Contrast

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Geo: 37.4515, 25.33

The contrast between day and night in Mykonos Town is as striking as that of the blue trim on its whitewashed houses - last night it was positively heaving with people and early this afternoon, it was the complete opposite and absolutely dead. It probably had something to do with it being a party town, with most that had enjoyed the town's nightlife last night probably sleeping off wicked hangovers, and the fact that no cruise ship was in port today.

In a massive stroke of luck, even though we had gotten a late start ourselves, we found that we were the only tourists strolling through several parts of the old town. Definitely a nice contrast from last night's crowds, we were able to leisurely stroll through the old town at our own pace; unfortunately, it didn't last for long, as when mid-afternoon arrived, the cafes, shops, and streets slowly became more and more crowded.

Mykonos seems to be a distinct place in Greece, its somewhat manufactured cosmopolitan air of sophistication being another sharp contrast from the more quaint and traditional fishing villages you might find elsewhere in the Greek islands. Even the food is different here - though you can find tavernas serving traditional food in Mykonos Town, they are nearly all sleek and modern, unlike their more authentic counterparts.

International cuisines also abound here, with a very good (though over-priced) selection of Italian and Asian restaurants available. From simple to fancy, or from traditional Greek to exotic, you'd be hard-pressed to find such a varied selection of restaurants in Greece, outside of Athens. So rather than go with some typical Greek cuisine tonight, we took advantage of the offerings here, and went for some crazy-expensive-Iron-Chef-kind-of-meal at Matsuhisa.

So instead of fried calamari and tzatziki washed down with ouzo at a salty and crusty seafood taverna on the sea, tonight's meal was sushi and wasabi washed down with white wine at a contemporary lounge high above Mykonos Town. Not a very authentic Greek experience, but still enjoyable and unforgettable, nonetheless.

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Photos

Fancy Terrace at Matsuhisa ...
... high above Mykonos Town, hoping for some unbelievable sushi!

SalmonTartare ...
... though good, the presentation was probably better than the dish, which was a tad salty.

Sashimi w/ Miso Powder and Olive Oil ...
... now this is what we came for - top-quality fish, absolutely delicious and a distinct improvement over the first dish.

Sashimi Salad ...
... top quality ingredients - tuna, shrimp, and a lightly-seared scallop. The highlight was the ebi - usually raw shrimp is a bit mushy and sticky, but the texture of this shrimp was great, having been lightly cooked but still left raw on the inside. As good as the seafood was, the dressing may have been even better - an awesome salad.

Melt in Your Mouth ...
... this smoked sea bass was unbelievable - it was marinated for several days in miso, and was incredibly succulent and tender, some of the best fish we've ever had. The unique variety of ginger was also interesting - it's sitting between the fish and lemon, and looks more like a green onion or stalk of white asparagus.

Presentation Over Taste ...
... this beef was awesome - for about twenty seconds! The presentation was great, delivered to our table in sizzling and smoking clay pots; unfortunately, after a delicious medium rare slice of steak, the rest had become overcooked in a matter of seconds due to the residual heat in the pot. The vegetables were actually the highlight of the dish - crisp broccoli and asparagus, and the most amazing enoki mushrooms that were bursting with flavour, unlike the variety we get back home, which is delicious more for its texture, as it generally lacks some flavour.

Good, But Not Great ...
... the fish was really good, but I can't say that it was the best sushi I've ever had (Tojo's in Vancouver comes to mind). Although it was perhaps the best sushi rice ever - the perfect texture, with just the right amount of tartness from the rice wine vinegar.

Chocolate Bento Box ...
... good but a bit of a disappointment, as we expected something a bit more "out of the box", so to speak, at this type of restaurant. This was a fairly standard dessert - chocolate lava cake with an excellent green tea ice cream.

One Euro For Water, 6.50 Euro For the Container ..
... neat little custom-fit container for the water bottle. Guess that explains why they charge 7.50 Euro for a bottle of this stuff, when it's so cheap at the store!

Windy ...
... it was interesting watching these seagulls struggling against the heavy Cycladic winds, madly flapping their wings, but seemingly only floating in one spot and never actually going anywhere.

Assorted Greek Pastries and Fruit for Breakfast ..
... stuffed with ham and cheese, the large pastry was more filling than good, and the little assorted pastries were also fairly pedestrian. What made the dish was the incredible plum and slightly-tart, but delicious watermelon juice.

Finally ...
... some decent Greek wine! We had heard a lot of good things about Greek wine while researching the trip, but have not found that to be the case until today, when we sampled this delicious little muscat dessert wine from the island of Samos.