Flavours of Orient captivate Indian palate

New Delhi: A well-heeled crowd - a mix of young, old, families and singletons - trickle into The Sakura, an exclusive Japanese eatery in The Metropolitan Hotel, on a chilly night in Delhi.

The diners are familiar with soba noodles and Bento Boxes - the Japanese equivalent of the Indian "thali" (platter).

Barely six kilometres away, the Ichiban, a middle-range Japanese eatery, in downtown Pandara Road, is crammed.

The crowd spans almost every corner of India and even abroad - from raucous groups of extended Punjabi families to the strictly vegetarian Brahmin couple from Chennai holidaying in Delhi and the odd South African Indian family from Durban. They all share one abiding passion - love for Japanese and Oriental food.

The hottest menu in the capital and elsewhere in food savvy Indian metros is oriental, says Rajesh Variyath, executive chef at the Radisson MBD, a niche resort on the outskirts of Delhi.

Menu

The menu is a broad blend of Japanese, Thai and Chinese. "Sushi (raw fish wraps) is in, along with stir fried crabs, fresh fish cooked interactive style, Thai curries, satays and dimsums (little meat and vegetable wraps). A standard Oriental meal costs Rs1,000 (Dh93) per person," says Variyath.

The average Indian diner is no longer shy of experimenting with food. Four things that Indians look for while out these days are "artistic and creative skills of the chef, novelty of the menu, attentive service, hygiene and recognition", said Sohrab Sitaram, owner of Tabula Rasa, an upmarket eatery in the capital.

"At this point, the small plate concept where the chef gets to artistically showcase his creative skill is the most popular in the capital. Delhi now has a growing legion of adventurous diners who like their portions rationed, but out-of-the-box and classic," he said.

Bento Boxes, the Japanese convenience platters, are the biggest draw.

These are aesthetically pleasing handcrafted rectangular boxes with lids. The standard Bento meal is the "Makunouchi" made of sticky rice, pickled fruits or vegetables, a slice of broiled salmon, sushi and a rolled egg.

The price ranges from Rs550 at Tabula Rasa to Rs1,600 for a deluxe Bento Box with a choice of vegetable or meat at The Sakura.

The Japanese Bento Box is set to go the pizza way, laughs young restaurateur Vikram Moudgil, the owner of Sushiya, the lone Japanese takeaway outlet in the capital.

One of the exclusives of Sushiya is the Bento Box at a cut-off price of Rs399. "That's the Diet Bento Box for the common people. Besides, I have also prepared a vegetable Bento Box and the Sushiya Select exclusive Bento Box for the discerning diner," said Moudgil. And the business is brisk - he delivers around 35-40 orders per day.

Moudgil is upbeat and has plans three more outlets - one in upend Khan Market, Saket and the third in Gurgaon.

The Saket eatery is being developed as a sushi bar, modelled on the trendy bars in Tokyo, and will boast a sushi conveyor belt. "It will be a revolving leather belt which will move around the bar. There will be bits of sushi placed on it so that guests can reach out and spoon a bit of it on their plate with their drinks," he says.

Suddenly, the world is consuming Japanese food as if it is going out of fashion, says Delhi-based journalist-cum-food writer Sourish Bhattacharyya in his book Sakura's Japanese Kitchen.

The reason, says Bhattacharyya, is simple. The Japanese cooking style is minimally invasive, but "its simplicity is a clever disguise for a world of flavours."

Besides, Japanese cuisine also has a wide and exotic vegetable and mushroom base for the huge vegan population in India.

Jumping on to the Japanese bandwagon is The Sakura, one of the most popular Japanese eateries in town. "We are inaugurating our Gurgaon branch at the end of this month and have hired two new chefs from Japan to oversee the menu," said Aubrey Mullerworth, general manager of The Sakura.

He is also scouting for locations in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata - where The Sakura plans to set up by the end of next year.

According to Mullerworth, the focus will be on tempura, Yakatori (tandoori dishes) and char-grilled dishes. "We will stay away from sushi and sasimi because Indians are still not used to the idea of eating raw fish," said Mullerworth.

"I am game as long it's distinctive, healthy and foreign," said transporter Manjit Singh Arora from Vasant Vihar as he digs into his Bento Box at The Tabula Rasa.