SAMBA!

Perhaps this is a sign of growing up (not taller sadly) but the older I get, the more I want to seek a connection with the foods I have, and my most recent food adventure was exactly that. 

I found out about SUSHISAMBA almost right when I first moved to the UK. Learning that it was a Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian restaurant at the time, I was a bit skeptical and worried that it was going to be just another weird fusion place. Little did I know that Brazil is home to the largest population of Japanese descent with about 1.5 million descendants, so Brazilian Japanese cuisine is certainly nothing new!

With a new found excitement fueled by knowledge, I decided it's about time I learnt more about this cuisine. With five awesome friends, we set off to Sushisamba City for lunch (there's another London location in Covent Garden)!

The whole concept of place was that we were suppose to share everything and so we did. For starters, we ordered Shrimp Tempura, Scallop Seviche (I also didn't know you can spell Ceviche with an S but I guess it's not an English word so I'm just being dumb), and a Toro Tiradito.

Shrimp Tempura served with snap pea julienne, spicy mayo, & black truffle vinaigrette

Scallop Seviche with mandarin leche de tigre, sisho, & picked mandarin

Toro Tiradito (Peruvian raw fish dish) with yuzu soy, wasabi pickle, black truffle, & yuzu caviar

Just looking at the shrimp tempura, you know this is not traditional tempura as we know it but do not let that deter you because I am sure it did its recipe ancestors proud. It is divinity in bite size. For the Toro, you know those flavour components cannot go wrong and yes the tuna just melted in my mouth. Scallop Seviche was good but compared to everything we had today, I wouldn't say it's my favourite.

Then we ordered a Teriyaki Poussin (aka young chicken) that was prepared over a robata grill (aka Japanese charcoal grill). Served with Japanese style mayonnaise and yuzu kosho, I mean it's a super tender piece of meat with some charred parts and a sweet savoury sauce. I can't say any more without having drool coming out of my mouth. TM(f)I. Yea guess the f. Sorry PG, reader discretion is advised, food makes me swear in a good way, or so I tell myself.

Onto maki rolls, on the left we have Tiger Maki consisting of takuwan (picked daikon or danmuji in Korean), wasabi tobiko, crab meat, tempura prawn, tiger prawn, wasabi mayo, beetroot yogurt, & soy reduction. Then on the right we have Samba London consisting of tuna, salmon, hamachi (yellowtail), avocado, asparagus, onion, hishiho miso, crispy yuba (bean curd skin), & yuzu dressing. Tiger Maki over the Samba London maki for me, also the rolls were really good but just in the world of maki, I'm not crazy about them. 

We ordered two large plates. The first being the Churrasco Rio Grande consisting of 3 meats - ribeye, chorizo, and picanha (aka rump cap, and it gets divided into the rump, the round, and the loin). What can I say, it's wonderfully well prepared steak, I ate it a lot of it, and I'm not sorry.

Large plate #2 was Moqueca (Pervuain fish stew) Mista (literally the word mixed). Our Moqueca consists of shrimp, squid, sea bass, mussels, clams, coconut milk, Dendê oil (I don't know if this is a specific type of palm oil or if this is just palm oil), and chimichurri rice. I have got two photos of this and they are really similar, but it's been a while since a dish has completely blown my mind and my taste buds so it deserves two photos. There's quite the hint of lime in this dish but they have done an incredible job ensuring that the finishing mouthfeel of every bite is rounded, yet soul changing. Without a doubt, it's the best dish I had in Sushisamba and it makes me want to learn about the world of Moqueca. What is this amazing stuff I have not known about all these years!!

With a heavy heart after digging into the last bite of Moqueca, we proceeded to order dessert. We actually ordered two types of dessert but I'm only going to show you the Chocolate Banana cake. What can I say, there's a chocolate banana cake, there's maple butter (that's hot - if you know the reference, you and I are both old), plantain chip, and vanilla rum ice cream. It made for a perfect end to a culinary adventure. 

I believe that food is innately art. Forget making food look instagrammable, but the taste, textures, temperature, visuals of every dish tells a story. It has been an incredibly exciting experience, and I absolutely cannot wait for my next taste of Moqueca. It's been a while since I posted a food only post, but I hope you have enjoyed the read and go out there and try new foods whenever you can!

Floor 38 to Floor 1 upon leaving the restaurant 

Listening to Spring 봄 by Park Bom & Sandara Park

Images by me