A fantastic Holiday menu from Minami to round up 2016

Happy holidays, my friends! I hope you did me proud and had a restful Christmas full of good eats. I honestly don't remember the last time I've been out drinking as much as I have this month! As we wrap up 2016, I had to share the amazing holiday menu I got to experience at Minami, sister restaurant of my favourite Japanese fine-dining restaurant, Miku. Having Rick as my dining partner in crime, we went in the Premium Sake Flight.

Premium Sake Flight

— Dassai "39" by Asahi Shuzo from Yamaguchi - Meikyoshisui Seki by Osawa from Nagano - Kozaemon Usurai by Nakashima from Gifu, Japan

What makes the collection of sakes at Minami so special is that they're all curated by their sake specialist. We were instructed to enjoy our flight from left to right, starting from more refreshing profiles to sweeter and fragrant flavours. Luckily, they offer a flight of 3 on a regular basis for the times you're feeling extra.

Miso Maple Pumpkin Soup

— warm spiced apple chutney, micro shiso, miso crème fraîche

What they don't offer everyday is this amuse bouche. Maple Pumpkin (or squash) together has always been a classic blanket of comfort for me, adding miso balanced the fruity flavours with a touch of savouriness. So good, I wish it came sized as an appetizer.

A M U S E B O U C H E

A P P E T I Z E R D U O

Minami Sashimi & Beet Trio Salad

— chef's choice / baby kale medley, goat cheese mousse, spiced caramelized pecans, shaved apple, pomegranate-white balsamic vinaigrette

I was absolutely blown away by the beautiful presentation of our next course. You know I'm a huge fan of textures so the caramelized pecans really elevated the combination of beet and goat cheese. Sashimi can be so easily overlooked when such an enticing list of aburi goodness is available at Minami. I'm glad chef paired the refreshing beet salad with clean cuts of hotate, wild sake, and maguro (scallop, wild salmon, red tuna) for me to finally taste the freshness of their fish.

Aburi Selection

— selection of Aburi Nigiri, Roll and Oshi Sushi prepared using their famous aburi-style technique

S U S H I

The meal wouldn't be complete without Minami's specialty aburi sushi. Needless to say, we both inhaled this with no hesitation. Five pieces just doesn't cut it, but it does leave us enough room for our main course to come.

S U R F & T U R F

AAA Sterling Silver Fillet Mignon Wellington

— Japanese mustard, creamed spinach, wild mushrooms, baby carrots, madagascar peppercorn veal jus

Saikyo Miso Sakekasu Sablefish

— sesame soy kale puree, umami dashi marinated Japanese eggplant, yuzu miso reduction, Asian micro greens, candy cane beets, wasabi shoga relish

C O C K T A I L F E A T U R E

Oni No Chi

— serrano infused tequila, crème de cassis, ginger liquer, fresh lime

This cocktail is NO joke, it's got HEAT. If you can handle the kick and enjoy tequila, this is a MUST order.

D E S S E R T

Orange Chocolate Mousse

— Manjari chocolate ganache, spiced genoise, chocolate wafer, crystallized pecans, milk chocolate-caramel macaron

My favourite component of this cake was how the tasty texture of the spiced genoise chocolate wafer cut the creaminess of the orange chocolate mousse. It kept each bite interesting till the very last spoonful; my kinda sweet finish!

To sum it all up, the dining experience was outstanding from its fresh ingredients, bold flavours, and creative plating. This seasonal Holiday menu was only offered till Christmas Eve 2016 but if you can score a reservation for their NYE set menu tomorrow, I'd jump on it now. To this day, Aburi Restaurants has never failed to impress me.

And that's it for now, see you all on the other side ;)
Happy 2017!