Eat Drink Live Enjoy: Midori

After my dinner at Midori restaurant… The first thing that comes to my mind is the BEST SUSHI OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!

This restaurant is located in one of the most beautiful hotels of Portugal…The Penha Longa Resort, located in the middle of the amazing “Serra de Sintra”.

The restaurant has a very simple decoration, very minimalist but very classy and has an amazing view over the mountains and the Sintra forest.

Since it is a five-star hotel the service was exquisite. The staff was very nice and very friendly… and most important they make us feel welcomed, which is key factor when you eat in a hotel.

So about the food…

First of all, congratulation to the Head Chef Pedro Almeida! The food was out of this world… inventive, creative, very well executed and visually amazing.

The dishes were paired with Midori beer and Lagoalva white wine. The beer was perfect with the sushi. It seems that the beer was especially made for the restaurant… it looks like a mixture between regular beer with champagne…

The food… 12 dishes (including desserts)

We start with a salmon Usuzukuri with truffle oil… the perfect start and a good indication of what was to come.

Braised scallop with mango salsa. The scallop was very well cooked and the mix of flavors was something else… very different and unexpected (in the good way)… the scallop was served in a sashimi style.

The third and fourth dishes were Nigiris:

The first mackerel, garlic olive oil, olive oil powder and black garlic. It seems like a lot of garlic, right!? Wrong… the combination was just on spot... and by the way the black garlic it’s an Asian product and it’s sweet with hints of balsamic vinegar which goes very well with the olive oil. This dish is the perfect example of the combination between Portuguese and Asian food.

The second Nigiri was john dory with monk-fish liver and mango chutney. Once again perfect combination of flavors… And I loved mango chutney with the fish, gives it that WOW factor.

Between the two my favorite was the first one.

Sushi it’s not the same without tempura… and the fifth dish was a shrimp tempura with vanilla mayonnaise… Can you imagine the thrill of this dish? I don’t think so! Unless you try it… and you should.

The last cold dish was tuna Usuzukuri with crispy roasted onions, parmesan, soy and shisô tare. Bold combination of flavors that works… again! DELICIOUS. We couldn't ask for fresher tuna (beautiful color).

Next! The hot dishes…

Chicken Gyoza with vegetables and crispy leeks and Duck Gyoza with teriyaki mushrooms. Everybody who likes Asian food has already tasted this dish, but this ones were something else… maybe a little bit spicy – too much pepper – but I don’t care (the wine solved the “problem”).

Next… fried tofu with dashi stock, enoki mushrooms and crispy beet… this dish made me a fan of tofu… I had already tasted tofu but nothing like this! I don’t know what it was! But this one was my favorite of the hot dishes.

The last one was beef with shrimps, rice with vegetables and lotus flower. A simple dish to end all the main dishes, but the best was yet to come… the desserts…

All the desserts were made by Pastry Chef Diogo Lopes. I already follow the work of this chef for a while, but this was the first time that I visit the restaurant where he works.

First one – Yuzu ice-cream and peanuts crumble.

Castela and white chocolate

Mango Panna-Cotta and Yuzu Ice-cream

Beside this three dessert that you can find in the menu... we had the chance to try two new dessert that will be part of the new menu...

With this two dessert I went to heaven and return to tell the story... This dessert were so spectacular that I wouldn't mind to pay to eat just that.

The first one was a dessert based on sesame seeds (creative, delicious, out-of-the-box and works!!! You can call it a healthy dessert)... Sesame seed puzzle pieces (they were so shiny that looks like marble), caramelized crispy rice, salted caramel, cream ice-cream and mix coffee crumble.

And last but not least... the highlight of the night the most amazing dessert that I ever taste... The Cube (just that)... The Cube... chocolate mousse, brownie, lime mousse, cocoa crumble and wasabi ice-cream (yes! wasabi... that green thing that you put in sushi)... I don't even know how to describe it!

My advice! Go there and try it for yourself... it's the best way