Mashua

Mashua is the first restaurant in the Netherlands to serve what's been termed ‘Latin fusion’ food: South American ingredients combined with Southern European, African and Eastern recipes.

Located just off Leidsestraat, Mashua is another culinary project from the owners of the lower-key Casa Peru further up the canal. The restaurant is in a typical long, narrow canalside building, but done up in 21st-century style. This means small black tables, black leather seats down one wall, a cheap-looking black chandelier (this seems to be the design feature of choice for Amsterdam restaurants trying to look chic) and one bright-green wall adorned with large, gilt-framed mirrors.

All these elements make the interior look slightly over-styled and impersonal. The menu, however, contains many more things to be glad for. The starters, despite being very fish heavy, include such treats as prawns in a quinoa (a grain native to the Andes) ‘jacket’ with pineapple sauce and fried sweet potatoes.

The menu also includes several unremarkable pasta dishes. This makes the best place to discover the ‘fusion’ in the fish and meat dishes. We opted for duck stuffed with peppers, lemon and beer, served with creamy coriander risotto; and steak with Chinese beans and cassava with an onion, mango and coriander dressing. Both dishes were beautifully presented and delivered on the promised unusual taste combinations.

Vegetarian options at Mashua are limited (a choice of only two mains), which is a shame as the chefs seem to pay so much attention to the rest of the menu. Veggies can expect pasta dishes like home-made ravioli filled with pumpkin and ricotta, with a sauce of parmesan, white wine and sage.

The desserts range from a Peruvian rice pudding with mascarpone, raspberry sauce and lemon ice cream to the Grand Dessert, a 'taster' of all the desserts on the menu.

Mashua is a good choice for anyone looking to try something new. But at around €90 for a meal for two (with drinks), I missed a certain je ne sais quoi in the whole experience that would have justified this amount of money.