ASAI Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Mérida

Decided to try this restaurant in a more affluent part of central Merida. I must say, the food was great. Portions were acceptable and the ambience was nice. Peaceful and demure as it was in a Curio my Hilton hotel. We travelled there with a group of 4.

However, I was a little appalled by the initial service as we were profiled upon entering. I’ve noticed this in a number of establishments in Merida who are a little off putting and elitist. When we entered, we were quickly told this is a Japanese restaurant, and to not mistake it with the Mexican restaurant. When we sat down, even before getting the menu and deciding what to eat, our waiter mentions that we cannot order cheese or fried foods here. I mean what was the point of these comments if not to profile us. I happen to be well travelled, and make Japanese dishes often. If they only knew… I think places like this need to be very careful not to tarnish their reputation by treating their clients in this manner. For a Hilton brand, they should be very cautious as this is not the standard of service once should expect here.

Regardless, the food was great, and the chef was kind enough to tell us thank you. After our bill, I think the wait staff realised they should not treat us this way. We even left a tip. I hope they do better the next...

It was our anniversary, and my wife wanted sushi. I’m not a sushi fan myself, but when my wife wants it, who am I to argue?

We arrived around 7 PM on a Thursday evening and found ourselves as the only people in the restaurant. The ambiance is modern and quite pleasant.

We started with an appetizer of edamame and a mix of vegetable and shrimp tempura and washed them down with cold mugs of Sapporo. Then, we were served a small bottle of sake that went down so smoothly, we had to order a second bottle

Luckily for me, there were several non-sushi options available, and for my main dish, I had Katsudon - a bowl of rice topped with pieces of tender deep-fried breaded pork, egg, and green onions. It was pretty good and I managed to eat the whole thing with using only chopsticks!

My wife thoroughly enjoyed her avocado roll, tuna nigiri, and hamachi.

For dessert, we had green churros, which we paired with carajillos. It wasn’t an inexpensive meal, but we didn’t mind splurging a little since it was a special occasion....

Personalmente, la experiencia de comer en un restaurante se percibe como un conjunto de diferentes aspectos del lugar, de la interaccion del personal y el comensal, y claro la comida!

Cene recientemente en este restaurant y hubo aspectos que me gustaron pero otros que no tanto.

Empezando por la ubicacion, el lugar se encuentra cerca del centro de la ciudad, lo que lo hace facil de llegar, e incluso cuenta con estacionamiento subterraneo, lo que en el centro de Merida es algo muy bueno, sin embargo, y esto no es algo que pueda controlar el restaurant, el olor que se percibe desde el estacionamiento a la entrada del hotel es bastante desagradable.

La decoracion del restaurant es muy buena, se aprecia un lugar amplio, limpio y ordenado.

El personal de meseros se presentan, lo cual siempre hace que pueda haber una interacción mas humana y menos transaccional con las personas que laboran en el restaurant, lo que me gusta, sin embargo aqui hubo un gran pero, el mesero que nos atendio en varias ocasiones se dirigia a mi cuando mi esposa le preguntaba algo, eso en lo personal es de muy mal gusto, e hizo que nuestra expriencia fuera encontrandose con obstaculos para disfrutar de la velada.

Pedimos dos platillos, Yakimeshi de res y Tempura Udon. Ambos buenos, pero la verdad ninguno de los dos fue algo excepcional.

El Udon es uno de mis platillos japoness favoritos y hay pocos restaurantes que lo manejan, sin embargo, si bien no estaba mal, no fue el mejor udon que he probado en Merida. Por otra parte el Yakimeshi estuvo bien, tampoco un sabor extraordinario.

En cuanto a precio, es un buen precio por la calidad que se percibe y las porciones.

En general fue una cena buena, pero no logro cautivarme para volver a ir o incluso recomendarlo ampliamente.

Sin duda tiene mucho potencial, ojalá y la próxima vez que vaya cambie...