Perth Voice Interactive

IN times of extreme heat, I always turn to sushi.

It’s light, cold and can be eaten anywhere, so as Helios unleashed his wrath this week, I drove to Miyavi Japanense Food for lunch. 

Unfortunately the air con on the Voice jalopy had packed in, so by the time I reached Perth CBD I looked like Alec Guinness inside the ’hot box’ in The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Undeterred, I secured a parking spot and performed a sweaty and slightly wavering march to Miyavi’s hole-in-the-wall counter on Stirling Street.

By 12pm there was already a long line of office workers queuing to get their sushi fix.

Situated next door to the dept of communities, I imagine the Japanese eatery is a favourite with state government drones, who briefly pause from their bureaucracy to enjoy some raw fish and a squirt of soy sauce.

The menu had a decent range of sushi including all the old favourites like tempura prawn roll, spicy tuna, California roll, chicken avocado, and nigiri salmon.

There was also some cooked dishes with bento boxes, donburi, curry and udon noodle.

Miyavi was deceptively large and had a nice clean dining area with plenty of tables and chairs and relaxing views of the tree-lined street outside.

I kicked off with the raw salmon sushi (five large wheels for $7.50).

The glistening salmon was super fresh and had those classic white ‘veins’ crossing the flesh.

It tasted delicious when you added some pickled ginger and soy sauce.

Completing the picture was the sticky rice and little slices of avocado.

Next up was the cooked tuna roll (five large wheels for $7).

Another simple delight, this had a nice texture and flavour, and they hadn’t over done it on the mayo.

Despite the intense heat, I couldn’t resist a chicken don ($13).

The tender chook was good quality and had a lovely crispy skin.

The slices were layered over a bed of sticky rice, which came to life when I added some soy sauce and pickled ginger.

Despite the intense heat, Miyavi’s air con was doing a fantastic job of keeping everyone cool and I could feel myself coming back to life as I devoured my chicken don.

I got some veggie sushi and tempura prawn roll to take home for the wife and kids.

They wolfed it down and said it had a nice balance of flavours and textures. I’ve perviously been to Miyavi, in cooler climes, and enjoyed their chicken katsu curry – a comforting blend of spices, tender chook and rice.

If you’re after simple, well-executed sushi and hot Japanese food, Miyavi is a pleasant and well-priced pitstop in the CBD.

Miyavi Japanese Food
2a/130 Stirling St, Perth

by STEPHEN POLLOCK