Introducing: MeNami, a new udon hall and sake bar

Name: MeNami
Neighbourhood: Lansing
Contact: 5469 Yonge St., 416-229-6191, menami.com, @menamitoronto
Owner: Chae Kim (Han Ba Tang)
Chefs: Kevin Hyunki Shin (Kujira, Han Ba Tang)

The food

Udon, udon and more udon. Shin, who trained at Nakano Udon School in Japan, makes the wheat noodles in-house and dishes them out in a variety of ways: with marinated deep-fried tofu in a bonito broth, topped with sweet Japanese curry or in a salmon cream sauce. There’s even an oven-baked Tex-Mex version. Large-format dishes (sukiyaki, oden) are meant for two. Similar to its Korean sister-bar, Han Ba Tang, MeNami’s snack menu (chicken karaage, beef tataki, deep-fried okra) caters to the area’s late-night crowd.

Corn kaki-age: deep-fried corn niblets served with honey-butter mayo. $5.

Ika: deep-fried mongo ika (cuttlefish), with ao nori (seaweed) and tendashi dipping sauce. $7.

Torch-smoked salmon with deep-fried yuba and parsnip sauce. $10.

Beef tataki: rare beef, sesame seeds, green onion, green onion oil and seaweed. $12.

Kitsune udon with marinated and deep-fried tofu, a fish cake and grated ginger. $9.

Black-sesame purée udon with beef, shichimi togarashi, green onion, red pepper threads and baby spinach. $15.

MeNami’s noodles are made using a proprietary blend of flours (soft, medium, gluten) and water. They’re rolled and cut using an udon-making machine imported from Japan.

The drinks

Bottled and draught beer, a couple of house wines and a selection of Korean liquor and sake. Cocktails, designed by bar manager Ethan (Junghoon) Han, incorporate ingredients like yuzu and aloe.

Aside from the selection of bottled sakes, Nama-Nama, from Toronto’s own Izumi, is available on tap.

(From left to right) Yuzu Mojito: rum, yuzu, sake and aloe ($12), Johnnie Black Tea: Thai iced tea made with coconut milk and a shot of Johnnie Walker Black ($12), Aloha: an aloe-based wine spritzer ($10).

The space

Kim created the room’s weathered industrial look using car grills, metal siding and worn-wood finishes. The basement—where all the udon magic happens—is climate controlled.

Chef Kevin (Hyunki) Kim.