In a nutshell:
‘Not so Strange bedfellows’ we realized after dining at Inja – poles apart Indian & Japanese cuisines getting along well at Inja – a new age experimental fusion of Indian & Japanese food. Excellent warm & professional service. Beautiful interiors
Address & other details:
Instagram – Inja
Facebook – Inja
Google – Inja
Reservation timings:
Lunch(weekends):-1:00PM-4:00PM
Dinner: –7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Bar: 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM
The table will be held for 15 mins from the time of reservation, after which the table will be released to the next guest
Phone for reservations / enquiries: +918130805333
Meal for 2: ₹5000 onwards
Cuisine type : vegetarian & non-vegetarian
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.
YUMMRAJ rates all the food items & then gives 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
We read about Inja on the social media since they opened. It took us a while to finally go there. Read positive reviews from friend, home chef & blogger Snehalata Saikia. That helped in deciding.
So let’s talk about the dilemma. Our human brain was unable to fathom how two polar opposite cuisines will merge. Here are some questions that popped up based on generalisation (not considering exceptions):
- Indian dishes mostly create something new, that is different in taste, flavours & texture from the original ingredients. Japanese food mostly celebrate the ingredients & try to retain original taste flavour & texture as much as possible. The complexity of the Indian food is often much more & some or the other ingredient is usually unidentifiable in the final product.
- Indian dishes usually have multiple ingredients vs relatively less ingredients in Japanese food.
- Many Indian dishes are slow cooked in low flame for long period vs many Japanese food being cooked for short period, at times on medium / high flame!!!
At one point we decided to explore the unexplored as logic did not help much. It became an academic debate in the brain & we just decided to take the plunge.
We booked 2 seats & this is a rule book that we received on WhatsApp. Reminded us of the rule books we used to receive as we would book seats at restaurants in Japan.
‘Dear XYZ (name),
Namaste | Iraisshaimase
Thank you for your interest in dining at INJA. Your reservation request for 2 guests dining on XYZ November 2024 at XYZ PM pm stands confirmed.
Curated by Chef Adwait Anantwar, INJA presents an exciting blend of Indian and Japanese cuisines. The experience is a congruent combination of bold flavours, spices, and vivid colours of the Indian cuisine with the subtlety, raw essence, and precise techniques of Japanese cuisine, putting the IN from India and JA from Japan in harmonious collaboration.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION PERTAINING TO YOUR DINING EXPERIENCE AT INJA
Dress Code:
*The restaurant follows a smart-casual/formal dinner dress code. Jackets for men are recommended
Open footwear and shorts for men will not be allowed*
The menu card was a 3 pager. The width of seafood & meats was very limited. It was borderline ‘chicken heavy’. The menu had a wide Vegetarian selection. The description of food in the menu was very good.
The Drinks were classified in the menu card as per the senses they would appeal to mist – Smell sight hear etc.
Every time food would be served, a staff member would come & explain the dish in great detail – the ingredients, the inspiration, the concept of the Indian & the Japanese ingredients or techniques. On two occasions the chef came himself.
The staff members were extraordinarily warm & they had very good knowledge of the food. I would rate some of them to be Taj Palace hotel / Oberoi hotels standard, in terms of grooming, way of speaking, choice of words, expressions and knowledge.
The interiors were beautiful. The crockery seemed hand crafted. The little elements of the decor exhibited the taste for excellence.
Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:
When we first started eating, we were constantly comparing the food to what we had eaten in Japan. Of course it did not match. That was Japanese & this was a ‘declared’ fusion (vs. slyly Indianized Asian food in most places in India, pretending to be ‘authentic’).
It took us a while to unlearn & then slowly come to terms with the fact that ‘appreciate the final food on the plate as it is, without comparing it with what you had in Japan’. Suddenly everything changed as we changed our perspective. It changed as soon as we dropped our baggage. The food started talking to us, chatting with us & eventually started dancing with our taste buddies……
We started with SHISO LEAF ‘TUNA & POMELO CHAAT’ – a Shiso leaf tempura on the base, tuna & pomelo chaat (with tamarind ponzu, jhakiya seeds) on top, in the form of an open chaat.
We are used to sashimi. We don’t even eat sushi in India as the rice distracts us. Our initial reaction was – Tuna flavours are largely lost but still faintly there. The buttery tuna texture was a bit lost. We were still struggling with the fish after 2 bites. The struggle was in our brain.
However, we felt that the mild tastes & flavours of the tamarind ponzu enabled the fish to go well with the other flavours. Jhakiya seeds gave a crunch that contrasted the soft fish. Pomelo was fun to munch on & made the fish juicy & tart. We initially Rated it 4/5 (stage 1). In hindsight we rate it 4.5/5
There was an option to add 10g uni with one of the dishes. However they had run out of uni. So keeping that dish aside for next time.
PAPAD & ACHAR ‘OKINAMASU’ – Seabass tartare mixed with mushroom & 7-days fermented mango achar was placed on a rice papad.
The imagination was simply fabulous – the flavours the twist in the textures the taste but somewhere the main ingredients got lost in terms of the flavour & the texture. We thought at that point & still agree that the achar massively overpowered the fish. The dish was Great to taste as it is (without the overpowering/ original ingredient thought).
The sauce oozed out. Loved the tart feel. Great flavours overall. Initial rating 3/5. Final rating 3.5/5.
HOKKAIDO SCALLOPS ‘PANTA BHAT’ came next. It was overnight fermented rice mixed with natto (fermented soy), topped with torched scallops, pickled cucumber & drizzled with kombu oil.
The dish was finished in front of us by the executive chef. We thoroughly enjoyed our chit chat with Chef, on this occasion & once more later.
The panta bhaat along with the condiments were brought on a tray to the table. The panta bhaat was mixed with some oils , soy & the fermented soy bean natto.
The scallops were then torched in a bowl & placed on the panta Bhat. All condiments were finally added & arranged. The result was a beautiful dish that took some time to register & it slowly & steadily grew on us. We would not stop eating.
The scallops were perfectly cooked. The natto which is usually sticky changed texture but added its flavours to the panta bhaat & helped create a new third texture (different from panta bhaat & natto).
Rate it 4.75/5
BUTTERFLY PEA TEA SPRITZER
Butterfly Pea Tea with Homemade Lemonade and Lavender Cordial was a bit sweetish than our liking initially. However as the ice melted, the balance became really good. The excess water cut the sweet. Rate it 3/5
Galaxy cocktail – Bushmills Irish Whiskey, Ume Plum, Wild Honey, Mint & Pinot Noir Foam on top was just crazy good. The taste was intense & flavours full. Rate it 4.95/5
LOBSTER RASAM ‘CHAWANMUSHI
Silky savory egg custard, butter poached lobster tail in rasam masala & drumstick marrow
What a ‘crazy good’ coming together of two totally different food. We are a big fan of the Japanese egg custard chawanmushi.
What chef ended up doing here was to capture the texture of the chawanmushi & add brilliant flavours of rasam. Had no idea about how this came up together.
We actually took a break in the middle of the eating lest the chawanmushi finishes quick!!! Rate it 4.95/5
LAMB CHOPS – New Zealand lamb chops, resham patti & kimchi marinade, pumpkin coconut curry & spicy cucumber.
Simply outstanding meat & brilliant cuts. What a beautiful fat to meat ratio. What intense flavours. Loved every bit of the pumpkin coconut curry. And the kimchi marinade was just wow. Rate it 4.95/5
BOSHI SMASH – Greater Than Gin, Umeboshi plum, Basil, Grapefruit Bitter was outstanding. It was not too sweet, had the right amount of tart. It was a beautiful balance. It was like poetry in a glass. Rate it 4.75/5
TANTAMEN RAMEN ‘PANDHRA RASSA’
Housemade noodles, tantanmen style light coconut chicken broth, nitamago egg, onions
Lovely soft egg in soy. The good egg in soy that we had in Japan & the ones we make at home (using soy we bought from Miyajima island), is usually has a bit fermented feel to it. The one at Inja did not have that feel.
The ramen was really good. Felt artisanal.
The broth was excellent. Usually pork broth has a strong intense flavour. The chef managed to create a very good broth with chicken.
Pandhra rassa flavours were excellent. They merged well with the meaty broth. Overall, outstanding. Rate it 4.75/5
Yuzu mishti doi came for dessert. The doi had a hung curd consistency. The Yuzu was clearly understandable. Matcha was a bit lost in the overall scheme of things. The doi at the base had a Super intense cream on top. The Crunch did give a contrast to the texture. Rate it 4.5/5
Overall rating of food at Inja averages out to 4.5/5
Will revisit to try their tasting set menu.
