Sriracha the Pan Asian restaurant, lives true to the hot, bright and tantalizing sauce that it is named after.
Showcasing contemporary Asian cuisine from several countries of the east,
the complementing décor has symbols of Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia,
Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and China, lined above the sign mentioning the
name of the restaurant … symbols that extend to the thoughtfully designed
place mats on the table, which bear additional nuggets of information about
their relevance.
Comfortable wicker’esque chairs provide the seating in the ‘portico’ area
and the inner area has a wall that bears a splendid mural of a lady and her
dragon, who watch over the proceedings, no doubt staring yearningly at the
food.
An island bar bridges the space between Sriracha and its Mexican sibling
restaurant Sanchez, where the bartenders skillfully shake and stir the
appropriate blends depending on which side of the bar one is 😀
I was invited to a tasting of the cuisine by my friend Suresh Hinduja and
was guided through my meal by the gracious Chef Vikas Seth.
The chef whose passion shone through in his twinkling eyes and delighted
smile, led us through the menu and meal that had been carefully curated by him, with an enthusiasm that was infectious … of course, not that I ever need any reason to be thrilled about Pan Asian cuisine 😀
We began with the salads and the Oriental pot roasted chicken and banana
blossom with bean sprouts, crispy onions, spiced peanuts, lemon chilli
dressing landed on our table like a pert little bird. I have always been a fan of banana blossom cooked in various ways and this just added to my list of favorites.
Sriracha’s Som Tam green papaya salad was put together live at our table in a live demonstration by the chef, using a Lasoon which is a wooden version of a mortar and pestle. This piece was brought personally by the chef all the way from Bali. Explaining why a clay variant would not be suitable due to the risk of shattering, the chef proceeded to pound and blend together the exciting combination of green Papaya, chillies, green beans, cherry tomatoes, lime, grapefruit, malta orange and of course a secret home sauce
😀 The resulting dance of flavors on the palate was but to be expected.
I usually only click pictures but Som tams I shoot videos too 😀
They have an extensive Dim sum menu and we left it to the chef’s
recommendation and needless to say, we did not regret it.
Despite being a non vegetarian, I really must allow the vegetarian one be
given priority, considering how stunning it was.
The flamboyantly colored Wild mushroom purple dumplings that used the all
natural red cabbage juice to obtain their exotic hue, were works of art,
with the aesthetics matching the flavors and texture.
The non vegetarian Roasted duck dumplings with plum hoisin sauce which of
course was a tad on the sweetish side, which I quite liked.
We also had the Char siu roasted chicken dumpling, stained a rich brown with the aid of soya sauce and served with spiced ginger dipping sauce.
We had asked for tiny portions of everything and they were served in the most charming tiny steaming baskets and platters, that again had been collected from various parts of the world by the chef.
The Sushi sailed up in a wooden boat bearing the Crispy Philadelphia uramaki
with Smoked salmon, cream Cheese, avocado and cucumber and the Maguro
uramaki with yellow fin tuna, spring onion and spicy mayo.
Togarashi dusted Sriracha prawns were our appetizers and you can see in the
picture that they resembled tiny whales
(my love for prawns ensured that I certainly had a whale of a time devouring
them)
Baked chicken puff, melt in the mouth Pork riblets flavored with a coffee rub and
served with green apple slaw and togarashi dust and Galangal soy marinated tenderloin cubes served skewered on lemon grass stems with wasabi dressing and sprinkled sesame, made up the rest of the line up.
There really were no vegetarians at the table but the chef insisted that we
try the Pandan leaf wrapped spiced cottage cheese … and paneer that is
specially made and flown in lovingly from Bombay, can only melt obligingly in the
mouth and make you glad that you paid due attention to it.
Apart from this, they do have a quite a range of vegetarian options.
For the Mains the chef highly recommended the Khao Suey but being in the
satiated state that we were in, we refused to be Sueyed … er swayed and we
requested instead for the Cantonese roast chicken (half bird) which
we requested to reduce by a further half, which meant a quarter bird 😀
Moist and succulent from their technique of roasting, this meat with Chinese
whole spices, dried red chilli, sweet soy, brown sugar and chicken stock,
was as tender as the Steam buns that accompanied it. The Cantonese garlic
oyster sauce that it was bathed in, enhanced the flavors even more.
Desserts
Calling the Sumatra dark chocolate mousse decadent, would be a gross
understatement. The swirl of chocolate mousse sitting atop a bed of smooth
coconut cream, had a peanut studded Petronas tower shaped Tuille resting
against it. A Petronas Tuille’r if you will !!!
Be warned that this stuff is addictive and despite our state of satiation,
our spoons were drawn to it repeatedly and uncontrollably.
The Seasonal fresh fruits and jello over Malaysian shaved ice seemed rather
low on guilt … of course, not counting the rich 3 milk sauce that it was
anointed with. This was a refreshing way to end such a fabulous meal.
The Soft centered coconut mousse petit gateau had the coconut lover in me
yearning but there was no way I could gat’eau bring myself to make space for
it. Hence I had to content myself with merely using my camera to embed the memory
of this pastry with its mixed berry coulis, lychee centre and translucent black sesame crisp.
Along with our meal, Robert at the bar made sure that the
outstanding food was accompanied by equally exhilarating drink, as he
enthusiastically shook, stirred and served us his potent concoctions which were in keeping with the Oriental theme.
His creations included the Asian flavored Pattaya Special with Old Monk, coconut
syrup and lime, the Red Dragon with vodka, lemon grass juice, lime juice and
of course watermelon juice for the red and finally the Crouching Tiger that
stirred itself out of Bacardi gold rum, grapefruit juice, passion fruit syrup and
lemon juice. My senses stir with the memories, even as I type 😀
Chef Vikas’s innovativeness does not end with just the food. He has
encapsulated his ideas, experiences, bits of history behind the dishes that they have chosen to have on their menus and a description of their take on these items, in a lovely book that is a very novel souvenir of the place.
There is also due credit generously given to the team that works in the background, as well as a brief write up on the directors behind the brand.
Informative, interesting, ingenious and image rich, this book beautifully captures the essence of their two restaurants Sriracha and Sanchez.
I was honored to receive a signed copy of this book as a memento from the chef, who
endeared himself to us with his hospitable and congenial demeanor.
Sriracha is a must visit for enthusiasts of Pan Asian cuisine.
The full house on a weekday lunch is proof enough of its popularity.
For more pictures see My Facebook – Sriracha
Oct 31st, 2017
This is amazingly written review. Might visit the place soon!
Thank you very much Akshat
Thanks for calling attention to what looks like a haven for hungry souls. The desserts look fabulous and goes right into my bucket list. I should get to it before my doctor checks up on me.
Ha ha Manjunath thank you. Pan Asian is quite health friendly
Enjoyed reading this writing. Captivating language complimented with vivid pictures kept me engaged throughout. Certainly want to dine at Sriracha on my next visit to Bengaluru.
Thanks so much Raj. It is a very nice place. U must visit