The resulting Portuguese-Japanese fusion dishes will be served for two nights only.
While most bona fide foodies are familiar with the pairing of Peruvian ingredients with Japanese culinary techniques, there’s a lot less awareness around Portugal’s profound influence on Japanese cuisine – but that’s about to change real soon. Chefs José Avillez and Ross Shonhan, two of the city’s most prolific chefs, are teaming up to create a limited-edition tasting menu that will bring together the very best of Tasca and Netsu’s cuisines to Mandarin Oriental Jumeira for two nights only. But first, a backstory.
In 1543, a ship carrying three Portuguese sailors was blown off course, ending up on the Japanese island of Tanegashima. For almost 100 years after that, the Portuguese influenced many aspects of life in Japan, establishing a trading post of items such as soap, corn, chilli peppers and their most enduring legacy is arguably the influence they had on Japanese cuisine. A dish that perhaps left the most lasting impression was peixinhos da horta, a dish of battered and fried green beans. Today, we know it as ‘tempura’, now considered a staple of Japanese cuisine.
Incidentally, Netsu is spearheaded by chef Ross Shonhan, who has modernised traditional Japanese cooking techniques after working alongside the legendary Nobu Matsuhisa and honing skills at the likes of Nobu and Zuma. Tasca, meanwhile, boasts chef José Avillez at the helm, his passion for Portugal’s cuisine evident at every turn. The two have worked closely together to bring out the signature flavours of their own cuisine, studying influences that date back almost five centuries.
The result? An innovative fusion menu that will encourage diners to explore the intrinsic links between Japanese and Portuguese cuisines and enjoy a unique twist on the avant-garde textures and flavours for which they are renowned. Priced AED 650 per person (including wine pairings), the tasting menu will be available on Tuesday, 17 May at Netsu and Wednesday, 18 May at Tasca.
DSCVR: Mandarin Oriental Jumeira, Dubai, Jumeirah Beach Road, Jumeirah 1, Dubai (04 777 2232). @netsudubai
