Author: My Husband

What, two sushi posts in a row? Well, I did say we’ve been eating more than our fair share of sushi in my previous post, didn’t I?

The focus of this post is Miko Sushi on Robson Street. Here are some fun facts about the place: (1) it has been at the same location for over 10 years; (2) the chefs and waitresses are Japanese; (3) many professional athletes have eaten and left their marks here.

Both side walls of the restaurant are plastered with autographs of pro athletes who have eaten here. It would seem that many of the Canucks stars like sushi…

Without further ado, here’s our meal:

Fanny bay oysters. These were fresh and briny, and served with the typical Japanese ponzu mix.

Deep fried soft shelled crab. It is difficult to find well-prepared soft shelled crabs in Vancouver, and these were lacking as well. The lack of batter, and perhaps insufficient oil temperature, meant the crab retained more oil than a perfect deep-fry job. It was less than crisp, though the meat was still firm and tasted fresh. Alas, the gills were not removed before deep frying, which resulted in us having to inelegantly pick them from our mouths.

My nigiri. Toro, hamachi, tamago, ebi, uni, and tobiko. The uni was perfect, and the fish was fresh. The ebi was probably pre-packaged and too firm, but there was a sweetness to it. The sushi rice was seasoned well, but packed a little too tightly.

My wife’s nigiri. Toro, unagi, and amaebi. Christina claimed it was all good, with the unagi and amaebi being standouts. The unagi was perfectly boneless, had a good balance of fat, and a sauce with just the right amount of sweetness. The amaebi was very fresh, with a very crunchy texture that didn’t become too gluey during the chew.

As mentioned in my previous post, we like to end our sushi meals with some hot courses. We had a roasted eggplant topped with bonito. I was expecting the eggplant to be marinated or basted with a sauce during the roasting, but it was done naked. As a result, it tasted pretty bland even with the bonito topping.

Grilled black cod. This dish was a winner; the fish was perfectly cooked with rich, tender flakes of black cod just melting in our mouths.

Grilled salmon belly. This dish was a bit of a mixed bag. For the parts that had lots of fat surrounding the meat, it was rich, tender and flavourful. The leaner parts were a little overcooked and firm.

We used to eat at Miko when we were living downtown, and we’re happy to report that standards have been maintained over the years. Their prices have also held over the years and if anything, may actually have dropped! When we’re in that part of town and looking for a Japanese fix, Miko is still our favourite choice.