The Japanese celebrate Hanami, the festival of cherry blossoms, with as much gusto as Indians on Basant Panchami. Shobori Ganguli participates in the gastronomical delights accompanying this ancient ritual at Guppy right here in Delhi

This week I had the great fortune to partake of the Hanami festival at one of Delhi’s finest Japanese restaurants Guppy (part of the Olive Chain). This is the cherry blossom season of spring in Japan, a time to mark the Hanami festival — a unique cultural tradition of viewing flowers in full bloom, an ancient ritual which serves as a Japanese reminder of the transcience of nature, the blossoms a metaphor for life, draped in the immortal philosophy of hope and renewal.

And no festival in the world is complete without its attendant share of feasts and festivities. Guppy, in an earnest attempt to keep this old Japanese heritage alive and robust in a faraway land from Japan, in the very heart of India in Delhi, laid out a sumptuous fare of what would typically be a part of a Hanami dining spread.

Among the salads on offer — Artichoke & Melon, Acvocado, Beet & Edamame and Chicken, Avocado & Greens — my friend and I settled for the first one which was a refreshing mix of marinated artichoke, grapes, and seasoned melon served atop crisp rocket leaves and greens in a spicy Japanese wofu dressing. This salad was truly refreshing and welcome on a hot summer day working in perfect symphony with our Shinzuku Sour cocktail of Gin, fresh gooseberry, peach soju and stillabunt.

Skipping the Sushi selection, which we Indians are now quite familiar with, we opted for the translucent Tobanjan-spiced Chicken Steamed Dumplings, the filling a burst of minced chicken in a Japanese spicy tobanjan chili paste served with a ponzu dip.

Perhaps it is me and my changed taste buds over the years or a conscious attempt by Japanese kitchens based out of India, the element of spiciness has notched up a bit from what was often termed as a "bland" taste emanating from traditional kitchens, which perhaps suits the Japanese palate even today (in Japan and elsewhere in the world), but were not embraced with the same degree of enthusiasm one has witnessed in the stupendous popularity of Italian, Spanish, Chinese, West Asian and Mediterranean spreads across continents.

The fact that Guppy was brimming with people, almost all tables occupied, on a busy working week day, is perhaps testimony to the fact that Japanese cuisine has certainly found an innovative way to work around the Indian palate and its natural inclination for well-spiced food.

From their Small Plates offering we went past the vegetarian Stuffed Tofu Katsu to the Crisp Chicken Parcel, an oven-baked phyllo parcel with ginger flavoured chicken accompanied by soy apple salsa and a yuzu miso sauce.

For the Mains, while my friend settled for the undoubtedly healthy and delicious Grilled Yuzu Khoso Fish, marinated in Japanese yuzu khoso and herb salsa, grilled and served with lemon butter soy, I ventured into the now universally forbidden territory of red meat. The Grilled Marinated Lamb Chop came with seasonal vegetables and was served with red wine miso. I must admit that while the flavours of the grill settled rather smoothly on my palate, the meat itself was on the rare side and a tad stringy. Red meat requires adequate time to be rested in its marination for it to step delicately away from the bone. In my opinion, the Lamb Chop needed some more attention.     

That said, the experience was a rather cheerful one, given that the Japanese dedicate as much time to the aesthetics of the inanimate as to the animate. Guppy is that cheerful, pretty, comfortable Japanese place one would like to hang around at, with friends or family. Here’s wishing everyone a happy Hanami, the Japanese spring festival so similar to our own spring festival of Basant Panchami.