The centuries-old style of Japanese grilling is now in BGC
Charcoal grilling is definitely having a moment. Maybe it’s the sudden burst of freedom that’s come with COVID waning a little, but it seems like people are craving a return to the open smells and tastes of grilled meats, fish and vegetables something they couldn’t experience much during lockdown.
Now, after introducing Manila to the fresh, bracing flavors of Peruvian-Japanese cuisine, Nikkei is on fire again with their new concept: Nikkei Robata.
It’s built around robatayaki, a grilling method that originated centuries ago in Hokkaido. Visitors to Japan love the “communal hearth” feel of encircling a robatayaki chef as he coaxes juicy grilled flavors from the day’s catch, the freshest meats, the ripest vegetables.
“Robatayaki” means “meats and seafood cooked in a circle,” and while Therese has experienced the real thing in Japan, Nikkei’s newest branch, located at the Ground Floor of The Uptown Ritz, 36th Street, Uptown, BGC, opts for a show kitchen ablaze with charcoal-fired dishes: miso-marinated black cod or Iberico pork, free-range chicken and US wagyu, smoky unagi (eel), succulent squid and flaky saba (mackerel).
We sat down for a wide-ranging menu that started with a new line of cocktails (the bespoke Hennessy Mojito, Glenmorangie Penicillin and Strawberry Margarita) and commenced with robata grill platters and inspired fusion dishes.
Those cocktails were fusions themselves (Scott’s favorite was the Penicillin: a lavish mix of Glenmorangie X Whisky whipped up with lime, ginger shrub and a smoky cordial; Therese loved the Strawberry Margarita). The waiters soon covered our table with smoked salmon roll (salmon, cream cheese, katsuobushi and tobiko enveloped in fluffy rice), soft-shell crab roll (a tempura dish with cucumber, mango, sesame seeds and yuzu mayo aioli) and chipirones fritos (a mound of fried baby squid drizzled with miso and rocoto mayo, tobiko and togarashi); but it was the arrival of the scallops with uni sauce that led to our first robatayaki encounter: the seared scallops, served on sushi rice with sesame seeds, are plump, juicy and perfectly grilled — but it’s the pouring of the buttery sea-urchin sauce that brings out the fullness of the flavors.
Next to that was a classic Nikkei Ceviche, a reminder of how intertwined the flavors of Peru and Japan have become: lumps of tuna, tamarind leche de tigre, cilantro, red chili and red onion mingle with calamari and glazed sweet potato; all citrus-seared and refreshing.
There was a Mediterranean touch to some of the dishes to come, like the grilled salmon belly with mushroom risotto, a flavorful dish served over a bed of risotto infused with shitake, shimeji and enoki mushrooms, asparagus and parmesan cheese.
Grilling was the big star in dishes like the Yakitori Platter (free-range grilled chicken skewers with quail eggs and tamago in tare sauce), and the Kushiyaki Platter — a mix of robata-grilled Esguerra Kurobuta pork belly, ika (squid) and ebi (shrimp) marinated in honey miso and hoisin sauce — both of which exuded smoky depths.
The fish dishes benefited greatly from the robata method, releasing wondrous flavors, like the Hamachi Kama (grilled yellowtail collar) with tare sauce and cilantro salad, which was simple and powerful. But the meats were also a clear winner, including the grilled pork belly (deliciously seared and juicy) and the robata-grilled steak slices with truffled mashed potatoes and Peruvian chalaquita.
Nikkei Robata is the third new concept from owners Carlo and Jackie Lorenzana, following the original Nikkei branch in Makati’s Legazpi Village in 2015 and two branches in One Rockwell and Podium in 2017; then came Nikkei Nama Bar in BGC, focusing on drinks and food; and now Nikkei Robata, bringing things back to a home-and-hearth experience, enhanced by smoky flavors, grilled textures and the intoxicating smell of charcoal-cooked foods.
The BGC location, facing 36th Street, is inviting and earthy with wood trimming and a Peruvian-Japanese mural greeting outside diners (it seats 40 inside and 40 outside). The owners think enough of the new “robatayaki” direction that they’ll soon be opening another branch at Newport Resorts World.
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Nikkei Robata is located at the Ground Floor of The Uptown Ritz, 36th Street, Uptown, Bonifacio Global City.
For reservations, call 0975-0870428 or 0945-5937143 or visit https://www.nikkei.com.ph/book-a-table.
