If you are a discerning foodie and would like to experience a new cuisine, here is your chance. Nikkei, a home-grown restaurant just opened its doors to the public at the ground floor of the Podium mall. It is the 3rd branch following the success of its pilot restaurant in Legaspi village and its second branch at Rockwell
WHAT IS NIKKEI?
Nikkei is derived from the word 'Nikkeijin" which means people of Japanese descent born and raised outside Japan. It is a word commonly used in Japan to refer to people of Japanese ancestry who are living abroad as citizens of another country
Nikkei in food though means the confluence of two diverse cuisines resulting in a new cuisine called Japanese-Peruvian.
My first exposure to this remarkable marriage of Latin and Asian, was in Nobu Manila at the City of Dreams months ago.
Fascinated by the potentially rich back story of the cuisine, I googled its history.
It turned out Japanese started immigrating to Peru as early as the late 19th century lured by rumors that Peru is a country full of gold, with mild climate, fertile lands, in short a paradise. Employment in Japan then was very difficult due to poor economy of Japan consequently resulting in the surplus of farmers. So, many Japanese took their chance and flew to the opposite side of the world in Peru , where the regular wages where much higher than in Japan.
That was the beginning of the Japanese immigration. To date, Peru has the second largest ethnic Japanese population in South America second only to Brazil.
Obviously the presence of Japanese in Peruvian life had quite an impact socio-culturally . You have intermarriages and naturally a sharing of each individual's practices and traditions including culinary customs
What is remarkable was the common veins these two cultures have. There is the love for raw fish ie sashimi for the Japanese and ceviche for the Peruvians.
Last Thursday , I was afforded an opportunity to delve deeper into this fascinating amalgamation of two cuisines via an invitation to a foodie meet up at Nikkei via Zomato PH
APPETIZERS
POMELITO P225
Tuna, Passion fruit, caramelized
sunflower seeds, pomelo, mango
If in ceviche you marinate the cubed fish in lemon for a few hours to "cook", In TIRADITO, you only put the acid to the sliced fish (like sashimi) just before serving. Hence the sliced fish is "raw".
TUNA LATKE P320
Potato pancake, seared tuna, huancaina sauce, cilantro , lemon
This is actually a Peruvian version of a popular Hanukkah dish apparently, LATKE is a pancake made out of grated potato usually eaten with huancaina sauce. Per google , HUANCAINA sauce is generally made of onion and garlic, queso fresco (ricotta), milk, olive oil, hardboiled eggs, olives. See that small dollop of yellowish cream on the tuna ?
CAUSA APPETIZERS
Peruvian Soft Mashed Potato Bites
Now here's something I can replicate at home. Another way to impress the hubby and the piggery with hahaha
Potatoes are staple food in the Peruvian cuisine along with corn and other tubers. So do not be surprised if you find potatoes in most dishes.
Per my research, CAUSA is prepared like a round cake with alternating layers of mashed potatoes and filling ie chicken, tuna or what have you. You can serve it traditionally or Nikkei-style resembling a sushi. Wonderful isnt it ?
Below are list of toppings/fillings you can incorporate in the dish They were all so good. Please do not ask me which one is my most favorite.
WAGYU P250
guacamole, wagyu, lemon, chalaquuita, Togarashi
EBI P180
Guacamole, prawns , rocoto sauce, togarashi
TAKO P180
Guacamole, octopus confit, panka-miso sauce, chives
FISH P180
Guacamole, white fish marinated in soy sauce, cilantro emulsion
SALMON P180
Guacamole, salmon tartar, chalaquita , sesame oil, togarashi
CEVICHES
Raw fish or seafood marinated in Leche de Tigre
CLASSIC P320
White fish, red onionWhite fshs, rocotto, cilantro, conchita, glazed sweet potatoes. Kilawin vs Ceviche? Our local kilawin makes use of vinegar while ceviche makes use of lemon or lime for acidity. Both make use of absolutely fresh fish or seafood . Note the sweet potato in Nikkei's Classic Ceviche
SMOKED CHILI CEVICHE P395
White fish, octopus and prawns, smoked rocoto sauce, cucumber, cilantro and crispy quinoa. Rocoto is hot pepper which looks like your regular bell pepper but hotter.
YELLOW PEPPER P375
White fish, red onions, yellow pepper sauce, red chili, cilantro, sesame seeds, sesame oil, sweet potato strings
GREEN CEVICHE P375
White fish, octopus and prawns, wasabi cream, red onions, red chili, cilantro, canchita, sweet potato strings. I loved the hint of wasabi.
SALMON THAI P395
Salmon, mango, thai sauce, cilantro, negi, roasted coconut, coconut milk
MAINS
NIKKEI BUTA BUNS P395
Steamed bun, braised pork belly, wasabi mayo, nikkei sauce , fried sweet potatoes. Easily one of my favorites. Reminded me of the buns in Ippudo but a notch more intense. The sweet potatoes are a revelation. They complimented the bun so nicely. I can eat 2 orders of these
FIDEO SALTADO P 595
Peruvian "chow-mien" shrimp, snapper, squid, vegetables, egg yolk. Pinoys would love this dish. It is sweet which we generally love and savory. There are a lot of elements working here but they blend together into a cohesive whole which spelled S-C-R-U-M-P-T-I-O-U-S
CARILLERAS P395
Braised iberico Pork Cheeks, Truffle Potato cream. Our carnivore piggery would love this dish. That tender yet meaty pork cheeks were savory and delicious . Paired with the silky truffle potato cream , it was divine and filling.
DESSERTS
SUSPIRO LIMENO P 220
Traditional Peruvian dessert of Silky smooth caramel with meringue and berries. Im of two heads with this one. I like each component individually. The choolate mousse was sweet and silky. The berries were flavorful and fruity. The meringue was delicious. But taken together ? They did not blend well, Im afraid.
TRES LECHES P295
Sponge cake soaked in custard cream. I loved the generous serving of torched cubed mangoes on top. If you want your dessert really sweet then you will love this.
PICARONES P380
Sweet Potato-cinnamon fried dough, maple syrup, ice cream. Compared to the two desserts above, this one looked the plainest and most simple. But it turned out to be my top choice among the 3 desserts served. I guessed Ive become a fan of sweet potato. I just love the texture of the yellow tuber shaped and fried like a donut. So sweet and delicious paired with ice cream.
NIKKEI BRUNCH SETS Available 1130 Am to 5 PM Monday to Saturday ( comes with miso soup)
SEABASS KATSU SET P495
Seabass, gohan, fried egg
ARROZ CHAUFA SET P495
Peruvian Chinese fried rice/ smoked salmon japanese omelet
CRAFT COCKTAILS
SLEEPLESS IN SHINJUKU P295
Coffee infused Whiskey, cointreau, Angostura Bitters
GONE GEISHA P295
Gin, Sake, St. Germain, Lemon pure, simple syrup, egg white, angostura bitters
LOST IN TRANSLATION P295
Ginger Sencha Infused Whiskey, maple syrup , lemon pure , wasabi salt
RETIRED YAKUZA P395
Angostura bitters, sweet vermouth, suntory whiskey
SUMMARY
Over all dining at Nikkei was like having a preview of Japanese- Peruvian cuisine. A whole new vista was opened to this foodie as I tried pronouncing terms such Latke, Huancaino, Causa, Fideo Saltado, etc.
Fresh fish never tasted so good. We enjoyed 4 types of Ceviche and a Tuna Latke. Delicious.
The whole Nikkei experience is firming my resolve to experience Peru first hand.
When you go to Nikkei though, set aside your quantity-over-quality mindset. Servings here are almost degustation-like in portions. After all , every ingredient you taste in your dish was carefully selected. So the idea is to linger over each item appreciating how it was all put together using all 5 senses
NIKKEI is located at the ground floor, The Podium, ADB Avenue Ortigas Mandaluyong City. The restaurant is open from 11 am to 10 pm. Call 0995 9083145 for reservation
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