Apr 15th, 2017 saw me at the launch of Misu, the new Pan Asian restaurant in town, invited by my friend Suresh Hinduja. 1.5 months later, I was there again as his guest at lunch, to experience their full fledged menu that has been operational since the day they opened to the public.
I am incorporating my earlier Launch write up here as a precursor to my lunch narrative and adding pictures taken in better light so that I can discard some of the horrors of my earlier night time efforts 
Apr 15th, 2017 – The Launch
At the launch of Misu, the latest Pan Asian spot to hit Looru !!! And great news for a ‘Fan Asian’ like me, for there is no such thing as too much Pan Asian !!!
The addition to Amit Ahuja and Pratiksha Kataria Ahuja’s family, this baby is chic, stylish and in the heart of town.
Created out of the earlier outdoor seating space of The Open Box restaurant, this 60 seater strip is divided longitudinally by regular tables on one side and bar stool seating with high tables on the other. Clamber on to the high stools if good day time lighting is what your camera seeks.
A large mural of a geisha gazes over the proceedings with differently colored eyes and you can feel free to ignore her if you sense that she is judging how much you eat
The tasting menu was curated by Suresh Hinduja, who knows what the nation wants from other nations !!!
After arriving Hangry and late due to a particularly inefficient cabbie, the prawn tempura instantly put me in a good tempur’and the rest of the food that I picked out of the tasting menu, set the night right !!!
Of the many choices, I went with the Chicken dim sums with their luscious insides barely hidden by their sheer skins, the fried coconut shrimp roll, the Spicy tofu avocado maki that delighted me (despite being a tofu semi hater), the Prawn pomelo salad that tantalized the tongue and the Japanese souffle cheesecake and Lemon grass ice cream that soothed and made it all better !!!
Looking forward to a launch to lunch happening, where I will be able to focus on the bigger menu and also take more appealing shots that are daylight favored
Jun 4th,2017 – the Lunch
At the lunch the idea was to taste some of the dishes that I had missed on the earlier occasion but I did repeat a few of them that were obviously good enough to repeat
Beginning with a Straight-outta-Gangnam, my drink was a vodka and guava juice with bits of jackfruit and modified to eliminate the sugar syrup. A lovely drink that was sufficiently potent, the only trouble with this was the fruit bits getting sucked up into the straw and blocking my supply from time to time. Also, fishing out the bits from the narrow beaker proved quite a challenge for someone like me, who was more interested in the fruit than the alcohol
Soft shell crabs came by to soothe my crabbiness and the fried crustaceans tossed in garlic and chilli, did a very good job of it.
We were urged to have the Tom Yum soup and the spicy, clear broth with fresh Kaffir lime leaves and the prawns that I opted for, was a good start for the seafood junkie in me.
The Turnip cake with fried garlic was my vegetarian companions bite, which I made sure I bit out of too, being one of my favorites … and the soft and meaty textured cubes did not disappoint.
The multi hued Rainbow chicken dumplings with their translucent skins that obtained their colors from natural ingredients like vegetable puree, were easily the prettiest thing on the menu. The purplish, orange, green, red and yellow shades were derived from red cabbage, carrot, spinach, beet and turmeric respectively and the white one of course, depended on its own steam (no pun intended)
The Spicy tofu avocado maki made a reappearance to appease the vegetarian and so did the Pomelo salad in its vegetarian variant (ie sans the prawns), with chilli paste, fresh red chillies and cashewnuts. The tongue should not come away from there without flirting with this tease !!!
And on that coy note, we proceeded onto the Coy Suey … er Khow suey, the one pot DIY meal where one chooses toppings of peanuts, fried garlic, egg, soya sauce, chillies, lime juice and crispy noodles to accompany the cooked noodles which they will first douse in a coconut curry. A dish that can be aptly played with to suit one’s appetite at the end of a plethora of starters.
Plethora notwithstanding, dessert has to be had. Especially when it is the Singapore styled ice cream sandwich, where I opted for the Tamarind flavored ice cream sandwiched between sponge, an addition that I found unnecessary, as I ripped off the cake and dug straight into that tangy creaminess. All it lacked was a little fire that should have been provided by some fresh red chilli (try my tamarind red chilli wine and see what I am talking about 😀 )
In the season, one should also not leave without savoring the Mango sticky rice, with its slices of golden mango bordering the coconut milk soaked glutinous rice center.
Sticky chocolate truffles flecked with bits of chilli are given complimentary after your meal. A smart move, for the lingering tingle will cling to your tongue and will make you yearn to return for more !!!
And if the crowds are anything to go by, people are definitely coming back !!!
June 4th, 2017
For more pictures see My Facebook – Misu-Launch to Lunch
