Anjuna’s newest restaurant, Tokyo — or TKYO — offers familiar Asian food, with flair.
There is a wave of Asian food sweeping through Goa. It is showing up in restaurant chains opening branches here, in popular and expensive Mumbai restaurants attempting to make a mark here, and in smaller joints doing their best to satisfy people’s Asian food cravings. Sushi, dim sums, baos, ramen bowls, khow suey, yakitori…name it, and you will find it.
The newest kid on the Asian block comes in hot, with a massive 210-cover, 12,000 sq ft space located in the ever-bustling Anjuna.
Tokyo’s bright lights welcome you as you turn a corner on the Aguada-Siolim road; the place was once Lila Café. There are three entrances — two open to guests; one from the front, and a side entrance via a parking lot.
Tokyo, or TKYO (as their sign says), is all about the razzle dazzle at first sight. On entering, the eyes fall upon a chandelier-inspired light installation above the bar in the garden space. It looks like tiny daggers falling from the ceiling, lit with bright lights. Paper lanterns line up one section of this outdoor space — a closer look reveals these are sake barrels covered with canvas and hand-painted. Their subtle beauty feels somewhat dwarfed because there is a lot happening around. A life-size sumo wrestler, devoid of expression, stands at the entrance almost as if to tell you that a big stomach is a requirement to enjoy everything there. Near him is the open grill section, and beyond, a brightly lit up house converted into seating spaces.
“We had two things in mind before opening this place,” says Zainab Sikander Siddiqui, one part of Super Potato Hospitality. “We either wanted a beach place or a Portuguese (sic) house. We saw this house and knew it fit our idea.” Super Potato Hospitality is founded by Zainab and her husband, Aamir Siddiqui along with Abhigyan Neogi and his wife, Ankita Mehra. This is their first venture in Goa. It took eight months to renovate the house and the exteriors, including putting up the ubiquitous bamboo and plastic scaffolding to shelter the outdoor section from the rain.
Today, this 180-year-old house sports a new ‘kitschy’ look with private dining rooms distinctive in their furnishings, patterned tiles and even wall colour. Massive murals add character to the walls. Red is the overarching colour of choice, inspired by the red oxide of old Goan homes. It finds space in the décor, the furnishings, the tables, the tiled bar, and the lanterns above the grill. The first room is an overdose of the colour, with hanging Japanese characters and standing shelves lying in wait for the upcoming merchandise room: “It will have our range of sauces, soaps and more,” says Siddiqui. Now, it houses TKYO’s hookah paraphernalia.
One corner outside is reserved for TKYO Bakehouse, helmed by pastry chef Irfan Khan. Set to open formally in September, it aims to be a breakfast place serving up breads, pastries, and other baked goods. “It will be open from 8 am and serve an Asian-inspired breakfast,” says Siddiqui. The space will offer their signature chocolate eclairs, soft-serve ice cream, choux buns, hazelnut praline and more, which you can enjoy in the small balcony overlooking the main road.
TKYO’s bar menu has been curated by mixologist Yangdup Lama and features nothing artificial or synthetic and homemade infusions. The highly recommended — it is their bestseller — Tokyo Sour combines gin, lemongrass and matcha. A decent sour, it suffers because it comes served at room temperature. Mexican Slipper is bitter at first but mellows down later. It is reminiscent of a Bloody Mary with some heat from the passionfruit hot sauce.
TKYO’s menu looks good on paper, featuring dishes inspired by cuisines of Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and more.
Chef Anil Kumar’s recommendation turns out to be our dish of the night. The Pomelo Salad reminds us of chaat, with sweet, spicy, tangy, and crunchy elements. There is a bite from fried onions and roasted cashew nuts, and sobering heat from chillies. We snack on it through the night, using it as a palate cleanser before each dish.
Duck Dumpling has beautifully cooked and flavourful duck meat (slightly crisped at the edges) in a sweet-ish hoisin sauce. Crispy Prawn Cheung Fung Roll is adequately crunchy but gets soggy quickly. The Pink Lady has some flair, with rice stained by beetroot, and green apple, cucumber, cream cheese, and pickled beetroot. The Crab Blossom with its tempura-fried soft shell crab is elevated by a much-needed drizzle of sriracha. Both sushi dishes, while adequate and familiar, are slightly on the sweeter side.
As if to compensate, out comes another Chef’s Special, Turnip Cake. The savoury cake has a crisp coating and is tossed with a potent, faintly Indo-Chinese, mixture of fried chilli and garlic. Another star of the menu is the recommended Hor Mok Talay, which comes in a coconut shell. The drama aside, it is a warm and comforting dish with a familiar coconut curry verging towards being a Thai curry. It has chunky bits of seafood and a slight sweetness that lingers on. It comes with a side of aromatic blue pea flower rice.
Spicy Salmon Poke Bowl isn’t spicy like its name promises and we find the quantity of salmon overshadowed by the accompanying avocado, cucumber, sweet corn and edamame.
Our dessert looks stunning but features too many disparate elements. Sakura Tree is a ‘tree’ of candy floss with chocolate barks served with a candy floss and citrus crumble, Cherry blossom mousse, and Asahi cherry jelly, which are an overload of sour notes.
TKYO is an interesting new addition to Anjuna’s dining space. It has the space, it has an easy vibe, and it has some interesting décor elements. The portion sizes are big, ideal for sharing with a group. The food, though, is a mixed bag with some stand-out dishes and some that do not work at all. We shall return to try the baked goods, and for another round of that refreshing Pomelo Salad.
At House No. 1259, Gumal Vaddo, Anjuna. Open 12 pm to 12 am, all week. Call 8851882123. Instagram.
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (Max: 5 stars)
Food: 7/10
Drinks: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Interiors/Décor: 9/10
Vibe: 9/10
One dish we loved: Pomelo Salad
One dish that did not work for us: Sakura Tree
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