The pan-Asian cuisine, which relies heavily on freshness of ingredients and chic presentation, has caught the fancy of all and sundry. The idea of savouring a perfect sushi, knowing the difference between a sashimi and sushi or trying to experiment with the fillings of a tataki wrap might have been restricted to the elite gourmand, till a few years ago. But thanks to an increasing exposure to global cuisine, there has been a change in the foodscape in the length and breadth of the country.
Chennai has seen a steady stream of novel cuisines setting shop. Japanese and Korean eateries have mushrooming in the city. Many restaurants in the city offer Asian dishes on the menu owing to its popularity.
The latest food festival at The Flying Elephant in Park Hyatt, showcases modern Asian cuisine curated by expat chef, Myo Zaw Aung, who hails for Mynamar. Treat yourself to a delicious and lavish spread with a focus on Japanese cuisine.
We loved their sushi platter replete with salmon, tuna, crabmeat, ebi, tamago sashimi and nigiri with fusion makimono along with pink ginger and wasabi. Also, we reveled in the freshness of salmon tataki wrap with avocado, cucumber and rocket leaves and the vegetarian rice paper roll with a chilli lemon sauce. Chef’s special beef carpaccio seemed to be a popular choice among lovers of red meat. And for crab meat fans there is Cajun soft-shell crabs with wasabi mayo.
From the main course, we would recommend the grilled lamb chops in red wine miso sauce and pistachio and the Chef’s special baby chicken, that is marinated overnight in Japanese spices and then baked with miso and soya. The intricate flavours and the richness of ingredients are in perfect sync in both these dishes and make them absolute delicacies.
But the star of the evening was the dessert prepared by Chef Aung. The dragon fruit soup with poached lychee and lemon sorbet topped with a caramelized sugar cage is stuff that Masterchef dessert episodes are made of. You can feel the freshness and lightness of the dessert in every bite. It is almost like you are ending the meal on sweet note but minus the indulgence.
Location: The Flying Elephant, Park Hyatt, 39, Velachery Road, Near Raj Bhavan
Timings: 7 pm onwards, Till April 22
