It was a hot, sultry evening, and we had Pan Asian on our minds. But, with a difference! Not fine dine, not too expensive, and not formal! Just comfortable, wacky and delish! So Misu fit in nicely in that place for all things informal and camaraderie-filled. From the madhatters who gave us the Open Box in all its fusion paraphernalia — couple Amit and Pratiksha Ahuja — comes this swank-filled dimsum bar adorned with kitsch inspired interiors. It is set to open on St Marks Road on April 16 for dinner first, and the relaxed air, high stools, informal seating and cosy yet swish place for Pan Asian has some delectables on its large menu, from Oriental kitchens across Asia. And, it’s in the same space, on the left of Open Box for all those who don’t want to party the evening anyway. This is the place for dreamy, glazed dimsums, and fresh maki rolls, without having to bother too much about keeping up appearances! We only wonder how the loud Open Box revellers and the slightly more eclectic Pan Asian foodies will go hand-in-hand.
The concept according to Pratiksha was Amit’s idea, “In summer, we were at a Pan Asian place which was packed but didn’t have great food, so I told Amit let’s divide our space into half, and do air-conditioned Pan Asian casual dining on one side. Baos and buns were the initial plan but Amit thought the heroes of Pan Asian would work well.” To which the hospitable and always in search of new inspiration Amit adds, “There was a huge vacuum of a good casual dining Pan Asian place and how many places also give you a large selection of the region? That is where Misu comes in. We plan to open the next one in Indirangar on 12th main. If all goes well, we’ll expand and head out of town too. With all the dishes, even sushi, we stuck to wholesome and hearty stuff." Chef Amit who headed a Pan Asian chain and the talented team make Misu easy and relatable even though there is no Misu on the menu!
As Pan Asian goes, the touch of a bar with dimsum, sushi and more works for us, and we like the unpretentiousness about it. And the food is good. Service needs a bit more time to smoothen but we are sure they'll get there.
We started with a nice cocktail, Shoreline, of subtle sweetness and tang as we waited in the loud din, at Misu. Could be less noisy! The ice sculpture warmly lit the table base, a nice touch but could be dimmer, and the mirrored wall-to-wall confines gave us slivers of the view outside. Almost like a boudoir. We started the meal with some Korean Rice cakes, which we’ve never tried before so unsure how they should taste! A tad starchy and the sauce was a bit too sweet. We opted for the banana leaf basa which came in packed with a nice red birds eye chilli and a tomato slice, with subtle flavours. Nice, we would have liked seabass instead. The dimsums, glazed and dreamy parcels of tender chicken, were juicy, done perfectly and flavourful. We dunked it into the delicious dips, especially the chilli and black bean with sheer delight. As far as Sushi goes, it was the beautifully carved California maki roll that came colourful, with a fresh slice of strawberry and roe that made it texturous, with the freshest rice
and seaweed. Very good. Loved the pungent wasabi hit with soy! The Asian roll was also interesting, though the chicken was a bit dry. We also had the crunchy prawns butterflied and crumb fried golden and crisp with a mango dip which could have done with a hint of spice, and less sweet.
The Khao Suey for mains was alright, we would have liked it more tangy and less coconutty… and we loved the toppings, but the fried onions and garlic were missing sadly, our favourites. Given that we went when it was just about getting its bearings (not yet open), we are sure that will be straightened out soon.
We also ordered the fried rice and sautéed veggies which came in crunched and subtle in soy flavour. The rice was twice fried with a nice smokey flavour. Delicious and totally hitting the spot meant for good food! Give Amit sometime to get the whole thing running so you can bar it with dimsums, and don’t forget to order the sushi and other Asian faves on the menu, and ask for some chilli sauce and black bean to go… infact wish they had portions on sale, we would have taken a few bottles, as some like it spicy.
For dessert, it was the most yummy chewy truffle balls with chilli, and Amit's fave, a lemon grass ice cream sandwich, we devoured the fresh ice creamy icecream and left the bread for carb seekers. The menu has bakso pork, pho, udon, some very interesting salads, baos and lots more. It a fun, easy, a quick eat place, drop by and dim sum n sushi here, in this chic Asian bar with a lip smacking attitude.
The menu has bakso pork, pho, udon, some very interesting salads, baos and lots more.
St Marks Road
Meal for two: 'Rs 1,200 onwards
Must have: Sushi, dumsums
