A Week Later: Grand Opening Party Recap

It’s been a full week since our grand opening party and we are still overwhelmed with the amount of support we’ve received from the Vancouver community, we really cannot thank you enough! June 21st was a significant day, as it marked the beginning of everyone’s favorite time of year — summer! For us, it also marked the months and months of hard work our team had put into Minami. It was an incredible feeling to officially open our doors to the public and show to the people of Vancouver, what we’re all about.

Executive chef, Kazuya Matsuoka, head sushi chef, Kazuki Uchgoshi and pastry chef, Makiko Kanda led their teams in creating thousands of delectable bite sized servings of our Aburi signature dishes and Minami specialty items. Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, Jidori Chicken & Foie Gras Gyoza, Saikyo Miso Baked Sablefish, Chilled King Crab/Shrimp Cha-Soba and Green Tea Opera Cake were just few of the many items coming out of the kitchen. The bar served Minami originals like the Sake Spritz and Pimm’s Cup created by Shaun Layton, as well as a few of our specialty sakes from our extensive list. All of this was accompanied by the beautiful dulcet tones of Karla Sleightholme‘s saxaphone.

Owner, Seigo Nakamura went on stage to speak about his vision for Minami. “I want to combine Japan’s pride with the culture and customs of this great city, to create a new and innovative style of food service,” said Seigo, “we want an idea which is new and fresh to both Japan and Canada.” He touched upon, the stunning murals by Hideki Kimura adorning the wall of Minami, as well as Arita Yaki the specialty plate ware he handpicked in the artisan town of Arita, Japan. To top off the speech, Seigo and his VIP guests performed in a traditional sake ceremony, where they broke open a sake barrel with wooden mallets to welcome good harmony and fortune to the company.

The 500 people guest list included media, bloggers, twitterers, concierge, Miku Restaurant regulars, vendors, suppliers, partners and everyone else who has helped us in building Minami. It felt amazing to finally give back and celebrate those who have supported us through out the whole process! A big heartfelt thank you to everyone who came — it was an absolute pleasure to celebrate the evening with all of you!

A special thank you to Jonathan Evans for being our photographer for the evening — check out the photos below!