Maido is, according to Restaurant Magazine, the 6th ranked restaurant in the world (2022).  It’s a destination restaurant that serves Nikkei cuisine, a blending of Japanese culinary traditions with Peruvian ingredients and flavors. The term “Nikkei” refers to the Japanese diaspora and their descendants, and Nikkei cuisine reflects the cultural exchange between Japanese immigrants and their Peruvian hosts.

This exchange began when the first wave of Japanese immigrants arrived in the early 20th century to work on the sugar plantations.  So Nikkei cuisine isn’t a recent import, as it is in, say, New York City (1980s), it’s had a century’s worth of time to develop techniques, textures, and flavors distinctively Peruvian.  Japanese cuisine is my favorite, so I was excited to try out the Peruvian version of it.

We picked the 11 course tasting menu, without alcohol.  Let’s see what they look like!

First course, a ceviche potato mix in a crispy cone.  Very  Peruvian,  didn’t notice Japanese  influence,  the  ceviche  marinade  is typical  in  Peruvian  cuisine.

Second course, tofu marinaded in some soy based sauce.  Side of yucca, an Amazonian plant and some beans.

Third course, tiradito, a Japanese Peruvian style ceviche in a beef tendon broth.  Don’t remember what type of fish it was, the orange stuff you see is some sort of tree tomato (sachatomate).

Tempura dish, very light batter like what they use in Japan.  (American tempura is heavier, crunchier).  Dip is a native potato sauce.

Looks like an intricate nigiri.  Don’t know what kind of fish.

 

Don’t remember what this was.  But looks cool.

Awww yeah, toro time (fatty tuna).

The toro is prepared tableside.

Crispy chicken skin, dashi made from Amazonian fish, and chicken meatballs.

Udon with sea urchin.

Pork jowl mixed with a bunch of Amazonian fruits and vegetables.

Macambo ice cream.  Before this dish was an oxtail dish, which I don’t have a photo of.  Sorry.

Final dessert dish, nut milk jelly with Amazonic fruits.  And a mini chocolate ice cream bar.  Those beans are for decoration.  Not sure if the plate its on is worth the fuss.  I tend minimalist when it comes to presentation.

It was the perfect amount of food, flavors, and textures.  (Those 16 plus tasting menus are too much).  Spacing between courses was on point, it gave us just enough time to think and talk about the course we had.  Good course to course contrasts, there wasn’t anything repetitive.  And the atmosphere and decor is fun instead of stuffy.  So yeah, go, if you’re ever in Lima.