ICHU Peru by Virgilio Martínez (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I have been quietly keeping tabs on the development of ICHU Peru ever since world-renowned Peruvian chef Virgilio Martínez announced the plans of his first foray into Asia more than six months ago. His original plan was to have the restaurant in soft-opening mode in May but a number of delays put a den in that idea which have now seen the opening night pushed back until tonight (nearly 4-month delay!). Thankfully, I was able to get myself a table on opening night.



As soon as I got out of the elevator onto the restaurant's reception area, I was immediately greeted with great enthusiasm by the service team. As I would later find out, I have just gotten into the books as the first-ever customer of ICHU Peru Hong Kong. WOW~



The space was designed by Joyce Wang Studio, the sane firm who's behind award-winning projects such as AMMO, Mott32 and Haymarket. With ICHU Peru, they have once again brought their iconic industrial-chic style to the casual space, together with a dark, Amazon jungle theme which is the perfect match for Chef Martinez's modern Latin American cuisine.



At the helm of ICHU Peru is one of Chef Martinez's right hand man, Korean Chef Sang Jeong who's been working at Central with the masterful chef for the last three years. He's been in Hong Kong developing the menu for months and will be here to oversee the operation of the kitchen for the time being.



ICHU Pisco Sour - A namesake cocktail. This has to be good, right!?

I thought the mix of Pisco infused saffron, Eucalyptus and corn syrup and lime juice would give me a happy ending but unfortunately, all I could taste were alcohol and a bit of lime. That's about all.



Clasico - I knew I had to try at least one of the seven tiradito and ceviche on the menu. It will be interesting to see how Chef Martinez interprets these much-loved Peruvian dishes.

The snapper ceviche wasn't bad. There were thin strips of crispy sweet potato, red onion and of course, the heart and soul was the chef's take on Leche de Tigre (Tiger's Milk). As expected, a fair amount of acidity preassumably from lime juice. Very refreshing start.



Palta Quemada - One of the chef's most popular dishes was his charred avocado.



The charred avocado was topped by a thin tuile made with tunta, freeze-dried white potato popular in some of these South American countries.



In the middle of the avocado were tomato coulis and aji limo chili peppers. Very nice texture with a wonderful balance of flavors.



Tartar de Lomo con Maiz - Next up was silky smooth beef tartare sprinkled with fresh chives. In fact, it was so smooth that for a moment, I thought we were having tuna tartare! Interesting idea to match it with sweet corn purée.



Lomo Saltado - Sliced beef rib-eye was served with coriander, tomato, red onion and corn in a tangy and flavorful tomato sauce. A simple but very tasty dish.



Tacutacu Chupe - Probably the most delicious dish from this meal. Tiger prawns, Peruvian beans, purple onion, tomato and green peppers were tossed in a homemade aji Panca sauce which was a little spicy thanks to the smoky red chili peppers. I thought I really enjoyed the extra kick from the slightly fruity aji Panca.



Tres Leches - We were told that if we just had enough room for one dessert, then this was the one to get. Vanilla sponge cake which had been soaked in three types of milk (Thus the name, Tres Leches), was served with a scoop of homemade carrot sorbet and meringue chips. This wasn't bad although Agent-I, who was my dining partner tonight, was a little unhappy with the mushy texture of the cake.



Maiz Caramel - Sweet corn ice-cream with diced pineapple, pineapple foam and caramelized corn, topped with crackers made with sweet corn (what else!) and coconut. When I mixed everything together, it had that really nice tropical touch that almost tasted like a piña colada, but came in multiple layers and contrasting textures. Very nice and very refreshing.



It was my second experience with authentic Peruvian comfort food. My first encounter came at Chicha many years ago so this was a nice refresher for me. I thought the food tonight was definitely very unique and the preparation with traditional ingredients really added something interesting and exciting (and sometimes mysterious coz you have no idea what you're eating!) to the mix. It's one of those meals that's worth trying at least once.

To experience Chef Martinez's contemporary Peruvian cuisine at such a casual, bistro-style environment on opening night was almost like a dream came true. But I was totally over the moon when their Marketing Director came over to deliver the best news of the night. Dinner's on the house (because I'm their first customer!?). I just couldn't believe our luck. Thanks to the good guys and gals from the Bulldozer Group for the fun-filled night. Needless to say, I'll be back soon.

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: $$$
Address: 3/F, HQueen's, 80 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Central
Tel: +852 2477-7717
Website: www.ichu.com.hk