1Q1 – From Japan to Peru

1Q1 is an art-decor inspired Pan-Asian kitchen and bar located in infantry Road. The outlet is located on the ground floor given an excellent view of the surroundings. The entire space can be divided into three parts – a central elegant fine dining space, a stage for live performance and an alfresco dining area attached to the tropical garden. With high ceilings with cellar looks the whole space looks elegant. The seating consists of many elements like the sofa, wooden chairs among others. The food served here consists of Nikkei cuisine, which is a confluence of Peruvian and Pan-Asian food culture.

1Q1 recently launched its new menu and adding greater options in its Nikkei cuisine along with Asian cocktails. We tried them all like the Moonshine Volcano, Twilight, Mystery Dynasty, Mid Summer Dream, Saku Bliss, Berryly Legal and the Mariachi’s Song. My personal favorite was the Moonshine Volcano with subtle fruity taste. Each of the cocktails are inspired with Asian and Peruvian fusion ingredients.

When it comes to food 1Q1 has ample choices between Pan-Asian cuisines like Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Malay and also Peruvian dishes. We tried their Thai Chili Potatoes, which was sweet as well as tangy from a soy based dressing. Perfect thing to go with the drinks. Once you start eating you just cannot stop. Next, we had the Broccoli and Baby Corn in Nam Prik Pao. The dish had deep fried vegetables with Thai spicy chili sauce. The Malay Penang Tofu came next. Deep fried Tofu is served in a Coconut and Peanut sauce. One of the best dishes at 1Q1 as the gravy was simply awesome!

The Fresh Vegetable Tostada had Peruvian influence in its toppings with fresh tomatoes, onion along with Avocado on a large nacho. Pan fried Vegetables are grilled vegetables in sweet soy dressing. Loved the Corn cob and the Eggplant which had gone almost sweet. 1Q1 also had a variety of dumplings like the Crystal Dumplings. These are steamed dumplings of shiitake mushroom, carrot, water chestnut and black fungus. Delicious! If you are a Sushi fan then, Asparagus and cream cheese roll is a must try. The sushi was crunchy with a light sweet flavor at the end.

For the main course, the Veg Noodles with Chili oil was the best among all. The noodles were tossed with crunchy veggies and chili oil. The Pan-Fried Thai Noodles is also a delicious preparation with a saucy finish. It had crisp pan-fried noodles topped with a yellow bean sauce and loads of veggies. The Veg Fried Rice had a very simple preparation and was mild in flavors. Each of these items could be tried with Sichuan Mapo Tofu. It had thick gravy with shiitake mushrooms cooked with a spicy doubanjiang sauce and tofu in a Sichuan-style sauce. Very peppery and succulent.

1Q1 has a variety of influences on its desserts as well and don’t miss trying them. The Coffee creameux with vanilla ice cream is a subtle coffee mousse served along with vanilla icecream. The Japanese Cheesecake is visually appealing as if in a colorful Japanese garden. Amazing would be an under-statement for this dessert. But I personally loved the Deconstructed Apple pie. The buttery crumble was baked to perfection in the shape of a semi-circle filled with baked apple with cinnamon. And lastly, we had the Avocado parfait with Gooey brownie squares and matcha soil. This Peruvian dessert was a combination of Avocado and chocolate brownie with Chinese Matcha tea! Never knew something like this would go so well together.