Chubby Cho is adding their innovative techniques to familiar dishes

Chubby Cho, Hyderabad’s five-year-old pan-Asian restaurant, located in Jubilee Hills, is introducing a new menu to add flair to their familiar charm. The introduction of the new menu reflects the booming pan-Asian food scene in the city, and the dishes cater to the more developed tastes of oriental food.

Upon entering, we were greeted by an ambience that transported us to the streets of Japan. The Shoji doors, with the wooden frames and the translucent sheets of paper, add comfort and intimacy to the space. The stone-clad floors, along with the colourful Japanese art panels, set the tone for the culinary journey that awaits us.

We began with Korean fried chicken bites and the Prawn tempura sushi. The chicken was perfectly fried and coated with a creamy spicy sauce as opposed to the general sticky sauce used for Korean fried chicken. The prawn tempura sushi highlighted the prawn as the star of the dish, and paired with the restaurant’s newly introduced blue rice, it was a delight to eat. The subtle fishy taste of the seafood was complemented by the spicy mayo drizzle on top. We were also served a Melon bubble tea which had popping boba and a refreshing taste.

In the vegetarian appetisers, the Truffle mushroom bao was a fun dish to experience as we tried to decode how they got the bao to look like a mushroom. The look and taste of the dish were rooted in an earthy flavour due to the combination of truffle and mushroom, and the creaminess of the filling went hand-in-hand with the lightness of the bao and balanced the dish out. The outer cover of the Spicy broccoli water chestnut dim sum was so thin and translucent as if it were teasing us about the filling. Upon trying the dish, we were met with a spicy filling that had a gravy base to it.

Moving onto the main course and dessert, the Japanese donburi was a gathering of perfectly cooked sticky rice, a sweet and tangy sauce, and hearty vegetables and meat. Every bite was heavy with satisfaction and left a spicy aftertaste. We finished the meal with Warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, and the rich and chocolatey flavour was the definition of indulgence. The whipped coffee syrup and vanilla ice cream eaten alongside the cake added a depth of a sweet and malty taste.

Rs 1,200 onwards for two. At Jubilee Hills.

Story by Anshula Dhulekar