Hong K.'s Profile

Excellent, excellent food. You definitely get to try Japanese food you would never see anywhere else in the Bay Area. This Castro St. restaurant, which took over a miserable quasi-Japanese bento joint named Kamei, is the genuine article. They are open for lunch and dinner, although the lunch menu is much smaller.

From the dinner menu, here's a couple of the dishes that have become my favorites:

- Tofu salad - this is chilled tofu topped with sasimi and greens in a delicate ponzu dressing. Just perfect.
- Sashimi 3 kinds - although Nami Nami is no exception to the Bay Area rule of serving sushi and sashimi at every Japanese restaurant, if you are a sakana-phile you should not miss this. Super high quality fish.
- Kakiage - I love corn fritters, and these corn fritters with shrimp, served with just a touch of dipping salt on the side, taste like the ultimate bar snack.
- U-maki - Unagi (eel) wrapped in a fluffy egg omelette and basted throughout with kabayaki sauce. I love this. All my friends who have tried it have similarly been wild about it.

I've been here for lunch a few times as well. I've ordered the Nagoya Zen both times which is tonkatsu (pork cutlet) with a sweet miso sauce (tastes almost like a hoisin sauce. For $13, I got tonkatsu (crispy on the outside, tender on the inside), rice, misoshiru (a little salty), salad (delicate soy/vinegar dressing), tsukemono (japanese pickles).

The lunch bentou portion was more Japanese-sized, meaning that if you have a large American appetite and are accustomed to those huge-ass bentous that come out of Korean-owned Japanese restaurants, you might be hungry. Personally, I appreciate having the option to eat quality Japanese food instead of having to go to some low-grade sushi/bentou joint (see Monster Sushi).

As most authentic Japanese restaurants/bars, Nami Nami has the bottle keep system. This allows you to buy a bottle of sake/shochu/wine (unfortunately at a fairly exorbitant markup) and they will keep it for you if you don't finish it.

The one thing that makes me shy about giving this place 5 stars is the price - it's definitely not going to be a budget meal. However, it definitely makes for a nice date location, and if you have some Japanese friends you'd like to impress with your knowledge of still-obscure-in-Ame rica Kyoto cuisine, you couldn't ask for a better place.

Mi Lindo Peru is a reminder that you don't need million dollar architecture and house music blaring on the sound system to have a truly great Latino meal, which is an observation lost on many of the noveau chic Peruvian restaurants.

The location is decidedly unsexy, being in the Mission/Bernal district just a few blocks from Mission and Cesar Chavez. The actual interior is dark and unassuming. It's easy to miss this place driving by.

The thing that turned me on as I walked in was the music. They play salsa music - the kind you really dance to! Usually in most Mexadorian restaurants in the area you hear some combination of banda, mariachi or cumbia. Of course, if you don't know the difference between these types of musics, then this won't matter so much to you. But it instantly created a different kind of vibe for me.

The restaurant is owned and operated by a Peruvian-Japanese family. This influence comes out subtly - the anticuchos (beef heart) come skewered like kushiyaki; the chicharrones de pollo (fried chicken pieces) taste suspiciously like tori no karaage (Japanese fried chicken). Still, this is the kind of real-school fusion that I can appreciate - a natural synergy of two different schools of cooking rather than an artificial experiment in haute cuisine.

Every time I come here, I get the ceviche de mariscos (aka ceviche mixto). Generous portions of white fish, calamari, and shrimp, with a delectable sweet yam which balances the vinegar of the fish. I also like the aforementioned anticuchos (although not quite as salty as I would like) and chicharrones de pollo. The papas a la huancaina are also a nice starter - soft potatoes in a yellow amarillo sauce with olives and hardboiled eggs on the side. Yum!

Your dinner comes with soft, soft white bread and a spicy chimichurri sauce. I butter the bread and spoon chimichurri on it. I could eat it all night (and I often do, leaving me without room for the rest of my meal).

For entrees, I've tried the arroz con pollo/mariscos, which is the same basic recipe - a cilantro rice. The rice comes out green and fragrant and savory, and bringing out the flavor of your meat accompaniment. My other perennial favorite is the pescado al ajo (fried, although you can order the healthier steamed variant). This is a fried filet of snapper covered with butter/garlic/white wine sauce, with a side of butter corn rice. My cholesterol is shooting up just writing about this; it's one of the most sinfully delightful things I've eaten in a while. I've also tried the jalea, bistecka a la pobre, lomo saltado, and picante de mariscos. All of those were pretty good but not as good as my first two picks.

I live right around the corner from Mochica, and I often find myself making the 20 minute drive to Mi Lindo. Now if only Mi Lindo had those fried chickpeas...

PS the sangria is like punch. You won't taste the alcohol until it's too late. It's certainly not a bargain, but it's a must have.

Mochica is located about 100 feet from my apartment as the crow flies. Unfortunately it's more like 1000 feet as the pedestrian walks. But that's ok. My first visit to Mochica (relatively soon after it had replaced a late night American food eatery whose name escapes me) was my first Peruvian experience in years (the only other being a trip to Fina Estampas in Redwood City about 8 years previous).

The interior is quite cute, if cramped. I love the bench seating with the plush cushions. Reservations are STRONGLY recommended (ideally reserve a day in advance). If not you are looking at a 1 hr+ wait at times because people really like to take their time here (and the service is not exactly prompt). Once I walked in with a date and we ended up waiting for 1 hour. They gave us some sangria to keep us happy - sadly I have to say it worked. I'm a sucker for sangria. The waitress recognized me - she dances at Roccapulco on her nights off. Hah!

As far as Peruvian goes, I would say it's kinda nueva-Peruana. The preparation is more slick than a homey place like Mi Lindo Peru, but manages to avoid the culinary conceit of a Limon or Fresca. The starters are these breaded and seasoned chickpeas with kernels of big (Incan?) corn and onions. They are so good, but they come in such a small bowl that I find myself asking for more and more of them over the course of the meal.

My favorite dishes are the anticuchos (grilled beef hearts), ceviche mixto, and the aji de gallina (shredded chicken in a creamy yellow sauce, with hardboiled egg and olives). I've also had the jalea, which is like a huge plate of fried seafood - tasty if you are in the mood but can get greasy quickly, and the parihuela (seafood stew) which was so-so. The first time I came here, my friends and I shared a meat platter special which had a bit of everything - beef, chicken and pork, all grilled. It was delicious but a lot of meat.

The sangria is very sweet and rich here. A pitcher is definitely indicated for multiple people. I don't usually eat dessert at restaurants but they have a passion fruit dessert, the Espuma de Maracuya, which is very delicate and not too sweet, which I would recommend.

Overall I'd say Mochica is my second favorite of Peruvian restaurants at the moment (behind Mi Lindo Peru). I'd say it's a much nicer date spot for Peruvian food than Fresca. Just remember to make those reservations.