If a depressing strip mall in the barrens of Etobicoke is good enough for the home of Sushi Kaji, the undisputed dining for the finest Japanese food in the GTA, then why not a charmless street corner in the epicentre of the decaying gay village for Kaiseki-Sakura Restaurant & Bar -- a serious challenge to Kaji-san's supremacy?

Meet Daisuke Izutsu. Not only is he a talent to watch, we'll dare stake our reputation and say that at times this iron chef even outshines master Kaji. At 38, and with brilliance to burn, why have we not heard of Izutsu? Simple. Other than a few years as the private chef for Toronto's Japanese consul-general, and a short stint overseeing the kitchen's cold line at Thuet Bistro, his impressive 20-year career was mostly spent in hotels and kaiseki restaurants (which serve highly refined, seasonally focused dishes) in his native Japan.

Japan's loss is our gain. Whether you go à la carte or opt for the tasting menu ($60 and $80 per person), your buds will be bedazzled by the flavours and finesse of this kaiseki-style kitchen. But caveat eat-or: portions are so microscopic, you may have to send in the CSI team to find evidence that there is actual food on your plate. Seriously, if you're hankering for that all-inclusive bento box, you'll be disappointed; diehard all-you-can-eat Mandarin trough types might want to stay clear, or consider snacking beforehand because each of these high-end vittles are literally the size of an amuse-bouche.

That said, artistry of this calibre makes these morsels strictly for discriminating connoisseurs who don't mind forking over the big bucks for little tastes of heaven. Don't believe us? Try the assortment of daily small appetizers ($16) -- the operative word being small, but equally exquisite. Half-bite morsels of feathery fig tempura are tantalizing and nutty thanks to a dab of sesame sauce. Filigree-fine threads of daikon radish add subtle sweetness to delicate boiled yellowtail. Resembling a Rubik's cube, layered and grilled eel goes down like silk. Ditto for green grapes and pureed white radish.

Similarly impressive, a smallish sashimi plate delivers big bang for the buck -- even at a hefty $25. Buttery slices of raw yellowtail pair with über-tender cooked eel-like conger and equally toothsome grouper dusted with powdered rice cracker. And Izutsu-san is just ramping up. His spaghetti squash ($15) -- layered with velvety eel and condensed tofu -- is a marvel of refinement. Two cushion-like peeled tomatoes ($12) laced with lemon simply buzz. Completing this sophisticated salad are strips of melt-in-your-mouth eggplant in a blessedly restrained sesame sauce crowned with a gently runny poached quail egg.

The wonderful wizard behind that curtain just keeps on surprising. A trio of Japanese dumplings ($15) include mashed lily root in chrysanthemum sauce, lotus root with citrusy yuzu sauce, and pumpkin in a shark-fin sauce: each equally astounding. Domo arigato, Mister Izutsu! Crispy panko-fried salmon ($15) nearly attains nirvana despite its odd stuffing of sautéed onion, bacon, cream cheese, sour cream and nutmeg. More Earth-bound is a grilled rice ball ($10) in smoky tea broth gussied up with gently sweet, green-onion miso paste. Even monkfish ($15) -- not the most texturally tantalizing sea critter -- amazes, its greaseless deep-fried and battered morsels luxuriating in a lemony yuzu-turnip purée. Mmmm, yuzu-turnip.

But if you think appetizers and mains are on the Lilliputian scale, you ain't seen nothing yet. A troika of "petite sweets" ($8) is positively subatomic, giving new meaning to "petite fours." Still, superior quality is never compromised. A pancake sandwich intrigues with its centre of sweet red-bean paste lightened with whipped cream. In another, black sesame lends chewy rice cakes a low-key nuttiness. The third is a clever composition of rice cake, green tea sauce, soy-milk mousse and dried cherry blossom. More conventionally, a thick slice of papaya ($8) cradles store-bought black-sesame ice cream, an exceptional taste combo.

What's truly amazing is that Izutsu turns out food of this calibre assisted by only one, maybe two, kitchen aids. Let's hope this boffo brigade can keep up this kind of attention to the teensiest detail if hordes of not-so-hungry diners decide to descend. Finally, Kaji-like excellence at a location closer than the deepest darkest corner of Etobicoke. Think of the money you'll save on gas.

WITH FILES FROM DON DOULOFF