Bad Bunny in Lima: Maido restaurant brought the Nikkei experience to his hotel and this was his reaction

There is no artist who visits Peru and is not enchanted by our gastronomy. The variety of ingredients, the impressive techniques and, of course, the flavors of our cuisine are capable of conquering anyone. Bad Bunny was no exception. After two successful dates at the National Stadium, the Puerto Rican singer wanted to try Nikkei cuisine and the team from Maidorestaurant of the well-known chef Mitsuharu ‘Micha’ Tsumura, prepared a special experience for him and his ‘team’.

Despite his short stay in our country, on Tuesday the 15th, Bad Bunny and his team were able to taste the Nikkei and Peruvian cuisine experience at Maido, the award-winning restaurant. Silvio Vera, the establishment’s service captain, told Advantage that at first the singer’s intention was to visit the venue, but due to a large number of people in his team they chose to take the experience to their hotel for dinner.

“They had heard about Maido and wanted to come, but in the end we coordinated to bring them the experience. It was a group of 20 people and they did not want to leave without trying our proposal”, says Vera.

For this, the Maido team prepared by creating a menu that included the best of their menu and some classic Peruvian gastronomy options such as arroz con pato and chupe de camarones. In addition, as is customary in this restaurant, they paid attention to every detail to make dinner an unforgettable experience. “The kitchen team was already coordinated with Micha and they had visited the facilities to get to know the space. We were 12 people including cooks, service personnel, bartenders and sommeliers”, she adds.

The dynamic was as follows: at first they presented a series of cocktail-style entries, so that the singer and his team could walk through the different stations and choose what caused them to eat. “It was explained to them that we had prepared tiraditos, ceviches, sushi for them and the idea was for them to come by, ask about the dishes and help themselves. They were excited when we told them what it was about”, recalls the duty captain with pleasure.

Afterwards, they were asked to sit at two tables and enjoy dishes accompanied by a special pairing.

The menu of the occasion

“We have a predetermined menu at Maido, but we open our menu a bit for him (Bad Bunny),” explains Akira Shiroma, the chef in charge of directing this unique experience.

As we mentioned, at first the artist and his team enjoyed different types of ceviches, tiraditos, nigiris and temakis prepared with the greatest attention and care. Precisely, the sushi options they presented were one of the reggaetonero’s favorites, who, let’s remember, this year inaugurated Gekkō, a Japanese steakhouse proposal.

“One of the things they liked the most was the bull tartare, which is the belly of the tuna. In general, they could not stop eating everything that we had presented to them, but Bad Bunny reminded them “don’t worry, this is the beginning, then the good stuff comes,” adds Vera.

So it was. When they went to the table, they began with a series of three snacks created by Micha Tsumura himself and they were the first diners to enjoy them. “They were Micha’s idea and it was great that they could try them because they are not yet on the menu,” admits the person in charge of the service for this meeting.

As Shiroma explains, the table menu consisted of some Maido classics, such as nitsuke roast, a roast strip that has been cooked for 50 hours, served with nitsuke sauce, crispy garlic and camotillo potato cream. This was one of the dishes that the artist liked the most.

They also tried the gindara, a cod tempura served with potato cream and ramen. Another dish where they present the Nikkei culture is the Shrimp soup, reminiscent of the classic hearty soup, but served wrapped in xiao lon bao dough. The rice with duck Maido’s style was a delight that ended up conquering the Puerto Rican singer.

“They did not stop taking photos of the food, they were very curious and asked about each dish and commented among themselves. Seeing how people enjoyed themselves is exciting for us”, adds Vera.

For the chef, this experience was unique and beautiful, because the singer’s interest in enjoying the Maido experience was noticeable. “We approached and talked about what we had proposed for that dinner. We wanted him and his group to have a good time and enjoy themselves, that is always our purpose as a team,” says Shiroma.

“It was up to us to give him the concert of flavors,” says Vera about this experience.