My partner, Carole, and I are just about to move into a new house. For the first time as an adult, I’ll have a place that actually feels like home. So, that’s where I’d want to be.
It is a very comfortable space and I imagine having friends and family over all the time. I love entertaining. The restaurant at the beginning felt like a dinner party with people I didn’t know – intimate and fun. It still feels like that, especially when I’m cooking and plating – I forget that it’s work.
Stylewise, it’s minimalistic, not decorative – a “library meets spa” kind of vibe … The colours are very light, with tones of white and grey and beige all over. We have wood flooring and the whole living-dining-kitchen area is one big space. It feels like an open loft.
My siblings, our mothers, my niece and nephews, and my really close friends would all be with us. I’m very fortunate to have very close friends from junior high school – we hang out once a month and regress to our 14-year-old selves.
My favourite season is end of summer, beginning of autumn. For feasts, the best time of day is just before sundown – everything is winding down, you get into this relaxing mode as the sun clocks out from work.
There’d be no congruence to the menu, which is exactly how I like to eat – no particular thought behind it. It’d just be my feast of favourites. I’ll definitely have sushi – nigiri style – I have a particular love for a roll of avocado and tuna. I also love hikarimono – sardine, mackerel, that type of silver fish. And an onsen tamago – Japanese soft-boiled egg – on its own. I love the flavour combo of dashi with egg.
I’d want miso soup, made just with vegetables, and karaage. Some sort of pasta and tacos too. Carol and I often pick tacos up after work. Always with green sauce (tomatillo and lime), onions, cilantro (coriander), and a root beer or a Coke.
And then, some sort of grilled beef, with mashed potatoes. And I’d round it all off with a few desserts: brioche French toast with persimmons and pecan and vanilla whipped cream. And a hot fudge sundae with bananas.
I don’t have a very high alcohol tolerance, so I’d just stick with champagne, no other wines. A very young sencha tea, lightly roasted, with the sushi. And coffee with dessert.
- Niki Nakayama is the owner and chef of n/naka, the acclaimed kaiseki restaurant in Los Angeles, CA
