"A new, exciting restaurant with a totally 'out of the
box' concept that must be tested out!" That's what I was told about
Chotto Matte, a Peruvian Japanese fusion restaurant, aka Nikkei cuisine, that
had opened up in London.
Walking into the restaurant, the decor is done very
tastefully. It definitely looks like there's been a lot of thought and effort
into every little detail of the restaurant. A warm host received us to our table and
from then on, it was constant "wow's" and "ooh's".
Looking at the menu, you want to try everything on it, I mean
absolutely everything! We attempted to do that by ordering as many dishes as we
could. The portion sizes help in that they're perfect to try out as many dishes
as you can without turning into a turnip!
Spicy edamame beans was the first dish to be tried. Edamame
beans are great, however these spicy ones are something out of the ordinary! A
perfect blend of Peruvian spices with a Japanese style edamame will leave your
taste buds wanting more!
The Aburi Black cod miso is a tostadita perfectly cooked
with tender black cod pieces in a yuzu dressing made with Peruvian chillies.
It's cut into bite sized pieces for sharing, although you won't want to!
For 'mains', I ordered the pork belly, which was cooked with
nashi pear and a yellow tomato salsa. This pork... This pork, by far one of
the best pork dishes I've ever had! Each piece was cooked to absolute divine
perfection. Crispy on the outside, melt in your mouth centre with perfectly
balanced flavours of the chillies in the salsa. I could've had 3 or 4 of these
without realising!
The wild white prawn cooked with Peruvian chillies and
barbecued over hot coals was a prawn dish that was kept simple and tasteful.
Not too many flavours fighting with each other left a delicate taste on your palate.
Again, the prawns were cooked to perfection.
Everything that arrived on the table left us with our mouths
salivating! Which meant I had to speak to the chef and pass him all our
compliments. Head Chef Michael Paul is a young chef with an abundance of
talent. Speaking with him, he told me about how they'd come up with the idea,
and spent over a year travelling and learning about the Japanese culture in
Peru which inspired the menu. He said he wanted to offer something totally out
of the box in a city which offers nearly everything.
Easy to say, he's achieved it! In fact, probably outdone any
expectations I had after the multiple rave reviews I'd heard. He mentioned he's
now working on other restaurants with new, unorthodox menus. I for one am extremely
excited to see what he comes up with next!
Chef Paul - Not sure if you remember me telling you about
extra virgin avocado oil. The first batch will be out early next year. I'll be
sending a sample over to you, with the hope of a dish on the menu from it!
