Michiu

Any place that can serve a quality roast quail with foie gras stands high on my list of places worth visiting. Michiu is yet another diamond in the rough in the Maasstraat.
The design of the place reminds me a little of an American diner, with way too much use of the color red, but that minor quibble aside, I will say that it has a great atmosphere. We went along on Saturday evening, without a reservation. The place was busier than De Bijenkorf during sale time, but after only a twenty minute wait we had a table. For a starter, I ordered Dim Sum. Which I’m pleased to report was steamed rather than fried. The textures and flavors were spot on, and I was almost tempted to order it again, that’s how good it was.
The main course of foie gras with roast quail was so good. Wow! I really wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. My only other minor complaints would be the rather limited wine list, but that aside, we had a nice evening there and I would definitely go back again.

There used to be an ambiguous Chinese restaurant situated at this location. Well, it wasn’t really that dotchy. But this is Zuid and in Zuid people have money to spend and they don’t want to spend it on stuffy Dutch Chinese fair. Babi pangang and Foe yong hai might have sufficed for grandpa & grandma and mom & dad, but the new generation wants modern and hip. They want small little nibbits and lots, cause sharing is caring. They want flavors that remind them of the flavors they experienced during their far east holidays. In Zuid, Asian fusion is the way to go. Thus about 2 weeks ago, a new Asian fusion restaurant opened it’s doors in de Maasstraat.
Not that there’s any shortage of Asian inspired restaurants in the Rivierenbuurt, with Kaiko, Sapporo, Korean Garden, Hakata Senpachi and Orbit to name a few, only a stones throw away.
I pass the restaurant regularly on my way to the appie for my grocery rants. The enticive menu lured me in this evening. By the way, their menu is a little more extensive then the one posted online. Let’s see, the spider roll with soft shell crab, avocado, Japanese mayo and tobiko. Fried spicy dynamite roll with tuna and kimchi? Oyster cutlet roll with crispy oyster, red onion, almonds and tonkatsy mayo… hmmmm, interesting. Yaikes, € 9 for 4 pieces?! Right… let’s just leave the creative sushi rolls for now and move on to the meals, shall we.
Scallops with garlic topping, soft shell crab with garlic and red pepper, Malaysian curry sirloin with vegetables, steamed turbot with spring onions, ginger and doused with hot soy oil. Yahaa!
The meals are on the small side here, so I was advised to go for 3 dishes per person. After viewing the prices, I only went for two dishes though. This prompted the question, only 2? You’re not that hungry then?! Which lead me to respond with a hesitant yes. What I meant to say however was: Actually, I am very hungry but this is all I can afford right now. For a shared dinning concept, meals aren’t economical to say the least (average pricesof ~ € 8 – 13 per dish).
I ended up going for the beef skewers with Malaysian peanut sauce and the Tuna Tataki with ponzu dip. Although beef skewers reminded me more of the Indonesian style sate rather than Malaysian with the sweet ketjap, they tasted okay. The seared tuna was also fine. I was expecting a fresh citrusy sauce as depicted in the picture on their site and was kind of disappointed when I couldn’t detect any citrus flavors in the ponzu dip. What is that saying like? Never expect anything from anyone, because expectation always hurts.
On the other hand, I was happy to discover only 2 dishes were sufficient to satisfy my hunger. So when on a budget my advise would be, go for protein! No, rephrase, ALWAYS go for protein, even when not broke.
Even though the dishes didn’t quite live up to my expectations, I think I will pay Michiu another visit. The food was good enough for me to still want to try other dishes on the menu, like turbot and the quail with goose liver.
Yes, this place fits right in the neighbourhood with a high demand for contemporary fusion cuisine. Asian red is definitely the theme here. There is few seating outside as well. Prices are rather steep, but no more so then at Sapporo and Kaiko. Remember, this is Zuid and in Zuid people have money to spend. This newbie might do quite well…