Photos by Jennifer Roberts for The Globe and Mail. Read Chris Nuttall-Smith's full review of Shoushin here.
The chef
At 31, Jackie Lin has held a sushi knife for much of his life. While still in high school, he became an apprentice at Toronto’s Zen Japanese Restaurant, under the no-nonsense master Seiichi Kashiwabara. Mr. Lin, who had moved with his family from Guangzhou, China, as a teenager, learned to speak Japanese, and travelled to Tokyo for his holidays. Shoushin is his first restaurant.
The room
Its blond wood sushi bar, with seating for 14 is made from the native Japanese cypress species called hinoki. It has to be sanded down by hand several times each week. The feel of it all is cool but serene: a modern temple, but without too much of the quiet reverence business, and with vintage bossa nova playing softly overhead.
The food
Mr. Lin’s specialty is classic, Tokyo-style sushi, with each species cut or scored, seasoned and in some cases marinated or smoked to highlight its best attributes. He serves each piece at its ideal temperature, so the fish begins to melt the instant it hits your tongue.
