“Turn left after 200 metres.” Okay. “Turn right after 400 metres.” If you say so. “Turn right after 20 metres.” That’s when I snap. Clearly the evil genie (technical term) in my iPhone is messing with me again. I’ve been obediently following her instructions to get from Egmore to Alwarpet for almost an hour now. I finally emerge from the auto to find myself on a tiny street behind Citi Centre, punctuated by vegetable vendors and goats. As one overly-friendly goat chews on my sleeve I finally decide to ditch Google Maps and rely on India’s best information network — tea shops, ironing men and kerb side cobblers.
Fifteen minutes later I’m walking into Ashvita Bistro. Considering it’s been around for two years, and is situated on a relatively well-known road, it’s surprisingly low key. This may be partly because owner Ashvin Rajagopalan approaches the café in the same relaxed, and determinedly individualistic way he approaches art. And partly because Google still obstinately throws up their old R.K. Salai address (“I just don’t know how to change it,” groans Ashvin.)
Over the past six months Ashvin has reinvented the space, flooding it with greenery — plants rambling about their bright al fresco dining area, and a thriving roof top garden. “When I say we’re a bistro, it’s got nothing to do with French cooking. What I mean is we serve slow cooked, home cooked food,” he says, adding “We try to grow our own herbs and vegetables for the restaurant. Our pesto, for instance, is made with basil grown here … And everything is organic.” As a result the menu is resolutely fluid. “We have a daily menu on the blackboard, which changes depending on what’s in season. So right now, you’ll get water melon juice. We have a sitaphal tree, and if there’s a ripe fruit when you come, we’ll make you a sitaphal milkshake.”
I must admit, it does sound enticingly Bohemian. Living off the land — but with air-conditioning, waiters and Wi-Fi. The short menu offers a mix of continental and South East Asian food. “It’s not about providing a particular ‘cuisine.’ We just want to make good food,” emphasises Ashvin, adding, “For example our most popular items include a chilli cheese sandwich.” A recent convert to vegetarianism, his favourite dish on the menu, however, is the ‘crispy lamb’ made with (soya-based) mock meat.
After my tiff with Google Maps, however, all I want is a tall glass of iced coffee. The coffee is average, but fortunately it’s accompanied by a dark chocolate cake, slathered in fudgy icing. My friend orders a corn sandwich, stuffed with corn kernels and oozing with mayonnaise. It’s served with a generous amount of crisp, golden French fries. We eye the fat wedges of bannoffee pie in the pastry counter, and make plans to return for their recently launched Sunday Brunch. Service is friendly, if a little absent-minded. The food has ambition and good intentions, which is fun, though the kitchen trips up occasionally. Ashvita’s biggest selling point is undoubtedly the space — it’s a charming oasis in a chaotic city.
Talking of South East Asian food, you must try the newly opened Noodle Bar in Phoenix Market City. Run by Blue Foods (Pan Asia Food Solutions), it is part of a restaurant chain that also owns Spaghetti Kitchen, which has opened next door. Noodle Bar offers a choice of Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian and Korean dishes, and they do a clever job of creating meals that are reasonably authentic, but still conform to popular expectations.
We begin with honey squid, crisp and juicy. And Korean chicken, which has clean simple flavours. There’s spongy corn, tossed with crunchy chestnuts and sprinkled with a shower of spring onions. And burnt garlic noodles, served with vegetables in a surprisingly tasty basil sauce. (Surprising because most ‘veg gravies’ at Chinese restaurants are simply sludges of corn flour.) Dessert is daarsaan. Don’t judge us. Breaking culinary frontiers is one thing. Saying no to honey glazed noodles served with rich vanilla ice cream is another.
For the majority of Indians who have grown up on a very specific kind of desi-Chinese food, ‘real’ Chinese cooking, with its unfamiliar ingredients, flavours and textures, can be intimidating. In an attempt to reach a mass audience, without alienating the well-travelled new age diner, Noodle Bar cunningly picks lesser known South East Asian food. This gives the impression that the menu breaks new frontiers, but if you look closely you’ll also see it includes all the old favourites. Which means you can tailor your meal to be just as authentic, or ‘pop’ as you want it to be.
Ashvita Bistro is on 11, Bawa Road, Alwarpet. Call 4203 1982 for details.
The Noodle Bar is at Phoenix Market City, Velachery Main Road. Call 3008 3732/33 for details.
