Sushi is high up on our list of comfort foods. It is a very different experience than everything else. Generally, it is a full-on, sensory experience; from snapping chopsticks to the smell of soy sauce and ginger and the umami flavor bombs to the wonderful colors of the fresh fish. It’s also our first choice in the summer, but once the cooler months hit us, we often start craving some warmth and coziness coupled with sitting outside in the cool crisp air. Good news for us, because our favorite Japanese-inspired restaurant has just launched some new menu items and will be dropping one more this December. We were invited to Maki for a sneak peek into their new additions, and we’re here with all the deets!
We choose to dine at the Marina Waves location because the temperature has finally dropped enough for us to fully enjoy being outdoors. As we made our way up the stairs and into the restaurant we were already giddy with excitement even though we had no idea what was in store for us.
As always, Maki’s staff are the living example of hospitality and they always do such a terrific job of setting the tone for the entire dining experience. They offered us drinks and we ordered Rose Lemonade, a cold and refreshing rose lemonade that is made with a beautiful combination of cranberry and lemon juice. Our server suggested that we try the Wasabi Mojito Juice, and we were intrigued. He explained that it was made with Wasabi, 7-Up, lime, mint and sweetened with brown sugar. It was something completely new to us and we were not disappointed. We were expecting it to be spicy, but instead it is refreshing with a hint of warmth that hits your throat moments after you take a sip. It’s comforting in such a new way, perfect for the cooler weather months!
Because it was such a wonderful day, the sun was shining and the breeze was playful, we were inspired to start with salads. We are suckers for fun texture and crunch, so we chose a Crispy Salad. The bowl was an explosion of colors with rocket, assorted lettuce, carrot, pink pepper, avocado, crispy harusame, sweet potato, beetroot, crabsticks, exotic cress, wasabi and yuzu flakes dressed with a special Maki sauce. The Maki Chef Special, is also a tried and true favorite.
Next we sampled the three new additions that have already made it to the menu. We were excited to see the Shiso Shiromi Tempura, because we love the light and airy coating and batter that is iconic of all tempura dishes. This one was very interesting because it was made from a white fish, covered with shiso leaves and a tangy yuzu sauce.
The Azayaka Oranji Maki is an experience in and of itself. It arrived at the table with a special chef sauce and a small pipette that reminded us of Middle School science experiments. The maki is filled with salmon, crab, avocado, shiso leaves, rice paper, black truffle pearls and togarashi. We tried to describe it to each other but ended up agreeing that it was delicious and so layered with flavor that we couldn’t summarize it in words.
We already love sushi, but the Daniella Maki wowed us and elevated our relationship to the next level. On the outside, it looked like a normal sushi roll, but don’t be fooled. Salmon, crabsticks, tempura prawn, avocado, cress, cherry tomato, togarashi and tsurai special sauce come together with a surprise ingredient, zaatar to make this scrumptious Maki invention. It is a collision of Japanese and Middle Eastern classics that creates something completely new and wonderful.
When we’re feeling a little low energy, or just craving some soul-food, we always think of ramen. Lucky for us, we’re getting a new ramen dish from Maki this month and we were quite lucky to sample it before it made its debut. The Beef Ramen is made with Certified Angus Beef and shimeji mushroom, which sit on a tower of delicious thick chewy noodles. To say that the broth in this dish is an umami bomb would be an understatement!
We were already stuffed but we just had to have dessert, can you blame us? What better way to end on a high note than with a slice of Donostia Cheesecake. A silky smooth cheesecake served with your choice of sauce. We chose the chocolate but you can also have it with strawberry sauce. It was gone in seconds. We had some green tea with it to finish off a beautiful heart warming meal. The sun and our spirits were high, as we left Maki knowing very well that we were going to be back very soon.
Maki has three locations in Kuwait – The M2 in Salhiya (2247 9721); Marina Waves (2576 3226) and Burj Jassem, (2290 1010). Visit www.olivermaki.com for more information, call 182 3080 for delivery. Watch the innovation on Instagram and Twitter @Makirest and Facebook at MakiRestaurant.
