Chef Sei Shiroma reopens SUIBI in RJ, inspired by his family restaurant in NY

Forget tatami mats, low tables and ambient music with oriental melodies. Forget the traditional and imagine you are in a typical Japanese restaurant in New York. It is with this proposal that the chef Sei Shiroma opened the SUIBI Japanese Restaurant in one of the trendiest streets in Rio de Janeiro, Dias Ferreira, in the neighborhood of Leblon .

The American who has been in Brazil for 10 years is the owner of Ferro e Farinha and has a very interesting story leading up to his success in the Marvelous City. Son of a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, he revisited his best childhood memories and decided to reopen the doors of his family’s restaurant that operated in New York, in the United States, from 1983 to 2009. It was there where he spent most of his childhood, whether it was doing homework when I returned from school or observing all the dynamics of the place from the kitchen to the administration.

With the sound of Hip Hop, a room with just eight tables inside and others on the sidewalk, SUIBI is located in the place of the old Stuzzi, a famous Rio bar where Sei Shiroma was also a partner. With “the vision of a restaurant owner’s son” and “poetic freedom” to create, the chef highlights that the main objective with his new – and at the same time old – venture is to continue his parents’ legacy.

The decoration with slatted wood gains a casual and contemporary touch, leading to the same facade and proposal as SUIBI that was located in the Big Apple.

“I spent part of my life at the restaurant, doing homework, watching how the delivery guys prepared the cardboard packages and how my parents managed everything. I remember a lot about the cold room, counting the eggs and all the sectors. That was very natural for me,” he recalls, who helped his parents translate the menu into English.

“I did a little bit of everything in different types of restaurants, but I found myself in the kitchen. It was where newly arrived immigrants from all over the world were. I never studied, but I lived a lot of the routine of my parents’ business and I already knew basic things. I also always ate very well. My plan with my father was to visit and visit wonderful restaurants in the city, so he replicated many things he knew”, he says.

“Here at SUIBI I was responsible for all menu creation and employee training. Who better than the son of a Japanese father and a Chinese mother to do this? There is no consultancy that is better than getting my hands dirty and putting into practice all the knowledge I have in this area”, he adds.

The menu

The menu features tributes such as pairs of gyoza that he ate as a teenager with his mother and that gain new flavors, with shrimp filling with burrata cream (R$45), pork, tuna (R$39 – 4 units), wagyu (R$ $46 – 4 units), among others.

Diners will also find classic dishes such as varied sushi and sashimi portions, but the chef’s creations are the ones that don’t go unnoticed. This is the case of Surf And Turf Tartare, made with tuna tartare, grilled wagyu, gochujang, malá, aonori and lots of grana padano to finish (R$52). He jokes that he brought the cheese from Ferro e Farinha, which has one of its units right in front of the restaurant.

It is also worth mentioning that Sei does not leave aside his well-known passion for fire and oven, using these resources extensively in menu items, such as Skoked Salmon, a smoked salmon with burrata cream, red onion, white sesame, furikake and hollandaise. shoyu (R$ 34 – 4 units or R$ 58 – 8 units).

The “Steak Frites”, made with Wagyu, caramelized onion, straw potatoes, chives and special tomato sauce (R$ 34 – 4 units or R$ 58 – 8 units) is a creation that visits your childhood directly, when not I liked nothing raw. His father would then ask the kitchen chef to prepare a steak and fries for him, which he ate sitting at the sushi bar along with other sauces from the restaurant.

The extensive menu also has other suggestions for tartares, oysters au gratin, rolls, ramen, yakisoba – always with special touches that enhance flavors and textures, whether cold, hot, grilled, smoked or raw. Shoyu is available on tables, but its use ends up being completely unnecessary.

Last but not least, the experience of a typical New York Japanese restaurant could not fail to have a bar to match. And it exists. The drinks are signed by Victoria Kurihara which features a selection of classics and originals.

The chef’s favorite is “Eminem Highball”, made with Gin, Matcha syrup, basil, lemon and cantaloupe melon soda (R$ 38). O “What is Zuzu?” which contains gin, pineapple cordial, Yuzu juice (a typical fruit from eastern China) and lemon (R$ 38) and the “Letter on the Sleeve” with vodka, liqueur 43, mango, lemon and tonic (R$40) are also highlighted.

The chef is always around the restaurant. If you see it, it’s worth the minutes of conversation. There will be no shortage of good stories behind their creations and experiences until arriving in the Marvelous City.

SUIBI Japanese Restaurant: Rua Dias Ferreira, 45 – Leblon, Rio de Janeiro/Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday, from 6:30 pm to midnight; Fridays and Saturdays, from 6:30 pm to 1 am; Sunday from 1pm to 11pm.