The Loop is a forever-expanding area in the edges of Orlando (technically, Kissimmee) that has skyrocketed in success, popularity, and size since its beginning stages early last decade. Even with the area running out of room to expand, there are still new stores, restaurants, and businesses springing up like daisies in the Hunter’s Creek zone. One of the newest places to open is Mizu, an independently-owned Japanese restaurant next to the Best Buy. Occupying one of the corners of the plaza, Mizu has been quietly serving customers since last year. Craving good Japanese food every so often, I decided to give this place a shot. Little did I know the world of craziness that was about to follow.
Mizu’s menu is one of the more varied and extensive ones I’ve ever seen from a place. There’s an entire menu for lunch and an entirely different menu for dinner. Add 6 types of soup, over 30 appetizers, 9 salads, over 60 main courses, and dozens of types of sushi (and its relatives), and we have ourselves a ballgame. I didn’t even know where to begin. Literally, over 100 items within the multiple pages of the menu. I did notice that this place has rock shrimp though: a type of shrimp not usually sold in restaurants or stores. Rock shrimp has an extremely tough outer shell, giving it a shorter history of seafood consumption because there was no way to eat them until the technology found a way to split the exoskeleton. Back on the subject, there was a rock shrimp tempura as an appetizer.
The shrimp was fantastic, as it has a much sweeter taste than your average shrimp. The tempura actually tasted and reminded me more of lobster rather than a variation of shrimp. The sweet taste and the soft texture contributed to its delightful flavor. The spicy mayo on the side, thick and with a kick, was a nice added touch. Now I was ready for the main course, and I decided to go the whole nine yards. They have a $29 seafood platter spectacular that included salmon, tuna steak, and shrimp altogether. King of the Sea is its name. Comes with rice, noodles, salad, and soup. Bring it on.
First I got a Japanese soda, orange flavor. The bottle was quite interesting, as it comes with multiple cautions and even comes with a set of directions to open the darn thing. It was quite a hassle, as you have to remove a piece, and then place the piece on top of the bottle, then with a lot of pressure press on the bottle until it opens. Whatever happened to the classic “twist-open” routine? The soda wasn’t a big deal either, if I am going to fight for my drink, at least make it darn good.
The soup and salad arrived first. The salad was small, but decent. Nothing special. The soup came with mushrooms, which I avoid on a daily basis. Therefore, I couldn’t tell you if the soup was any good. After a little bit of waiting, my plate arrives. The plate is huge, nearly overwhelming. Like I said before, three types of seafood followed by heaps of rice and noodles. Then they have two extra plates with different sauces for the meat. The shrimp was fantastic but was the smallest ration of the plate. You know me; I am a shrimp maniac, so I would have definitely preferred more shrimp over the huge portion that was the tuna steak. To be honest I expected an entire whole tuna. Instead I got tuna chopped up into multiple pieces mixed in with the garlic shrimp and a sweet sauce. Was the tuna steak bad? Not at all, but definitely not what I expected.
The real winners in the meal are the noodles and the salmon. The noodles are pan-fried to perfection, and enhanced the meal in multiple ways. It worked well with the white rice and complimented the shrimp perfectly. As for the salmon, yikes. It was a whole salmon cooked perfectly and seasoned with a nice teriyaki glaze that hovered over the fish like a nice tasty blanket. I was satisfied with the meal, even with the heavy price tag. I think the only way you could justify a nearly $30 plate is with a little more shrimp. Otherwise, because of sheer value of the seafood, it’s worth its pricing. Salmon and tuna (whole) are more expensive than your average seafood so it made sense why it was so expensive. But don't let this review convince you that the place is pricy, because that most certainly isn't the case--but there are indeed a couple plates that are high in price. So now that I am going the whole nine yards, might as well shoot for dessert right?
Fried cheesecake. That’s right folks, fried cheesecake. I had to try it. I like fried, and I love cheesecake (I am sure on the seventh day God invented the Cheesecake Factory). Sounded like the perfect combination. The result, just like the tuna steak, was not what I expected. The fried batter was very light, and the cheesecake inside was nearly frozen. That being said, it was still good, just an awfully different texture for when I imagined it. The whipped cream and little pocky sticks on top was a nice touch.
Bottom Line: I came in because of curiosity and I left happy because it was a fulfilling and delightful meal. Clearly this Japanese restaurant knows how to do seafood right, and if I muster the courage, perhaps I’ll go back and even tackle the sushi (This is a longshot, I prefer my seafood cooked). In the meantime, this place has some of the best salmon around, and the variety and creativity of Mizu is no joke. Anyplace with over 100 items on their menu deserves some praise and recognition, especially when the food is quite good. To add some more fuel to the fire: the lunch menu is very cheap, and unlike other eateries that save their best work for dinner, I had all this good food during the quiet and not-so-busy lunch hour. While I am not the biggest fan of the Loop and its insane traffic, Mizu gives me at least one reason to return back there on a consistent basis.
Final Verdict: Recommend
Mizu
1632 West Osceola Parkway
Kissimmee, FL 34741-0729
(407) 846-8828
P.S. They do need to work on their presentation though. When you have rap music full of profanity playing through the speakers of a Japanese restaurant, its a minor inconvenience.
No comments:
Post a Comment