The Park Chennai is in the midst of a month of celebrations for the hotel’s 21st anniversary. And after popular musicians stopping by to take the stage, a neon themed party, a sustainable fashion pop-up and pioneer of techno, DJ Arjun Vagale, headlining the festivities, the spotlight is now turned to the culinary team led by chef Ashutosh Nerlekar for a one-of-a-kind Japanese festival. The Omakase Table (translating to ‘I leave it up to you’) promises an eight-course dining experience marrying Japanese cuisine and seasonal produce from Chennai. And we got to preview the menu over a special degustation tasting earlier this week.
Wakame forever
We start things off with a thirst quencher — Chilled Green Tea with matcha and a drizzle of Nilgiris honey. Perfect respite from the inescapable heat in the city, this might sound simple enough but we quickly run through the entire kettle and proceed to request a second round. Moving on to appetisers — expect a trio of Togarashi spiced edamame, spears of Grilled Asparagus with wakame, sweet soya, daikon and garlic chips and finally, a Ginger Chicken Gyoza with a tobanjan aioli finished with a sprinkle of cilantro salt. Talk about a bullet train of flavour. We like that one doesn’t overpower the other and each dish is fairly distinctive with nuanced elements serving up both balance and a myriad textures.
The dish that comes next though is the real winner for us. Deceptively simple in appearance, the Misoshiru soup hits that umami sweet spot which makes you want to come back over and over again. Our bowl comes with crunchy fried tofu but you could swap this for a non vegetarian option like crab meat if you prefer, along with glass noodles and nori flakes. Slurp, slurp...
Temari never dies
No surprise, a sushi platter is a part of the menu. While the Temari — a torched red snapper placed delicately atop a ball of rice is a touch fishy for our taste, the smoked tuna with avocado tartare is a lovely pocket of flavour. We also love the idea of thoughtful elements like wasabi salt that really up the ante. For mains, we are served succulent squares of Seared Duck with a teriyaki glaze paired with a sweet potato cream and curious dollops of orange gel for a citrus note. And later, a Shoyu Ramen with udon noodles in a light soya broth. We enjoy all the elements, grilled chicken, bean sprouts and bamboo shoots, but it’s the ‘four minute egg’ soaked in that soya broth that brings it home for us.
Dessert is a toast to the mango season with a tropical fresh Alphonso & Anise gelato. Swirls of chocolate and berries dipped in edible gold take this plate from regular to regal.
On till May 27. Lunch and dinner. INR 1,800 and INR 2,000 ++ respectively.