So what on earth is Latin-Nikkei cuisine? Who started this? How did it come to be? Wait….. is this a typo?

Nope! No typos. Latin-Nikkei cuisine actually exists. It’s a phenomenon founded in Peru… a latin country with apparently a lot of Japanese immigrants. The result of which is a fusion….. a dynamic marriage of two culinary cultures….. giving birth to a very unique and a very unexpected flavor profile…. christened the “Latin-Nikkei” cuisine.

I was as surprised, as you probably are now, to hear this. Until recently I had never heard anyone mention this type of cuisine. Had you? I can’t believe I even missed it on my visit to Peru a few years back.

I accidentally crossed paths with it when I attended the Community Plates Gala a few weeks ago, where Aji10 Restaurant was serving tasteful bites of food. I liked what I ate…. and so I made a note of its location to check it out for a proper sit-down meal.

Did you know that Peru has the second largest ethnic Japanese population in South America? Nikkei cuisine is the most noticeable influence of that immigration. Since both cultures are heavily based on consumption of seafood, I guess it was only a matter of time before ceviche and sushi would start to show up on the same menus.

Aji10 is in the same location in Norwalk where Meigas used to be. Right across from Fat Cat. My friend H.A. and I went for an an early dinner on a wednesday. It was a slow night at Aji10 and we loved that chef David Soto was able to sit down and chat with us. Chef Soto is no stranger to Fairfield county. You may remember him from Baang cafe in Greenwich and Splash in Westport.

The food at Aji10 is unique and flavorful. It seems to take a best of both cultures (Peruvian and Japanese) - forcing one to take notice. if you are getting tired of the same-old same-old food around Fairfield county… here is your chance to try something new and different. Of course, if you crave some traditional Peruvian dishes from this Peruvian born chef - you will find menu items from ceviche to Lomo Saltado to Arepas to Empanadas. And when you try the fusion part of the menu - be sure to keep an open mind because it is unexpected. I followed my own advise and went with an open mind. I really liked a lot of things on the menu. I enjoyed how the fusion aspect showed up in unexpected places … even dessert which looked like sushi but had all sorts of latin and asian ingredients going on in each bite. Pretty neat!

Give Aji10 a try…. and tell me what you think.

Aji10, Norwalk | http://www.aji10restaurant.com