Miyako – Hyatt Regency Dubai

Miyako is a Japanese restaurant inside one of the oldest hotel in Dubai. An impressive stylish restaurant for it’s beautiful decor of wood, furniture and lighting. Miyako literally has an open kitchen where you could sit and watch them cook different dishes right in front of you. It’s the restaurant you want to visit especially if you have guests that love Japanese food cause they serve more than just good food, by allowing you to have an authentic experience which is true to their Japanese heritage. The private dining rooms are the one’s to try. Seated in a typical Japanese fashion with chairs and tables low to the floor with traditional flooring, walls and interior decor, the whole atmosphere around suddenly feels transported to Japan temporarily. Also we tried one of their signature dishes like the hot pot where they cook the entire dish in front of you. The beef here is one of a kind I tell you, a must try!

You could opt for seats in the center of the wide open kitchen or pick one of their private rooms which is definitely our recommendation. They also have a cozy lounge if you just want to sip some good drinks. The flooring, tables, chairs, wooden partitions, plants, frames were typically true to their tradition. I honestly couldn’t take my eyes of their beautiful wooden tables which is a table trunk that was glued with glass in between. By the way, no shoes allowed inside the private rooms. You need to remove them before you enter their special Japanese dining rooms. We sat on the lowered seats with our feets folded, it was a unique experience.  No spoons and forks, it’s their classic chopstick and their traditional plates on the table. It’s best if you can eat it this way.

We tried three fancy Mocktails, Honestly I think they can do better with drinks. Our lunch started with their complimentary 2 slice Tofu pre-dipped in a mild soya sauce was a teaser of what to expect. The spinach appetizer was one of a kind and the taste on it was exciting as much as how attractive it looked. That little touch of fish flakes did add some nice dash of flavour to the overall taste. The Salmon Avocado salad was a heavy load of Avocado and raw salmon, clearly the raw Avocado was dominating the taste so make sure you love Avocado before you order this salad.

Being at an authentic Japanese restaurant they can’t go wrong with Sashimis or Sushi rolls. They were simply too good, especially the Sushi rolls. If I had to recommend one it would be Unagi Tempura Maki which was highly addictive, I think it was the cream cheese and the Unagi sauce doing the trick. Neverthless each item had it’s own magic and whichever you order, you should be happy. Dipping them in soya sauce is a must as it just elevates the taste to the next level. The beef in the simmered beef in the Niku Jaga dish was too good. This beef and the one that comes in hotpot menu felt the same. It was a perfect bowl that had everything from a high quality beef to steamed vegetables. Absolutely loved this bowl and reasonably priced one from the menu. 

The hotpot is an experience of it’s own. They give you the option to either cook it for you in advance or bring the whole setup to your table and you can even cook it yourself. We let the Miyako experts do the cooking, while we watched. They brought in a burner, a plate of vegetables and a plate of premium thinly sliced beef. The chef starts by warming the plate with beef fat, then some onions, followed by beef and then finally all the vegetables are pushed in one by one. There was also a jug of sauce for the hot pot dish which is poured once the beef is in the pan. You begin to see how quickly the red beef turn golden brown. The whole process took around 10 mins of cooking. You also get eggs on the side which is to be mixed along with your bowl of hot pot if you prefer. The dish finally reminded of Niku Jaga dish but with many more vegetables. It’s that rare experience where you get to cook your own meal at a restaurant. And it’s going to be a lot more fun when you are with a bunch of people talking and cooking. 

For Desserts we tried some of their signature ice creams. They had a fried ice cream which was unique and very filling, thanks to the giant ice cream and thick skin. The Mochi ice cream were available in different flavours and we picked the Tiramisu and Matcha. The Tiramisu Mochi was pretty impressive and we never had that one before. The Matcha ice cream was a heavy dose of Matcha where you feel the bitterness of the Matcha than the sweetness of a dessert, so maybe it’s a good idea to stick with fried ice cream or the Mocha ice cream selections of you are looking for pure sweetness.

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