Restaurant Review : OKI-Asian & European Eating House,Bangalore

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“ The former Chef of “Republic of Noodles” , Surajit Ghara is recreating Culinary Waves these days with his latest Asian & European symphony, OKI ”

Chef Ghara in conversation with one of my foodie partner, Deepashree Rajan

Located on Mariappa Road, Off Kammanahalli Main Road, this cosy modern restaurant with a European elegance was our pit-stop this Thursday.Having known Chef Ghara for over 3 years, I have been wanting to visit this place since its opening 5 months ago.

The Menu
During my conversation with Chef Ghara, I was told that the menu here is a melting pot of dishes from Europe and Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Sri Lanka with most ingredients being sourced from its place of origin.

Presently, he is working on the new menu , that will have 40 percent of European and rest will be the Asian recipes.

Christmas & New Year Special Menu (22 Dec-07 Jan 2018)

Seen from the busy evening at OKI, with mixed clientele, comprising of family and friends.

What did we eat ?

We began with the very flavourful oriental style smoked duck wonton soup from their Xmas and New year special menu and the vegetarian Wild Mushroom sun-dried tomato soup , a cream of mushroom & garlic soup with sun dried tomato , giving it a Italian twist to the american soup.

Above : Smoked duck wonton soup & below: Wild Mushroom sun-dried tomato soup

Vietnamese Pink Rolls with nuoc choc dip (Below)

One of the most spectacular looking dishes we tried here was their Pink rolls ,a rice paper rolled stuffed with veggies like roasted beetroot ,red cabbage, lettuces , fresh herbs and served with traditional Vietnamese chilli tamarind dipping sauce, nuoc cham. Sheer brilliance, I must say. Vegetarian Dim sum were absolutely delicious with aromatic chilli coriander sauce.

In Chinese ,Dim sum literally means ‘touch your heart’ and going for dim sum is known as ‘yum cha’ , which literally means ‘drinking tea.’

Next to arrive straight from the streets of Pattaya , was their vegetarian Tom yum soup , with all the essential flavorful ingredients like lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, fresh Thai chilies, and fresh lime juice, all summing up to create a healthy broth that enlightened our taste buds. Sanghmitra also ordered her all time favourite from the region of Malaysia and its neighbouring Singapore, Laksa , coconut curry soup

Seen here are Tom Yum Soup (above) and Laksa (below)

Next to come to our table was the deliciously done ,herbs and spices marinated Char Grilled chicken with chilli and broccoli crumbs ,had some robust European flavours along with the vegetarian delight , Crispy Lotus roots , water chestnuts and Bamboo shoots ,very apt as all day snack and starter.

Crispy Lotus roots ,water chestnuts & Bamboo shoots (below) and Char Grilled chicken (above)

Some of us wanted to try the signature Korean Bibimbap , mixed rice dish with meat and/or vegetables . As there can be numerous variations to it depending on the choice and dietary habits ,we tried it with Tofu here. The steamed wonton wild mushrooms here is a very healthy option is served with either ginger soy broth or chilli soy broth. Must try for its mild intriguing flavours.

steamed wonton wild mushroom (above) and Bibimbap (below)

Among the Desserts , the cheese cake with raspberry coulis & whole wheat marie and Fig and Honey icecream are recommended

On the Drinks menu , Oki has some interesting mocktails too, and we did try many of them including the non-alcoholic malt based beer named Barbican, very popular in middle east and north Africa. The mock-tails we tried were Bluberry Camomile Martini , Cranberry Mojito , Lemon Basil Margherita and the Pomergranate Dill Spritzer. Though all are must try but last two are definite try as per us.

Evening Menu at OKI

Between 3:30 -6:30 PM , one can also enjoy Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwiches , Pizzas and Pastas at OKI with a complimentary coffee/soft drink with each of these dine-in orders

Verdict

This is perhaps the best that could happen to Kammanhalli in terms of choice of pan-asian and european food. Chef Ghara’s food camaraderie is quite evident here in its menu , making it one of the Must Try restaurant of the area. Even those who love to drive,should visit this place as some of its offerings will make you drool and come back fro more.