Guest Stephanie Wan
Yaletown—(December 13, 2016) Minami Restaurant of Aburi Restaurants is currently offering a special five-course holiday menu. Filled with special ingredients and pairings, we were invited to sample this east meets west meal, best enjoyed alongside a trio of their finest sakes, to celebrate the festive winter season in fine Japanese culinary fashion.
First off, the amuse bouche of miso maple pumpkin soup (with warm spiced apple chutney, micro shiso, and miso crème fraîche) was a pleasing affair for its slightly contrasting yet still very complementary flavours. It warmed the gullets superbly. Next, the appetizer duo of Minami sashimi (chef's choice) and beet trio salad (with a baby kale medley, goat cheese mousse, spiced caramelized pecans, shaved apple, and pomegranate-white balsamic vinaigrette) was another winning combination of fresh tastes beautifully served and plated.
Of course, an Minami meal would hardly be complete without an assortment of their famous namesake Aburi sushi (featuring a selection of aburi nigiri and oshi sushi) perfectly prepared using their trademark searing technique. Not much can be said that has not been already about the fine quality and taste of Aburi's sushi.
For the main course, Minami served their version of "surf and turf" consisting of Saikyō miso Sakekasu sablefish (with sesame soy kale purée, unami dashi marinated Japanese eggplant, yuzu miso reduction, Asian micro greens, candy cane beets, and wasabi shoga relish) paired with AAA Sterling Silver filet mignon Wellington (with Japanese mustard, creamed spinach, wild mushrooms, baby carrots, and Madagascar peppercorn veal jus). An unreal and delicious culinary duo of dishes, the S&T entrée was delightful and delectable. The sablefish was nicely cooked and savoury while the Beef Wellington was tender, substantially filling, and wholly satisfying baked meat pastry.
For dessert, the orange chocolate mousse (with Manjari chocolate ganache, spiced genoise, chocolate wafer, crystallized pecans, and milk chocolate/caramel macaron) was a rich and decadent capper. In all, it was another unsurprisingly fine meal of some of the best and freshest ingredients well suited for any special occasion especially paired with their smooth premium sake flight and/or the strong (and very spicy) Oni No Chi cocktail (made with serrano infused tequila, crème de cassis, ginger liqueur, and lime).
It was an altogether appealing culinary endeavour in every aspect with fresh ingredients, complementary dishes, and impeccable presentation. Minami's holiday menu is available now until 9pm on Christmas Eve.
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