Miyabi Uni UPDATE - Torrance

We caught them during a promo week; Free upgrades of all house uni to Hokkaido, and we were ready to gorge. 

It isn't until the server repeats your order three times to confirm that you truly want this obscene amount of food AND another server feels compelled to ask him if he heard correctly, that you realize what you've done. 

We'll start with the Uni Tomagoyaki. The omelet is fluffy with a dashi that is divine, but I think I just like uni better cold and raw. That said, this dish makes a delightful leftover if you eat it cold later. 

Yes, we want everything large. Yes, we want one large Miyabi Kaisen EACH. And each bowl is beautiful. The uni is unspeakably fresh and sweet, the salmon is stunning, the scallops are slick, the tuna is meaty, the toro liquid-fat. The ikura is most impressive. Zero fishiness, a gooey and almost sweet finish. The last time I had ikura like this was Jiro's in Japan. 

Plenty of other options if you prefer a more focused approach. A small Uni Scallop Salmon & Roe gives you more control over the contents, which are equal in quality but seem far less sumptuous after experiencing the kaisen in all its glory. 

Yes, we ALSO want a LARGE uni bowl to share. I don't need to say anything about this. Greatness requires no explanation. 

If you want something a little less raw, the Uni Cream Pasta will save you. Imagine the polar opposite of sushi/sashimi, and you'll see it here. The cream sauce sticks to every strand of spaghetti, and there's plenty of uni throughout the sauce. 

If you've left room for dessert somehow, the Yuzu Sorbet is creamy but also refreshing, much more sweet than citrus.   

The Matcha Tiramisu is amazing, with mascarpone cream that finishes light despite being beautifully dense. The matcha flavor is full but without the bitter finish, each layer its own delight. 

Come at lunch to escape the crowds or come for dinner if you want a little more glamour. If you want the best uni in town in a very large quantity, come anytime. It's barely a splurge at this price point considering the quality and the goods. 

Miyabi Uni UPDATE - Torrance

I cannot get over Miyabi Uni. I become visibly distracted when anyone mentions uni, and I literally salivate at the thought of it. It is an obsession that consumes me, and feeding it only exacerbates its frenzied nature. 

A lighter start, the Uni Toro Bowl. Cold micelles of toro fat cling to the taste buds, slipping slowly away, riding on grains of rice. Uni takes their places, a sweet-sea emulsion with a splash of brine, granules of greatness, finished by spears of sweetened egg.

The uni cream pasta was a luxury of silk the last time we came, but the Miyabi Uni Original Pasta piques our interest a little more today. Where the cream sauce is sticky velvet, the original has some flair. Soy adds a sharper essence of salt, and garlic lends its pungence. Flying fish roe adds oomph to the uni, and red chili cranks the spice. The spaghetti is an absolute al dente, and a binding butter brings it all together. 

We finish with Uni Croquettes, which are rich enough to be dessert. The breading is a delicate, sandpaper crisp, and the filling is a squishy mush of uni-laced flour. It tastes so much better than I'm making it sound...

We tried all different things this time around, and I am no less impressed. Though they have the advantage of an ingredient that is absolutely infallible when fresh, they also have the skill to turn it into a consistent standout, every time, in every dish.

Miyabi Uni - Torrance

I was devastated when Maruhide Uni Club closed. I didn't even like it that much, but not having ready access to uni is always a loss.

Enter Miyabi Uni. Old Torrance is a peaceful location, and this new restaurant is just gorgeous; the polished countertops, the open sushi bar, the spacious dining area with varying shades of shining wood. 

I rarely encounter such speedy service. My green tea glass is barely empty before someone rushes in with a refill. It's some of the best iced tea I've ever had, a flavor so smooth it almost finishes creamy.

Service with a smile, and the smile is contagious when you're face-to-face with their live Santa Barbara Uni special. The uni is impossibly fresh. It has the texture of a melty tongue, and its tastebuds cling to every one of my mine. A tickling, lingering hint of sweet, a seamless finish, a creamy breath of soft, cohesive roe. A dozen Oysters encircle the roe on its lemon throne. They're buttery in texture, a hint of brine, some of the bigger, more approachable oysters I've seen.

A single plate of uni is never enough, and our needs progress to the Uni Hokkaido Donburi. There is a strip of scallops, a line of tender flesh, soothing and soft. There is another line of uni in this bowl, and it is quite the contrast. Same Santa Barbara uni, but fresh isn't the same as live. This uni is a little less plump, with a stickier, more viscous texture and a less airy finish. Still delicious, but the live uni is a hard act to follow. 

Uni raw, now uni cooked. The Uni Cream Pasta is a polished plate of precisely al dente pasta, each strand of spaghetti ensconced in a decadent orange cream. 

I fully expected to leave here hungry. Japanese portions tend to be more moderate, and uni is a dainty dish. Instead, we leave stuffed, struggling deliriously through every last exquisite bite, already planning the next trip to Miyabi Uni, looking forward to the next "struggle."

Sea Urchin – Dalian

Mangosteen may be the best fruit on earth, but Sea Urchin is undoubtedly the best fruit of the sea. Uni reigns supreme with a thorny crown of thick black spikes and roe upon orange roe of melt-in-your-mouth bliss.

Here in China, sea urchin is served live. Skilled scissors snip off the spines and saw off the top. Soy sauce, wasabi, and a spoon are your weapons of choice as you contend with your sharply-equipped foe. You aim for the orange with your eye on the prize, and as you scoop it into your ready mouth, you’ll taste a decadent delicacy which has no equal.