute little umbrella bag machine – stick wet umbrella into long plastic bag and pull out. Voila! No sopping umbrella to spoil your chair. I was hooked.
Wabora can seat at least 100. There's a quiet area off to the side, a main dining room and on one side, three sushi chefs work their magic.
We start off the night with deep-fried softshell crab on a nest of mayo-marinated crab sticks. It's divine – a lightly-fried crab and nicely salted crab sticks, made to look like slaw.
The Gyoza are passable and good. I opt for yellow tail, unagi (eel) and tuna roll sushi. The yellow tail is fleshy and large (a nice change) but I find the unagi a tad too sweet.
My friend Christine orders the Wabora Roll (yellowtail, salmon, tuna, smelt egg, avocado and cucumber) and it's just great.
We also have a taste of tempura combo (shrimp and veggies) and they are done to crispy perfection. And the seaweed salad has a just-right drenching of sesame oil.
Since it was raining outside, we order ginseng tea which comes already flavoured with honey! It's soothing and delish.
TRIPLE A BASEBALL PLAYER / OWNER
Wabora, I find out, is owned by a former Triple A baseball guy – Min Soo Kim – who played in Korea as well as Arizona and Quebec City for 12 years.
Kim tells me his parents own a hotel in Gravenhurst and whenever he came for a visit "all I ate was pizza and wings here, so I thought it would be a good idea to open an Asian restaurant." Good choice!
The affable owner is always there, smiling and greeting his customers. That's what makes the place feel special. As Kim is Korean, Wabora offers Kalbi BBQ ribs, bulgogi and other Korean delights.
As with other fusion restos, Wabora offers bento box specials, Hibachi dinners and a list of creative sushi rolls with names like Volcano (baked scallops in a spicy sauce on top of a California roll), Serpentine (spicy salmon with cucumber topped with smelt roe and black caviar) and the Louisiana (tempura crawfish, avocado and cucumber with a sweet spicy sauce).
It's a splendid room of marble and glass inside but the atmosphere is casual.
Dinner for three came to about $90.
For other Japanese food-related articles check out Sushi in the Land of Samba and Sumo Wrestler Soup.
Wabora, 296 Wellington Street, Bracebridge, Ontario. Tel: 705 646 9500.
