Will you be our Valentine?

Valentine’s Day Dinner $110 per couple

First Course >  Kaisen Platter For Two
spot prawn with uni aemono
hirame carpaccio, yuzu strawberry sauce
fresh oyster, ikura oroshi ponzu
maguro and kanpachi sashimi

Second Course >  Sushi Platter For Two
aburi salmon oshi sushi, oxford roll, aburi ebi oshi sushi, hamachi aburi, saba aburi (10 pieces)

Entree > Yasai Maki Sablefish
pan seared sablefish stuffed with shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and asparagus, creamed spinach, shrimp bisque sauce, yuzu miso foam

or

Soy braised Beef Shortrib and Aburi Kobe Beef Duo
yukon gold potato puree, sautéed kale, wasabi brown butter soy

Dessert > Red Berry Tart For two
cookie crust, dark chocolate and toasted coconut cream, served with strawberry pate, chocolate sauce and house made raspberry sorbet

Video: MVP Trip Part 4 “Breakfast at Tsukiji”

On the final day in Tokyo, the Miku team ventures out to the world’s most famous fish market, Tsukiji, to taste the “freshest sushi in the world.” And yes, it REALLY was that good. Their reactions says it all. . . .enjoy! As you’ve probably noticed already, we spend about 70% of the time in Japan eating. That’s because Executive Chef Takuya Motohashi is always looking out for innovative flavours he can bring back to Vancouver!

>> Watch previous videos from the MVP trip: Part 1 “Departure Day,” Part 2 “First Night in Tokyo,” Part 3 “Chris’ Tokyo Pastry Shop Tour”

Minami To Open This Summer

Miku’s Sister Restaurant to arrive in Yaletown this Summer; Goldfish Seafood & Chops says goodbye
Goldfish thanks diners for years of loyal patronage

Vancouver, BC – Aburi Restaurants Canada Ltd, operating as Miku Restaurant, announces it will take over the lease of Goldfish Seafood & Chops, located at 1118 Mainland Street. A new restaurant with a different concept, named Minami, is expected to open in Summer 2012. Goldfish’s last day is Sunday, February 5, 2012, after completion of Dine Out Vancouver.

Miku is a celebrated Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, and is popular with both residents and tourists visiting the city. It is known for innovating the Aburi or sear-flamed style of sushi, which is the act of applying fire directly on the fish to enhance the natural flavours.  This technique, paired with specialty sauces and non-traditional Japanese ingredients make the perfect complement to the unique taste of fish.

“We look forward to expanding the Miku brand in one of Vancouver’s most vibrant neighbourhoods and bringing Aburi to the Yaletown community in Summer of this year,” explains Takuya Motohashi, Vice President and Executive Chef of Aburi Restaurants Canada Ltd. “Bud Kanke is a legend in the restaurant business. It has been a pleasure working with him on finalizing the details.”

Kanke Seafood Restaurants has founded, opened, and operated 11 restaurants in the past 40 years. Kanke, who is now 72, is contemplating retirement. To assist staff and management with as smooth a transition as possible, the company is providing employees with a generous severance allowance.

“We wish to thank our many diners who have enjoyed their guest experience and supported and frequented Goldfish over the years,” says Bud Kanke, Proprietor of Kanke Seafood Restaurants Ltd. “I am very proud of our Goldfish Team and what we have achieved when we first introduced Yaletown to West Coast seafood cuisine with Pacific Rim flavours in 2007. It has been a great run.”

Kanke adds, “It is time to turn over the reins to the young passionate restaurateurs who can take the Vancouver restaurant experience to the next level. Mr. Motohashi is such a person. I wish him and Miku the ultimate of success in Yaletown.”

***

We would like to extend our sincerest appreciation and gratitude to Bud Kanke and entire Goldfish Seafood & Chops team.  Bud’s support and guidance through out the process has been invaluable.

A heart felt thank you goes out to all our valued guests for your continued patronage, we wouldn’t be where we are today without you.  For frequent updates about our new project be sure to keep checking our blog!

A Dish That Tells our Story: Chicken Nanban

Lightly coated and fried chicken breast dipped in nanban vinegar, house made tartar sauce, organic cabbage salad, basil dressing.

Every dish on our menu tells a story but there is one in particular that is the most significant in our hearts.  Chicken Nanban is a dish that has been on our menu since our doors first opened to the public in 2008.  The recipe and presentation has remained untouched through out the years.  As well as being one of the most ordered items on our menu, it is also our general manager, Tony Albertson’s all time favorite dish.

What’s so special about this dish, is the connection it has to Miku’s roots and history.  Our sister company, Tora Corporation (which currently operates 8 restaurants) is located in Miyazaki Japan, the second largest poultry raising prefecture in the nation.  Chicken Nanban is a dish that originated in Miyazaki prefecture in the southern island of Kyushu back in the 1950s.  It loosely translates to “Southern Barbarian” referring to the history of this dish, which was adapted from the Portuguese escabeche, where fried fish were pickled in vinegar for long sea voyages.  Early Portuguese sailors brought this to Japan and nanban-zuke, a  method of preserving horse mackerel become popular.  Eventually, the technique was modified by using chicken and the dish was born.  Chicken Nanban is Miyazaki’s culinary claim to fame and if you ever visit the city, you MUST try this dish.  It is the soul food of Miyazaki and a taste of comfort for a lot of Miku team members, especially owner, Seigo Nakamura.  Bringing this dish from his hometown and introducing it on the Miku menu was a dream come true.  It symbolizes his first expansion from Japan and his passion for food and his own culture.  Not only does this dish hold a lot of meaning, it is a culinary creation that is truly delicious.

**Special thanks to Sherman of  http://www.shermansfoodadventures.com for the picture of Chicken Nanban.

Dine Out Vancouver 2012

“Ten years makes for one great restaurant festival! Eat your way through 17 days of culinary events, choose from hundreds of sensational restaurants and stay at a hotel at a fabulous rate. You’re about to experience the tastiest 17 days of the year!”

We are proud to announce that Miku Restaurant will be participating in the 10th Annual Dine Out Vancouver from January 20th to February 5th, 2012.  Head sushi and kitchen chefs, Kazuhiro Hayashi, Kazuya Matsuo and Shinya Ogahara along with executive pastry chef, Chris Janik have created an exclusive menu to showcase an assortment of flavors they have to offer.

To view our $38 Dine Out menu, please click here.  To make a reservation with us, please call guest services at (604) 568-3900 or visit OpenTable. Thank you and we looking forward to seeing you!

From Server to Actor: Amy Hall-Cummings

Most of our guests are familiar with one of our servers, Amy Hall-Cummings but probably don’t know much about her other talent — acting.  She’s been actively and passionately pursuing her acting career since she was a little girl and is now truly living her dream (we are so proud of her!).  From now until December 31st, Amy is playing part of Gateway Theater’s production of The Sound of Music and tickets are still available, so make sure to get them here. We thought we would share with you a few Q&A’s about her journey into acting.

> When did you first know you wanted to become an actor?

I think I’ve always known that I wanted to be an actor. I was that kid who wandered around the house singing and putting on shows for my family to watch. I’m very lucky that my family has always been supportive of my dreams. Acting is really the only thing that I ever saw myself doing.

What was the first show you ever did?

The first “show” I was involved in was a Christmas pageant at the local church. I played an angel in the angel chorus, we sang a few songs. That was my grand acting debut. My first large, serious role came at the end of high school when I played Maria in “West Side Story”. It was one of those special productions that don’t come along very often where everyone truly loves the show and works together beautifully. That was the production that solidified in my mind that I wanted to be an actor.

> Tell me about your role in Sound of Music.

In The Sound of Music I play the role of Elsa Schraeder, the Baroness. She’s the millionairess from Vienna who is set to marry the Captain until he meets and falls in love with Maria. It’s an interesting character to play. She acts as a kind of foil in the play against the Captain and Maria’s relationship. She’s also not the most loveable character, but interestingly enough she’s not as nasty as she is in the movie. In the movie she’s the one who drives Maria away from the house, she also mentions sending the kids to boarding school. None of that happens in the play. She’s not the most likeable character and as an audience member you know that the Captain and Maria should end up together, but I think the audience genuinely feels for Elsa when she leaves at the end brokenhearted and alone. It’s been an interesting journey to discover who this woman is.

> What do you love about theatre work?

There is something truly amazing about standing out vulnerable in front of an audience with no cameras or cuts or editing rooms in between you and having that pure connection. If you screw something up onstage you have to deal with it, there are no take-backs. I love that the audience is just as much a part of the performance as you are and every night the show is a new living breathing organism. It’s an incredible feeling sharing that intimacy.

> What would be your dream role?

That is a really hard question. I’m lucky enough to have played one of them already, which is Maria in West Side Story. I would love to play her again though being a little older and with more training under my belt. Other roles I would love to play would be Portia in “Julius Caesar”. Her monologue “is Brutus sick” crushes me. I love it to pieces, I sincerely hope that someday I’ll be able to play her. Also, I would love to play Ophelia or Gertrude in “Hamlet”, mostly because I love that play incredibly and if I lived my life as an actor without being in it I would feel unfulfilled. And other than that I’m just excited to explore the characters that lie in wait for someone to pick them up off the page and bring them to life.

Miku Christmas Party 2011

Last night, the Miku team got out of their uniforms and into their holiday’s best to celebrate this Christmas season together, it was the perfect ending to an incredible year.

Our gracious hosts, Kingyo Izakaya provided delicious eats and the perfect venue for the party.  Miku Restaurant’s owner, Seigo Nakamura flew into town, away from his busy schedule just so he could celebrate with the whole team.   It’s not very often all of us are able to get together in one room but when it does happen it is very, very special.  Our party was just a reminder of how lucky we are to have each other not only in our personal lives but our professional lives.  We truly have an extraordinary team, a team of people from all backgrounds and from all walks of life who fully embrace and believe in our company philosophy — ningenmi.  Love and laughter filled the room and our hearts last night and we all couldn’t ask for a better end to year 2011.  From all of us at Miku, wishing all of our supporters a joyous holiday season!

For more photos of the party, check out our album here

Marble Babka: A Polish Holiday Treat

One of the most interesting aspects of working at Miku is the diversity of our team.  Many of us, not of Japanese decent have embraced the Japanese culture and traditions while working here.  The Japanese people have done the same with the North American way of life.  Essentially, working here gives everyone an opportunity to share and learn from each of our cultures.  That’s why I asked our Polish executive pastry chef, Chris Janik to share one of his favorite holiday recipes with us.  What I thought to be a simple request turned out to be much more complex, Chris states “it is not as easy as it seems, our traditions are totally different from here and there is nothing simple about it —  everything is over the top and even the simplest recipe is complicated.”

Before this recipe is shared with you, it is important to understand the traditions and festivities that go on during this time.  Chris says, “people go crraazzzzzzy during the month of December.” How crazy?  Well, the presentation of their houses is first and foremost the most important task on their list.  “I can guarantee you, you will never see a cleaner house than a Polish household during Christmas,” expressed Chris, “the rugs are vacuumed, hardwood floors are polished, windows are windex-ed inside out and dust is no where to be found.”  Along with the cleanliness, the house is decorated with ornaments and embellished from top to bottom.  While the women of the house are cooking and cleaning, the men are on the hunt for the best fish or carp, which is stored in the bathtub awaiting it’s fate. The classic Polish Christmas dinner consists of 12 dishes to represent the 12 Apostles and a line up of home made liquors and wines crowned with cakes and desserts are followed. “Viennese cheesecake, apple charlotte, plum gingerbread, poppy seed cakes, rolls and all varieties of babkas which are the staple of traditional Polish baking adorn the tables,” says Chris.

The vigil or wigilia in Polish is held on Christmas Eve and before the family even sits down at the table, they have to make sure the animals in the household are fed first.  Everyone watches the sky anxiously, waiting for the first star to appear and once it is spotted the dinner can begin.  An extra plate and setting is always left on the table for any unexpected guests. Before the wigilia commences everybody stands up and formally greets and wishes good fortune while breaking the holy bread.  Christmas carols fill the air and the evening slowly unfolds as everyone begins the 12 course dinner.  After the wigilia, gifts are presented and unwrapped and finally the sweets are brought out.  Chris reminiscences, “baking was always something special for me and I knew that something special was about to happen when the fragrance filled the air — it brings people together and offers people the warmth of home.”

Marble Babka

100g all purpose flour

5g baking powder

mix together and divide into 2 parts

Part 1 lemon: 55g flour mixture

Add lemon juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

Part 2 chocolate: 50 g flour mixture

Add 2 tbsp cocoa powder and zest and juice of 1/2 orange

125g room temperature butter

2 large egg yolks

125g icing sugar

2 egg whites

1. Cream the butter until light and fluffy, adding yolks one by one until it is well incorporated.
2. Divide the mixture into 2 parts and mix separately until well mixed – do not overwork – mix just until combined.
3. Whip to a meringue and distribute evenly into 2 mixtures. Fold in the meringue gently to assure the proper texture.
4. Prepare Babka or large Brioche mold (buttered and sugared) and start layering the with alternating the colors. Lemon cake should be on top (last) because it has more moisture.
5. Bake at 350 F for about 45 -60 minutes. Brioche mold should be placed on a baking tray while baking as a protective layer assuring that the cake will not over bake.