"For sheer gutsy inventiveness, nothing I've eaten this year beats New Haven's Miya...when the young chef is at the stove, it is sublime and it is a joy to be in the presence of such an original mind." - The New York Times.
Male
101 years old
New Haven, Connecticut
United States
My favorite thing to do when I was a kid was to create a new world out of crayon, clay or just about anything I could get my hands on. Not much has changed, except my medium these days is food and my technique is cooking. With my cooking I always strive to nourish the body, the mind and the soul. Yesterday, I read a beautiful memoir called "The Tender Bar" by J.R. Moehringer, about a bar and it's regulars that take care of a lost, fatherless child. I couldn't help but think that this is what we do for eachother at Miya. Not that we are lost or fatherless but that we have created a haven for people who care about eachother. You can't do anything great without CARE...it is the intangible thing that you can taste is missing in the food, even when all else is done perfectly.
Music
My newest dish is called "Man Eating Clam" and I've integrated my spicy Firecracker Sake (which I brew from California rice, Chinese chili peppers, citrus fruit, American oak, sake and lots of waiting - while it matures 1 year) into the recipe. It is cherry stone clams on the half shell served with a fresh daikon salsa and firecracker sake sorbet. The sorbet works well because if we were to simply splash sake on the clam it would spill out and we would experience too little of the rich flavor. It is necessary for the sorbet to hold the flavors together in this recipe. It also adds a textural and tempurature component to the clam while releasing the complex firecracker sake flavors in layers as it melts.
Movies
I was the Asian guy in a Carlsberg beer commercial that ran it's course in Asia. I went to Asia that year but nobody seem to notice that I was famous, except for me.
Television
The television show “The Little Rascals” started my long relationship with artichokes. I didn’t grow up eating them, because Asians don’t eat them. On one of the episodes of the show, one of the characters peels open an artichoke, leaf by leaf, and is surprised to find an apple inside. Later, grocery shopping with my mother, I was excited to spot one and shamelessly begged for it. I didn’t just want it. I needed it. “Mom, trust meee, I know how to eat it!” I pleaded. My mother patiently watched as I confidently peeled it open. It happened to be a dud, no sign of even a crab apple inside, closely inspected. At Miya’s I have prepared thousands of pounds of artichokes and wouldn’t be too surprised if one day I do find an apple inside.
Books
My parents come from two very different cultures (Hong Kong and Japan) and they have very different family histories. They have an amazing tale to tell so I am presently working on a book about them for my future children's children's children. I will also make a book of recipes because both of my parents are amazing cooks.
Heroes
My mom, dad, Mie and Iceman King Tornado; my grandparents; Meredith, Mary Margaret and Dick; Dylan Bruno et al; Patricia and Levi Miranda; David Graeber; Jay Lender; a zillion other great people including the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four for his unique Bar B Queing technique; Moses, Jesus, Allah, Buddah, Confucious and the Great Spirit of any religion.
Who I'd like to meet: In my cuisine, I use the technique of sushi as a medium to delve into ideas of what it is to be human. For Example, to create my "Tyger Tyger Burning Bright Roll," I asked myself, if sushi were to have been invented somewhere else what might have it been like? Since Geneticists know that we went from being hominids to humans along the rift valley in Africa, I figured that there was no place more important to the history of our species than that region; so, there began our fantasy sushi. This recipe is inspired by the torrid love affair that the Queen Of Sheba enjoyed with King Soloman. The ingredients that make up this sushi, reflects the characters of this story and their cultures.
As significantly, since the traditional cuisine of sushi is destroying our oceans, we do our best to not use ingredients that are overfished or has in it's production, a negative impact on the environment. As a result, half of our vast menu is vegetable centered; the other half does not utilize traditional sushi ingredients such as Toro, Bluefin Tuna, Big Eye Tuna, certain Yellowfin, Unagi, Red Snapper, Maine Sea Urchin, Octopus and so on. Instead, we've created dishes that include unconventional sushi ingredients such as Catfish, that are grown in confined ponds that make it virtually impossible to cross contaminate other species or destroy the aquatic ecosystem around it, as Salmon and Eel farming does.
Just as importantly, Miya's Sushi appeals to a growing population of sushi lovers who care enough about our planet to change the way they eat; they realize that our general consumerism, along with our zeal for exotic seafood, is sucking the breath out of our oceans.
Lot's of people think what I do is fusion but I don’t agree with that. Fusion to me is a process of forced, artificial melding. It's like saccharine. It may taste sweet but it ain't really sugar.
I see our work at Miya's Sushi as the logical progression of sushi as it evolves into food that is internationalist; more expressive of a human race that is educated enough to respect each other’s differences and to appreciate that we are, in the end, family. In every recipe of mine cultures harmonize in ways that the world itself has not figured out how to do yet. There is no religion where food is not used as an expression of the holy. Food helps us aspire to be more. Food must be idealistic and romantic. And that is why man cannot live on rice alone.
Hi Mr. Bun, Haven't commented in a while. Food still looks heavenly! I'm still trying to make it out there to go visit and eat at your place. Ughhh...it's killin me, everytime I see your food I wish I could teleport there to order everything on the menu!!!!!!
Thanks so much Bun! It was great that my celebratory dinner was at Miyas. ;-) In NY for a little vay-kay, and I look forward to feasting upon my return! Hope all is well with you!!!! (and thanks again for the congrats -- I appreciate it!!!)
HELLO LOVE......... SOOO, WOULD IT BE WIERD IF MY GIRLFRIENDS AND I ORDERED EVERYTHING ON YOUR MENU? LOL. I CAN'T DECIDE, EVERYTHING LOOKS AND SOUNDS SOO YUMMY!!!!!!!! OXOXOX
Bun!!! What's up dawg? Hey man I'm officially in LA now, so anytime your on the west coast hit me up. I'm working on taking a trip to NYC/New Haven in the spring so I will most definitely hit you up!
Bun, since I don't plan to be in CT any time soon, I was hoping I could place an order for express delivery. Please ensure that it is just as delish as it would be freshly served, though I know you would.
it’s the great pumpkin, miso nine spice sashimi kanibaba toshiro mifune roll peekaboo crab roll charlie chan roll kiss the smiling piggie roll
you know, and whatever else you feel like throwing in
;) I miss hangin at your lovely establishment enjoying your amazing food and delectable bevs
I am now officially addicted to your Korean punch and I usually don't like sake. I now know who to blame my alcoholism on lol. Thanks for an amazing meal like always.
YES, THE WORD IS OUT! TRAVERSE CITY, MI HAS HEARD OF THE GREAT FOOD AT MIYA'S.(LOL) MR. BUN, A FEW LADYS AND I ARE TRAVELING JUST TO SEE MIYA'S IN THE FALL(AND U), WILL U BE THERE PERSONALY TO GREET US AT UR RESTURANT?(HOPE SO)WE'RE HAVING LADYS WEEKEND AND I TOLD THEM ABOUT YOUR ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL FOOD!!! WE ARE ALL LOOKING FOWARD TO IT. YUMMY, YUMMY
Thanks for the wonderful dinner last week. The food and service was amazing. It was a pleasure talking with you. My friend loved the food. We will definatly be back soon.
