Manav's Hong Kong

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I have always enjoyed Chef Manav Tuli's cuisine since my first visit to Chaat, and over the years I've seen him work on a few dishes where he reinterprets Cantonese dishes with his "Indian" perspective. Tonight I was invited to return to Leela for a dinner where he put together a collection of his creations called "Flavours of Hong Kong".

I took a look at the menu for tonight, and realized that I had actually tasted some of them on my last visit 3 months ago. As they were pretty tasty, I was only too happy to try them again, along with whatever Manav has developed since then.

But first... I'm happy to that I still have the opportunity to enjoy some khakra (ખાખરા).

Fish cheek rasam - I had the pleasure of tasting this 3 months ago, and thought it's pretty clever to use the cheeks of sea bass to create a dish.

The tamarind-based rasam (రసం brought a decent amount of acidity to help whet the appetite, and also packed some heat to wake up the taste buds.

Lamb keema ham sui gok - I just had some haam shui kok (鹹水角) for dim sum a couple of days ago, and I was certainly not expecting this tonight. Manav has obviously learned a thing or two from his collabs with Chef Adam Wong (黃隆滔) and Chef Oscar Lam (林國威) of Forum Restaurant (富臨飯店).

The glutinous rice shell was crispy and chewy, while the keema (कीमा) stuffing inside came with a lot more spicy kick than what one would find in a Cantonese restaurant!

Pork Sichuan pepper fry - apparently taken after nadan panniyearchi ularthiyathu, a dish popular in Kerala. The pork was pretty good, and I really liked the curry leaves.

Lacha naan (लच्छा नान)

Tandoori charsiu - I had a taste of Manav's tandoori charsiu beginning with my first visit to Chaat, so this was not unfamiliar to me. HOWEVER, tonight he chose to use a cut that was not incredibly marbled, and what came to us had a very, very firm texture while springy. I wouldn't say it was overcooked at all, but it wasn't so marbled and hadn't been tenderized, so for people who have gotten used to eating very marbled and tender/jiggly charsiu at high end restaurants, this may not be to their liking. In a way, I think this is more old school.

Tandoori eel - I also had the tandoori eel 3 months ago. The farmed eel from China was marinated with yogurt and chili, and the sauce came with plenty of fruity acidity.

Tandoori shenga chutney squid - first tasted 3 months ago after seeing B Bestie's post promoting the dish. Love the texture and also the acidity. The chutney wasn't too sweet.

Whole roasted tandoori spiced three yellow chicken - really happy to see this again, since I always love a good roast chicken.

The spices made for a nice chicken, and because of the dish that was coming up, we did not get the usual Yunnan mushroom pulao that accompanies the chicken.

Crispy chatpate aubergine - very nice with a sweet and sour chutney on top, and really crispy and crunchy with fruity flavors.

Steamed whole pomfret - having collaborated with Chef Liu Zhen (刘震) from Yongfu (甬府) a couple of times, and having made the trip to Ningbo, Manav now took the bold step of presenting a steamed yellow pomfret. We had chunks of pickled beetroot, stem ginger, and dehydrated chilis.

The sauce was made with a reduction of Yunnan porcini, and tasted really interesting... almost like a lemon-infused butter chicken sauce.

Tandoori abalone pulao - these were 12-head abalones from South Korea. They were, of course, very, very tender.

The spices in the pulao were tempered with acidity, which was a nice touch.

Garlic naan

Mango mastani - apparently this was a deconstruction of the classic mango Mastani (somehow named after the wife of Bajirao) from Pune, so this was no longer a mango milkshake. We had milk powder, very thin slices of fresh mango, milk ice cream embedded with tutti frutti, topped with a paper-thin chip of mango. For me, anything with mango is bound to be good.

Masala chai

This was a pretty fun evening. I got to taste some dishes I already knew and enjoyed, along with new creations I also found interesting. Most importantly, my education in the various regional cuisines of India continues. Very grateful to B Bestie and the powers that be for the kind invitation, and thankful to Chef Manav and James for the hospitality as always.