A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery in Japan. It was one of my favourite experiences and it sparked my love for Japanese whisky. I was very excited to have the opportunity to experience Suntory Toki Whisky at a hosted dinner at Miku Vancouver. This dinner featured Suntory Toki Whisky paired with Miku’s current Kaiseki menu. This dinner was specially curated by Suntory with a whisky pairing so it cannot be ordered. However, you can order the Kaiseki menu with a sake pairing. Check out my full review of the Miku Vancouver Kaiseki Menu below!
Miku Vancouver – $150 Miku Kaiseki Appetizers
There are two options for the Miku Kaiseki menu. We had the $150 Kaiseku menu which features Miku’s signature Aburi-style cuisine, served on beautiful handmade Arita plateware from Kyushu, Japan. On the menu:
- Octopus Carpaccio
- Iwate Wagyu Aburi Sukiyaki
- Feature Sashimi
- North Pacific Halibut
- Aburi Prime
- Filet Mignon
- Strawberry Mousse
To start we had the Octopus Carpaccio which features very thin slices of octopus with kabosu jelly, ume glaze, yuzu kosho crème fraîche, and salsa verde. It was such a light and refreshing start to dinner. I have never seen octopus this thin!
Following that we had the Iwate Wagyu Aburi Sukiyaki which features black garlic warishita and egg yolk vinaigrette. This was the best bite of food I have had the pleasure of eating in 2022. It’s not available a la carte but I highly recommend you order this set menu specifically to bless your tastebuds with this dish. The wagyu is so soft and buttery and literally melts in your mouth. It is a complete explosion of flavour and I could eat an entire plate of this.
Next to the table was the Feature Sashimi which is a show stopper with its lovely dry ice presentation. The scallop and hamachi were my favourites, however all the sashimi slices were fantastic.
Miku Vancouver – $150 Miku Kaiseki Mains
Moving onto the more substantial part of the menu we had the North Pacific Halibut which features aonori crusted polenta, yuzu-corn salsa, wasabi and snap pea purée, ume crisp, in a creamy kombu dashi. The fish was perfectly cooked, but the star of the dish for me was the aonori crusted polenta. It was so light and crisp and just packed with flavour.
Next up was the Aburi Prime which was the chef’s nigiri omakase. Each nigiri was perfectly crafted. This plate perfectly showcases what Miku is best known for.
At this point I was quite full, but I had to carry on. How could I not after seeing the beautiful plate of Filet Mignon in front of me? This dish features potato espuma, seasonal miso-glazed vegetables, yuzu
kosho cured egg yolk, and veal jus. The beef was so soft and perfectly cooked. The stand out for me however was the light as air potato espuma.
Miku Vancouver – $150 Miku Kaiseki Dessert
To cap off a lovely meal we had the Strawberry Mousse which features cocoa crumble, balsamic and strawberry marmalade. The balsamic and strawberry marmalade in the center of this dessert was divine.
The overall experience was truly next level. It was such an intimate dinner to showcase the beauty of Japanese whisky and I learned so much! We had the chance to smell the various notes of Japanese whisky (apple, mint, and white peppercorn) and add it to our highballs to enhance the experience.
