Hakkasan

Critic´s Review

• Food: 4 / 5
• Service: 4 / 5
• Decor: 4 / 5

-By Rashmi Uday Singh

Hot news! The opening of London’s Michelin-starred Hakkasan, in the middle of 2011 made huge waves. It set up on the second floor in Bandra. Like the other Hakkasans, this too has an uber-cool crowd in a sultry oriental space, manned by stylish waitresses. It is more of a night out, with pulsating music rather than a quiet fine dine. Profusion of intricately carved wooden screens, dim mood lighting, rich wood-panelled furniture and rippling light on the walls complete the decor. The food? My favourites original Hakkasan classics sparkle with the ying-yang balance of textures and flavours. Showmanship is in the DNA of the dishes. Be it the sweet heat of the unerringly roasted Silver Cod with Champagne ’n’ Honey or the Grilled Sha Cha Silver Cod in Barbecue Sauce. Pipa Duck and Pork Belly too. But for me, it’s the deeply flavourful Tenderloin, moist with Dark Soya Sauce. Crispy Duck Salad vibrant with Pomelo and Pine Nuts which works the magic. Plump with flavour dim sum (especially the scallop and the seabass) too. The hugely popular deep-fried crunchy soft Shell Crab with almond slivers and curry patta is reminiscent of aamchi ”Chivda”. They’ve especially created 25 per cent of the menu for vegetarians here. Lofty peaks are reached with the Edamame Dumplings, Stir-fried Sugar Snaps and Cloud Ear Mushrooms and the crunchy yet tender fillings of Crystal Dumplings. Dark Chocolate Mousse with Masala Chai Granite and refreshing Mandarin Sorbets complete the experience. Avoidables? While some of the dim sum are lacklustre, the Crispy Lotus Dumpling is a deep-fried bhajiya in a pool of Tomato-Chilli Sauce. It bends over backwards to get popular vote and topples into Chindian territory. Hand-pulled Noodles with Enoki comes sans enoki. Plenty of unavailable dishes… gailan, aubergine and okra, Mock Chicken, Jasmine Crème Brulee to name a few. Hakkasan is all about a sexily glamorous non-stop carnival of sensations and superb cocktails, but it also makes you pay dearly for the adventure, showing as little inhibition with prices as it does with everything - except portions. The pricing of the drinks and the seafood could definitely do with some paring down. But it still has us coming back for more.rnP.S. The true test will be maintaining the consistency of the food, once the expat chefs return to their home country. Already there is a rumbling of dissatisfaction.