Mia
February 2012
Mia was opened in 2011 by the previous owners of Madeline’s, one of Ithaca’s established restaurants. Madeline’s brief was American Cuisine with a Thai slant. Mia has dropped the “American” edge and it’s billed as Pan-Asian, meaning that the menu taps into a broad church of cuisines.The menu maintains a broadly Thai emphasis but has additional Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean-style dishes.
The reasons for checking out Mia were two-fold. Ithaca desperately needs more decent places to eat so it’s worth trying out any new option. This was also an opportunity to introduce slightly different dishes to the conservative palate of my youngest son. The decision was to share a mixture of appetizers and small plates so that we could try out multiple dishes. Five different items were selected and our efficient server agreed that was probably a reasonable amount of food for two.
Orders taken, two small cups of soup were placed on the table with so little fanfare that we initially weren’t sure what they were for. The cups contained a miso sake soup and it was delicious.
The reasons for checking out Mia were two-fold. Ithaca desperately needs more decent places to eat so it’s worth trying out any new option. This was also an opportunity to introduce slightly different dishes to the conservative palate of my youngest son. The decision was to share a mixture of appetizers and small plates so that we could try out multiple dishes. Five different items were selected and our efficient server agreed that was probably a reasonable amount of food for two.
Orders taken, two small cups of soup were placed on the table with so little fanfare that we initially weren’t sure what they were for. The cups contained a miso sake soup and it was delicious.
One disadvantage of ordering appetizers and small plates meant that all dishes came to the table at approximately the same time. Again, there was very little description of the dishes as they were placed on the table. Service definitely leant towards the efficient far more than friendly. Thai Spicy Chicken Wings were nicely crisped and had a good amount of tingle on the tongue. These were more spicy than anticipated and were all the more enjoyable because of it. Daikon was also on the plate to add a refreshing counterbalance.
The 1/3 rack of Baby Back Ribs were very tender and came off the bone with little persuasion. They had a strong but not overwhelming five-spice flavour. They were served with a small bowl of daikon kimchee that turned out to be a non-event.
Chicken samosas with tamarind sauce were poor. They looked like sausage rolls on the plate and it was not good to find out that the outer layer was puff pastry. The minced chicken filling was mundane and had very little spice flavour. Bizarrely the next door table ordered vegetable samosas that looked somewhat more authentic.
Much better were the three Crispy Duck Rolls that had a good crunch and the generous duck filling was very tasty. However, the point of the salad accompaniment was not obvious.
Much better were the three Crispy Duck Rolls that had a good crunch and the generous duck filling was very tasty. However, the point of the salad accompaniment was not obvious.
The last of the dishes was Tandoori Quail with a Cilantro, Mint Raita. The spatchcocked quail was nicely flavoured with a good buttery hint to the meat. However, there was very little spice to speak of so the Tandoori description was definitely optimistic.
Overall Verdict:
The food was definitely edible but not good enough to address my suspicion about the Pan-Asian concept. This comes across as a catch-all exercise appealing to people’s need to feel they’re trying new things. Distinctive food cultures are homogenised to the effect that none of the cultures are treated sympathetically. Ithaca has good Thai (Tamarind, Taste of Thai, Thai Cuisine), Indian (Mehak Cuisine), Korean (Four Seasons) and Japanese (Plum Tree, Miyake) restaurants. The only shortfall is a decent Chinese restaurant. If people choose to eat at Mia rather than the other listed restaurants then they’re unfortunately short-changing themselves.
The food was definitely edible but not good enough to address my suspicion about the Pan-Asian concept. This comes across as a catch-all exercise appealing to people’s need to feel they’re trying new things. Distinctive food cultures are homogenised to the effect that none of the cultures are treated sympathetically. Ithaca has good Thai (Tamarind, Taste of Thai, Thai Cuisine), Indian (Mehak Cuisine), Korean (Four Seasons) and Japanese (Plum Tree, Miyake) restaurants. The only shortfall is a decent Chinese restaurant. If people choose to eat at Mia rather than the other listed restaurants then they’re unfortunately short-changing themselves.