The buzz: There’s a new face in town doing modernist Indian food and drinks. Raised in a family of restaurateurs (Maharaja in Hua Hin, India Hut in Koh Chang, Myra Vegetarian Cuisine on Sukhumvit Soi 22), owner Gurveer Sachdev has turned his back on traditional Indian restaurants and started doing whimsically presented molecular dishes for a younger crowd.
The decor: Forget the moody theatrics of Maya or the neutral symmetry of Charcoal; this new player on the swanky Indian scene goes for an unabashed assault of purple and gold velvet, pastel chandeliers and glass tabletops. It’s located on the second floor of a new restaurant complex, and has the advantage of an outdoor dining terrace where you’ll find wooden bench seating upholstered in a Christmas-elf-meets-court-jester blend of red and green check.
The food and drinks: Indian chef Sidakpreet Singh (formerly of Hyatt Regency Delhi) goes big on modern gastronomic techniques and gimmick-laden presentation. For now, most of the menu focuses on small dishes. Spherification is acounted for in the Gaggan-evoking lassi spheres (B129), alongside equally creative inventions like dahi ke (pan-fried hung curd patties) with pomegranate caviar (B149), corn chaat in masala papadum (seasoned corn in papadum cones, B89) and chicken tikka “cornetto” (chopped chicken tikka in a fried papadum cone, served cold on dry ice, B179). The team is also working on heavier fusion dishes like butter chicken ravioli and spaghetti lamb kima. For drinks, Varun Walia (formerly of Farzi Cafe in Gurgaon, India) adds twists to classic cocktails, like in the Santa Banta (screwdriver with kaffir lime, kaffir lime leaf and California orange juice, B239) and Chuski margarita (B249), which plays with Indians' favorite iceon- a-stick dessert. The bar also supplies Indian Kingfisher beer (B179/bottle).
Why you should care: Though molecular Indian, this is miles from Gaggan’s multi-course culinary journey. And most of the dishes are priced in bar food territory—in fact, you’ll be paying more for the cocktails.
