Miku Restaurant

With Japanese food being my absolute favorite cuisine, it's only natural for me to go try pretty much everything new out there. I had the opportunity to dine at the Miku Restaurant a little while ago, and it was definitely one of the best sushi restaurants in the Downtown area.

Unlike the more traditional Japanese restaurants, Miku features the aburi sushi, which is nigiri sushi dipped in various sauces, then slightly seared. To be honest, as a Japanese food lover, I'm a little ashamed to say that I've never heard of this type of sushi prior to going to Miku. But nonetheless, the experience was more than a positive one.

So since it was the first time for us to try this type of sushi, we decided to order the Premium Aburi Sushi for $18, which has small a selection of different aburi sushi, to see what it's like. In addition, we also ordered a couple of the aburi rolls, which averages to be about $12 each. I must say though, although the food was all delicious, many of the rolls were similar to the ones present in the Premium Aburi Sushi dish. So, we did felt a redundancy. But then, it's our fault for ordering unwisely.

What I love the most about the aburi sushi in Miku is their sauces. It's not difficult to make sushi and then sear it, but it's difficult to make a different sauce to match each different fish and each different roll. And Miku does an excellent job at it. One thing though, just be be picky, it would be even better if the servers could warn the guest when they are ordering things of too similar taste. That would definitely avoid their guest getting "bored" if they weren't the best at picking out what to order.

Now talking about service, the people there were excellent people. Very nice, helpful and friendly. Unfortunately, the time when I went, they were understaffed, so there was a delay in service. But then I believe that they've hired more people, as I haven't been hearing anything bad about the restaurant from the other people who went there.

Other than food and service I heard that they serve a very nice mojito too, but I haven't had the chance to try. But I definitely love their patio. On a nice day, they actually do get some sun, as opposed to some other restaurants in the Downtown area that has a patio but no sun shining on it. However, their ambiance was only ok though, chic, but nothing unforgettable.

I would definitely recommend anyone who likes sushi to give this excellent restaurant a try. After all, it did snatch the Best Formal Japanese Restaurant Bronze Prize after only a few months of their opening. If you don't mind a later dinner, I'd say go after 8PM. It's because the meter parkings are EXPENSIVE just outside of the building, but after 8PM, it's free!

Miku Restaurant #2 – 1055 West Hastings St (at the Guinness Tower) Vancouver, B.C. Tel: 604.568.3900

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Blue Water Cafe

The Blue Water Cafe is another one of my favorite restaurants in Downtown, Vancouver. Situated in the Yaletown area, where great restaurants and unique shops are abundant, the Blue Water Cafe is a lively seafood restaurant with a fantastic menu and an extensive wine list. If you're not in the mood for a big dinner, but would still like to enjoy some great seafood, the restaurant also has a raw bar serving an excellent selection of oysters, sushi, and sashimi.

I'm a person who really enjoy seafood. Ask anyone who knows me, and they'll tell you that as long as it's a fish dish, I'll devour it all. But my favorite type of seafood is by far fresh oysters. I can't stand them cooked, but I can eat dozens of them when they're raw. And that's one of the reasons why I love the Blue Water Cafe. They have a wide selection of oysters, from sweet to salty, from mild to metallic taste, and the servers are very knowledgeable on the menu, and can recommend the types of oysters to order by your taste. The oysters ranges from about $2.75-$4.25 a piece, and obviously, the quality is excellent.

Although a little pricey, their 2 tiered Seafood on Ice platers are also excellent with a variety of fresh fish and shellfish. If you order the 3 tiered plater, you'll also get sushi and Dungeness Crab. And if you ever order Chill Prawns, the restaurant makes a very delicious homemade cocktail sauce.

My dad had the Bouillabaisse when we went there a couple of weeks ago and it was also exceptional. The only thing is, the portion is too small for a main course at $29. One of the more disappointing dishes would be the Organic Fraser Valley Greens salad. For an appetizer at about $15 dollars, neither the taste nor the quality really delivered.

We had the Raspberry Creme Brulee for dessert and it was certainly a very good choice. The creme brulee itself was just right in sweetness, and it's paired with white chocolate gelato and short bread. Definitely very delicious and refreshing.

The restaurant's wine list is huge, almost like a novel, which can be quite intimidating for a beginner like me, but would be great for the wine fanatics. But their wine collection is definitely an excellent one, as they have received multiple awards for their extensive wine list. If you're a novice or beginner like me, just look at the table of contents in the front, flip to the back where the open wines are, and order from there. The wines there wouldn't be overly pricey, but still a decent quality.

I don't believe valet parking is available, but parking are not too difficult to find on Hamilton street. If you really can't find a spot on the street, there is a public parking just a block or two down the road.

So if you like seafood, the Blue Water Cafe is certainly a restaurant you should go to. The restaurant is lively with their open kitchen and raw bar and the fresh seafood is always great quality. Be sure to make a reservation on weekends though, they book up easily.

Blue Water Cafe 1095 Hamilton St. Vancouver, B.C. Tel: 604.688.8078

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