I’m a bit behind on my patio updates, so apologies for the dump of them over the next few days:
We tried Minami back at the beginning of the month. It is a sister restaurant to Miku, which we also have liked. We also appreciate that it has at least a few sustainable seafood options, which is rarely the case for Japanese restaurants (Skippa was another one). The patio is well-spaced, with some tables protected by an overhang. Service was friendly and fairly attentive. After registering our disappointment about being out of our most-desired dessert, the server hunted down another serving. Food ranged from good to excellent, with lapses more in execution than flavour and freshness.
Cocktails were lots of fun:
- Royal Ōjo: prosecco, Hayman’s sloe gin, nakano shuzo ume, dried rosebud - light, a bit sweet, and stone fruit flavours.
- Shinjuku: aburi ginjo, lychee liqueur, grapefruit hibiscus, cotton candy - fun and basically dessert in cocktail form.
We also shared a featured rosé flight: 3oz each of Terre Cevico Cantina di Soliera Lambrusco (delightful), Gerard Bertrand Cote des Roses (pale salmon Provence colour, dry strawberrry), Jasci & Marchesani Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo (lovely and fruity).
The sushi were all great, with fresh fish, nice balance of flavourings, and decent rice (which was sometimes a little under-packed together:
- Saba Oshi: cured mackerel, bonito and sweet miso sauce
- Albacore Oshi: BC albacore tuna, spicy Miku sauce, crispy capers
- BC tempura roll: sockeye salmon, albacore tuna, cucumber, avocado, with dollops of soy daikon oroshi, ikura, micro shiso beside - this was particularly good, with a very light batter just-barely fried, and lots of variety in the flavours and textures.
- Vegetable nigiri set: eggplant, avocado, bamboo shoots, carrot kinpira, tempura lotus root instead, sake-marinated daikon - nice visual mimicry of standard nigiri options and lots of umami in the flavourings for the veggies.
- Daigaku-Imo: caramelized Japanese sweet potato, crème fraîche, green onion, sesame seeds - sweet and crumbly, nicely offset by the creme fraiche.
- Donabe Wild Mushrooms: (cremini, shiitake, shimeji) garlic, butter, sherry wine, chervil, togarashi chili threads, steamed in a Japanese clay pot - while we doubt the “wild” part, this straightforward preparation highlighted the different flavours and textures of each mushroom.
- Soy Braised Beef Short Rib: carrot puree, mustard medley, baby potato, pickled shallot, pickled shallot, mustard aioli - nice flavour, but the meat was a bit dried out.
- Japanese Cheese Tart: brown sugar mascarpone cream, spiced pear compote, caramel, shaved blue cheese - excellent way to feature the pairing of pear and blue cheese.
- Dark Chocolate Cake: tofu dark chocolate cream, strawberry jelly, genmai tea caramel tuile, strawberry cassis sorbet - pleasant enough but certainly not “dark”.
- Coconut Banana Pie: almond cream, salted coconut sorbet, black sesame sauce, miso candy pecan, coconut whipped cream - amazing intense skin like layer of banana over a delicious sorbet and what was almost like an almond croissant underneath.
