George L.
Yelp
Because we were staying at the Godfrey Hotel in the same building, we made reservations at RUKA before heading out to the Depeche Mode show at TG Garden. The online reviews were positive and how could we not be curious about a Japanese and Peruvian fusion? Well let me just say that "HOLY MOLY" does not quite sum up the level of quality, flavor, and service we received.
The wait staff was kind and professional throughout the experience. The food and drinks arrived in a reasonably quick and friendly manner. Our waitress was so helpful and warm, we fell in love with her right away, as she provided thoughtful and delicious recommendations.
First to our table was the Mongolian Beef. Normally I skip any beef dishes when eating out, but my partner loves this classic Chinese dish. The beef tenderloin arrived atop a bed of crispy puff noodles, smothered in a sweet chili butter, with perfectly cooked snow peas. It had a little heat, but nothing too spicy that the sweetness couldn't balance out. We couldn't get enough and devoured the plate as quickly as possible.
Trying to remain composed while pigging out, our second dish arrived. The Japanese Fried Chicken. Now when I said the Mongolian Beef was amazing, I hadn't yet factored in just how delicious the Japanese Fried Chicken was going to be. First it was coated in a savory quinoa tempura with a spicy aji glaze. There were hints of lime, sesame, and cilantro. But that sauce (which we kept repeating "THAT SAUCE" over and over like a couple of neanderthals), was so perfect with the fried chicken, it blew our minds. Come to find out later that it was simply a miso mayo, but it was so beautifully paired with the other flavors, that our taste buds sang with joyous flavor.
The waitress arrived shortly before we finished our plates to answer any additional questions, but we just gushed like newlyweds who were marrying the food. We then placed our dessert orders and again were blown away. We ordered the Peruvian Chocolate Cheesecake and the Fried Dough Cachangas. The experience nearly mimicked our dinners bite for bite.
First the Peruvian Chocolate Cheesecake was great. Like a beautifully edible piece of art. It was creamy, covered with purple cornmeal crumbs, guava-lime sherbet, strawberries, and came with these little Peruvian candies called Besos De Mosa. Delish!
But then we tried the Fried Dough Cachangas and again, our minds were blown. It was coated in miso-butterscotch (I guess I really like miso), with caramelized pineapple ice cream, and garnished with a couple dried pineapple chips. This dessert looked like pretzel bites coated in syrup, but with the consistency and flavor of sweet butterscotch French toast bites. Squishing the bites into the ice cream added another dimension of creamy flavor with the citrus of the pineapple rounding everything out.
Overall, we were both very impressed by the quality of food, service, and environment. An absolute must for anyone visiting the theater district.