Bangkok is no stranger to modern Indian restaurants, especially with the best restaurant in the country, according to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 list, being Indian.
Entering the market, if only for a short while, is Indian Accent, which first opened in New Delhi in 2009 and quickly rose to international acclaim with branches in Mumbai, India, and New York, US. To mark 15 years in the food business, the modern Indian restaurant has begun a residency at the Anantara Siam Bangkok until Sept 22. The restaurant moves to Japan for a pop-up with Spice Lab Tokyo and comes back to the Anantara Siam Bangkok from Oct 1-15. The restaurant will be serving lunch and dinner.
“Though we’ve done many pop-ups, this is more than a pop up; it's a two-month residency,” says Nitin Mother CEO of Ekatra Hospitality Ventures, the company that owns Indian Accent and other establishments. “We started the brand in 2009, in Delhi and in 2016, we took it to New York. We also opened in London in 2017, but because of Covid it shut shop. Our latest branch is in Mumbai, which was opened in 2023. Since we are celebrating 15 years, the residency at Anantara Siam Bangkok is part of the celebrations,” adds Mathur.
Though executive chef Shantanu Mehrotra is in Bangkok to oversee the initial opening, the restaurant will be headed by chef Hitesh Lohat, who staged at Bangkok’s Gaggan.
“I taste the food on daily basis, because when you make the base masala, the taste of tomatoes change at least two or three times a year. The taste of onion changes, the taste of potato changes… most of the vegetables taste different depending on the season they are grown in. So you have to accustom your tastebuds and then train the staff how to control the taste of the food. When they understand that, they are ready to hold a key position in an outpost,” explains chef Mehrotra.
“It is important to note that Indian Accent is not a chain restaurant. You’ll never see 20 of them shrooming all over the world. We've very carefully chosen the cities where we want to be and it took almost seven years after opening Delhi to finalise New York, then London and then Bombay. Bangkok is a very exciting city, and it will give us a opportunity to see how well people accept our food. We are super excited to be here,” says Mathur.
“At Indian Accent we want to break away from the monotony about Indian food — that it is all about chilli and oil floating on top. We started working on plated Indian food where we had a thali system for ages. We broke it down and did a degustation menu,” says chef Mehrotra.
The amuse bouche of Blue cheese naan accompanied by a “shorba" is a permanent feature of the Indian Accent experience. “This is our take on the Paneer kulcha, where paneer is replaced with blue cheese. The Chettinad-inspired chicken keema with lemon rice vermicelli is our take on a meat pasta where vermicelli plays the role of angle-hair pasta.
“The idea for Bangkok is to showcase what Indian Accent is all about. We have chosen the favourites for the tasting menu, like the pork ribs. The unique combination of Gujarati chundo with the addition of Kashmiri morels is a crowd-pleaser,” explains chef Mehrotra.
The “Indian Accent” is seen in almost every dish, including the palate cleanser, which is a popsicle of pomegranate and black salt. But it is the addition of the black salt, which is a very Indian ingredient coupled with the plating, showcasing the famous Indian pressure cooker, that gives it the Indian Accent touch. “Apart from it being a reminiscent food; we used to eat it outside schools, there are certain memories that we are bringing back, as well. In India at home, we cook everything in our pressure cooker. Rice, dal, veggies, meat… and it is a perfect portrayal of India. This is what India is, this is Indian Accent,” explains chef Mehrotra.
On the a la carte menu, the dessert to try would be the “Makhan malai”, also known as “Daulat ki Chaat”. “We also call it Maal makhan or Nimish. It’s a milk froth that is flavoured with saffron and nuts, a sort of mousse but there is no cream or egg white to sustain it. It has to be eaten as soon as it is brought to the table because if left it will turn to milk again,” explains chef Lohat.
The dessert is predominantly found in the winter in old Delhi, though similar concoctions are also found in Uttar Pradesh, where it is known as Nimish in Lucknow, makhan malai in Kanpur and Malaiyo in Varanasi.
“It is made during the wee hours of the harsh winter mornings where a full pot of milk is simmered over burning embers. It is left to cool in the morning dew and is whisked. This creates a froth on top that is collected and flavoured with saffron, dry fruits and nuts. It is sold before sunrise as once the sun rises, it will turn milky again. We are trying to keep that tradition alive by bringing it to a mainstream restaurant,” adds chef Lohat.
Indian Accent’s version is more of a Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi version, where it comes adorned with rose petals and golden almonds. A dessert that was initially meant only for the royal households, at Indian Accent it comes adorned with Rs 500 notes. Alas, it is monopoly money!
