YOI, a Catania, is the perfect place to refresh yourself after a hot summer day at the beach or wandering the shopping streets of Etna. The executive chef Kevin Tullao along with the two young owners Guido Consoli and Salvo Santonocito, has tailored some truly delicious and very refreshing proposals for the beautiful season, designed to enhance the acidic and citrus notes present in many Asian cuisine dishes, to be paired with original and creative cocktails or a fresh glass of wine.
YOI is an attitude of discovery, a philosophy of thought, a curious way of living life, inside and outside the plate. YOI is the gourmet cuisine restaurant conceived to showcase the great richness of flavors and techniques of the Chinese gastronomic universe and reveal it in a contemporary key.
An expression of innovative, elegant and delicate cuisine, where Chinese ingredients meet Japanese techniques and merge with elements of the Mediterranean Sea. Research and selection of excellent raw materials are the mantra of YOI.An essential starting point for creating these new harmonies is respect, as well as freshness and quality of the raw materials, with particular attention to waste reduction.
Summer menu
Alongside the evergreens, the summer menu is dominated by colorful and light gastronomic creations where the Mediterranean meets Asia, to be paired with a refreshing cocktail mixed with flair or a glass of wine.
Thus the Sea bass carpaccio with soy and black summer truffle expresses all the elegance of raw fish in an unusual gourmet pairing and then a series of refined sashimi: such as the intriguing Un Hai with Mediterranean red tuna, salmon, octopus, scampi and Gillardeau oysters, the undisputed protagonists of YOI’s summer. Meaty, refined, combining sweetness and saltiness, produced for over 100 years between Normandy and Ireland by the Gillardeau family, they are a must-have for every oyster lover.
In YOI’s new menu, they become the Trio of Kev and are served with tosazu jelly, ponzu sauce, chopped red onion, and datterino tomato.
A new life also for the most classic of Japanese dishes, the Unusual Nigiri are rethought by Kevin Tullao by inverting the order between fish and rice. Not to be missed are those paired with Wagyu Beef, the famous Japanese veal cut distinguished by its incredible marbling, and the one served at YOI is even of A5 level, the most prized category available on the market.
Among the evergreens of YOI’s cuisine and perfect for a refreshing summer dinner are also the classic Shrimp and vegetable rolls here paired with Mazara del Vallo red shrimp reduction, or the Octopus tacos, cooked at low temperature with wasabi sauce and purple cabbage, but also the unmissable Red Sicily Tartare with red shrimp and mango puree, one of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
The legendary dumplings popular among Chinese cuisine enthusiasts cannot be missing on the menu: not to be missed is the selection of Dim Sum interpreted according to YOI’s style and philosophy by chef Kevin Tullao, one of the few Dim Sum mastersavailable in Italy. Perfect for a warm summer evening are those enclosing the meat of prized Lobster in a purple cabbage case and tobiko eggs or the Juǎnqū, a soft and tasty filling of scampi wrapped in beetroot dough and garnished with Mediterranean sea urchin meat.
The most curious and trendy will be surprised by the presence on the menu of Bao, soft white steamed bread filled in the most unexpected ways. Typical of Chinese tradition, it is now also popular in Italy, but in Catania it constitutes a delicious and exclusive novelty. YOI has conceived them in a very fresh summer version with salmon in teriyaki sauce, avocado, and almond flakes, or with crispy shrimp, spicy mayonnaise, chives, and kizami wasabi.
True connoisseurs of international and Asian cuisine will surely notice two very important presences on the menu, ideal in every season: the Grilled Fukuoka Wagyu Steak with unmistakable A5 marbling and the Black Cod, the precious Carbonara fish from Alaska, marinated for three days in a mix of mirin, sakè and miso served with a side of endive.
Cocktail list and wine list
In the dining room Leandro Gullino, maitre and sommelier seamlessly brings together conventional, biodynamic, and natural wine options without prejudice. The very challenging goal is to create an innovative path for pairing wines with Oriental cuisine. The wine list, constantly evolving, is divided into five sections: No Sicily no Party, Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, Un Mondo di vino and Dessert (and not only) Wines, ranging from large to small producers.
For those eager to experiment, the cocktail menu is reserved—a true discovery where the focus is on ingredients and spirits of Oriental origin. Here the young bartender Giovanni Arcati pushes the pedal to the metal and creatively reinvents some classic offerings of international mixology such as the matcha tea mojito, perfect to accompany the dishes on the menu, especially the dim sum, or the rose vodka sour, or an original spritz enhanced with passion fruit.
Fresh and enticing additions designed for summer where textures, colors, ingredients, and temperatures dance lightly between West and East. The experience at YOI, in the kitchen as well as in mixology and the wine list, is refined and contemporary, materializing in a perfectly balanced proposal in shapes and colors that reveals all its creativity thanks to careful technique, elevating every element into harmonious and precise dishes and drinks.
