Nishino

Price: $$$
Thoughts: ☆☆☆☆
Nishino: Menu

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Whenever I think of Japanese food, sushi is almost the first and only thing that comes to mind. While skimming menus to see where to eat next, Nishino's menu stood out in the sense that it had a much more diverse variety of dishes that I don't think I've seen at any Japanese restaurant. Here's their specials of the day when we went:



Located on the southern tip of the Arboretum in Madison Park, it was a nice drive through the lesser traveled roads winding around the large garden. The exterior of the building is very nondescript, I almost mistook it for the small fitness club that was in the same plaza had I not seen their shop sign. The inside however, was quite a contrast from what I was expecting.



We started off with two rolls, the Spicy Tuna and Arboretum Roll (yellowtail, jalapeño, and avocado). I ordered the foie gras and seared tuna and my friend, the dynamite.


Spicy Tuna Roll and the Arboretum Roll- yellowtail, jalapeño, and avocado)

It's really hard to go wrong with a spicy tuna roll, so that was a safe choice. The Arboretum roll was nice and sweet which tasted great. The jalapeño was mild like a bell pepper so it didn't provide an unnecessary spiciness for the roll.


foie gras and seared tuna- with shiitake mushroom and red wine soy reduction

This was their first time having foie gras which was the highlight of all the dishes eaten tonight. I was debating on another order of it as it melted in your mouth and just left such a savory taste lingering in your mouth.


dynamite- baked geoduck, scallop and mushrooms with creamy sauce

Both of us have never eaten geoduck so we were not sure what to expect, other than assumptions from what we know from the taste and texture of other mussels. The ratio between the mushrooms and geoduck (which looked almost like the mushrooms too) was pretty good; 60/40. My impression of the geoduck is it feels just like eating a mussel, but not as tough. The scallops hid under the creamy sauce which I could not separate the flavors other than mayonnaise, still very good. The scallops were cooked enough to sustain it's shape but still break apart very easily.


soft shell crab- served with ponzu sauce

Deep fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, tasted exactly as I would have expected. Very simple, but it felt like it was missing something, but still tasted great.


shiso shrimp dumpling with spicy yuzu sauce

The minty kick from the shiso that was wrapped around all of the shrimp was very pleasant. The spicy [and sweet] yuzu sauce made an excellent compliment to the fresh taste. The dumpling skin was so fragile that the skin slid off a few of the shrimp, but it helped soak up a lot of the yuzu sauce.


grilled salmon skin with arugula

Normally when I eat salmon skin, it is deep fried and served in a roll. Having it grilled gave it a nice smoky taste to the salad. At first I was having a difficult time determining whether I was eating daikon or a pear. After a little bit of time, I concluded it was a daikon from the barely noticeable sour aftertaste, it was unusually sweet for a radish.


Green Tea 'Tiramisu'

There was no dessert menu, so I had to use my best guess as to what each of the layers were. The top of the cake was a matcha mousse, the dark layer in between would be a matcha-soaked ladyfinger, followed by more matcha mousse, and then another ladyfinger. It almost reminded me of the matcha cakes I used to eat at the Panama Hotel (before the lady who baked it moved back to Japan, taking the secret recipe with her). This would be the second best dessert (Ristorante Machiavelli holding the top place with their Mousse Tiramisu) I've had so far.

The restaurant is suitable for casual and formal (as the table behind us was filled with people in suits while a few tables across had people in causal wear and kids playing with their training chop sticks.

From what we have sampled, I am curious as to what the Omakase had (as we kind of created our own tasting menu). I'll save that for next time.