The showers were heavy that day and half of Delhi was submerged. But can rain come between a girl and her craving for a hot bowl of ramen? Never. So, I landed up at Khan Market, with an umbrella and a hungry stomach. Ever since my shift to Delhi, I have seen people romanticise the rain. I never understood why, especially if you are on the road, desperately praying to God that the traffic magically makes way like Moses parted the Red Sea. A little walk and a certain store, however, changed my opinion.
Nodo, a grab-and-go Pan-Asian Kitchen, was my destination. It is located in a quaint corner of Khan Market; away from the hustle and bustle of the centre, yet just close enough to pair it with your Khan shopping spree. The space is compact, with a few chairs, a live and open kitchen, and a fridge full of imported iced teas and cold drinks. After travelling in the rain, I could not have asked for a cosier set-up. I chose the seat overlooking the road outside. Two dogs, who were also wet and hungry, curled up on the porch. People had started to repopulate the streets as the shower had stopped.
A Ramen Kind Of Day
There was no menu on the table. It was a bright fixture atop the kitchen stand with three headings: Ramen, The Tokyo Street, and the Dimsum Lab. Each section had several options within. You could choose your ramen noodles from wheat noodles, udon and Pad Thai, pair them with a flavour of your choice, and then add whatever protein appeals to you, choosing from tofu, jammy egg, prawns, crab sticks, salmon, to name a few.
I smiled inwardly. What more could a ramen-lover want than to customise her bowl to the tee? I chose the Tonkotsu Classic, which was a slow-cooked, creamy broth with a rich, silky finish. I paired it with jammy eggs, as the chef highly recommended them, along with some crab sticks. After I ordered, I could see the chef getting into the cooking right away. What caught my attention was that he was using a particular bowl to both cook and serve.
In no time, the ramen made its way to my table, leaving behind its trail of smoke and flavours. I asked about the bowl first, and I found out that they use special Korean bowls, made of paper and aluminium, to cook their ramen. This was but a beginning to my discovery of how every ingredient and technology in that little space was curated from Japan, Korea or other parts of India, for Nodo believes in the philosophy that good taste starts way before the final dish.
I must admit, the first few sips of the hot, mildly spicy broth were an overwhelming reminder of how good the warmth made me feel. But as I paid minute attention, I realised what a delectable combination it was with the fresh vegetables, an egg cooked to perfection and crab sticks bringing the gentle meatiness to the smooth broth.
If you prefer a spicier note, then the Seoul Fire Buldak or the Inferno Hot Ramen could satisfy you, and if, like me, you like sweeter, milky notes, then the Thai Coconut Curry is a must-have.
Dimsum, Sushi And Everything Nice
If the ramen was like a warm hug in a bowl, then the Cream, Cheese and Chilli Oil Dimsum brought the zing to my palate. The menu described it as soft, spicy and addictive, and it was all of that. They had been generous with the cream cheese, letting it do the talking with brief interludes of the chilli oil. The next to follow was the pokchoy-wrapped chicken. What impressed me was the diversity in the not-so-long menu. Pokchoy tastes amazing when cooked well; it can be a disappointment when not done so. Nodo passed the pokchoy taste. Tender, minced chicken wrapped in the pokchoy was a combination I had never tried before, but I will many more times.
If ramen is my latest obsession, sushi is my old lover. I shifted gears to Tokyo Street, which had eight different options for sushi, from asparagus tempura and enoki and truffle mushroom to seafood dynamite and spicy tuna. My favourite was the seafood dynamite – baked, creamy and indulgent. The beauty of sushi is that you put one whole piece in your mouth and then feel the explosion of flavours; the sticky rice making way for what is inside. Seafood dynamite makes that experience luxurious, with a tango of the crisp and the cream upon the first bite. The crab stick maki was also delicious, this one rolled in the traditional seaweed. The spicy tuna maki, on the other hand, was strong in its tuna flavour, which might be a bit of an acquired taste if you are not used to such a strong flavour of the tuna.
Long story short, did I like the experience? Yes, and I would love to return and indulge once more. I ended the meal with some Thai Peach Iced Tea from the store’s imported collection, which it took pride in. At the end, the philosophy was simple: get away from the abundance of a long menu or the chase for the authentic – do what is genuine, flavourful and hits the right chord with the Indian market.
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