Pa Pa Ya’s amalgamation of Asian cuisine with modernism and innovations is meant for those who like to go beyond the usual. By Sakshi Sharma
The walls were what drew my attention first as I entered the restaurant. While one side was plastered with cris-cross wooden sticks, the other had candles enclosed within wooden circles. It took just a few seconds for Pa Pa Ya at Select CityWalk, Saket, to teleport me to the vintage era with a pinch of modernism and a warm ambience. So much detail had gone into creating the perfect atmosphere that I was sure of good things to come and placed my first order without much apprehension.
But at the very first, I encountered a hiccup. I ordered Life on the Beach mocktail, but since it was unavailable, it was their signature mocktail — Papaya — that I had. The flavour was mild with a musky undertone. It tasted of papaya, cranberry and a pinch of lime, which added a punch.
The second mocktail, Exotica, had passion fruit syrup as its base and was blended with lime and orange juice where the latter overpowered all the other flavours. It tingled in my mouth due to its bitter and tangy yet amazing taste.
The light background music allowed me to feel relaxed and savour every bit of the mocktails. But then, food was what I was here for. So for starters, I had Roaster avargen, a dumpling, which was the chef’s speciality. It had roasted brinjal as its filling which had been toasted with several sauces. A Mushroom bao, a steamed fermented bun in the shape of a fungi with a spicy cheese filling, accompanied the avargen. Chef Durgesh Tyagi told us that they used coco powder to give the dish its colour. Next up was the Crystal, which were the potato and wheat starch-infused dumplings. Filled with asparagus and corn, they weren’t as spicy as the previous dish but what made them delectable was the fact that they were soft and light as cotton. Their perfectly light flavour cut through the spiciness of the mushroom bao.
Cheung fun was up next. The rice pepper roll was served with soy sauce and filled with crispy, finely-chopped vegetables like carrot, bell peppers and garlic. In the chef’s words, they tried to “bring this out differently.” Usually, it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, but here it was the other way round as the crunchy vegetables like asparagus filled up the dimsum while their covering was soft.
I was then served the Xialongbao, which is a steamed dumpling filled with soup. Its aroma tantalised my olfactory senses and as I bit into it, the hot juices mixed with veggies oozed out and satiated my gastronomical ones as well. It was perfection in a bite.
Before I switched onto the main course, the chef made sure that I had Laomaigai, their speciality. He told me that the dish is usually made with chicken but they have a vegetarian version as well. For this, they mixed a variety of vegetables like brocolli and asparagus with steamed jasmine rice. The mixture was then wrapped in a lotus leaf and steamed to give it a smoky flavour.
Though the main course was yet to reach my table, I was already full. However, my culinary journey so far had been so impeccable that I decided to order some more. Jasmine rice, Thai green curry and Yak Udon noodles, which were thick and smooth mixed with soy-based vegetables, followed. And they didn’t disappoint as well. The first notes of the curry tasted sweet but as it travelled down my throat, spiciness took over.
Next in line were the desserts. Before I could order anything, the chef suggested me to taste his signature ice creams first. He presented four different flavours — Vanilla truffle, Strawberry banana, Mango basil and Salted caramel. But to give them a twist, these were covered with a sheet of rice starch. Each of them was creamy and rich with flavours but it was the strawberry banana that I wanted a second helping of.
And all in all, my evening turned out to be indeed a scrumptious one as the restaurant offered a befitting tribute to the extensive cultural legacy of Asia.