Hakka Goes Gourmand: This three-day pop-up at InAzia features the ‘Darling of Tangra,’ chef Katherine Chung in her gourmet element!

When one thinks of hakka as a cuisine, as chef Katherine Chung rightly points out, the first thing that comes to one’s mind is: hakka noodles. It is therefore no pun when she decided to call her ongoing pop-up at Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel: Not Just Noodles! We braved the 90-minute drive to this part of town simply because we’d heard so much about this ‘Darling of Tangra’ and my-my did she deliver and how!

The night’s five-course meal was paired with some brilliant wines from the Spanish brand Campa Viejo and New Zealand’s much-celebrated Brancott Estate and after a brief but illuminating introduction from the chef; we were off to a great start on our culinary journey for the evening.

Like all curated meals, our amuse bouche came first and this delicious Hakka Yam Abacus Beads (wood ear fungus, bean sprouts and garlic chives) was paired with a Campo Viejo Blanco from Rioja in Spain. The hakka yam could have passed off as meat and its presentation atop a sabudana (sago) bead crisp really worked for us. The blanco was sweet and refreshing and could have passed off as a dessert wine if we weren’t told otherwise.

We quickly then moved on to our small plate for the evening — Lo Bak Guo (radish cake with shiitake and carrot), Lo Ma Gai (glutinous rice parcel with chicken or edamame) and either a Salted Egg Yolk Prawn or a Typhoon Shelter Eggplant based on whether you choose vegetarian or non-vegetarian. The radish cake was one of the finest we’ve had in Bengaluru in recent times, while the edamame version of the rice parcel far exceeded the chicken variant in terms of flavour. The salted egg yolk sauce made the prawn an absolute winner, but the eggplant wasn’t too far behind either. All in all, this was a pretty delicious course, especially since it paired so well with the Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough in New Zealand.

Surprisingly, what followed next was a course of soup. Serving a warm Lotus Root and Goji Berry Soup was interesting, considering the broth was also loaded with sweet corn, carrot and snow peas; and paired strangely with a Brancott Estate Pinot Noir from the East Coast in New Zealand. The soup wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the best choice we could have imagined either. Something more wholesome might have done the trick. That it worked like a palate cleanser in between courses, we believe, was pure happenchance. The pinot noir wasn’t too remarkable either.

It was therefore an absolute pleasure when the delicious main course was finally served. The vegetarians were served Twice Cooked Tofu with Leek which was scarily reminiscent of something all too familiar on several Indo-Chinese menus across the country, while the non-vegetarians were served a beautifully subtle Hakka Salt Baked Chicken. We doused both these dishes in copious amounts of chef Katherine’s scallion oil/sauce and while the dishes worked perfectly fine on their own, they were certainly elevated into pieces of gourmand finesse once enveloped in that savoury silken blanket. The main course also featured Ma La French Beans and servings of Steamed Glass Noodles with either King Oyster Mushroom or Scallops, depending on one’s dietary preferences. Each of the elements of this course complemented each other perfectly and while we choose to douse everything in the scallion oil/sauce, the dishes were absolutely fine without it too. The scallops were slightly under seasoned in our opinion, but that is an opinion that is always up for debate and rightly so! This course was paired with a Campo Viejo from Tempranillo Rioja in Spain and while some people loved it, we found the tannins overpowering.

The meal finally came to an end with servings of Mango Sago Pomelo with Ice Cream and this thoughtfully constructed dessert was one of the highlights of the evening. The richness of the ice cream married the subtle sweetness of the mango sago custard that was beautifully enriched by tangy bits of pure joy every time we bit into a juicy bit of tart, yet sweet fresh pomelo.

“One of the most definitive qualities of hakka food is that it is not geographically bound and the Hakka people have always learnt to make do with what they have available wherever they are at. This has led to a beautifully diverse cuisine that lends itself to regional influences that change from place to place,” explained chef Katherine as we exchanged pleasantries and sipped on a hot cup of coffee before finally calling it a night.  Head to the pop-up soon, as it ends on July 2.

INR 2,500 onwards/per person. At InAzia, Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel.

romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal