Miku Restaurant
200 Granville St #70
Vancouver, BC

Hours: 11am to 10pm
Menu: https://mikurestaurant.com/
Phone: (604) 568-3900

During the pandemic, Miku Restaurant really scaled back. They limited the amount of items available to order, and depending on what the latest regulations entail, this can mean them becoming a mostly take-out operation or closing their doors. The plan is to offer a wider variety of choices as patrons become comfortable dining out again. The present menu is scant; not even three dishes out of the twelve or so item list is enough to fill me up.

I finally ventured off the rock because it was needed. When A Filthy Lot, a film studio, invited me over to see what they’re all about, I was excited. They’re an online streaming content creation entertainment company with an immense love for Dungeons and Dragons and pop culture. They have three different channels to distinguish their material. The main one focuses on nerd culture, second on gaming and third on comedy. Some talents are from Victoria too!

The team is passionately working on Ready to Roll, a show where the players are playing around a table with more than just a pen, paper, and diorama to visualize their world. Coming in the new year will be fully realized shorts where we will see them in full costume and acting out their wildest fantasies! A full look at this operation and this show can be read on otakunoculture.com. Matt Baker, Roz Young, Bev Rapley, Alain Williams, Chris Livingston and Trevor Gemma are all passionate about being in this show; some were performers before coming to work here and others were scientists or former high school teachers. Rapley is also a foodie, and to chat with her about Beyond Brewing (another show produced by AFL) before it went on hiatus was a treat. She has new ideas in mind for how to bring back this program (though in a different format). It’s still in the planning stages but after that conversation, I needed a drink when my work hours were over, and went to Miku.

My drink of choice is Asahi. Though what I had was on tap than Black, it was what I needed to cap off a rainy day in North Vancouver. The dishes offered at Miku were simple. I had the Chef’s Selection and a classic California roll. This dish differs from the traditional. Instead of multi-ingredients, there were only three (aside from the rice) because they’re using authentic crab meat with roe on top. There’s no cucumber add-on or avocado. It made for an excellent addition to the ebi fritters I had. The chili aioli knocked this dish out of the park.

As for the fish, my server said half the plate, namely the Hamachi, was fish brought in from Japan, and the rest caught locally. After watching The aburi sampler is tastier than the nigiri pieces, though I can’t help but save the best for last; the uni was pricey at $15 a pop, and at that price, I should get one complete urchin rather than just a spoonful. I suspect that’s because this offering is out of season since it isn’t on their regular menu.

In their pandemic makeover, they’ve made ordering easy for take out and in-house dining. It’s assumed more people have a smartphone with a QR code reader. I appreciate this approach as it’s easier to update what’s available for the season than to print new menus all the time.

Hopefully their prices will go down. Like my first visit, to have a filling meal means spending close to $100. Just how they stayed afloat in the pandemic times is because they’ve adapted. I still have to try their Kaiseiki experience, which is when the chef only uses seasonal ingredients, and that may come next year February when I return to Vancouver for Fan Expo. It’ll be in my budget!

4 Blokes out of 5