Will you be our Valentine?

3.February.2012

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 Short Rib and Aburi Kobe Beef Duo
yukon gold potato purée, sautéed kale, wasabi brown butter soy

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

A Dish That Tells our Story: Chicken Nanban

25.January.2012

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.

$65 Holiday Menu

1.December.2011

December is a month to dress up in your fanciest, indulge in holiday meals and most importantly, spend time with your family and friends.  As a way to celebrate the spirit of the season, Executive Chef Takuya Motohashi and his skilled team have created a special 4 course holiday menu showcasing the elegant and warm flavours of this holiday season.  The Miku team invites you and your loved ones to join us this month, to try our exclusive holiday menu available December 1st – 23rd.

Miso Chowder
ebi, seasonal vegetables, shaved truffles

Sushi Plate
kanpachi, maguro and hirame sashimi (6 pieces)
ebi, salmon and saba oshi sushi (3 pieces)
seasonal selection of nigiri sushi (3 pieces)
fresh oyster (1 piece)

Aburi Beef New York Strip
shiitake, brandy butter cream sauce, potato purée, seasonal vegetables

Pistachio Cranberry Mousse
hazelnut financier, pistachio-rose Crème brûlée, red fruit juniper sauce, pistachio cranberry ice cream

 

From all of us at Miku, wishing you every happiness this festive and joyous season!

New Menu Launch: Fall & Winter 2011

19.October.2011

Miku’s Executive Chef, Takuya Motohashi describes the new fall & winter menu as ‘Warm, Innovative, and Collaborative’ – most people would simply describe it as ‘delicious.’ Click on the video below to hear Takuya speak about the inspirations and flavours behind the new sushi, kitchen and pastry items for the season.

All of the new items are marked by the Miku sun in the menus. Click below to view menus:
LUNCH - DINNER - TAPAS - DESSERT

Sustainable Seafood

9.June.2011

Recommended Ocean Wise items at Miku

• Aburi Tuna - albacore tuna on a bed of crisp vegetables & dressed with masatake sauce
• Sablefish Saikyoyaki – oven-baked Sablefish,
  marinated in miso
• Aburi Saba Oshi Sushi or Saba Bo Sushi (mackerel)
• Aburi Salmon – seared & glazed salmon with a garlic butter soy sauce

A Panda Mail e-newsletter from World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) stated, ‘recent polling by WWF and EKOS shows that 91 per cent of Canadians feel sustainable seafood is important for protecting the future of the world’s oceans and fish stocks. Unfortunately, only 8 per cent feel they have all the information they need to make sustainable seafood purchases.’

Making sustainable seafood choices can be difficult at times, but we’re lucky we have the tools that help us make these decisions – most notably, the Ocean Wise Program when we dine out.

This conservation program, administered by the Vancouver Aquarium, recognizes restaurants supporting sustainable seafood choices and fishing practices. Menu items approved by the program receive the OceanWise logo which is recognized by diners all across Western and Central Canada. At Miku Restaurant, we firmly believe the importance of empowering our guests to have the option to make sustainable choices.

For a restaurant to become Ocean Wise, the full menu with a detailed description of the seafood ingredients and its supplier must be submitted and reviewed by program specialists. When Ocean Wise determines it is a sustainable source, a restaurant gets the stamp of approval to use the Ocean Wise logo on their menu. When a menu is seasonally updated, the new items must undergo the same process.  In addition, the program also sends seafood watch alerts and recommendations for change – here’s an example from the most recent update regarding yellowtail tuna:

***
> “Ocean Wise Recommended”

Yellowfin Tuna  – Troll; pole  – US Atlantic

Yellowfin Tuna – Troll; pole – Western Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO)

Yellowfin Tuna – Troll; pole – Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO)

> “Not Ocean Wise Recommended”

Yellowfin Tuna – Pelagic longline; FDA purse seine; Unassociated purse seine – Worldwide

Yellowfin Tuna – Troll; pole – Worldwide except US Atlantic Western Central Pacific Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean

According to the latest stock assessments the WCPO stocks of yellowfin tuna are not subject to overfishing and are not overfished. The EPO stocks of yellowfin tuna are not experiencing overfishing and have recovered from its overfished condition in the mid 2000s. Supplier partners are require to provide proof of catch method, location, and vessels of any troll/pole caught yellowfin tuna from the WCPO or EPO in order to be Ocean Wise recommended. An updated version of the Master Seafood List is attached

***

It takes time for restaurants to act immediately on these alerts, but what’s important is that we are aware and informed, and recommendations are taken into consideration during menu updates. Miku Restaurant is proud to be the first downtown Vancouver Japanese restaurant to become Ocean Wise.

***For informations about the Ocean Wise Program, click here. To sign up for the Panda Mail from WWF, click here.

Sneak-a-peek: Miku Summer Menu Items

8.May.2011

The turn of a season is an exciting time for Miku chefs to recharge the menu with new flavours, textures, and colours – it’s an opportunity to really differentiate between an innovative restaurant from one dependent on the staple, tried-and-true classics. Take our original Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi for instance; creamy, a bit spicy, perfected layers of rice and salmon guaranteed to keep guests coming back – but why not keep the Oshi (pressed sushi) concept and create a totally new experience by using pressed ebi (prawn), the aromatic shiso leaf, and the fascinating bitter-sour ume paste?

Headed by Japan-trained, creative mastermind Takuya Motohashi, the summer feature menu is the outcome of diverse talents present in the kitchen, sushi bar, and the two-man pastry department. Using a wider variety of vegetables and textures including okra, lotus root, and endives, you can look forward to colourful dishes like the yuzu wafu-ceviche, harumaki with a pineapple dip , hirame carpaccio with a strawberry puree.

Our front-of-house staff had a tasting session last Friday for food-knowledge training, and menus are being printed for a smooth roll-out of the summer menu. Keep posted on our blog or twitter feed for the official launch date of Miku’s summer creations. But for now, please tease your taste buds with these delicious photographs.