Grubitizer is back again after a brief hiatus. A lot has happened in the last 2-3 months, a mix of both positive and negative things, but then let’s save that story for some other day. Right now we’re going to talk about your favourite Pan Asian restaurant in the city, Sriracha! I’m sure a lot of you folks will be familiar with this brand, the iconic Pan Asian restaurant in the uber posh property, UB City! So when I heard that they are opening their second outlet in Indiranagar I was happier because it was now closer to my home. Feb 2019 is when this new place opened its doors to excite the gourmands, what sets this particular outlet different from the other one is the presence of two distinctive experiences, the Live Robatayaki and the Cambodian Khmer cuisine. We were here on a Saturday afternoon to check out the offering and the place was packed, like literally. Read on to know more about our dining experience.

As you step into Sriracha, you notice the balance between sophistication and restraint, much in line with the food served.  The rhythmic repetition of light wooden strips on the wall, an array of metal drum lamps will cast shadows from their base, and the natural tones of patterned granite flooring create a subtle and easy ambience, ideal for a quiet dining experience. A vibrant mural painted on the concrete wall offers a striking contrast to the simplicity surrounding it with a burst of colours. It then recedes as a backdrop with an alluring tone to it. The Robata Grill housed in the restaurant is the principal focus here with the rest of the interiors settling around it.  The adjoining exclusive section with lounge sofas and a corner bar has a relaxed and casual vibe to it. Origami patterned screens cast speckled shadows during the day which transform into shimmering gleams of light in the evening.

Chef Vikas Seth has designed the menu here which takes you on an epic culinary journey across the Orient, making stops at Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Singapore and the relatively less explored Cambodia. The creations on the menu seamlessly blend the age-old East Asian traditions with the new.

First to arrive was the Pandan Leaf Wrapped Cottage Cheese and Fresh Spring Rolls. The former being a signature dish which we never fail to order whenever we are at Sriracha, the Chili Coriander Soy gets absorbed so well into the cottage cheese ensuring that the texture remains soft and combine that with the flavours imparted by the Pandan Leaf and hints of charcoal, it definitely is a must-try here!

Also, the Sweet Potato which is sprinkled by Togarshi Dust was good. The appetizers here follow the Robatayaki style of cooking which is an Asian style barbeque that lets the food cook over the various intensity of Charcoal making your meal more healthy and appetizing, a guilt-free indulgence!

We then moved on to some non-vegetarian appetizers, Fresh Turmeric & Red Chili King Prawn followed by Tamarind & Lemon Grass Chicken and Dark Soy & Scallion Lamb was served. The turmeric tends to tone down the spiciness of the red chillies and gives the overall dish a pleasant flavour. We loved the Chicken also, the lemongrass ensures the aroma is on point and the tamarind bit brings that nice and tangy twist to the meat.

The Pork belly was done pretty well, do not miss this if you are a fan of Pork meat that is barbecued in Cantonese style.

Let me tell you something about the famous Som Tam Salad at Sriracha, it is a customary thing for the chef to prepare this at your table in the form of a live setup. They pound together the irresistible combination of green papaya, grapefruit, chillies, green beans, cherry tomatoes which are then mixed with in-house prepared sauces and lime. We asked for a bit spicy version of the salad and it was just right, customized to suit our taste buds.

Charcoal Seafood Dumplings and Roasted Pumpkin and Water Chestnut Dumplings came in next and they look very Instagram friendly, it takes less than a second to figure out which one’s what! We loved both of them but the Charcoal Seafood Dumplings stood out with all that generous amount of caviar on it. Another great option for vegetarians is the Wild Mushroom Purple Dumplings (which I remember having at the UB City outlet), do check this out as well!

Our Main Course was a Cambodian affair, first came the famous Khmer BBQ which is again a live BBQ setup. So what is it like? It is a very social dish and best enjoyed when you are in groups, however, you have, the round metal grill where the meat is placed is called the Fire Mountain, surrounding which is the meat broth which is also used to simmer the assortment of veggies and noodles. Served with Jasmine rice, it is one of the super healthy main course options here that shouldn’t be missed out on when you are here. We had the Sriracha Chicken and Kroesung Prawns. Please note prior booking is recommended if you want to order this.

Another masterpiece of the dish that we had was the Amok Trey, this Cambodian preparation has ideally has a fish (we had the Red Snapper) which is coated in thick coconut milk, egg and Kroeung batter and is served in a cup made from banana leaf. However you get to choose between Fish, Chicken and Tofu, we had the seafood version of it! If you are a fan of Asian curries which have coconut essence in it, then you would definitely love this one!

We were quite full by now, but then there was some room left for desserts and we had to do justice to it! In came the highly Instagramable desserts, the banana cake with coconut ice cream and the famous Sumatra Dark Chocolate Mousse. The former here comes nicely with a coconut ice cream scoop sitting on a bed of salted date caramel with banana cake, coconut tenders and almond crisps were strewn around in style, best way to have this is to take tiny bits of every element in a spoon and have it in one go, a brilliant combination.

That brings an end to our marathon meal, we did quite a lot of eating and everything here felt good and worth it, with so many Pan Asian places coming up in the city what makes Sriracha stand apart is the amount of thought process that has gone into prepping the vast menu. Addition of dishes like KHMER BBQ dish or the Amok Trey that are derived from Cambodian cuisine is definitely a treat you would not want to miss. Also, come here for the Robata grills and an array of sinfully amazing dim sums.