Just the same as people wait anxiously for Christmas every year, foodies in Miami wait for Miami Spice.
Miami Spice is a two-month culinary celebration of the best of the best restaurants in Miami.
To kick off this year's Spice, I went to the very exclusive, very high-class Zuma for dinner at the EPIC Hotel.
Even on a Tuesday night, the restaurant was bustling with people. Expensive attire, designer handbags and high heels are the standard here.
Anyway, back to the important details - the food.
We started off with two appetizers per person. I chose the seared beef tataki with braised mushroom and shiso gyoza, served with a chili ponzu sauce. I'm a sucker for gyoza and these were to die for! However, at just three tiny gyoza per plate, I was left wanting more.
To quench our thirst, we chose the Zuma Mai Tai, a combination of rum, shaken with plum sake, fresh pineapple puree and blood orange juice. This was a refreshing way to start off our night and keep cool under the summer heat.
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I then chose the robata-grilled Chilean sea bass with green chili and ginger dressing, topped with a Japanese herb salad. This was a no-brainer for me just because Chilean sea bass is my favorite fish of all time. It was flaky and perfectly grilled with a tart sauce. Like my mom says, sea bass is definitely the filet mignon of fish.
For dessert, I had the green tea ice cream and exotic fruit salad with black sesame waffle and yuzu honey. This dish was a great mix of tart, fruity and delicate. My favorite part of this dessert, however, was the waffle. The bits of black sesame gave the waffle some extra crunch that was nicely paired with the mildly sweet yuzu honey.
For my first Miami Spice meal of 2014, I can say this was certainly a great start! I'm hungry for more but I'm still savoring the lavish tastes of Zuma.
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