Loved that only

Now what’s a bathtub doing in the middle of a restaurant lobby — is it for dunking drunks in?” It was after a long time that I was having a conversation in a restaurant about something other than the food. Well, at least until the food arrived.

Oddly, instead of being nervous, which is what I feel every time I walk into a new restaurant, I was actually enjoying the quirky environment; metal bugs hanging from ceiling lamps, a massive adenium tree in the middle of the courtyard, an unusual painting on a wall, I was searching for that one word to describe it and my friend supplied it. “Character,” he said, “that’s what this restaurant has.”

My dinner at LikeThatOnly was like a birthday party for two, there were lots of surprises, a whole lot of fun and childlike wonders that I hadn’t experienced in a while. As we sipped on some very adult martinis, my friend and I felt like two kids waiting for their presents.

It all began with the soy and ginger marinated watermelon with feta and candlenut. How curious. We’ve all had our fair share of watermelon and feta cheese salads in its various avatars, but it was that gentle hint of soy and ginger that did the trick.

In fact, the subtle elements are what drive the kitchen at LikeThatOnly.

I wouldn’t put LTO in any known category, it’s not Euro, it’s not Asian or even from a galaxy far, far away. It’s literally Nouveau. And as unfamiliar as that word may sound, everything that you eat here, well almost everything, will seem familiar and new at the same time.

Moving along, the two of us braced ourselves for a long night. I’d never consider eating a kohlrabi unless my mother shoved it down my throat, that strange looking cabbage with a swollen stem has a very off-putting appearance. But kohlrabi blended with fennel in a soup and served with toasted kombu (a form of kelp, black and not-so-pretty either)? A magical start.

Or for that matter a slice of the duck pizza that will convert an I-don’t-do-pizzas person, such as yours truly, to an oh-it-is-so-good wide-eyed buffoon was a treat indeed.

As we took a break to let some conversation in, we nibbled on the gentle salmon carpaccio with marinated beets and yuza dressing. It’s so delicate that you might want to use a toothpick instead of a fork to eat it and mind you, the drama behind this dish is not in its presentation. It’s in the citrusy effect of the dressing with the salmon playing the lead. Lovely.

The smoked foie gras with brioche pudding, Hoisin and port reduction and pear crisp that came next was the next surprise in store. Foie gras is heavy duty — it looks innocent but can fill you up in a minute — but did we care? Afraid not, because the brioche pudding with a little fig filling and the port reduction on the side was just what the doctor ordered.

The doctor had ordered many things and they all came to the table one after the other — the baked brie with almonds and orange chilli gel, the Kung Pao sweet bread with crispy glass noodles (sweet bread is not bread that is sweet, I have to clarify), the pork belly (a personal favourite) and of course, the wok-tossed soft shell crab.

I am not going to dissect this menu. What I am going to do is leave you little clues so you can solve your own mystery while on a trip to LikeThatOnly. What you will find here is innovation that doesn’t stand on a soapbox and make an announcement. You won’t have to deal with the words ‘technology’ or ‘fusion’; they exist, but between the lines. Intricacies and complexities of the food are for the chefs to deal with. As a diner, you only have to sit back and enjoy the results. So, when you dig into steamed cuttlefish (I haven’t had cuttlefish anywhere else in the city), you’ll be experiencing only the simplicity of flavours. When you bite into the pork ribs, you’ll wonder if you’re in Bangalore or some South East Asian country, enthralled by the wondrous mix of sauces. And when the steaming soft shell crabs come to your table, all you have to do is fork it, take large bites and smack your lips in delight. It matters not whether you understand how Chef Manu Chandra actually devised this menu.

Here’s my advice: Take large helpings of the orange and bitter chocolate torte (or even the avocado white chocolate parfait) and stop trying to be a gastronome or intellectualise the food. It’s an elemental experience; all you need to take home at the end of it, is a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart.