IN CHINESE, 'FOO' stands for fortune and prosperity, and with these words, we were welcomed into this newly opened Asian tapas restaurant. Helmed by Tham Brothers of Pebble Street Hospitality, the place is tucked away in a cosy nook of the Forum Rex Walk, begins with a chic outdoor dining area lined with wooden furniture, plants and cylindrical fabric lamps set before a black brick wall.
On the other side of the door is an indoor space that leads upstairs to a private dining room, a well-stocked bar and a balcony. We chose to dine indoors on the ground level, so we picked out a pod by the ascent wall boasting shelves of antique-looking artefacts and settled in. Rogue homeware is the main character of the restaurant and hues like black, camel and light greys compliment the chosen colour palette.
Once we were done scouring our eyes through the place, we took a quick look at the menu curated by chef Eric Sifu, offering over 100 dishes, which includes vegan, Jain and gluten-free sections — all in tapas
format. We started with a couple of cocktails, Foo King (a concoction of vodka, plum liquor, muskmelon, lemon, and French vanilla) and Foo Bellini (a potion crafted from peach, vodka and sparkling wine). Of these, our favourite was the Foo King, thanks to the refreshing notes of lemon and vanilla.
Soon, a pair of starters, Nikkel Prawn Tempura Uramaki and Lotus Root Dumplings made their way to our table. The former is a sushi roll with avocado, chimichurri mayo and coriander oil while the latter is a Japanese vegetarian dish stuffed with grated veggies. The delicate flavours of the sushi won us over and the dim sums were on point. We followed these up with a few small plates including Crispy Nam Tok Cottage Cheese, Sichuan Chicken, Gong Bao Style and Foo Crispy Wonton, Truffle Edamame. Not going by its name, the Crispy Nam Tok Cottage Cheese serves square-shaped pillowy-soft paneer slices drenched in an evenly balanced sweet and spicy sauce, which was delightful. Whereas, the pungent chicken with piquant flavours was mildly sweet and sour. The wontons weren’t as palatable as the dishes we savoured before.
Upon recommendation by the chef, we opted for Foo Yellow Curry prepared with coconut milk, water chestnut, broccoli and mushrooms along with their best-selling dish — Foo Blue Butter Japanese Blue Rice — from their Big Plates section. The buttery rice flavoured with garlic was taken up a notch with its enchanting blue hue that comes from the butterfly pea flower. The sticky Japanese rice compliments creamy yellow coconut curry well.
A meal isn’t complete unless the dessert is served and naturally, we were presented with the most elaborate dish there was. When we read Mount Foo-ji on the menu, we were already pumped up to see what was on its way. Inspired by Japan’s snow-clad active volcano, the multi-tiered dessert is plated with mystical dry ice and a branch of cherry blossom. Expect a mango pudding topped with vanilla, sesame marble cheesecake, a hazelnut dome covering the chocolate cake, hazelnut and coconut ice cream and freshly-cut kiwi, pineapple and strawberries.
The bright red décor, and the extensive menu boasting Asian delicacies and signature cocktails, make this place a great spot for date nights, Sunday brunches and family dinners.
₹1,500++ for two. At Brigade Road.