Destination Macau

Chef Tsumura will open the region’s first Nikkei cuisine
restaurant called AJI at MGM Macau’s Cotai propety next year.
津 村 明 年 將 於 澳 門 美 高 梅 路 氹 項 目 中 開 設 澳 門 城 中 首 家 日 式 秘 魯 菜 餐 廳 。
“Macanese cuisine is such an interesting food, you would never think
of mixing Chinese and Portuguese ingredients and I believe many
people would be intrigued and curious to try it,” Neta says. “If we
start doing more demonstrations, hopefully more and more people
will get to know and understand what Macanese cuisine truly is.”
One of the most interesting fusion cuisines to rise to prominence
in recent years is Nikkei cuisine – a fusion
of Peruvian ingredients and Japanese
techniques. Esteemed Nikkei restaurant
Maido in Peru jumped from 31st to
13th place in the The World’s 50 Best
Restaurants list this year. At the helm is
head chef Mitsuharu Tsumura who has
been described as a modern day master of
Nikkei cuisine.
Classic Nikkei dishes include cerviche, an appetiser of fresh
fish marinated in citrus juices, which is “a personal favourite” of
Tsumura. As is the xiaolongbao “a steam bun with crispy fish and
an onion sauce which is a great blend of the three cultures and I
believe it will be a hit”, Tsumura says.
The chef is confident that Nikkei cuisine will follow Macanese
cuisine in making its mark in Asia. “I think the younger crowd
travelling around the world are more open to trying new tastes
and flavours – they want to experience new sensations. If you’re
just going to stick to the same things your whole life you’re going
to be so bored – what I think is that by introducing this new type
of cuisine, it is very creative but I also greatly respect tradition and
everything at some point was new and different before it became
a tradition. So the dishes we’re creating now will become a
tradition afterwards. That’s the way cuisine evolves – tradition and
creativity go very much together rather than being separate.”
Tsumura will open the region’s first Nikkei
cuisine restaurant called AJI at MGM
Macau’s Cotai property next year. “I think
Macau will be a great place to introduce
Nikkei cuisine in the region,” Tsumura says.
“It has its own cultural heritage and there’s
a nice story about how the chilli first came
to Asia – one of the first ports of entry for
different spices from Latin America was
Macau. So there’s a connection between
Peru and Macau because our main
ingredient is the chilli.”
The similarities don’t end there. Nikkei
cuisine, like Macanese, also originated
many years ago. “This cuisine is something
that has not been improvised, it’s been around in Peru for many,
many years and the roots and base of this cuisine is not a trend or
a recent decision to try and mix one cuisine with another.”
醃 生 魚 片 是 一 道 以 酸 橘 汁 醃 泡 鮮 魚 的 前 菜 , 是 經 典 的 日 式 秘 魯 菜 式 , 也 是 津 村 的 “ 最 愛 之
選 ”。 津 村 亦 大 力 推 薦 餐 廳 的 小 籠 包 :“ 小 籠 包 以 脆 魚 配 洋 蔥 汁 炮 製 而 成 , 是 三 種 不 同 文 化
的 絕 佳 結 合 , 我 相 信 必 定 大 受 歡 迎 。”
Tsumura is confident that many of the dishes and flavours will be
a hit with locals. “In Peru we have a lot of Chinese and Cantonese
influence also. I think Nikkei cuisine will add something different
to the local dining scene, but at the same time it will offer flavours
that are already familiar to locals.”
津 村 深 信 日 式 秘 魯 菜 會 如 澳 門 土 生 菜 一 樣 , 在 亞 洲 留 下 美 食 的 印 記 。“ 我 想 , 周 遊 列 國 的 年 輕
一 代 會 敢 於 接 受 新 口 味 , 品 嘗 新 鮮 的 菜 式 。 假 如 你 只 是 不 斷 重 複 同 樣 的 事 情 , 人 生 多 麼 苦 悶
呢 。 我 認 為 引 入 新 菜 式 是 十 分 有 創 意 的 事 情 , 但 我 亦 十 分 尊 重 傳 統 , 而 且 每 件 事 物 在 成 為 傳 統
之 前 , 都 曾 經 是 嶄 新 又 與 別 不 同 的 。 所 以 , 我 們 現 在 創 造 的 菜 式 , 他 朝 亦 會 成 為 傳 統 , 這 就 是
菜 式 進 化 的 過 程 , 傳 統 和 創 意 相 輔 相 成 , 而 不 是 互 相 違 悖 。”
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Destination Macau September - October 2016