Peruvian-Japanese Fusion Cuisine To Titillate

Homegrown restaurant Nikkei launches a new tasting menu highlighting the best flavors in a marriage of food from east and west

- Chino R. Hernandez

When Nikkei first opened its doors in Legazpi Village in 2015, gastronomes were enthralled. The Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei has recently expanded with two other restaurants in the metro, launching branches in Podium and One Rockwell. The original sleek, minimalist exteriors are maintained in the new branches, while the creations in the kitchen have diversified with even more inventive cuisine. The eatery brings together a good formula between the slick, clean flavors of Japan, and the spicy, playful palette of Latin America. Recently, a tasting menu entitled Now & Then was launched, featuring several Nikkei bestselling dishes and new imaginative inventions aimed to stimulate the palette.

The origins of the word Nikkei goes back several hundred years when a group of Japanese immigrants re-located to South America. Using the spicy ingredients of their new home resulted in Nikkei food. Today, the fusion cuisine has gained much acclaim and popularity with gourmets around the world. The homegrown restaurant was founded by the food loving couple Carlo and Jackie Lorenzana with Chef Juan Barcos. It is the first of its kind in the Philippines, serving the biting flavors of Japanese-Peruvian gastronomy to the archipelago since opening on Rada street two years ago.

SASHIMI WITH CILANTRO