Basil Box is inspired by the street markets of Southeast Asia where carts of fresh produce is sold by the farmers. Quite often, Southeast Asian food found at food courts is greasy and full of sodium and calories. If you are looking for a fast but healthy alternative, I recommend trying this place! 
Located a couple blocks north of Yonge-Dundas at the Ryerson Student Learning Centre (SLC) building, Basil Box brings a refreshingly new take on Southeast Asian food in a fast casual restaurant style.
“Build Your Box” ($9.45) – how this work is you choose a base, choice of two vegetables, choice of protein (vegan option also available), sauce, and unlimited toppings. Everything on the menu is gluten free, vegan options are available, and spicy items are clearly indicated. Pictured above are the choice of toppings. The service is friendly and quick without compromising the quality of the food.
The ingredients are definitely fresh, delicious, and well prepared in terms of texture and taste. I thought the food was going to taste bland since it looked so healthy, but I was wrong! The flavourful meats and sauces really pulls the whole dish together.
Pictured above is with Chilled Rice Noodles and Lemongrass Chicken, so juicy and tender!
This is my order with Short Grain Brown Rice and Five-Spice Steak which was chewy and well seasoned. So delicious with the Sweet Chili Lime sauce.
My friend R likes this customization option in contrast to standardized food court menu items because “it gives the customer more variety without getting pigeonholed into ordering one specific dish every time”.
If you want to add a side to your box or in the mood for just a snack, look “Outside The Box”. Summer Roll, Viet Chicken Salad, Mango Salad, Sweet Mango Rice Parfait, Chiang Mai Trail Mix! Mmm I got to try some of these during my next visit along with one of their handcrafted drinks such as the Passion Fruit Lychee Soda or the classic Thai Iced Tea! All handcrafted drinks are made with pure cane sugar.
I was not able to finish my dish, but luckily the lid and bag made it easy for me to pack the rest to go.
Basil Box is the perfect place to grab a quick bite when you’re pressed for time, such as between classes or during your lunch hour with colleagues. The place is quite spacious with plenty of seats and tables available.
Overall, I recommend going to Basil Box the next time you’re craving some Southeast Asian flavours!
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351 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M5B 1S1
Monday to Sunday 11:00am – 10:00pm
(416) 351-8000
The interior has a clean and simple look and feel. Aka-Oni Izakaya is largely decorated with bottles of Japanese alcohol which I thought was a good way to reuse.
We arrived at lunch time and upon settling down on our table, the server poured us some Japanese green tea. However, we did not receive menus until we asked for them and even then, we only received the Lunch Menu and the “Today’s Special” Menu. Upon inquiring, they also gave us the Kitchen Menu and the Sushi Bar Menu.
Complimentary green salad. I loved the citrus ginger dressing which is flavourful and delicious. 
The main reason I came here is to try the Black Diamond Wave Roll ($15.99). Topped with a generous amount of foie gras, some caviar, and gold glitter, this roll is packed with ingredients!! BBQ eel, caviar, crab meat, cucumber, and avocado. So delicious! The foie gras gives it a slightly creamy taste.
The next dish we shared was the Black Garlic Ramen ($10.99). I really enjoyed this because the soup base is full of flavour. If you love the taste of roasted garlic, this is for you! When it arrived, it wasn’t as warm as we would expect a bowl of noodle soup to be. Though this didn’t bother me.
This is the Beef Tataki ($11.99), served with a citrus soy sauce. This was dish was not bad, though I’ve had better beef tataki which is seared . The seared beef is chewy, plain on its own but nice when dipped in the sauce. 
In my opinion, the BBQ Eel Pancake ($5.99) was just okay. We ate half before taking a picture – oops! It is topped with pieces of BBQ eel and sprinkled with katsuobushi (bonito flakes). 
Ice cream was on the house to end our meal. The choices are green tea, black sesame, and red bean.
The service is an area for improvement though we will forgive that since Aka-Oni Izakaya is still fairly new. Overall, I think this place has a good large variety of dishes. Whether you’re looking to have ramen, sushi, sashimi, skewers, grilled meats and seafood, or a bento box (lunch only), there is something to satisfy everyone! Since there is so much variety, this is a good place to go with a few others and I would recommend ordering several dishes to share.
All plates are price at $15 and comes with a side of rice and beans, plantain, and slaw. We ordered the Achiote Roasted Chicken Plate and the Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder Plate pictured below. 
First off, the chicken was very juicy, delicious and was well seasoned. The rice and beans was full of flavourful, another favourite. The slaw was very fresh and we loved it! The plantain on the other hand was disappointing. We thought that it was very dry, bland, and it tasted like fried batter. The pork shoulder that J ordered was like seasoned pulled pork. It wasn’t as memorable as the chicken and it was a little too salty for our taste.
Their everyday menu includes yogurt, French toast, oatmeal, porridge, polenta, a variety of sandwiches, eggs, and their popular french toast with caramelized banana and maple syrup ($10, $5.50 half order) and of course tea and coffee.
On the chalkboard are the specialty dishes available for the day. This menu is constantly changing and never boring.
We ordered three dishes which all came with a side of seasoned roasted potatoes and arugula salad. I personally don’t like arugula, but besides that I loved everything we ordered and they seriously tasted as great as it looks! 
Scrambled eggs with dill, and smoked salmon, avocado, pickled red onion tartare ($13.25) is the dish that J ordered. The tartare is a tasty and unique brunch item. The scrambled eggs were fluffy and the dill paired well with it. I kept stealing bits of his dish – yum!
We also shared the warm brie pear walnut honey on open baguette ($9). The bosc pear makes this a sweet and refreshing way to end our meal. I’d like to try making this at home one day.
The food was absolutely delicious and we thought it was worth the wait. We were so stuffed from ordering so much food but I’m really glad we did! We had to take some of the potato and toast to go but that’s okay.
The plating is so colourful which makes it very appetizing. I do want to try their french toast with caramelized banana and maple syrup next time which I regret not ordering.
This place is homey and perfect for a date (if you can avoid the lines), or just a weekend brunch with some girls. Like most good brunch spots downtown, they don’t take reservations. Be careful if you take a walk and come back, because you will lose your spot on the wait list if you’re late!
This is the Tsujiri Shaved Ice (#40 on the menu, $8) with layers of matcha soft serve, topped with mochi and red bean. It was sooo good, and the ice cream was very flavourful. I loved it and thought it was worth the wait!
My friend C ordered the matcha Tsujiri Soft Cream (#39 on the menu, $5.75) which is soft serve ice cream. We were a little diappointed with the portion considering the price. For a bit more, you will be better off ordering one of their Sundaes which comes with toppings
After telling J how much I enjoyed the Tsujiri Shaved Ice, he was convinced and ordered it, while I had the matcha Chiffon Cake Sundae (#38 on the menu, $7.50) pictured to the right. The Chiffon Cake Sundae has layers of matcha soft serve, corn flakes, a scoop of red bean served with a slice of spongey matcha chiffon cake.
We also ordered the O-Matcha Cream Puff (#46 on the menu, $2.75) which is filled with light fluffy cream and matcha. It was soft and yummy, despite it doesn’t look like the picture on the menu.
There are a few booths along the wall, each can seat two people. At the back of the shop, is a larger Japanese style seating area that can accommodate about six people. Be sure to remove your shoes before sitting in this area!
I can’t wait to visit again and try their drinks and the Opera cake! Overall, I really enjoyed the desserts here. The locations in Japan have other items on the menu such as green tea noodles, hopefully they will eventually expand their menu here to include that. Be prepared as the line could get long as this place becomes more popular.
