Peeling the cinnamon

Tawak in Sector 63, Noida, is a welcome addition

October 08, 2014 06:32 pm | Updated May 23, 2016 07:30 pm IST

Tawak, the Indo-Chinese restaurant

Tawak, the Indo-Chinese restaurant

I always look forward to reviewing restaurants that are owned and run by chefs, because I feel thechef-owned restaurants offer better food.

A recent addition to this list, located surprisingly in Noida’s Sector-63 market, is Tawak. The Indo-Chinese restaurant, spread across 2000 sq. ft. with a soon-to-be-operational terrace, has all it takes to make a restaurant successful. I met one of its founders, Deepankar Arora, and found him passionate about his food.

As soon as I entered Tawak it exuded the feeling of a nice Asian café — where I would love to hang out with friends and even come with my family for a lavish dinner. Keeping the options Noida offers in mind, Tawak will really set high standards for the rest to follow.

The menu comprises some interesting preparations like the deconstructed khao suey, tandoori rolled paneer and murgh gandeeri kabab.

I started my gastronomic journey with a bowl each of tom kha and burnt garlic soup. The classic Thai import lacked the balance of spice and sourness and even the flavour of galangal was suppressed, while the burnt garlic soup was close to perfection and I enjoyed every spoon of it.

After the soup, the chef surprised my palate with some Indian starters. Most of the dishes on the menu were innovative and had some spark. The rolled paneer finished in tandoor, for instance, seemed to be a typical European preparation when presented but turned out to be quite Indian once I dug in.

Highly recommended by the chef, galaouti with ulte tawa ka paratha was delicious and better than many restaurants I have eaten at, though it had scope for improvement as far as the texture and aroma of the kabab is concerned.

The dish I enjoyed the most was their Cantonese style steamed fish in white garlic sauce. For those who understand Cantonese flavours, it’s a must try. Korean master dish bulgogi wings and the thai curry with water chestnut fried rice were also good enough to provide a reason to come back to Tawak. Murgh Shah Bano with gravy had a robust aroma of tawak, the Sanskrit name of cinnamon, and went well with the garlic naan to end my journey.

Meal for two: Rs.1200 plus taxes

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