ottawa foodies

Hi all,

Sorry for the bombardment of questions. Is it possible to get real wasabi / wasabi root here in our fair city?

Thanks in advance!
Sebastian

wasabi is relatively rare / hard to grow (outside its preferred ecosystem), so i suspect you can't find it here--at least, i don't recall ever seeing it in Ottawa. It would be cool if its available, though ... so keep us in the loop if you do find a source.

On that point, it might be worth asking at Suisha Gardens or one of the other Japanese-owned restaurants in town. Maybe they have the inside track on the rare shipments?

alternatively, i think its grown on the west coast now, so if you find yourself in BC / Washington, perhaps you can find a provider there?

Thanks for the info! I know that it's available in Toronto, so I was hoping that there might be a trickle effect from there; having had it a few times, I feel like I'm spoiled for the fake stuff now :-).

I've been meaning to go to Suisha Gardens for awhile now... so this will give me the push I need :D.

How about wasabi ice cream? Has anyone seen that anywhere?

just to clarify a little (in case it wasn't obvious), i'm not saying Suisha G (or anywhere else in town) would have the real stuff, but in a similar vein to the Khat thread, perhaps staff there might have insight as to its procurement ... particularly since they once shared real estate w/ Kaedaya (which sourced stuff from Japan).

btw, can you tell me where you found it in Toronto? Visiting TO over the holidays, and i'd sure like to try it (if its not super expensive). thanks!

A source in Canada...220.00/kilo (plus the sharkskin grater you might want/need as well). I'm just working out the final details to become a commercial Wasabi grower. :)
www.wasabia.com/

If you're in Toronto, I'd bet on Taro's Fish (800 Sheppard Ave. E) having it. They have an email address on their site.
www.tarosfish.com/

Good luck!

Itchy feet: Here's a thread over on Chowhound that should give you the heads up! It links to an older one, too, that will have some leads:

chowhound.chow.com

I'm pretty sure that Tokyo Grill, a homestyle Japanese restaurant, serves it, too, and it's delicious.

thanks both. May need to try Tokyo Grill (weather / traffic permitting). AMR, if you need an apprentice or blind-taste tester, i'm available. :)

I recently was at a dinner party and one of the guest was a Chef from Suisha Gardens was there along with some great sushi.....anyhow he had with him wasabi in a tube and stated that it was the same product they used at the restaurant since the real stuff was nearly impossible to get here and was also cost prohibitive.

I realize that doesn't help you in your search but if they use the stuff in a tube, I suspect it should be good quality.

real wasabi is almost extinct
they are trying to recover the ecosystem in Japan and trying to cultivate in Oregon
most of what is sold commercially is powered dry horseradish with food colouring

fresh horseradish is fairly hard to find too but just not the same
once while living in Seattle I was lucky enough to sample a bit of the real stuff while I was learning how to make sushi and it is phemom and has the same texture as grated daikon