Meet in Gastown

I am so behind on my food posts! That's part of the reason why I will be keeping this one fairly short. Just wanted to put that out there before I get started.

Meet in Gastown - probably best described as a restaurant where casual comfort meets modern hipsterness (I think I made that word up).

I first stumbled across this place by accident when I was wandering around in Gastown trying to find a place to have dinner. Although the address of the restaurant is on Water Street, the actual spot is a bit tucked away inside a corridor. The restaurant's inconspicuous location makes it a good place for a quiet and cozy meal. I am definitely a fan, even though the "patio" only offers glimpses of sunshine.

I came here with Cory (almost 3 weeks ago now) for dinner on a Thursday night. There was a good flow of people going in and out, but it wasn't too busy. I will confess that I didn't know much about the restaurant before coming. Neither Cory or I realized that the restaurant was known for its gluten-free and vegan menu selections. I've actually never been to a completely gluten-free / vegan restaurant. I guess there is a first for everything! 

Knowing my preferences, I (obviously) ordered their Mac N' Cheese .. with the add-on of chili!

Mac N' Cheese with chili.

Their Mac N' Cheese is made with their vegan cashew cheez sauce, scallions and smoked salt. I had a choice of brown rice macaroni or wheat penne. I picked brown rice macaroni. It actually bothers me when mac and cheese is not made with macaroni! How can it be "mac" and cheese ... 

And truth be told, it was actually very tasty! I will refrain from giving it a CAMCR (Cynthia Approved Mac and Cheese Rating) because although it tasted good, it didn't quite resemble your typical mac and cheese. It was more of a chili mac, if anything. I couldn't really make out the cashew cheez very well, so it's hard for me to comment on how it stacks up with real cheese. 

I do plan on coming back and trying their house chili though. I saw several people around me ordering it and it looked like straight comfort in a bowl. 

Miku

If you are a Vancouverite, then chances are you've already heard all about Miku. For my Toronto friends, chances are you've heard about Miku too (seeing that they opened up a location in Toronto relatively recently).

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about ...

First of all, "miku" translates to "beautiful sky" in Japanese.

Miku is an upscale, Japanese restaurant located downtown Vancouver. The location is conveniently situated alongside the waterfront, next to Canada Place and is commonly known as one of the best Japanese restaurants in Vancouver. Miku's location is prime as it offers its diners a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains. The view would be significantly better if it wasn't partially obstructed by some hideous orange cranes on the nearby loading dock ... but, I guess that's not the restaurant's fault!  The restaurant prides itself on its focus on sustainability and its commitment to its corporate philosophy of Ningemni. Ningemni translates to "finding a joy in your life by bringing one to others". This ideology really comes through from their lively ambiance, vibrant artwork, and friendly restaurant staff. Above all, Miku is most well-known for their gourmet Aburi cuisine. Their Aburi-style sushi (aka pressed sushi) is prepared using their famous flame-seared technique and signature sauces.

I have been to Miku twice since I moved to Vancouver - once for lunch and once for dinner. The Sashimi Lunch special I had for lunch was good, but not amazing. I wouldn't  recommend coming to Miku if all you are interested in having is regular sashimi or (nigiri) sushi. There are many other spots in Vancouver that serve high-quality sashimi and nigiri in larger quantities and at a more reasonable prices.

Their Aburi sushi, on the other hand, is a different story altogether. I had a much better dinner experience at Miku. Note: you can also order Aburi sushi at lunch ... I just didn't order it when I went for lunch that time. Sameer and I went to Miku for dinner a couple of Sundays ago. It wasn't planned, so we didn't have reservations. It was about 7 pm at the time and we were told that the wait for a table with be around 45 min to an hour. Luckily, there was only a 5-10 min wait if we wanted to sit at the bar. And ... that's what we decided to do.

Our view from our bar seats.

We asked our waiter to recommend an appetizer and he suggested the Aburi Beef Carpaccio without hesitation. I was sold after he told us that it came with an egg in the middle. From the Aburi Oshi Sushi list, he recommended the Salmon Oshi Sushi and the Ebi Oshi Sushi. He said that although Salmon is always the crowd favourite, he personally liked the Ebi one best. From his descriptions, we went with two orders of the Salmon Oshi Sushi and one order of the Ebi Oshi Suhi. Each order comes with six pieces. 

Aburi Beef Carpaccio.

The Aburi Beef Carpaccio was absolutely delectable. It reminded me of the Butter Beef at Phnom Penh (minus the cilantro) - just as tender and flavourful. The carpaccio was prepared with sterling silver AAA short ribs and topped with a bed of organic baby greens, slivers of Asian pear, and a beautiful 64-degree organic egg. The dark sauce (as you can see in the picture) is jalapeno-garlic ponzu and the green dollops on the corners are pickled wasabi. I liked everything about this dish - from the beef itself ... to the tangy ponzu ... to the kick added by the pickled wasabi. At $19.50 per plate, it is on the pricier side, but totally worth it in my opinion!

Fun fact #1: Ponzu is a citrus-based Japanese sauce. 

Fun fact #2: A 64-degree egg is an egg that's slow-cooked in its shell in 64 degrees Celsius water for about 45 min. Cooking the egg in water at this temperature gives the egg yolk and egg white a certain desired consistency. Once the egg is ready to be served, it must be removed from its shell under a water bath in order to prevent stress and damage to the egg's shape.

 

Salmon Oshi Sushi (top and bottom); Ebi Oshi Sushi (line in the middle).

Melt-in-your-mouth - best description of the sushi that I can think of. The fish and prawns at the top of the sushi was perfectly blow-torched and so sooo tender and juicy. Blow-torching creates this effect, as the heat helps to melt down the fat. The Salmon Oshi Sushi was made with pressed BC Sockeye Salmon, topped with adorable mini slices of jalapeno, and finished with Miku's special sauce. The Ebi Oshi Sushi was topped with lime zest and finished with ume sauce. I loved the pairing of jalapeno with the salmon and lime zest with the prawns. The jalapeno brought out the freshness in the salmon and the tanginess of the lime zest and ume sauce brought out hints of sweetness in the prawns.

Fun fact #3: Ume sauce is a tart Japanese dressing that is concocted using pickled plums.

Fun fact #4: My research tells me that Miku's special sauce is French-inspired and takes the form of a browned, yolky, house-made mayonnaise. 

As I mentioned above, if you're just looking to have some standard sashimi or sushi to satisfy a craving for Japanese food, Miku may not be the best place to go. However, if you're looking to really satisfy your taste buds and try something new ... the Aburi sushi at Miku is a must try!!!