Miyake was a medium sized place off the tourist path.  There was lots of counter seating as well as tables.  The counter does face the preparation area, thus lots of lights illuminate your food there.  We were fortunate to have the seats right across from chef, Masa Miyake who had been in Portland since 2006.  Previously he worked in a number of NYC and Tokyo restaurants.  Some music played in the background in this very stylized place.  The menu offered several types of tasting menu options as well as a la carte.  There is also a separate Nigiri and Sashimi menu with another offering market features.   We chose the Kaiseki Omakase or Chef’s tasting menu, which included a number of off-the-menu items, and had their sake pairings to go with it.  They do offer some wines and beers along with a huge sake menu.  

 

Yaki Uni was grilled sea urchin with mascarpone and enoki mushrooms.  It was grilled in a cedarwood box and accented with truffle oil and scallions.  The ingredients blended well into a creamy texture.  It had good flavor.

 

A variety of sashimi was next.  It included Horse Mackerel (aji), Amber Jack (kanpachi), Golden Eye snapper (kinmedai), salmon toro (belly), sea bass (suzuki), fluke with yuzu, lobster tail, and Bluefin tuna.  They were all nice with clean flavors.  The plate also included a dab of wasabi that was hot, spicy and wonderful.

 

Chawanmushi (Japanese Steamed Egg Custard) was made with crab, parsley, gold leaf and ginkgo nut.   It was creamy and mild.  The crab was mostly in shreds.  The ginkgo nut was green and dry.  It was a nice dish, just really mild in flavor.

 

 

Hamasui or Japanese seafood stew was made with a clear dashi broth and filled with Conger eel, Thai snapper, lobster tail, tofu and wild parsley.  It was also mild in flavor but the seafood bits were very nice.

 

Sea eel tempura was dusted with yuzu citrus powder.  It was a tender coating and a lovely chunk of eel.  It was a fun texture and taste.  I dipped some of it in the soy sauce on the counter but it was fine on its own.

 

Kamo Aburi – Binchotan Grilled Duck Breast with Arima Sansho Balsamic Sauce and Truffle Oil was served with a piece of baby bok choy.  On the plate was a dollop of Kosho, a very spicy sauce.  The duck was wonderful and the bok choy was served cold which was an interesting twist.

 

We finished with nigiri of tuna toro (belly), threadfin bream (itoyori), shrimp and sliced ginger and wasabi.  They were all quite nice.