Intrigued by the premise of Japanese and Peruvian fusion, and being rather uneducated in the realms of Peruvian food, I headed to Nikkei restaurant in Surry Hills to try out their summer menu. It wasn’t until I arrived that I realised the restaurant is not fusion at all, but rather a cuisine in itself created by Peruvians of Japanese descent who begun using traditional Japanese cooking techniques with the local Peruvian produce. Truly a unique restaurant in the Sydney food scene and it definitely delivered in terms of unique and delicious flavour pairings.

Warning: Look away from the images if you do not want to be spoiled for their summer set menu!

Location: 216 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills, NSW
Summer Set Menu: $80pp

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Melissa: 8/10, would definitely be back to see what other delicious menus they come up with!

The entree dishes were unique and delicious, although both leaned towards the more sour/acidic side. The nori tostadas was extra salty, enough to balance out the acidic fennel and apple pieces, while the roe pieces offered a nice pop of umami to finish off the dish. These were so unique, definitely one of my favourite starters!

Next we had the John Dory ceviche and a swordfish sashimi. The ceviche was again relatively acidic, complimented well with cashews and pine nuts. The sashimi had a lovely miso mustard to balance out the sourness of the salsa on top.

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Highlight of the menu was definitely the spiced tempura tiger prawns in a prawn bisque. I didn’t find the batter reminiscent of tempura, it was more deep fried than the light fluffy tempura, but the spiced batter was absolutely delicious. Bit of a kick for a non-chilli competent eater like myself, but nothing too hot. The prawn bisque was delicious as well, blended in with what I thought was pumpkin, but could’ve easily been coloured by prawn head oil. One of the best seafood dishes I’ve had in 2020! The charred and smoked asparagus was a nice addition.

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Onto the mains; skewers of tender wagyu with (what I believe to be) a lovely capsicum and wasabi sauce. I wasn’t a huge fan of the mizuna (Japanese salad leaves) which came with the wagyu, slightly too bitter for my tastebuds. The potatoes were well roasted and a great filler if you were still hungry, with a nice yuzu mayonnaise.

The meal was finished off with a semi-freddo made out of a South American fruit called lucuma. I’ve never tried the fruit before and couldn’t identify what it specifically tasted of. It worked well as a base to offset the sour cherry compote. Quite a delicious dessert, especially since I feel like I would usually never pick this type of dessert to have.

Overall, a delicious and unique dining experience. Definitely recommend a visit to Nikkei restaurant to sample some unusual dishes that you might not see at other restaurants. All of the dishes tied well together, with the commonality of a sour/acidic element running through the menu, all of which was perfectly balanced out. Only one thing to note – if you don’t have a palette for seafood or acidity, you may want to steer clear of this menu.

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