Competition in the food scene is so intense that instead of selling all kinds of cuisine, restaurants are specialising in their own little niches, serving a particular brand.
It’s a different thing to have an eclectic menu catering to different tastes but quite different to excel in it. A casual glance at The Patio’s menu just seems to reflect the ambition of its chef Sunita Acharia in having her fingers in as many pies as possible – pun intended.
As a rule of thumb, I tend to look for menu items that go beyond the run of the mill menu items that we are offered, think: Caesar Salads, club sandwiches etc and The Patio doesn’t disappoint. This reflects the ethos of the head chef who has a variety of influences and doesn’t stick to just one particular cuisine. Such diversity in the menu is a double edged sword, on the one hand you would have to incorporate different culinary styles but on the other to delight the fickle restaurant going public here.
To begin with, I selected the Honey Crunch Lotus Stem, curious to find out what exactly would that be.
After a brief wait a serving of dark brown slices of lotus stems came my way. I instantly took a liking to the tangy, sweet, deep fried and crunchy taste. It could make for a great snack in itself. The Honey Crunch Lotus Stem only elevated my expectation of the Lazy Sushi that was to be served following the starter.
To begin with, I selected the Honey Crunch Lotus Stem, curious to find out what exactly would that be
With sushi, crab rice, avocado slices, wasabi and siracha mayo, the lazy sushi is anything but lazt, there is actually a lot going on there. It was served in an oval silver platter and what struck me about it was how colourful the serving was with the green of the avocado slices, peppered with sesame seeds and dollops of creamy orange siracha mayonnaise, it was definitely a visual treat. However, the mild wasabi could be substituted for a stronger variant of wasabi to bring that much needed to punch to an otherwise refreshing and well put together take on sushi. As a side note, it is probably the only type of sushi that I can recall that has been paired with the avocado, an interesting mix of Mexican and Japanese influences.
Now came the sea food katakat, made from snapper, calamari and prawn. Needless to say, it’s an experiment that proved to be a success. It is unlike any form of katakat that you might taste. With the meal items served now came the term of ‘gulq and kulfi’ – for the uninitiated gulqand as the definition of it goes ‘is a sweet preserve of rose petals, used as flavouring in many parts of South Asia. It is prepared using special pink rose petals and is mixed with sugar. The word gulqand comes from the Persian gul, meaning ‘rose’ and khand which means sugar’. According to the owner, she and her staff laboriously make the ‘rose jam’ themselves and the sweet and aromatic taste of the dessert shows the amount of effort that has gone into it. It’s a different take on the kulfi that we have been accustomed to.
In a time where restaurants look for safety in conformity, The Patio is striving to be different, and that in itself is commendable. It’s not afraid to experiment, its bold, its daring and brings something unique to the local food scene. For patrons seeking something off the beaten path, the Patio is the place to go!
The writer is a freelancer and can be reached at [email protected]