The Markham Mi-Ne location just opened up October 10th, adding a third location to the growing sushi chain. Mi-Ne opened up where
Ippai, another Japanese restaurant, used to be located. This Mi-Ne is not affiliated with the Mi-Ne Sushi on Yonge Street, but has two other locations Downtown Toronto and in Aurora.
My parents and I ordered the Dinner Course C and the Gyoza Udon.
The Dinner Course C provided the following dishes for $68:
Choice of 2 Wakame Salad (Seaweed Salad) or 2 Ika Sansai (Japanese Style Calamari Salad)
Mushroom Soup
Choice of Tempura Appetizer (Lobster, Shrimp, and Vegetables - 2 Pieces each) or Enoki Yaki
8 Pieces of Sashimi, 4 Pieces of Sushi & 8 Pieces of Crunch Roll
Chicken, Beef, or Salmon Teriyaki
2 Bowls of Rice
Ice Cream
Dinner Course C: Mushroom Soup
Great alternative to the traditional miso soup appetizer. The Mushroom Soup was savoury and also had gyoza inside. Unlike miso soup, the Mushroom Soup did not make you more thirsty and was a great way to start the dinner.
Dinner Course C: Tempura Appetizer
This tempura was delicious! Definitely better than your average tempura from regular Ichiban chains or All You Can Eat (AYCE) locations. The batter was light, yet rich in flavour. The Lobster Tempura was scrumptious and an unique option outside of the traditional tempura selection. The Shrimp Tempura was sweet and the Sweet Potato Tempura was delicious. I would love to have more of this!
Dinner Course C: 2 Ika Sansai (Japanese Style Calamari Salad)
*though I suspect at this may be the Wakame Salad (Seaweed Salad)
My family ordered the Ika Sansai option for our Dinner Course C, however, I suspect the salads that we were served was actually the Wakame Salad. Similar to the other two dishes - this Wakame Salad jumps outside the traditional standard of seaweed salads as additions such as avocados, apples, asparagus, and cucumber. Although these novel ingredients were added, the Mi-Ne Wakame Salad tasted similar to any other traditional Wakame Salad, but with added bits since the additional ingredients did not blend tastefully into the seaweed. However, the added ingredients did not lower overall taste of the Wakame Salad - perhaps another palette would enjoy it more than my family and I did.
Dinner Course C: 8 Pieces of Sashimi, 4 Pieces of Sushi, & 8 Pieces of Crunch Roll + Tuna Tartare*
Crunch Roll: Assorted Fresh Sashimi with Avocado, Cucumber, & Tobiko, Dipped in Crispy Batter
*compliments of the chef
The sushi portion of the Dinner Course C did not disappoint and rivals the freshness that Inatei provides (but at a lower price!). The salmon and red tuna was fresh and the white tuna was deliciously buttery. The Crunch Roll was delicious and in itself would have been an amazing maki roll to order for a smaller dinner party (which is available a la carte for $15). The chef graciously added a tuna tartare to our sushi platter which was exquisite and spicy. I also wanted to point out how cute the sushi dish was!
Dinner Course C: Beef Teriyaki + 2 Bowls of Rice
By this point, my family and I were already full as the portions provided by Mi-Ne are generous! The beef teriyaki tasted great - the beef was cooked to my favourite medium rare (although the waitress did not ask for the cooking preference) and the teriyaki sauce was not overly sweet. The beef teriyaki wasn't super chewy - but it didn't melt in your mouth either. Overall the beef teriyaki did not stand out above the traditional Ichiban quality beef teriyaki but was still good.
Gyoza Udon
The Gyoza Udon was very similar to the Mushroom Soup (described above) but with the added udon noodles and green vegetables. Great udon, did not taste floury and was not overcooked. If you plan to try the mushroom soup, I would recommend ordering a different udon as they both taste similar.
2 Scoops of Red Bean and 1 Scoop of Ginger Ice Cream
Loved the ice cream! Surprisingly my favourite of the two flavours was the ginger ice cream! It was cold yet refreshing with the "spicy" pieces of ginger blended into the ice cream. The red bean, a traditional favourite of mine, was also delicious.
Overall, considering that the restaurant opened 4 days ago - I am quite impressed with the quality and the service of the restaurant. The ambience is similar to that of its predecessor Ippai, as no major renovations were done. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive, but not overly so - making the dinning experience enjoyable. I'm sure the Ika Sansai mix up was by pure mistake - but not an outstanding mistake as I didn't even register the mix up until I started writing this post. Although Mi-Ne Sushi is pricier than most Japanese restaurants the generous portions balances the price. The Dinner Course was meant for 2 individuals - which is why my family ordered the Gyoza Udon - but the Dinner Course in itself was more than enough for 3 individuals. I highly recommend Mi-Ne and I would expect this restaurant to be as successful as Inatei once its reputation is established.
Mi-Ne Sushi
8865 Woodbine Ave D5
Markham, ON L3R 5G1
