Nikkei

Another fusion resto is up! Brightening up the foodscape in Legazpi Village is a little Japanese-Peruvian joint along Rada Street. Welcome NIKKEI.

I heard about Nikkei last week from one of my friends. Then when I was panicking that I didn’t have anywhere to take CJ for his birthday and M reminded me about it.

No reservations at Nikkei. It was probably a good thing that we came on a Monday night and it wasn’t really buzzing. From what I had been hearing I was anxious about getting a seat.

I have to say, for a place which has only been open for a few weeks, service is quite good and functions like clockwork. And service is a big deal for me. There were too many hands on deck at the open kitchen, but they managed pretty well. Staff were attentive, responsive and smart. Already a gem in my book. Hope they maintain it.

And then there’s the food. Best way to describe it is brilliantly executed. Another would be, scrumptuous. Well, my tastebuds aren’t that picky, and I pride myself into thinking I have relatively average preferences. And I quite enjoyed myself at Nikkei.

We ordered drinks 1st. Virgin Mojitos. Fun even without the kick.

Then we got complementary ceviche maki from the sushi chef. Hehe! Tip: Sit at the bar kids. It’s usually makes for a more interesting experience.

Then came the Parmesan Scallops. It’s exactly what it’s called. Take it all in one bite.

We also tried the Causa with fish. Causa is like a little tiny potato pillar topped with a savory flake of fish.

Of course we had to try how good the salmon sashimi. And they were very good.

Unfortunately, down side of going to a resto under soft opening is that there is danger of unavailable items. There was no Kobe and no Kurobata. So for our heavy hitters, we ordered the Ceviche Roll Maki and the Salmon Burger.

And because we couldn’t resist it, we also ordered the Classic Ceviche, which turned out to be classically delicious. The citrus dressing was amazing!

Then Tres Leches! Tres Leches! Tres Leches! Yummy dessert cake soaked in condensed milk topped with Mango and brulé!

For all of that we paid roughly Php 1900++

Downside, no restroom in the resto. You have to go out to the street into the lobby of the next building to use a his/hers toilet. Well, you can’t have it all.

Jap-Peruvian sounding pretty good now, doesn’t it?