First up was lunch at Miku’s (www.mikurestaurant.com).
The FT article recommended the Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi & the Red Wave Roll (snow crab & avocado) so naturally we ordered those. We also ordered the Aburi Tuna, Aburi Chicken, and the Aburi Sushi Select.
Two things you need to know. The restaurant specialishes in Aburi which means lightly seared, which I believe they do with a blowtorch and a charcoal stick. Also, most dishes are complemented by custom sauces so using soy-sauce is a no-no.
The Salmon Oshi Sushi was mind-blowingly good. The seared mayo-type sauce made the sushi complete much like Tom Cruise completed Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire.
If the Salmon Oshi Sushi was a 10, then the Tuna, Chicken & Sushi Select were 8s. The Red Wave Roll disappointed though, I’d give it a 6. Maybe I had hyped it too much in my head, much like I did with the Sherlock Holmes movie which came out xmas day never lived up to my expectations.
One last note, they serve you green tea in individual teapots which was nice because I love drinking tea and its annoying to have to fight for a communal teapot.
Entrance of Miku
Aburi Chicken
Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi
Aburi Sushi Select
Aburi Tuna
Red Wave Roll
Next up was Tojo’s (www.tojos.com).
When we made reservations the waitress answered the phone in Japanese and I thought, kudos to the place for having such an authentic touch.
When we got there though, the initial thought was that the massive dining area spoiled the ambience and interiors of the place. Not at all cosy.
The large dining area has its own menu, while we sat at the counter. As mentioned by the FT and verified by me, there are only 15 places at the counter.
Tojo-san was very warm & inviting. He took note of our likes & dislikes, and made a good number of jokes.
Omasake-style we had the following dishes in order:
Shitake Mushroom with Crab Cake Bottom
Dungeness Crab Salad
Sea Urchin
Sablefish in Broth
Sablefish in Broth
Geoduck Roll
House Roll (shrimp, crab & scallop wrapped in an egg crepe)
Albacore Toro Sushi
Green Tea Crème Brule and Apple Sorbet with Black Sesame Biscuit
Quite the experience. We were so stuffed! Don’t forget to tell him you’ve had enough or the dishes will keep coming!
At home, I re-read the FT article and have these final thoughts. Next time I’m not going to go with someone who is allergic to prawn & lobster (since we ended up having the same dishes despite our different likes/dislikes so never had a chance to have any of those crustaceans), and hey I wasn’t offered any sake from his private reserve!
http://www.mikurestaurant.com/
Miku Restaurant
(604) 568-3900
1055 W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC
http://www.tojos.com/
Tojo's
(604) 872-8050
1133 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC
6 comments:
Miku is a place in my radar for weeks already but haven't gone because of timing. Having said that, question about the aburi chicken: it is pan seared or actual aburi? In Canada, it is illegal to serve raw chicken...
As for Tojo's, how much was the omakase? Three digits?
That looks and sounds absolutely delicious!
KimHo - Here is the response that you are looking for:
"chicken was fully cooked. very low 3 digits"
Hope that helps.
There is a type of chicken known as blue foot chicken which can be eaten raw. I learned about this during an episode of Iron Chef. I would be hesitant to try that since I like my poultry cooked.
I really enjoyed the green tea creme brulee at tojos, if you are a fan of that green tea flavor you will surely enjoy the creme brulee.
For those about Gourmet food, try the Maple Syrup. Quebec Maple Syrup is Worldwide reknown due to the earth where are Maple trees from which we
extract Maple sap to make the syrup.
Whoa green tea creme brulee. I have never heard of that, but if it's anything like green tea ice cream, then I am in! I'll start checking all the Japanese places around here.
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