By: Valentina Gómez 10A
If there is one person I have to thank for opening my mind, it would definitely be my
sister, Mariana, due to her obsession with Asian culture. This started to happen almost a year ago, and since then, her adulation for every Japanese or Korean thing has grown bigger; she is even learning Japanese (which is pretty difficult due to the fact that they have three different alphabets) and making us eat food from both countries. This has
actually been amazing since I had the opportunity to try different flavors I never thought I would like, so now I’ve decided to share with you the best place to truly taste the essence of one of the most popular countries from the east of our planet.
Before we get started there is something really important you should know: you
must be very open-minded in order to enjoy the restaurant that I’m going to recommend you; otherwise, the only thing you are going to do is criticize and avoid Asian food and culture, because everything about them is completely different and extraordinary for us.
Now that you are aware of this you have to promise me that you are going to be open to anything that´ll be offered to you while you visit this amazing place. And with that, we are ready to dive into the exceptional world of eastern cuisine.
I bet you think that you’ve already tasted Asian food, such as Japanese or
Chinese, am I right? But let me tell you that you’ve been fooled this whole time since all the popular Asian Restaurants change most of the traditional dishes, by adding some of our typical flavors in Asian recipes, so that all of us can “enjoy” the food. However, these restaurants are stopping us from trying the true flavors from these far-away lands, but
thankfully we can still find some places where the food is completely Asian.
For me, the ultimate best place to experience Asian culture is “Arigato” restaurant.
First of all, it was founded by a Japanese couple that wanted other Japanese people to feel at home, and to make Colombians taste and appreciate their food. Moreover, the husband is a chef who previously worked at “Wok” and was disappointed by how much the food he was raised with was changed in the restaurant, so he and his wife decided to open their own, where they cook every typical thing that is eaten in Japan. One of the most fun things about the place is that you can learn a few words in Japanese, since the menu is both in Spanish and Japanese, and the tablecloth has written easy and common words all over it, such as “Arigato” which means “thank you”.
The food is very strange, but there are many amazing and phenomenal flavors.
However, there are some dishes that I didn’t like at all. When you go you have to order “Gyozas” for the entrée, a “ Takoyaki” or a “Chirasi Don” for your main dish, if you go with someone else you shall order a “Matsuri” or a “Take” that are combinations of different kinds of sushi, and to end your dinner, go for a “Choko To Ichigo No Musu” as your dessert. Obviously, you can try other dishes and if you like them as well don’t doubt to tell
me.
There are more restaurants like this one that we all need to try, but for now, I’ll
leave you with a few recommendations so your experience at “Arigato” can be
unforgettable. I hope you can learn many things from the wonderful hosts and give this culture a chance because it has many things that can help all of us become better human beings. I want all of you to try out these new flavors, and always remember that the key to everything is being open-minded, and with this, I will leave so you can go and schedule your visit to “Arigato”, Sayōnara!