Readers! Happy New Year to you all (can I still say it after
midway through the month?) I’m back on the wagon again with some sort of routine,
have quit chocolates for breakfast and am using my alarm again in the morning.
Last weekend, as a reward for his patience in visiting
countless interior stores with me in the last few months, I took Mr
WhatClaireDid as my plus one to a review of Umi Japanese Cuisine in
Stockbridge, Edinburgh. For those of you
not in the know, Stockbridge is a cool ‘hood in Edinburgh to wander around in –
lots of independents stores, cafes, restaurant and a high quality charity shop
or two, if you enjoy a rake around.
We were invited along to try out Umi’s menu and this is
genuine – I loved the place. My last
meal on earth would probably be Asian cuisine of some description and I can’t
remember the last time we went somewhere that the food was so fresh and delicious.
Umi is located on Deanhaugh Street in Stockbridge, in a basement
– something I love, as you never know what you’re getting until you step
through the front door. At Umi, Edinburgh, you’ll be greeted with lanterns,
bench seating for groups, small tables for two or four and the delicious scent
of a kitchen punching above it’s weight with Japanese food in Edinburgh.
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Authentic interiors at Umi |
We sat at a bench big enough for four (or in our case, just
two… we ordered a lot of food to share).
The staff were really polite and helpful – making some recommendations
to try, including the Octopus balls which are a favourite of diners at Umi
Japanese Cuisine. A little like a Spanish
croquette, with octopus in the middle, deep fried.
After spending longer than we should have running through
the menu, we started with a few of Umi
Japanese Cuisine’s small dishes priced between £4 and £10 for sharing. Here, we enjoyed the Kara-age Fried Chicken,
Chicken and Vegetable Gyoza Takoyaki (fried octopus dough balls). Each of these three dishes was priced at
under £5, which we felt was great value for the quality and the amount of food
we received.
Not content with just enjoying the smaller plates, we both
opted to try the rice bowls, which were the standout dish of the visit –
neither of us having a clue what was coming.
I will say that we probably could have ordered one less small plate, as
we were starting to get full by this point, but carried on regardless!
The rice bowls were such a surprise – amazing value and a
bit of theatre. I had the salmon fried rice whilst Mr WhatClaireDid opted for the
chashu fried rice, which was servied with pork belly.
The dishes arrived in roasting hot stone bowls, we were presented
with a smalls sauce bowl on the side and encouraged to pour this in, then use
the cutlery to mix everything around.
The heat from the bowls, combined with the liquid started to
fry the rice and the meat/fish at the table.
We had no idea we’d be frying our own rice… was it great? Absolutely.
It added an extra dimension to the experience and the bowls kept their
heat, so by adding a little more soy, you could keep on cookin’ at the
table.
Again, these were great value – priced at £8.90 for the pork
and £10.90 for the salmon. They are also really filling – so either order one
between two, or perhaps go easy on the smaller plates.
Umi Japanese Cuisine is closed on Mondays and is open for
dinner Tuesday to Thursday and lunch and dinner Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Find out more by visiting their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Disclaimer – we were gifted lunch for two, in exchange for
an honest review of our experience. Any opinions expressed are my own.