New Resto Alert ! A visit to this new restaurant brought me back to my food experience in Nikkei Podium a few months back . Excerpt from my blog post below …
‘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’
– https://pigoutsundays.blogspot.com/2018/02/enjoy-japanese-peruvian-food-at-nikkei.html
Lightness and Freshness…
Yes Nikkei Nama means light and healthier , The new resto also takes on a playful and fresh tenor inspired by its predecessor and progenitor (if you will) , Nikkei and taking into consideration the well-travelled palate of BGC’s restaurant habitues. What PigOutSundays loved : 
CAUSA SALMON P180
Reminiscent of sushi but using soft mashed potatoes instead of rice, this delicate bites with guacamole-salmon tartar-chalaquita*-sesame oil-togarashi** were a delight.
*
Chalaquita is the Peruvian name of a traditional salsa – wiki
**
Togarashi is a small hot red Japanese chili available both fresh and dry uses as part of a traditional spice mix with seaweed, orange zest, ginger, sesame seed and chili powder. Sometimes called “ichimi” – my recipes.com
CAUSA TAKO P180
Guacamole, octopus confit, panka-miso sauce chives
CAUSA FISH P180
Guacamole, white fish marinated in soy sauce, cilantro emulsion , leeks
CAUSA EBI P180
Guacamole prawns, rocoto mayo, togarashi
Another delightful bite that is a must try. Do not be deceived by its size. It may not look much but it fills you up really quick. Talk about carbo loading…
IBERICO PORK RIBS P350
Charcoal-oven-cooked Iberico ribs marinated in miso paste, hoisin and oyster sauce, chili corn and okra. Just add rice and you are all set. Definitely not for sharing haha
AVOCADO MAGURO P295
Feast on the refreshing combo of tuna, avocado, cherry tomatoes, peanuts, lettuce and poke sauce
TUNA TARTARE DONBURI P350
Hands down my favorite among all dishes served. I loved how fresh and light the cubes of tuna were.
CHIFA BAO P280
Steamed bao, pork charsiu, red onion, cilantro, fried onion, cilantro-miso-aioli
Think fatter sister of the pork bun we know from Ippudo. Equally delicious if more “voluptuous” , it was understandingly more expensive but nonethless quite addicting. I think I can finish two of this in one sitting haha
Overall…
Nikkei Nama relies on the freshness of their ingredients. My first hand experience of their beautiful tuna tartare donbori , their causas, etc echoes my previous review of its sister/mother restaurant…
- Dining at Nikkei Nama was like having a preview of Japanese-Peruvian and Chinese-Peruvian cuisine as well.
- 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 Nama is located at the second level of One Bonifacio Street Mall along 28th and 5th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City Taguig