Seafood From Munchery

It has been a while since I've been able to order from Munchery.  I rave about the service whenever I use it, but since I have dinner provided at work during the week, I rarely get to use it (hint hint Munchery, please add weekend service!)  But due to the holidays, we were not able to use our regular caterer since our volume was lower than usual, so one night, I decided to get the team to use Munchery.  I'll skip all the standard details about the service, and let you just go read that in past reviews.

Each member of our group picked his or her own dish, and amusingly, everyone picked seafood, even though there were a large variety of other offerings available.  I of course also added in dessert, as I was thrilled to finally be ordering on a night when Pietisserie pies were being offered.  And I threw in some of the caramel corn, because I'm addicted to that stuff, and add it to my order whenever possible.  Protip: order some, throw it in your freezer, and enjoy whenever!

Speaking of ordering, if you are interested in Munchery, for a full meal, desserts, or even just caramel corn, use my invite link, you'll get $20 off your first order!

We were all happy with our meals, and I'll continue to use Munchery whenever I need dinner during the week.  But I'm still hoping that they'll offer weekend service soon!

Peppered Tombo Tuna: ponzu sauce. $11.95.

"Seared sushi grade tuna is generously seasoned with black pepper and pan seared rare. I serve it with a bright mix of bok choy, cherry tomatoes, Spring onions and shiitake in a soy-citrus broth."

I was really confused when I opened the box of my selection, the seared tombo tuna.  Several others picked this dish as well, and I looked in their boxes too.  All the same.  A large tuna steak, not slices of seared tuna, as I expected.

Why did I expect something different?  Well, the Munchery provided photo looked like this:

Peppered Tombo Tuna: Munchery Image.

Sure, I don't expect the dishes to look like the glamour shots provided by Munchery, but this was quite the departure!

Slightly unsure of what I was really getting here, I looked at the instructions.  I was supposed to heat the fish "until warm but still rare" after setting aside the ponzu.  What was I supposed to do with the ponzu?  Just pour it over?  Dip things in it?  Hmm, no further instruction given.  Warm fish, cold ponzu?  I decided to just have the tuna cold, as it was sushi grade fish after all, and I didn't want it to cook further.

The ponzu was ... ok.  It had some garlic slices, green onions, and cherry tomato halves floating in it, all of which were soggy and not very appealing.

The bok choy was just steamed and kinda slimy.  I liked the shiitakes, they were well seasoned, or perhaps just seasoned from the pepper crust of the tuna that was set on top of it.  Either way, the mushrooms stole the show.

And now for the tuna.  Served as a single steak, but obviously I could slice it myself as they did.  It was far more cooked than shown in the photo, and I'm certain there is no way I could have possibly heated it so that it was warm without having it far past rare.  It was well seasoned, but the pepper coating was inconsistent, and not nearly as generous as shown in the photo.  Where the seasoning was, it was really quite delicious, and the strange ponzu was not needed.

Overall, this wasn't really what I was expecting, but I did really enjoy the mushrooms and the tuna, so I was happy enough.  The others who ordered it however were not, and were quite disappointed at the done-ness level.

Sesame Seared Salmon: stir fried vegetables, kimchi aioli, tamari. $10.95. ($6.95 flash sale).

"Salmon is coated with black and white sesame seeds, sauteed and served on a stir fry of bok choy, broccolini, shiitake mushrooms and baby carrots. Served with a tamari-ginger-sesame vinaigrette and a kimchi aioli."

This was Ojan's pick, and of course I tried a bite (it was my second choice, so I was thrilled he choose it, so I'd get to try it too!)

I tried it cold, but it was intended to be heated.

The serving of salmon was incredibly large.  Tender, flaky, cooked medium.  I loved the crunch from the generous coating of sesame seeds.  Far better than I expected for pre-cooked salmon, and I would have gladly eaten the whole dish, although I would have kept it cold, duking it in the flavorful aioli.  I don't actually like kimchi very much, but I did appreciate having the creamy component alongside.

The vegetables were carrots, broccoli, bok choy, and shiitakes.  They didn't seem "stir fried" as advertised, but I think this was better, as I don't think stir fry would really hold up.  If I were reheating it, I'd probably throw the veggies and tamari-ginger-sesame vinaigrette into a sauce pan for a few minutes.  Like with my dish, I loved the mushrooms.  Meaty and flavorful.

The vinaigrette was packed with flavor, and I loved the sesame oil on the finish.  I used the leftover sauce on other food the next day.  The veggies decently cooked.

The sauce lover in me really appreciated both flavorful, well thought out sauces included in this dish.

We ordered a bit late in the day right before a holiday, so it was on flash sale since there was surplus.  The $6.95 price for a huge serving of salmon was incredible.

Provencal Style Grilled Salmon: roasted tomatoes, quinoa, sauce pistou $10.95.

"Grilled fillet of salmon is topped with sauce pistou (parmesan, basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil). Served with organic quinoa mixed with cherry tomatoes, parsley, arugula, lemon and olive oil. A side of roasted roma tomatoes with Herbs de Provence and breadcrumbs is included."

A final member of our group ordered the other salmon dish.  I did not try it, but he seemed to enjoy it enough.  The salmon was a decent size portion, simply grilled (with quite visible grill marks).  The roasted tomatoes were a bit mushy/soggy, as the breadcrumbs were exposed to the moisture of the other food.  The pistou was flavorful.

Fairly simple, but he finished his meal without complaint.  Price was the same as other seafood based dishes through Munchery.