(1) Menu (2) Uni / Surf clams / Ark clams (3) Butternut squash with Botan ebi / Sakura ebi tart (4) Scallops from Hokkaido, cuttlefish (5) Corn fritter / Lamb tartare with purple potatoes (6) Trout from Nagano, sansai, fermented coconut cream (7) Octopus from Toyama, firefly squid (8) Bamboo shoot from Kyoto / Short rib (9) Acai / Fried dough with caramel made from an Amazonian fruit (10) Cacao family desserts
++
Seeing the highly critical review of Central posted this week, I have been inspired to share my thoughts on sister restaurant MAZ, which I dined at two weeks ago.
Overall, I thought it was a very good meal, but with a few quirks:
– Food was generally excellent across the board, with no real misses. The Butternut squash with Botan ebi (pic #3), Corn fritter with dehydrated lamb heart shavings (pic #5), Short rib (pic #8), and Flan (left hand side of pic #10) were especially phenomenal
– Felt less ‘Peruvian’ than I expected. Most of the produce is sourced domestically, with the ingredients imported from Peru primarily comprising of spices. But perhaps this is a blessing in disguise, as the top-notch quality of Japanese produce (especially the seafood) really stands out
– While on paper the concept is cool, it ultimately falls flat and I struggled to identify a distinct theme. The moment you step into the restaurant, you are led to a display where they introduce a selection of unique produce found across Peru. Yet, to my surprise most of these ingredients weren’t even present in any of the courses…
– Service was great, as expected from a fine dining establishment in Tokyo. Didn’t catch his name, but special shout-out goes to the one Japanese server who was also fluent in English, you made my evening especially enjoyable!
Total cost: JPY43,500 (c.US$290), including tax/service and non-alcoholic pairing – pretty decent value, if you ask me. Was this the best meal I ever had? Nope. But it was a very enjoyable meal and would highly recommend if you are in Tokyo and considering non Japanese or French fine dining options.
by ryanw0