Bisi Bengaluru: Wok and roll the Sriracha way

There’s nothing like awakening your tastebuds to an exuberance of flavours, and when it comes to the Silk Route, the whole gamut of ingredients -  be it hemp seeds, sichimi, togarashi, ichimi, and the slew of marinades and methods makes the Oriental kitchen's secrets dance onto the palate.

Sriracha at UB City takes that leap into the inner bylanes of the Orient with such confidence, care and culinary wizardry. In a trend which sees the hospitality industry continuously go back to their drawing board to reinvent themselves, Sriracha was born mid last year. The once Sing Kong imbibed a new identity and a Pan Asian restaurant   packed with culinary influences from eight countries, and a sumptuous chilly and spice Silk Route trail, thanks to Chef Vikas Seth’s wok worthy wisdom was born.

Executive chef Vikas Seth explains, “Sriracha, the sauce originates in a town called Si Racha in Thailand. A gentleman from the US made the Sriracha sauce famous and made it with jalapenos and thankfully did not copyright it, and we are only wiser and more flavourful because of it. We have our own house Sriracha sauce, which we make with birds eye chilly, red chilly and galangal, but there are many variations, yet this single sauce crosses boundaries and connects countries and our new logo and name symbolises eight different epicurean legacies." A well–travelled chef, blessed with inherent understanding of culinary innovation and the palates  – Chef Seth honed this during his stint at the Culinary Institute of America.

This IHM Mumbai alumnus who has two decades of experience is currently the Culinary Director at Embassy Leisure (Embassy Group). The multi-faceted chef, has authored books for private circulation The Modern Indian Odyssey and a unique twin cover book on Sanchez and Sriracha. Auguring a new era, Sriracha plans to expand its identity with Indiranagar being the first to get another Sriracha, in some time, though. A new look, interior and feel, Chef Vikas has scoured the depths of various cuisines in the Orient, be it Japanese with its robust sushi menu, or Korean, Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian or even Burmese. He brought traditional elements into play, like Sriracha’s take on the live Som Tam is made in a wooden bowl (the original is clay though wood is often used), to give an earthy flavour. Vikas picked up the wooden pot in Bali. This veg-only chef’s preparation is an interactive on-the-table experience, and comes with various influences like avocado, fruit, chayote (an Asian vegetable) among others.

We started the meal with a glass of Spanish wine. We ordered the dimsum platter, vegetarian and non vegetarian along with the interactive Som Tam or raw papaya and raw mango salad. The salad came with a sous chef manning a salad cart and fresh ingredients who then proceeded to explain as he made that yummy salad from scratch. Peanuts, tang, cherry tomatoes, beans with a crunch of fresh green papaya and mango, he squeezed lime and a bevy of ingredients.. it was a quick salad course, and delicious. A learning indeed. Great idea!

The Laksa came flavourful, delectable in its light coconut milk with succulent prawns, with the delicate taste of lemon grass and galangal. We would have liked the sides separate as they had done earlier, but were told that the new menu has the khao suey served in an expansive serving of sides with crisp onions, burnt garlic, lemon wedges, sprouts, egg, cilantro, and more. That is also the most popular of dishes, a soupy meal.

The veg dimsum platter came fresh, flavourful and steamy, with edamame, wasabi (a bit pasty), water chestnut, spiced broccoli (delicious), celery, spinach and vegetables. We dunked it into the sauces and even asked for the chef's special for a spicier version  and happily dumpling-ed away. The non vegetarian platter had crystal shrimp, fish and sesame and the aromatic spicy chicken. Again, singular flavours, fresh with the lightest of dumplingness to its portly parcel... scrumptious.  Do try the wasabi prawns too, delish and pungent in that wonderful tingling way.

The wok fried vegetables with cashewnuts with fried rice, noodles and pad thai came next. We liked the crunch of the veggies though nuts (other than peanuts) in food is not a favourite. The singular texture of the rice and noodles with a whole bunch of vegetables to crunch on was nice. The burnt garlic noodles were delicious. The pad thai was too salty, dunked in too much soya. The Mandarin chicken chilly with burnt garlic was a hit of spice though the chicken was overdone. The chilly tenderloin with red onion was perfect and delicious. Juicy succulent meat.

Chef Seth suggests the open buns incorporated into the new menu, with Hoisin sauce, the togarashi dusted Sriracha prawns  with a homemade mayo, that screams spice, Oriental pot-roasted chicken banana blossom salad, the baked chicken puff with oyster sauce and a honey sesame dip. Sounds divine, right?
Wholesome, fresh and welcome. It’s also a well oiled machine that makes it a favourite. We had no space for dessert, and given that Sanchez is next door, their tres leche is a must-have, but we were content and full! We would love to taste the flourless mocha fudge next time, though.

The prices are on the lower side given UB City's ubiquitous reputation. We like that there are a slew of meats, pork, tenderloin, duck, chicken and no meat restrictions, thankfully, and lots of vegetarian options. As meals go, we are already believers. It's your turn now.

Must haves: The Laksa and the Khaosuey, wasabi prawns, the array of dimsums and charsui roasted chicken dumping and the burnt garlic dumpling, Mandarin chilly chicken and the chilly tenderloin with red onion.

A meal for two: Rs 1,500 onwards
Where: No. 204, UB City, Level 2, 4th Floor, Vittal Mallya Road, Opposite J.W Marriott, KG Halli, D' Souza Layout, Ashok Nagar
Phone: 080 4175 5366