Biryani biryani

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This was a dinner I had been looking forward to for more than 3 months. At a dinner 3 months ago, B Bestie was telling us about the upcoming collabs he was orchestrating, and he mentioned that one of them would involve Biryani Osawa (ビリヤニ小澤). I had heard about this Japanese chef in Tokyo serving up interesting biryani (बिरयानी) from a friend, and in fact I tried to squeeze a visit in on my last trip to Tokyo. Unfortunately I didn't make it there. So when I heard the name mentioned by B Bestie, my hand went up about 0.3 seconds after and I told him I wanted a table at the event.

I had roped in a few more friends for this, such was my excitement about this dinner. Unfortunately a couple of them had to cancel, and I duly informed B Bestie about downsizing my table. When I got to Leela tonight, I was surprised that we were still given a table of 6... so I apologized profusely to James, and let him know that he should have a word with B Bestie.

As I had confirmed with the restaurant about my dietary restrictions being "no beetroot and fish cum", the first of the starters was replaced with something Foursheets and I were familiar with...

Tuna papdi chaat Lucknowi tokri chaat - I usually see this come in the bigger size for a table of 4 or more. Tonight only two of us are getting this substitute course, and suddenly this thing looked so much cuter! Always love Manav's tokri chaat (टोकरी चाट) for the mix of acidity, cream, the crunch of the deep-fried potato, and all the herbs and spices.

Lamb nihari shorba - the lamb is slow-cooked as nihari (निहारी), then the light shorba (शोरबा) with all its fragrances and spices is poured into the cup.

Gotta say that lamb was nice and tender. Very enjoyable soup.

Porcini taar korma okonomiyaki - did not expect to be having okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) tonight...

This was made with porcini, but the seasoning was a little too heavy-handed as the okonomi sauce with its acidity and salt overpowered the Indian spices.

Masala fish cheek ramen with idiyappam - this... really did not work for me. As soon as the copper bowls arrived I smelled the fishy flavors. I think somehow the fish broth and fish reacted to the copper and just amplified the fishiness. I appreciated that Manav tried to serve up a "ramen" using idiyappam (இடியப்பம்), a southern Indian string hopper popular in and maybe it would have worked better in a ceramic bowl.

Lamb galouti kebab - the galouti kebab (गलौटी कबाब) from Lucknow came topped with some guava chutney, and a piece of toasted brioche on the side.

James had told us to treat this the kebab more like a spreadable pâté, but while the minced lamb was indeed very, very fine and tender, it was still firm enough to be a burger pattie... And yes, it was delicious! Can I have a bigger version as a lamb burger next time? Please?

Now that we were finished with the starters, it was time for the "biryani feast"... as the menu says. I looooove biryani, so I really wanted to see what magic Chef Osawa Takamasa (小澤孝將) could weave.

Wagyu shoulder and burdock biryani - BUT OF COURSE we would be having wagyu...

The rice had beef fat drizzled into it, making it kinda smoky. The fatty beef was, as expected, very tender. Flavors were on the sweet side like a gyudon (牛丼) or sukiyaki (すき焼き), and I liked having burdock in the mix.

Unagi and sansho biryani - I knew this would be on the menu, given Manav's new-found love for Japanese eel.

The rice was cooked with some eel stock, and of course the eel was sweet from the traditional tare (タレ). There was quite a kick from sansho (山椒), which I love very much.

DaRC and Ro Ro were unhappy that the first two biryani were too cold, just barely above room temperature, and I felt they were a little tepid but I didn't mind. Apparently Osawa-san does not like serving them at very hot temperatures. Well, the last two were served warmer.

Lobster biryani - this was... OK la. Tasty enough, but not especially standout.

Guangdong duck biryani - this was, by far, the best of the four biryani. I could smell the five spice seasoning in the duck right away, and the duck was just so tender and so tasty. I would be happy to have this any day.

Cardamom and bergamot peel phirnee - phirnee (फिरनी) is a pudding made with basmati rice and milk, and this one was flavored with bergamot peel and cardamom. Garnished with fresh mango on top.

I wasn't planning on drinking any nice wines with food I thought would be spicy, but DaRC very kindly brought a nice bottle of bubbly.

Emmanuel Brochet Le Mont Benoit - very tasty with good depth on the palate. The pinot meunier flavors came through.

A bottle of Champagne doesn't go very far with four mouths, and I ordered up a cocktail from the list.

Saffron negroni

Any meal at Leela is interesting for me, as it furthers my education in "Indian" cuisine - one dish and one region at a time. I had pretty high expectations for the biryani, but in the end I felt that only one of them was memorable. Maybe this is down to the guest chef curse... where chefs doing guest stints in kitchens that are not there own simply don't deliver up to expectations. Guess I still need to make that trip to Kanda...