Uchi
I’ve noticed that Japanese cuisine is very popular here in Miami and it plays such a major role in the dining scene. Most places are labeled either Japanese or Brazilian/Japanese or Peruvian/Japanese.
This is now my 3rd trip here in Miami and the most I’ve eaten the most sushi here in my entire life even when I was still based in Japan. Uchi was a place that was highly recommended by my friend who is a big foodie here and she had told me that this was one of her best meals in Miami. As we left the car with the valet, I felt a sudden urge of excitement as I knew that this was going to be an epic meal.
The restaurant staff greeted us cheerfully and I felt their energy buzzing on the dining room on a Friday night. The menu selection was typical of any Japanese place I’ve been to before, but this place had a special factor to it and we were ready to start our meal.
Our first dish was the Hirame Usuzukuri which was flounder served with the picled radish was so good that we ordered a few more cold starters after.
The chu toro which is the fatty part of the tuna followed along with the madai which was Japanese sea bream.
Unagi was what our server brought next, and the fish was torched beautifully that we had to order it twice.
The pork belly was our first hot appetizer which was accompanied with some delicata squash was superb.
The hot rock with the wagyu strips came next and this was sliced a bit thicker than usual which gave the beef a “bleu” feel to it after being seared which was a nice surprise.
The Hokkaido Uni Sashimi was laid in a shiso leaf with finely sliced pineapple and yuzu sauce was so light and fresh.
Sake toro and Hamachi were the two slices of sashimi that we ordered this evening, and they were both so fresh that even no soy and wasabi was needed anymore. The ebi tempura had such a light batter that made it feel like we were eating a pastry.
Negi toro with bluefin, scallion and tamari was 1 of 2 maki’s that we ordered tonight along with zero sen which came with yellowtail, avocado, shallot and cilantro. Both were superb in their own respective manner and we were almost super full already by this time but our server insisted that we must have some dessert. The warm banana cake served with chicory caramel, buckwheat and white kahlua ice cream was so delicious that it may have been the best dish of the evening.
By far this was the best meal I’ve had so far this trip and as we were leaving the space it made feel nostalgic about my time in Japan and I’m always happy to bring back those find memories…
The next #KULINARYATRAVELS will be at HUTONG for some Peking Duck…