Exploring Okonomiyaki and 'Tiger' milk at Chennai's newest Asian diner

The moment you enter Fu Fu, you are greeted by a wall of mirrors. That is the only time you can see yourself – the rest of the restaurant is based on the Sumatran tiger, right from the long running bar counter to the lamp shades. The interior is dim lit to emphasise warm and cosy interiors and a custom printed upholstery motif based on – you guessed it, the Sumatran tiger.

Tiger Trail Dining - Eating like a tiger at Fu Fu

This is a 94 seater place, started by Manoj Padmanabhan, Japtej Ahluwalia and Gopalsami Mani, of Beyond Ordinary Restaurants and Nosh (BORN) fame. They also own Jolly Indian and Double Roti amongst other places. Fu Fu is their latest venture, and aims to bring the best of Southeast Asian food to the table, including iconic dishes which have not been previously part of our repertoire here.

We started off with an excellent Miso marinated black cod, prepared in chef Nobu’s style. Now, we have not had much of black cod in Chennai before, so this was indeed a treat. The buttery texture of the fish, rich in Omega-3 fatty acids now tasted both sweet and savoury in a delicate manner of things. Presented with coleslaw (we wonder why?) this definitely has to be our dish of the evening. We sipped a Red Lantern Zero ABV beverage on the side which had non-alcoholic apertivo and beer, with red orange.

The sushi platter at Fu Fu is called Ef Yu and consists of 24 pieces, including 12 pieces of sushi, 6 pices sashimi and 6 pieces nigiri. The freshness of the fish matters here the most, and we were happy to note both the flavour and the taste. Interestingly, we did not go the conventional way of using a dipping sauce of soya and wasabi, but sipped a drink called Bangkok Mary, that had a Tom Yum base with tomato ketchup and seasoning. A perfect accompaniment to the sushi!

The humble Bao plays a very important role in Oriental cuisine, so we had it in a traditional manner with a filling of pork, called Banh Bao as it is called in Vietnam. The Bao itself was super soft and the pork inside was seasoned with oyster sauce, fish sauce, black pepper, and sesame oil giving a wonderful yet restrained flavour that was a delight for the senses. To accompany this dish, we decided to go a little sweet with the Tiger milk, basically Thai tea with cold condensed milk and chocolate foam. The taste was very refreshing and after the subtle taste of the Banh Bao, acted as a good palate cleanser as well.

We had to of course try the Okonomiyaki, a sort of a Japanese pizza made with egg and we opted for a topping of prawns. Light, fluffy and simply wonderful in terms of taste, this one reasonated quite well with us. We also had a unique Sri lankan crab dimsum with Moringa leaves – this may seem strange to you , but in practice is really taste. Next came the mains with Hakka Noodles and salt and pepper chicken, which tasted very good as well. Our final drink of the evening was something called ‘Mouthwash’, which looks like Listerine and comes with a toothpaste with a mint topping. Unique, to say the least. We always have place for dessert and we were craving something really simple, so when we were offered a cassata ice-cream, childhood memories were revived and we had a great time.

All in all, we recommend you try Fu Fu. The taste is unique and you get a larger fare from all over Southeast Asia which makes the cuisine truly lip-smacking Oriental!

Price for 2: ₹1,800++

7 days a week, 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM (Lunch) & 7 PM -11 PM (Dinner)

At Fu Fu, Alwarpet.

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