In a nutshell:

If u r looking for authentic Korean / Japanese food, avoid this place. If u r open to the idea of YUMM fusion of Korean / Japanese tastes and flavors with Continental / American food, then this is the place to b – A chain restaurant by Korean origin American Celebrity chef Akira Back.

Address & other details:  Akira Back

Facebook page: Akira Back

Meal for 2: Rs. 4000 onwards

Cuisine type : Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster.

Short Description – in case u r in a hurry:

As we decided to go to this restaurant after hearing from quite a few foodies, we decided to read about the Chef. We found a website about Akira back. Click here to read it.

As soon as we entered the restaurant, we noticed a food bar – the kinds I have seen in most Asian Countries & aslo in seafood restaurants in Boston.  As we turned left, we faced the dining Hall with many combinations of seating – 2 ,4, 6, chairs & tables, sofas & tables, sofas, chairs & tables & so on.

Painitings on the wall, a small corner with bottles displayed artistically & flowers on the tables – minimalist décor. The Dining Hall was Pretty dark in general. I struggled to take good food pics.

The Staff members were massive attentive. Someone wud come as soon as u look around. The manager came to all tables to meet the guests. The Chef (not Akira) came twice during the evening. We enjoyed a good chat with him on both the occasions & got some good ideas for orders as well.

Thruout the evening we enjoyed peppy and very lively Music .

The menu card was short (in terms of number of pages) but wide (in terms of offering) & quite descriptive. It highlighted the stars of the list. It was a struggle to choose from the menu card as there were too many enticing options to choose from – A non vegetarian’s delight (specially if the person loves seafood). That is where we found the Chef’s recommendation helpful.  There were a lot of very good vegetarian dishes too.

Loved the food in general. One or two were a bit too American for me to enjoy (I was expecting more Korean influence in those).

Portions r small as expected. Clarifying it coz hv heard some people cribbing about it.

Detailed Description – In case u have the Time to NJOY reading:

We started our evening with Seaweed Salad. It had 4 kinds of seaweed. These had totally different textures , different tastes & also different dressing. Each bite wud b a new experience. Strong tastes and super textures. Loved it very much. Basic japaneses soy flavor was there but western influence in the dish was also felt. Rate it 4.5/5

Second dish was haejangguk – spicy miso with crab, shrimp and squid. Super hot, super spicy, full of flavours thin soup with melt in the mouth tofu, seaweed, wonderful crabmeat and super soft, tasty and good prawns. Super loved this dish again. Rate it 4.5/5

Third dish we had was a popular Akira dish in the US – Seafood dynamite. The Chef said either people love it or hate it. I call it an American chaat with Japanese and Korean influence. The dish had a corn base. On top of that seafood was put , sauces were poured & finally garnished with Caviar (fish roe).

The seafood pieces were marvellous – perfectly done, assorted, different tastes and textures. The sauce was nice as well. I got a bit put off by the excessive corn that was there in the base.

Fish roe was used as garnish. However it got lost in the crowd. We however enjoyed fishing the fish roe and then feeling them pop inside the mouth. The dish was a bit below good overall. Rate this dish 2.5/5.

On recommendation of Chef we tried Tuna pizza with ponzu mayo, shiso, truffles. This one was just ‘beyond brilliance’. It was served cold. As we bit into it, we realized that it was actually not a pizza base but something like a slim crisp tortilla. The base was topped with Tuna sashimi, ponzu mayo in place of cheese, drops of truffle oil poured on top. Felt great & outstanding. Rate it 4.75/5

We also ordered ‘Warm spring cinnamon’ – a warm cocktail made from sake. It had very mild sweetness. it was served warm. Heat had ensured vapour in the glass. It was served in snifter – Glass with a large base small opening, so that it captures the aroma so well. Brilliant flavor of cinnamon and that of sake.

Flavours and experience overshadow the very very subtle Taste. Rate it 4.5/5

The other drink we ordered was ‘Sake lemongrass green tea with ginger & elder flower’. It was superb. Mild thin drink with distinct flavours of ingredients mentioned above. Complex drink with layers of experience. Rate it 4.5/5 again.

We moved on to Seared foie gras – with corn croquette, Kochujang miso & Red tosaka.

The Foie Gras was excellent. As good as it cud get. Rate it 4.5/5.

The corn croquette was a dampener & I did not really get the combo. A deep fried dish with a feel of corn flour in it. I just cud not eat more than a bite. Rate it 1/5.

Overall rating of the dish averages out to 2.9/5.

We also tried Salmon roe sashimi, which essentially meant raw salmon fish egg……It was served inside an orange peel cup on a bed of ice that was lit from below. Loved every bit of this experience – As every roe wud pop inside the mouth, it wud burst into tastes & flavors… Not recommended for beginners of Asian cuisine. Rate it 4.5/5

Post this we ordered Wasabi Pepper tenderloin with potato puree, mushrooms & asparagus. The Tenderloin was marvellous. It made our evening . Mind blowing sauce, super duper soft and juicy tenderloin strips made the dish outstanding. Enjoyed it way beyond expectation. B bar wagyu was however better.

Asparagus was crisp & potato puree was just too nice.

Rate this dish 4.75/5.

For dessert we had Tokyo cheesecake made from tofu, blackberry, strawberry, shisho Ice cream. Cheesecake made from tofu – yes u heard it right. YUMMMMMMMMMMMM, soft, creamy, just perfect. Shisho ice cream  added tangyness to the otherwise ‘sweet with a hint of salt’ cheesecake. Super loved it & rate it 4.5/5

Overall rating of food at Akira Back averages out to 4.2/5

Really interesting place to eat out & hang out as well.  I look forward to getting back there…..