Venezuelans in Peru

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I've been a fan of Virgilio Martinez's and Pia Leon's for a number of years now, ever since Virgilio took up Richard Ekkebus' invitation for a collaboration at Amber. I have, sadly, never made my way to Central... having cancelled my trip to Peru three times for various reasons.

I should have been excited when MAZ opened in Tokyo, and it was the closest I could get to Virgilio's cuisine after I stopped visiting Ichu in Hong Kong. But I've had other priorities on my last few trips to Tokyo...

So I was pretty excited when MONO announced that they were doing a collaboration with MAZ. Thankfully seats were still available when I found out, and I invited a couple of friends along. Chef Santiago Fernandez who - like Ricardo - is also Venezuelan brought along greetings from Virgilio.

Miolo Cuvée Tradition Brut - this is always easy to drink, with light acidity on the palate.

The cuisine from Central and, by extension, MAZ is expressed as a journey through various altitudes or ecosystems. So it was with our menu tonight.

Sea floor

Fish maw empanada - accented with some guasacaca on top, with a sofrito inside made with fish maw. This was OK, as the fish maw didn't have much flavor and just added texture.

Hokkigai vuelve a la vida - the vuelve a la vida came covered with a layer of tomato water gelée on top. We've got long, thin strips of cucumber pickled in hibiscus vinegar turning them red, and saltwort (オカヒジキ) to add more vibrant colors.

We've got a high level of acidity and a little bit of kick, and the latter gradually builds up.

Kokuryu Daiginjo Ryu (黒龍 大吟醸 龍), 2024 - such a classic, with lovely, sweet and starchy rice on the nose, a little sharp with acetone and alcohol, and showing slightly fermented notes. Lovely.

Desertic coast

Sword fish / cactus / dragon fruit leche de tigre / erizo - underneath the slices of sword fish were little chunks of nopal, aloe vera, and red shallots. On top we had tongues of Hokkaido sea urchin and leaves of succulents like salty fingers and ghost plant.

The leche de tigre made with pitaya roja has that telltale pink hue. We've got some green flavors from the nopal and the succulents, while the iodine flavors from the sea urchin stood out as it contrasted with the acidity of the leche de tigre.

The crisp was made from a sea urchin stew and decorated with a red algae called akasuginori (赤杉のり).

Cold seawater

Mussels / tumbo / squid - we had mussels, Japanese bigfin reef squid (泥障烏賊), Japanese sea bass (鱸), snow fungus, salicornia, and crispy sweet potato chips.

Then a salsa made with mussels, clams, and fish was spooned on top to cook the ingredients. Finished with lime juice and chili. The squid ribbons were pretty nice, and the chunks of sea bass had a nice, firm texture. The sauce had a nice balance between the acidity and the creamy richness.

2021 Jean Leon Nativa Xarel・lo - very ripe on the nose but very light on the palate.

Andean plateau

Veal sweetbreads / Andean tubers / choclo arepa - the molleja was coated in anticucho sauce, which gave it a mild heat from the aji panca and really lovely flavors from cumin. The texture was really nice, soft and bouncy. The mashua and oca came in different forms like roasted chunks, espuma, and translucent chips.

The arepa made with choclo was really satisfying thanks to the creamy goat cheese cheese, and I loved the kiwicha on top.

We also had a small taste of a special brew - Peruvian moonshine, so to speak - made out of oca.

Pacific current

Fosforera / langoustine / squash - the triangular "flaps" were made from zapallo loche and coated with different powder, like rocoto and nori.

The langoustine had been cooked in fosforera so it had all those flavors from shellfish, acidity from tomatoes, and a little bit of mild heat from chilis. Then they added some hollandaise made with botan shrimp (牡丹海老) heads... This was so fucking tasty.

2022 Lucien Muzard Santenay 1er Cru Beauregard - nice and oaky on the nose with plenty of coconut butter. Red currants. Rich and interesting, and a bit smoky.

Ocean haze

Octopus / algae / tako liver - we've got deep-fried "noodles" that look like someone sprayed Silly String all over... with some made with octopus ink and others made with mussel broth. Topped with foam made with blue spirulina. Very striking presentation.

The chunks of grilled octopus were VERY smoky, and we've also got asparagus as well as a hollandaise made of octopus liver.

Guangdong ecosystems

Duck breast / lilly bulb huatia / tamarillo-mandarin peel - the "local" duck from Guangdong seems to be used by all the Jia Group restaurant these days... with the skin glazed with some cacao vinegar and spices for mole. The texture was really nice and I loved the skin. Served with some bok choy and sweet potato leaves, along with duck jus that has been flavored with tamarillo and mandarin peel - which made it soooo fragrant. I thought the veggies cooked with some garlic were just soooo Chinese.

There was a 9-year-old lily bulb baked in huatia with some 12-year-old aged mandarin peel. While I always love these lily bulbs, this was one part where the chefs just missed the point. These lily bulbs were so high in sugar that they were better when lightly stir-fried to retain their crunch, or they can even be eaten raw. Tonight baking has made them soft and mushy. Having them baked with the dried mandarin peel on the side actually imparted little to no flavor, which was a shame. Maybe it would have been better to have ground or chopped up the peel and steamed the bulbs to infuse the peel flavors.

The dipping sauce for the lily bulb was made with tamarillo and huacatay.

2019 Zuccardi Malbec Concreto - ripe fruit and smoke on the nose. Got the concentration on the palate, but a little chalky. Not great.

Theobromas - both MONO and Central are big on making their own chocolate from cacao, so I wasn't at all surprised to see this.

Macambo, a.k.a. theobroma bicolor - apparently inspired by the Chinese deep-fried sesame glutinous balls (煎堆) Santiago tasted on his last trip to Hong Kong, so we had a hot liquid center that was a cream made with the macambo seeds. Coated not in sesame seeds but roasted and crushed macambo seeds.

Copoazú, a.k.a. theobroma grandiflorum - the sorbet made with copoazú fruit was really nice, with a mild level of fruity acidity and, as always, I love the copoazú nibs on top.

Venezuela chocolate - from Chuao. This chocolate mousse was sooo smooth, with a nice level of sweetness and just enough milk in the mix.

Mucilage - the crêpe made with the pulp of the Chuao cacao was jiggly with nice acidity, and we wrapped aromatic herbs inside. There was also a spray of Ecuadorian cacao vinegar made in Kyoto.

Cacao nibs - the cacao nib brittle with a beurre blanc infused with cacao nib shells was so nice and soft, and I thought I tasted a little cinnamon.

Cascara - marshmallow made with the cacao shells. This was interesting.

Ricardo knows about Foursheets' dietary restrictions and that she wouldn't be able to take the dessert, so he prepared a whole different savory dish for her, and Foursheets was very, very happy with her porridge. Always grateful for this kind of service.

Now that the meal was over, we moved on to a few after dinner drinks. These were pretty special.

Montelobos Mezcal Espadín - very classic. Got that medicinal flavor but still a little sweet on the palate and also on the finish.

Santa Teresa 1796 - so fragrant, with lovely vanilla notes and a long finish.

Distinería Andina Matacuy - really fragrant and herbal. Almost reminds of chartreuse.

This was a really fun meal. Many of the dishes were made with ingredients that are mainstays at MONO, but re-interpreted from the MAZ/Central perspective. Very tasty and interesting.

Rain was coming so the four of us rushed home and did not join the chefs for their after-service party. I'm sure I'll see Santiago in Tokyo soon enough.