Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Miyako Japanese Restaurant - Hollister, Ca

I am officially stuffed. I feel full from many Holiday dinners, snacks and party beverages. At work we celebrated for probably a month straight from Thanksgiving on in to Christmas. There were too many goodies floating around the office and then those goodies ended up into my stomach. For dinner tonight I did not want Mexican food for once, I wanted sushi! Tonight I wanted something maybe a smidge lighter than my normal fare. So I went to the San Felipe Business Park and walked into Miyako Japanese Restaurant.




Miyako's is a lovely little spot. They recently upgraded the space and added a tiki type bar setting, a different paint color for every wall and fancy flat screen televisions. It usually is busy at this time but, I guessing that since it was a Tuesday evening it was probably just a off day.




I started off my Japanese meal with something a little odd. It sounds gross but I have kind of grown to love the Quail Egg Shooter. The shooters come in your average double shot glass and consist of a raw quail egg, a little tabasco, some massago fish roe, a sprinkling of green onions, a dash of sesame seeds, sesame oil and a shake of sake. Obviously there are a lot of variations, but it's always something gooey and salty in a shot glass. It kind of tasted like breakfast in a glass. It is definitely an acquired taste. Miso soup was also brought to the table. Miso soup is Miso soup to me - dashi, tofu, seaweed and green onion.





First up is Maguro, the Japanese term for bluefin tuna, perhaps the best known and most commonly eaten fish in all of sushi dining. It tastes rich and is tender as can be. If you would like to try "raw" sushi - this is a good option for beginners. Which I may be considered as well! Next up is two pieces of cooked Unagi, which is eel. It is very nutritious and contains 100 times more vitamin A than other fish. Also ordered the BMW Roll - a special roll with shrimp tempura, tuna, cucumber drizzled with sweet unagi sauce and a creamy concoction based with mayonnaise. That is one of my favorites as well. The last roll pictured is what I ordered - the Lion King Roll. It is a very impressive roll indeed. Perfectly cooked Salmon, creamy mayo sauce heated over a roll filled with crab, avocado and cucumber with a topping of massago - smelt roe. Delicious! This roll is a meal in itself and the price reflects that - $15 but well worth it!

I have been meaning to review Miyako's for quite some time now. I have been so consumed in my Mexican food addiction I have kind of neglected the rest of the cuisines that are out there! The owner's of Miyako's are extremely friendly, hard working people. They aim to please every time. I recommend this restaurant to sushi beginners or to those of advanced status. I believe it is one of the best options in the Hollister Restaurant scene. 1.75 thumbs up for a fantastic selection of fresh seafood, creative rolls for the less adventurous and a great attitude to their employees and customers.

-MD

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How on earth did you ever get the courage to try a quail egg shooter?

Melissa Good Taste said...

Just did. It sounds disgusting but really isn't that bad.

Anonymous said...

can't be worse that an oyster shooter. i would have tried it to.

Merrie said...

We just had Miyako on Wed night! :) I looove their chicken teriyaki and California rolls. I have yet to try real and true sushi, but your review makes me want to finally brave it. I'll let you know when I finally do.

Heather said...

Hi Melissa,
Thanks for stopping by my blog! that quail egg shooter sounds incredibly adventurous!! Great restaurant review!
Heather