Japanese food is growing in popularity in Manchester with lots of options for excellent sushi and ramen, but they like to do things a little differently over in Media City. Let me show you around Shoku, the new Japanese Peruvian inspired restaurant.
Shoku is a fairly small site and minimalist in style with dark wood furniture, contrasting teal coloured walls and artwork that is available to buy from local artists. The kitchen is open so you can see your food being prepared, which is a lovely touch that I always appreciate.
The combination of Japanese and Peruvian food is called Nikkei and is a fusion of Peruvian food cooked using a Japanese style. Think aji amarillo, ceviche and chimichurri. The menu at Shoku is on the smaller side, like the venue, but perfectly formed with a good selection of sushi, bbq, ramen and bao.
Our first dish was my favourite, Beef Anticuchos. Soft and tender fillet of beef cooked pink, then topped with panko and toasted sesame seeds with a chimichurri dip. It was rich and flavourful, I could have eaten several of them happily.
Onto the sushi with California rolls, maki rolls and sashimi. I found the salmon sashimi a little on the bland side personally, but the maki rolls had lovely seasoned rice and crisp wrappers. Something I find some places get very wrong.
The Chicken Kaarage was particularly good with a crispy coating, nori salt for umami seasoning and a Ponzu mayo that adds a tart creaminess. It sounds so strange but the whole thing works so well together. I could have had a pile of this with a bowl of rice and been a very happy lady. I may actually go back for exactly that.
I was always going to go for ramen. I have this weird obsession with it and there are days where my craving is that strong, I wonder how I am going to cope for the day without it. The Tonkostsu Ramen at Shoku has a rich pork broth with shoyu tare, pork belly, crispy skin, spring onion and a marinated egg. The broth is delicious and the pork soft and juicy. I would have liked the pork to be sliced as it arrives whole, which is difficult to eat if you are not the most adept with chopsticks. Like me.
Charlie ordered the Cornfed Chicken from the Konro BBQ section of the menu. The panko coated spicy chicken is served with yuca fries, which is a really unusual touch but perfectly fitting for the Japanese/Peruvian fusion aesthetic. It is a nice change but they needed a little more seasoning for my taste. Charlie was happy with them though and was still eating them long after she declared that she was full.
In summary, I enjoyed Shoku and my first nikkei experience. I don’t get to Media City that often but when I do, I’ll be back for bowls of ramen and as much crispy chicken as I can manage. If you like different food experiences, I’d recommend you give them a try.
