Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
Mineral, located at 1027 Yonge Street in Rosedale is an urban chic fusion restaurant helmed by Filipino-Canadian chef Daniel Cancino. The nine-course tasting menu priced at $95 per person is pricier than most Filipino restaurants but that is because you get what you pay for—Filipino fusion food elevated to fine culinary art. When you taste the layers of flavors meticulously infused in every bite and how his dishes are beautifully plated, you will realize how laborious Cancino’s creative process is.
At the invitation of Consul Mary Grace Villamayor, I visited Mineral on April 4, 2024 to try their offerings.
After reviewing numerous Filipino restaurants since the consulate launched Filipino Restaurant Month in 2022, Mineral struck me as the most delightfully experimental with flavor combinations. It is also the most sophisticated in presentation. Chef Cancino cooks the way a master painter paints, blending layers of flavors with interesting textures and colors, embellishing his creations to craft visually tantalizing dishes.
We started with the complimentary amuse-bouche in the form of mushroom truffle soup served in small cups before the appetizers on their tasting menu. The oysters and shrimps with Asian pear mignonette and house hot sauce were delicious. If you love seaweed, you’ll love the pineapple and kombu with black garlic, chili and puffed rice which is the perfect mix of sweet, sour, and slightly spicy with texture that pops in your mouth. However, if I had to choose my favorite appetizers, my top picks are 1) the tuna kinilaw with passionfruit, calamansi citrus marinade, avocado, and watermelon radish in crab chips and 2) the salmon and toyomansi with salmon roe which is Chef Cancino’s playful take on having dessert first by serving up this savory goodness in mini cones that remind you of ice cream.
Next up was an unexpected take on ensaymada which is traditionally sweet. Cancino’s upscaled version with aged cheddar, truffle butter and hojicha honey is more savory and less sweet and served with tangy white anchovies. Dinner also included an array of delights. First was a creamy lobster dumpling with wonton strips, followed by scallop inari pockets with Hokkaido bafun uni, red stripe shrimp, wasabi roe, kohlrabi slaw and scallop bottarga on kombu garlic rice which I highly recommend for the right balance of sweet and umami.
A must-try is Cancino’s version of sinigang with turbot with miso koji crust, daikon, shishito, basil butter and sea buckthorn broth. It’s the perfect fusion of Filipino, Japanese, and Canadian flavors demonstrating how Canadian ingredients like buckthorn berries can be used to recreate the traditional sour sinigang flavor in a beautifully plated dish.
Meat lovers can enjoy the beef short rib adobo in soy Burgundy jus, with crispy sunchoke, honey mushrooms, fried peanuts, and scallion oil, served with half lobster tail and oyster tuyo. The beef is so tender you can cut it with a spoon. Vegetarians can feast on the tangy crispy broccolini with coconut green goddess dressing, crispy shallot, Sichuan pepper, toasted sesame and toyomansi.
It is said that good singers can sing well-known songs as they were originally sung, but great artists make the songs their own. This is what Cancino has achieved in a culinary sense especially with the desserts on the menu featuring familiar favorites such as leche flan, bibingka and cheesecake, but with his original spin on them mixing traditional Filipino ingredients with unexpected flavors from other cuisines.
The ube leche flan is a bright purple delight topped with white chocolate, puffed rice, compressed fruits, and jasmine hibiscus gel. The bibingka is salted with miso and served with coconut and pandan sorbet and rum dulce de leche. The calamansi cheesecake incorporates sea buckthorn berries, white soy ganache and pink peppercorn. The most surprisingly delightful dessert is the jasmine rice soft serve which is mildly sweet and refreshing. If you like genmaicha, you’ll enjoy this treat. And the most important tip? Call to reserve your spot and come hungry so you can finish all the courses.
By Michelle Chermaine Ramos
