An invite for a Chef’s table always excites me because it is a situation wherein the Chef puts his 100 per cent to prepare food and create that first impression through his signature dishes. One such session, held at SOY, the pan-Asian restaurant in Khan Market, was impressive as the expat guest Chef Lee prepared some amazing dishes.
Chef Lee preferred to stay behind the kitchen and came out once I was through with my food. That’s the best way for a chef to introduce himself. Chef Lee was represented by Nitin Luthra, CEO of SOY, to do the talking. Full of knowledge and pride about his food, Nitin started the session by introducing chiang mai curry noodles soup. The popular soup from the Northern Thailand region was spot on; it had a nice, creamy curry sauce to complement the crispy noodles. A meal in itself, the soup bowl kick-started the gastronomic journey on a healthy note.
Chef Lee followed it with beautifully plated Tao duck dumplings, a master preparation which I first enjoyed with my eyes and then let my taste buds experience. Chili plum sauce right at the bottom acted as the taste booster for the dumplings. Even the prawn har gao, which is a litmus test for a dumpling, was made to perfection, oozing with juices. The quality of ingredients used at SOY needs a mention as they are what made the difference in the freshness of the food presented.
Pan fried salmon steak, which I felt to be an odd choice in the menu, was really bland. Tai chi chicken, on the other hand, was a nice innovation by Chef Lee. It had subtle flavours and was succulent to the core. While my fellow food connoisseurs were having meaty bite of the spare ribs in BBQ sauce I enjoyed my char grilled tenderloin in green pepper sauce. And such perfectly done tenderloin slices they were. Ginger and water chestnut fried rice seemed a bit dry but went well with the curries. Hakka noodles made in-house had the texture which made all the difference. I loved the food as well as the talk with Nitin Luthra, who waited to see my first reaction after I tasted each dish. We both ended with a chocolate fondant and closed our eyes and experienced divinity.