Wakatay Restaurant-Peruvian Nikkei Cuisine
Licensing |
On Saturday, August 11, 2007, I went to Wakatay Restaurant-Peruvian Nikkei Cuisine with some co-workers. This restaurant prides itself in fusing foods and flavors to create a totally unique experience. The menu features traditional Peruvian dishes, Peruvian Nikkei dishes and Peruvian Chinese dishes. The owner is currently developing a new menu that will include foods with a French twist.
The owner of the restaurant, Jorge Nakamoto, is a Peruvian Japanese. He came to the United States about 20 years ago, and learned to cook from his mother. All of the recipes at the restaurant were created by him. The food is delicious. I highly encourage you to go try it for yourself.
Wakatay Restaurant-Peruvian Nikkei Cuisine is located at 1630 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. in Gardena, CA. 90247.
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This collection features pictures of food and of the atmosphere of the restaurant. Enjoy! Try not to get too hungry... :)
Slides in this album |
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Expedition Inca DVDAs we walked in the door of Wakatay Restaurant-Peruvian Nikkei Cuisine, we saw this large television set. It was playing music videos of men playing various flute-like instruments. The music was soothing, and the pictures of the landscapes were beautiful.
Expedition Inca DVD |
Wakatay MenuAs we sat down at our table, the server handed us the menus. On the front of the menu was a description of the restaurant and the food. This is a picture of that description.
Wakatay Menu |
Bread, Butter and Hot Dipping SauceSoon, our server brought complimentary bread rolls. The bread was accompanied by individual butter packets and a spicy green dipping sauce. It was really good.
Bread, Butter and Hot Dipping Sauce |
Drinks at WakataySome of the beverages on the menu were very new to me. I had never heard of chicha morada or Inka Kola, pictured here. There was, however, a variety of mainstream beverages available, such as sprite and coke. The drink on the left is chilled green tea. The middle drink …
Drinks at Wakatay |
Maracuya SamplerWe all tasted each others' drinks, and started asking our server some questions about their origins and about their content. She answered our questions, and then immediately offered us a sample of maracuya, a passion fruit juice drink. (This pattern of offering complimentary dishes continued throughout the night, as you …
Maracuya Sampler |
Ceviche MixtoWe ordered two appetizers, the ceviche mixto and the peruvian-okinawa soba. The ceviche was beautifully arranged, and came with giant corn and two slices of sweet potato.
Ceviche Mixto |
Peruvian-Okinawa SobaThis is the soba. It tasted a little bit like udon. Five of us were able to share this, and it was delicious.
Peruvian-Okinawa Soba |
Cheese and Milk Potatoes AppetizerWe were almost finished with the two appetizers we had ordered when our server offered to bring us another one, on the house. She brought us potatoes covered in a creamy, cheesy sauce that had a hint of spice. It was really appetizing.
Cheese and Milk Potatoes Appetizer |
Lomo SaltadoAfter we finished our appetizers, our server brought our main dishes. I ordered the lomo saltado, a traditional peruvian dish. It had beef, tomatoes and french fries, three things that I really like! And, it came to me still sizzling, sort of like fahitas arrive at a mexican restaurant. It …
Lomo Saltado |
Mariscos SaltadoThis dish, mariscos saltado, was similar to my dish. However, instead of beef, this one had seafood. The person who ordered it really seemed to enjoy it.
Mariscos Saltado |
Pescado a lo MachoThis was the pescado a lo macho. It was a variety of seafood covered with a spicy sauce. It looked really tasty.
Pescado a lo Macho |
Pescado al AhoThe pescado al aho was a Chinese Peruvian fusion dish, which was composed primarily of fried fish. It looked delicious.
Pescado al Aho |
John Esaki and Contigo PeruWhen it was John's turn to order, he asked the server what she suggested. She grinned and asked him if he wanted something "special." He was intrigued. What arrived was the contigo Peru, a mix of seafood topped with two prawns and two flags, one of Japan and one of …
John Esaki and Contigo Peru |
White RiceWhite rice, the staple food in most Japanese dishes, was served with all of our meals. We each received this nicely balled, well presented portion of rice. This particular one looked like it had some sort of symbol drawn in the cracks. Imagine that...
White Rice |
Nikkei SamplerAfter we had finished our meals, the owner of the restaurant arrived and came over to greet us and to talk to us. He asked how the food was. We said we loved it. Then, he offered us another complimentary appetizer. Soon, there were two nikkei samplers sitting in front …
Nikkei Sampler |
TuTanShortly after the nikkei samplers arrived, our server brought out two plates of tutan. The owner asked us why we thought this appetizer had such an odd name. We were stumped. He said that it was called tutan because instead of wonton (one-ton), there were tutan (two-tan). What a comedian! |
Lucuma Ice CreamAfter we had finished the nikkei samplers and the tutan, the owner, Jorge, thought we might need something a little sweeter. He brought out two bowls of lucuma ice cream. Lucuma is a fruit native to Peru that resembles a mango, but has a pit like an avocado. Our server …
Lucuma ice cream |
PicaronesAfter we had finished the ice cream, Jorge came back to talk to us about Peru and about the soccer he played there. He was telling us stories about how he learned to cook and how he came up with the idea of starting this fusion restaurant. Before we knew … |
Wakatay Restaurant-Peruvian Nikkei Cuisine ServerBecause we were so interested in documenting our entire night, we asked our server to take a picture with us. After a bit of convincing, she finally agreed to pose for the camera. She is in the black shirt, to John's right.
Wakatay Restaurant-Peruvian Nikkei Cuisine Server |
Jorge NakamotoJorge came back to our table, yet again, to talk to us about his new menu. He said that in addition to his Peruvian Nikkei cuisine and his Chinese Nikkei cuisine, he is going to be adding a menu that offers a French twist. How exciting! Jorge poses with us …
Jorge Nakamoto |
Table - Post MealtimeAfter dinner, our table was a mess. This is proof of how much we ate that night. And, this isn't even all of it. The server had already cleared away some dishes. Wow... Overall, the Wakatay experience was a very enjoyable one, and the food was delicious. I encourage everyone …
Table - Post Mealtime |