Somewhere New

"This is so unlike the Jockey Club" was the comments everyone had when we ate at their new venue called Pinnacle, which opened only a couple of weeks ago. At its onset, the place looked more like a trendy nightclub when we were escorted up the elevators and through the bouncers (I mean the Maitre'd counter) at the door to our table.  

Dinner that almost didn't happen

“Oh, I thought you guys cancelled your booking a few days ago?” Some mis-communications among our group of 8 meant our dinner reservation at a fully-booked restaurant on Halloween weekend was no longer there, just as we were informed by the maître d’ when we arrived at ICHU at H Queen. Luckily for us, after a brief moment of panic (and despair), the restaurant staff managed to find us a table, in none other than their private room, and we were extremely thankful for them saving the night for us and not only that, turned into something quite extraordinary.

Restaurant Week at TokyoLima

The Restaurant Week promotion often gave us the chance to check out any new or up and coming restaurants that we somehow missed out, and this year we decided to visit TokyoLima, the new-ish restaurant specializing in Japanese-Peruvian fusion cuisine opened only a couple months ago. The restaurant, branded itself as an izakaya, has the feel of an exclusive speakeasy, tucked away on the ground floor inside a non-descript commercial building on Lyndhurst Terrace.

Restaurant Opening - El Mercado

To be honest, I have never heard of the term "Nikkei Cuisine" until an invitation arrived in my inbox for a dinner tasting at El Mercado, a new restaurant in town serving this unique culinary specialty, a crossover between Japanese and Peruvian cuisines. My knowledge of Peruvian cooking was limited to ceviche and perhaps some fusion dishes created by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa, probably the most famous Nikkei chef gaining worldwide fame with the chain of his namesake restaurants, before the proliferation of the term "Nikkei Cuisine".