RESTAURANT REVIEW: SHAKEEL HAMEED, THE H! PAKISTAN'S RESTAURANT/FOOD CRITIC, REVIEWS ISLAMABAD’S MISO RESTAURANT

STAR RATING: ​​7.5 out of 10
COST : ​​​RS. 10,000 – 12,000

Miso, a relatively new restaurant in Islamabad offering Japanese and Thai dishes. The menu has a good variety, from sushi, Maki (rolls), teppanyaki, appetizers, salads, and mocktails. The menu seems to have a large variety but a lot of dishes are the same as offered at many other restaurants. With this big menu, one wonders how such a large menu is being cooked by a chef and still have consistency.

DÉCOR

Miso is very tastefully designed with two fl oors of seating which includes roof top seating. Both fl oors have a mocktail bar. The rooftop bar has a really nice view of Islamabad and a lot of seating. It is highly recommended to sit on the rooftop.

STAFF AND TABLE

The staff is very polite and attentive and will accommodate to all your needs promptly. The table setting is nice with fabric napkins and nice red ceramic plates along with clean polished silverware.

FOOD

Complimentary Drink

As one sits on the table, a fuzzy strawberry drink is poured in a glass container pouring into 6 glasses for the table. A liquid nitrogen dish is put next to it to give a smokey affect to the table. The drink itself is sugary and doesn’t really have a strawberry fl avor but the smokey presentation is nice.

Spicy Teriyaki Glazed Tofu

It is served with spicy Teriyaki glaze on the top and some garlic chips and chilies on the side. The crispy batter was fresh and the tofu inside was nice and fl uffy. When eaten with Teriyaki glaze it gives a warm, crunchy, spicy, sweet flavor which is a fantastic combination. A delicious dish to have and they got it right, well done.

Chang Mai Noodle Soup

It is a typical Thai soup with fl avors of red curry, coconut milk, lemon grass and galangal. The noodles were perfectly done and had a very nice bite to them. There are pieces of chicken but not a whole lot. After few spoons, you are left with tangy, lemony, spicy goodness of Thai soup. It had gotten a bit thick by the time it got to the table, otherwise a nice soup which can be shared with two people.

Salmon Ceviche

Ceviche is a Spanish dish but then Miso is a fusion restaurant so it fi ts in well. It had slices of fresh Norwegian salmon, cucumbers, edamame, avocado, mint, chilies and ceviche sauce. The salmon was soft and fresh, edamame had a nice bite, avocados appeared and blended well with crispy cucumbers and chilies appeared and then disappeared making all the ingredients gel really well. My only objection, it had too much sauce in the base. A light sauce and lesser amount will just do fine.

Salmon Maki

Salmon, avocado wrapped in seaweed. In the fi rst bite, I felt that it has an after taste of fish but as I proceeded to eat the rest, the taste went away. Salmon was thinly sliced and avocado made it a bit creamy so overall a decent roll. The sushi rice had released its starch so they were a bit mushy which they should correct. In sushi, rice is the most important part not the fish.

Spicy Mixed Noodles

Chicken, beef, prawn, oyster sauce, chili and tomato paste. I am not really sure what tomato paste is doing in this dish but I guess it’s their concoction. The dish was slightly on the spicier side, noodles were perfectly done and vegetables were crispy and blended well. The sauce was just about right offering spicy, tangy and a slightly sweet ending. Chicken, beef and shrimp didn’t do much to the dish, they were over cooked a bit tough and mushy.

Bitter Lime Martini

It had bitter soda, lime and sweetness. There was a bit more lime to it. Drinks like these should be served chilled with good amount of ice. It’s was an okay drink, they could do a better job at it.