Tantra:
Los Angeles gets the Zaika touch
Michael
Hepworth was hoping to curry
favour...
This high
profile Indian restaurant in Los Angeles
took has taken well over a year to open
and $1 million to get off the ground
according to owner Navraj Singh, who
also happens to be the owner of the acclaimed
India's Oven. His son R.J. also opened
the well received Planet Indus in Westwood
last year, and for 21 years the family
has served budget Indian food. Now they
have gone the whole hog and started working
with Navraj's cousin Vineet Bhatia of
Zaika fame in London, the first Indian
chef in 102 years to receive a Michelin
Star for his innovative cuisine.
The diminutive chef was in the restaurant
the night we visited for Dine-Online
, but because of his busy schedule he
will only be able to come over a couple
of times a year. A hot August night saw
a big crowd sampling the food which is
now prepared by one of his assistants
Sanjay Dwivedi, head chef at Zaika for
three years, and a newcomer to Los Angeles.
He is still feeling his way with the
produce, local eating habits and many
other variables and differences from
the London scene, let alone that of Delhi
or Bombay. But see the update in the
box, right!
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DINE
ON-LINE REVISITS TANTRA AND
LIKES THE CHANGES
When Tantra restaurant opened
up in the Silverlake area of
Los Angeles last year the advance
hype probably did the Indian
restaurant a disservice. Tantra
means 'sacred sexuality' and
is a religion dating back to
800AD when the first erotic temples
in India were built. With the
Vineet Bhatia influenced menu
trying to recreate Zaika almost
6,000 miles away in London, Tantra
promised a lot but failed to
deliver in a few important areas.
Now there is a new head chef,
Sanjay Kumar, a charming and
passionate master technician
who has brought a new sense of
vitality to the menu. Vineet's
influence still remains, but
the new chef comes in with a
lot of new energy and style.
Some things that work in London
are not always guaranteed to
work elsewhere, so some changes
had to be made so that Tantra
could move forward and set the
standards for Indian food in
this part of the world.
Trained in French and Italian
styles, Sanjay learned his trade
in Austria and Germany as well
as the Taj Hotel Group in India.
Now it looks like he has found
a home to prepare such dishes
as Mulayam Rattan, Lemon and
Chili Scallops poached in a delicious
scented coconut milk sauce. Presentation
here is also of the Michelin
class, and he does wonders with
a crusted Chilean Sea Bass and
a delectable salmon. The classic
Rogan Josh remains a staple of
the menu, and other interesting
menu items include the Kesari
Monkfish, and Saronwala Murg.
The monkfish is done tandoori
style and infused with saffron,
ginger and green chillies, and
the Murg is otherwise known as
a chicken in a mustard curry
sauce, very popular at the restaurant.
Tantra is well worth checking
out as it continues to evolve
in the ever expanded dining scene
of Los Angeles
Update August 2003 |
Dwivedi
has incorporated a lot of the Zaika
menu at Tantra, and the question
is - will it be too advanced or
sophisticated for the locals, or will
they snap
it up and go for it in a big way?
The pervading style here is to
go heavy on the masala, with almost
half the menu opting for this style
of cooking, and tofu seems to pop
up also in a good percentage of
the
dishes. After three weeks in operation
is not the best yardstick to judge
a new venture, but Tantra is still
a bit of a hit and miss and a lot
of fine tuning and menu changing
will probably be done. The fact
that they also have a sexy hip bar
with
small dish selections for late
night loungers will also create a buzz,
as will the trendy décor selected
by Sat Garg of Akar Studios in
Santa Monica, whose vision is a
reflection
of the cosmic energy that is ignited
when opposites (man and woman)
are merged into one.
The walls
are a deep yellow plaster in a wheat
colored dining room that features
several nooks and crannies and a
rather crowded dining area. The music
has to be loud to blot out all the
high pitched conversations taking
place, and the acoustics also present
a bit of a problem, especially if
you want to conduct an intimate hush-hush
chat brought on by the spicy food.
Also trying to duplicate London prices
in this part of Los Angeles, the
kind of equivalent of somewhere like
Ladbroke Grove has caused a bit of
resentment with a few of the locals.
Two
of the better crossover dishes from
England were the Tantra Platter at
$12, a platter of salmon, spinach
and tofu samosa, tandoori prawn,
green chicken tikka with a sweet
and sour potato salad that was delicious,
and the Nariyal Scallops at $11.
These are scallops poached in a coconut
and lemon broth, and served with
masala mashed potatoes, and I think
that the use of exotic plates and
cutlery to jazz up the food is a
good idea.
Lots
of nice cocktails at $7 a pop such
as the Tears of Ganesha, Midori,
Peach, Schnapps, Malibu, Sweet & Sour
and Orange Juice, and the Fuzz, Absolut
Citron, Triple Sec, Peach Schnapps,
Pineapple, Orange, Sweet & Sour.
For
a main course we stuck with the popular
Gosht Dum Biryani at $15, a crusted
lamb biryani cooked with spices and
basmati rice, baked under a flaky
crust and served with kachumber raita.
The flavor was just right, not too
spicy and served piping hot. The
Nariyl Catfish Masala at $15, grilled
catfish in a coconut lemon masala.
It would
be nice to see a little bit of Balti
on the menu, or maybe even a bit
more Tandoori than the standard chicken
or chicken tikka, but they seem to
be going in the right direction and
deserve the plaudits for attempting
such a bold move in a town where
dining habits can be extremely fickle.
Michael
Hepworth October 2002 update August
2003
The Facts:
Tantra-3705 Sunset Blvd, Silverlake,
CA 90026
Tel 323.663.8268
Parking-Valet
www.tantrasunset.com
Dinner for 2 with wine or cocktail
about $80
Dress-Casual Atmosphere-Loud, noisy
and a touch of London in Los Angeles.
Food should catch on here, but still a way to go to match up entirely to Zaika's
variety and authenticity.
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