All the way from Bengaluru to Mumbai, Chef Manu Chandra, now running his bespoke Single Thread catering brand, revives his cuisine curiosity at Hakkasan for their third Only At collection pop-up, plating up a flavour-dominant Cantonese feast fused with local Indian nuances.
Treading through the dim-lit corridors of Hakkasan Mumbai, a restaurant that has imbued the city with an air of razzing and equally sophisticated Cantonese cuisine, once I reach the seating area, a transparent glass screen that drapes the kitchen on the far end arrests my attention. A passionate and excited bunch of chefs and staff scurrying around but with utmost calm and composure for a big night of one-of-a-kind dinner isn’t something you as a patron get to witness every day.
But this being the third edition of ‘Only At’ Mumbai collection that Hakkasan spins out annually, every detail demanded perfection. Speaking of which, chef Manu Chandra, one of India’s most dexterous and affable culinary personalities, was at the forefront of the new ‘Only At’ menu at the restaurant.
A six-course experiential was on the cards and rummaging through the limited-edition menu came beautifully close to tasting each dish listed with the eyes first. And so, I did. For epicureans, who are regularly trying and noshing up on different cuisines and food concepts around the world and the city itself, how would the ‘Only At’ menu tempt and intrigue the senses? What would, if any, emerge as an outstanding element by the end of the meal tonight? A few questions elapsed in my head before I dug into anything laid out before me on the table.
For most of the six-course dinner, chef Manu Chandra diligently took care of the culinary business behind the scenes with his adept team. Since last year when he hung up his apron, which he wore for seventeen long years as the chef and partner at The Olive Group, he has jetted off on some new and renewed culinary adventures.
Establishing a scaled up, bespoke catering business from scratch, christened ‘Single Thread’ was perhaps one of the triumphant highlights of this year for chef Manu. Not to forget his French expedition at Cannes Film Festival 2022 where he debuted as India’s chef representative to surprise the taste buds of Indian and international guests alike with unthinkable twists on kachori made with croissant dough, paniyaram madelines and a fancy lookalike of khichdi!
Chef Manu Chandra who shuttled to Mumbai from his current home city Bengaluru, explains during our conversation at Hakkasan, “The starting few days, I was the only one from India at the Cannes kitchen preparing to cater to the Indian Pavillion. Often, I would try some French techniques and the French chefs would stand startled and ask me how I am doing it so better?” That’s the thing about the chef, who has carved an unpredictable niche for himself over the years combined with his wit to always journey a little bit more out of the box.
Back at Hakkasan for the ‘Only At’ collection, the task at hand was to dabble with Chinese flavours, but nothing like how we already know it—predictably spicy, a tinge of sweet and sour, and sometimes unapologetically saucy. Only At was the hot ground of Chinese revival and chef Manu led us through it, evidently influenced and interspersed with local ingredients and spices of India. He says, “When Hakkasan approached me to do ‘Only At’, the first thing that came to mind, was that Chinese isn’t personally my speciality, even though I have run restaurants in that genre with remarkable talent who’ve spent decades honing their skills.”
Chef Manu goes on to add, “But when I was told that the menu was open to play, that’s when the whole affair became exciting.” Revisiting this thought, I could only think of two things. First, the green pea and water chestnut dim sum with spicy mayo afloat steadily on subtle but punchy goji berry broth. And second, the three grain sticky fried rice—made with barley, black and jasmine rice tossed with asparagus, snow peas, scallion, crispy garlic and herb sauce—that was playfully buttery and generously mouthful until the last bite.
Building the menu on the precis of seasonality was crucial, too. This is how some recipes that were light on the palate but dramatic in flavours also made its way onto the table, like Edamame & Peanut Crunch Salad with barley, asparagus, avocado and sesame oil and tender, pulled jackfruit mini doughnuts.
Sometimes making the classic re-enter the game requires you to not press the redo button, instead allowing the existing recipe to play with some new techniques. Chef Manu, who recently hit the six-month milestone with his new catering business has been exploring and piloting in exact, identical ways to expand Single Thread around cities in India.
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