Today we travelled to Port Coquitlam for some traditional and fusion Japanese sushi and sides, although you might not think this would be the case, given its exterior.
Tucked into a corner of a mini outdoor plaza, flanked by quick fast food options like pizza by the slice, donair on the go, and even a 7 Eleven, Miu Sushi does not seem like a elevated Japanese restaurant that it is. But don’t let its cover fool you, the space opens up when you enter and there is plenty of spacious seating.
We would be situated in one of their semi-private rooms. As Diana of @foodologyca put it, we were in a nice jail cell with its confided wooden bars that separated us from the rest of the restaurant. A nice barrier that physically divided us, but did not spare the others from our laughter and chatter.
Inspired by traditional flavours, Miu offers a fresh, creative and respectful interpretation of Japanese cuisine and we would get a great taste of this across their quality sashimi, fusion sushi rolls, classic Japanese entrees, bar style share plates, and even imported desserts.
But first drinks. Starting with a round of their fruity soda house cocktails in a peach that gave me salted plum and a melon that was a faint honeydew much like Melona ice cream bars, but without its creaminess.
They were also able to accommodate the pregnant Diana by mixing her a non-alcoholic mocktail of pineapple and coconut.
This also extended to their beer selection. Where Joyce of @vanfoodies and I got the regular Asahi with its 5% ABV, they poured Diana an alcohol-free one at 0.0% ABV.
Joyce and I then moved on to the premium stuff with some imported Japanese sake. Described as being “medium” and easy to drink, and therefore highly coveted. I will not contest to this. It was a lovely bottle to have with our clean fish below.
In no particular order the following is what we had. The Omurice also known as Japanese Omelette Rice is stir-fried soy sauce rice prepared with vegetable, and then topped with a whipped fluffy scrambled egg.
This version had the egg crowning the dish at a peak and looking like a hurricane the way it swirled. Best eaten warm when the rice is still saucy with a heavy garlicky meatiness.
The Soy Garlic Chicken was fried chicken tossed in a sweet soy garlic sauce. A descent appetizer portion, but pretty uninventive when compared to everything else to come. When the entire meal is this good, there has to be a dish that is the least favoured, and this was the one.
If you are in the market for sashimi and can only order one item from off of the menu, let it be their Miu Omakase. At $125 it does cost a pretty penny, but for 30 pieces of the chef’s choice of daily fresh and premium sashimi with real wasabi, and this stunning of a presentation they are giving you value. This was especially the case of their specially ordered fatty fish that was brought to our attention. This was a gummy white fish with the texture of squid. Overall a great assembly and plenty of raw fish for three, we did not leave any of this behind.
The Hurricane Tempura is a patty of vegetable tempura that includes shredded yam, onion, and carrot. The name well describes its mish-mash nature. I am not a fan of the oily build of tempura as is so cannot speak well to this. It least was crispy and well seasoned, even before a dip into the tempura sauce served on the side.
We also decided to try a few of their fusion specialty rolls. The Popcorn roll has two pieces of prawn tempura, avocado, and cucumber and is topped with a mound of fried chopped scallop nuggets, spicy mayo, and garlic mayo. With the creamy mayo and shrimp the dish comes across as sweet. It was challenging to get a full bite of roll and fried toppings, so we ate it more as a side to the wet sushi and to chase the mash of it with something crispy.
I was impressed by the presentation of the Lobster Dream presented on a cake stand. This is two full rolls with lobster, real crab, asparagus, celery, avocado, and cucumber. Served with a side salad and topped with garlic mayo, and two different types of tobiko for visual interest. Much like the physical cooked red lobster tail shell for show. The lobster tail meat within the actual roll is fragrant and its flavour is prominent, an important note given that it is the roll’s name sake. It and the inclusion of greens make this dish well balanced. I enjoyed this one.
We also tried their Crispy Oshi as recommend by management, this was essentially nigiri but with a deep fried rice base. It is topped with either tuna or salmon sashimi and dressed with spicy mayo and a sweet sauce, then finished with avocado, real crab, and tobiko. Another one that is best eaten warm to ensure the rice doesn’t prematurely harden. Although purely for texture I didn’t find it necessary and would have liked all the above as a regular roll for easier eating. But I do acknowledge that Miu is trying something new with this. Much like sushi pizza or tacos, this was them remixing a classic to be able to offer something familiar and popular in a whole new way.
We were then treated to some of their new menu items, that at the time of our visit were not yet listed on their actual menu.
Like their Izakaya Dried Squid. It is exactly that, salty and fishy squid jerky that you maw on. A thorough chew that typically accompanies drinking.
The Truffle Cream Spaghetti is as is sounds. An Italian pasta dish made by a Japanese restaurant. This is their 2.0 version, where I think their original take that used Japanese udon noodles served in rich truffle cream with prawn, mushroom, and onion would have been better.
The udon instead of spaghetti would have been tastier in texture and sauce sopping abilities, plus would speak to the restaurant better as a more Japanese inspired offering.
What was described to us as a Salmon hamachi carpaccio was more like salmon and hamachi tataki, sliced on the thicker side and fanned out in ponzu. The same tasty sashimi that was in the Omakase platter above, but already dressed and with a hint of truffle oil. There we nothing wrong with it, but you can’t follow the Miu Omakase with this, and are better off using the cost of this to fund the other.
And for dessert, as full as we were, we could not walk away with trying their cheesecakes imported from Japan.
The yuzu one was slightly tart with the notes of citrus, but if you didn’t already know what you were getting, this one would be hard to make out in taste alone.
I much preferred the black sesame with its unique roasted flavour contrasting that of the salty cheesecake. It added levels and flavours that comes across as a mild sesame. Not too sweet this original dessert is worth trying.
In summary Miu Sushi is a solid spot for drinks and a good time, coupled with a large and delicious selection of traditional and modern interpretations of Japanese cuisine. Worth a spot at if craving any of the above when in Port Coquitlam.
Miu Sushi
#103 – 2540 Mary Hill Rd, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 3B2
(604) 474 – 2423
