The cooking at Kansha shows the modern breadth of Peruvian-Japanese cuisine.
Kansha
Even in Lima, where exciting Japanese-Peruvian restaurants abound, Kansha (“gratitude”) would be a contender. Here on New York’s upper east side it is a stand-out via Chef-Owner Jorge Dionicio, who has worked at Morimoto, O Ya, Akashi, Hirohisa, Azabu, and, most recently, Sushi Noz.
The Peruvian connection with Japanese food began back in the 1980s after Nobu Matsuhisa moved from his home in Saiatama to Lima, where he developed his style of incorporating Pervian ingredients, not least chile peppers, with Japanese. After moving to open his namesake place in Beverly Hills, that style became popular with Americans used to fusion cooking.
Horge Dionicio is a Peruvian chef who earned a black belt in sushi making in Japan.
Kansha
Dionicio is himself Peruvian and emigrated to the U.S. in 2002, starting his culinary career at UCHI in Austin, Texas, then travelled to Japan to perfect his sushi craft at the World Sushi Skills Institute, receiving a Kuro Obi (black belt) certification there. He then did a stage at the renowned Cala and Maido in Lima.
At Kansha Dionicio uses all imported seafood from Tokyo’s Tokyo’s Market along with Peruvian ingredients such as white choclo corn, quinoa and aji amarillo peppers. The one-page menu is categorized by Cold Tasting, Nigiri, Maki, Starters, Hot Tasting and Desserts.
Kansha has only 16 seats downstairs and a six-seat omegas counter upstairs.
Kansha
Kansha is a small storefront space, brightly lit, minimally decorated and for its size (16 seats) not particularly loud. Upstairs is an six-seat omekase counter made from a 100-year-old Hinoki tree (the price of the meal is $145 here). Downstairs our party of four just left ourselves in Dionicio’s hands, asking for selections from each of the menu sections, though I just had to order pop-in-the-mouth rock shrimp to dip into garlicky tocoto aïoli with takuan Japanese pickle. Within the Cold Tasting category we enjoyed a ceviche with leche de tigre, cilantro and those fat Peruvian choclo corn kernels.
Tiradito sashimi with Peruvian fruits and vegetables has become a classic.
Kansha
Tiradito has become something of a classic within Peruvian-Japanese food, a sashimi (we had blue fin tuna) with an aji amarillo and chalaca sauce of citrus, onions, tomato and chilies. Sleek hamachi yellowtail came with Serrano peppers and wonderful crispy potatoes, while lustrous king salmon was dressed with ponzu and a wasabi salsa that was delightfully mild so as to not clash with the delicacy of the fish.
Our Hot Tasting item was a taco of very tender grilled octopus, with aji, puka, and waka Thai.
All fish is imported from Tokyos’ seafood market at Kansha
John Mariani
The came an array of lovely sushi, each species distinctive from each other, velvety, supple and served at the right temperature. The sake maki of salmon came with a lightly sweet caramelized dashi wasabi salsa; bluefin tuna maki was married to with small kyuri Japanese cucumber and shiso; shiro maki of madai fish was sided with avocado, olive oil and lemon zest.
Picarones are Peruvian donuts made with sweet potatoes
John Mariani
We ended our meal with a trio of ice creams that included an interesting sample of matcha, black sesame and lucuma sugar. Picarones, Peruvian donuts, made with Japanese Okinawan sweet potatoes and Kabocha.
There is a tiny cocktail bar and the wine list, though small, works with this kind of food.
So much at Kansha is new but nothing is overwrought. Every ingredient compliments each other, with the seafood as the underlying inspiration. So, if you can’t put up with the huge and cacophonous Nobus in New York (or elsewhere around nthe world), Kansha is both a relief and s starting point for learning about this enticing cuisine.
Kansha
1312 Madison Avenue at 93rd Street
646-833-7033
Open nightly .
AloJapan.com