If you love Japanese food, then the newly relaunched Dahlia in Chennai is the place to go this weekend 

We recommend the Bento Box and the must try sushi platter 
Sushi platter
Sushi platter

Let it be said for Dahlia regulars, the Japanese restaurant is something of a secret society. You climb a set of worn out cement steps of the Kaveri Complex and stop at Camp One. Three black and white cats eat from a bowl of cat food. They are on the permanent payroll of a pet shop nearby. You travel down a musty corridor where a lusty woman entrepreneur is always peeling onions for her biryani meals. Avoid the debris. Try not to fall into a gorge of three worn out steps and take a right turn. 

<em>Prawns in sweet chilli sauce</em>
Prawns in sweet chilli sauce



Like a mirage, the sign “Dahlia-Open” will appear in the darkness. Tiny mounds of salt in cups stand at the entrance to propitiate the spirits of the air and sky. 

Step inside and you will find yourself in a mini-Japan. Or maybe Osaka, which is where the owner Yamauchi Naoki San was born in 1936. You imagine that he is from a long line of Samurais. For many years, he has wielded a sharp knife like a sword to slice through the glistening fish that stands on the chopping board. When they appear as sushi on a glass tray, artfully presented by his long-time associate Revathi Nagaswami, you can’t help but wonder what brought the two together. 

Let us say, they are the yin and yang of Dahlia.

“I learnt Japanese. He needed an interpreter,” she says. She still serves as his interpreter. 
So, whatever I know about Yamauchi San is through Revathi. 

<em>Fish Teriyaki combo meal</em>
Fish Teriyaki combo meal
<em>Bento Box</em>
Bento Box

When he decided that he would close Dahlia due to his ill health, all of us were invited for a farewell meal. Six months later, we are back again, sipping a health drink invented by Yamauchi. It is made of soya milk, tofu and fruit of the season. 

I call it Cherry Blossoms.

“When we went back to Japan during the Cherry Blossom time, he decided that we must not give up,” explained Revathi. 

I always start with a delicate egg-custard with a tiny shrimp or crab at the centre, glazed with a slice of carrot. Then proceed to the sushi platter, followed by the seared fish with all the accompaniments in bowls and tiny porcelain containers. You take smidgeons of the nasal septum destroying green horseradish wasabi paste and wonder whether that is why Japanese have such tiny noses! You mix it with the soya sauce and learn to eat with stabs of the bamboo chopsticks.
They also offer bento boxes, or set meals in square trays if you order a day in advance. This is mostly for their Japanese clientele. They plan to have their own delivery service soon. 

The Samurai is back.
 
Expect to pay around INR 1,200 per head. Mondays are their off-day. Lunch starts afternoon. Dinner is after 6. 30 pm. Dahlia is at 37, Kaveri Complex, Nungambakkam High Road.
 

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