Sheraton, Saket, launched a new Japanese menu at Pan Asian. This menu celebrates the time-honoured Hanami festival of Japan.
The Japanese culture has a deep appreciation for the change of seasons. One of these appreciative rituals is Hanami. Groups of people congregate on mats, under the most picturesque clumps of cherry blossom trees, with lunches and have a good old party.
Hanami Festival in Japan
Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanami#/media/File:Castle_Himeji_sakura02.jpg
The Japanese have a love affair with the cherry blossom tree and its pink, fragile sakura blossoms. Vaibhav Bhargava, Head Chef at Pan Asian, underlies this signature in most of the dishes. The flavours are subtle, the colours are bold but it’s the down to the earth simplicity of the dishes that warm your hearts this season.
Vaibhav Bhargava, Head Chef at Pan Asian
Food Talks
The journey started with Micro Cress Salad which has baby lettuce leaves (mesclum), seasonal fruits and crunchy wasabi nuts served with cress dressing. Cress is an edible plants that originates from the seeds of herbs, vegetables and other plants.
It was followed by Fried Tofu which is just the perfect tofu you can ask for. It is crispy on the outside, soft inside. Almond Crusted Sweet Potato Croquettes are a delightful combination of almonds and sweet potato, and are served along with spicy mayo.
Very few can make a vegetarian Sushi and make it worthwhile. They have the famous Maki Sushi – sweet potato with tempura sushi roll and the vegetarian rainbow, Uramaki .
For the non-vegetarians, there are lip-smacking dishes such as Steamed Cabbage Chicken Rolls, which has tender chicken cooked wrapped in Chinese cabbage served with lemon coriander sauce. It is a very unique and delicious combination. I fell in love with the dish after trying it for the first time.
The main highlight of the day was Tempura Moriawase, which is deep-fried prawns and vegetables in a light crispy batter, served with a dipping sauce.
For mains, we opted for Garden Fresh Japanese Fried Rice which contains peas, edamame and fresh cress, and is a complete package. The dish is so delicious that it doesn’t need a side dish along with it.
Next to follow was the Chef’s Signature recipe, Veg Ramen Noodles. Ramen noodles are stir-fried on an iron plate (teppanayaki) is again something new, delicious and light, which is just perfect for this weather. My personal favourite still being the wasabi prawns, which is fried prawns served with mild flavor of wasabi and is a treat to your taste buds.
The journey ended on a very sweet note with Opera Pastry. It is the most perfect version of a dessert that you can taste and see. The presentation is really appealing and photogenic, and it tasted equally good with the right proportion of ingredients like coffee and sugar .
In a nutshell 4.5/5 to this experience. Our recommendations include Crispy Tempura Moriawase, Cabbage Chicken Rolls and the all encompassing Veg Ramen Noodles.
The use of vivid colours and authentic Japanese tastes, set in the soothing yet grand ambiance of Sheraton, coupled with the attentive service makes this menu a winner this season.
