Ramen culture has become quite a fad in Delhi, and as a fellow foodie who likes to try new dishes and drop by new eateries, this time I landed at NŌDO. Regarded as India’s first grab-and-go Asian restaurant, it has been designed in such a way that it brings delicious Asian flavours to you in street-style. Here’s how my experience went at the newbie!
NŌDO Opens In Khan Market
Before we really dive into the experience and what all I tried at the newbie, it’s important to shine some light on the eatery. Open in Delhi’s upscale Khan Market, NŌDO is a modest restaurant with warm mustard-hued walls featuring limited seating. You feel the laidback vibe of the place the moment you step through its doors. And as you look ahead, you see the open kitchen where you get to see the chefs in action! This means you can actually watch them prepare your dish after you’ve placed your order.
Serving Asian Classic With Street-Cart Timeline
When I walked through the doors, I was greeted by Shivang Gupta, Founder of NŌDO. We got talking, and he revealed some interesting things about the place. He shared, “When it comes to sushi, ramen, and dim sum, you don’t find them in high-end restaurants, but at local street carts in countries like Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and China. So at NŌDO, we’re trying to do something similar. So, what we wanted to do was serve fine-dining taste with the timeline of a street cart.”
During the conversation, he gave us an insight into the behind the scenes. Giving us a gander of the open kitchen, he mentioned how the wheat noodles come from Nepal, while the udon and pad thai come from Mumbai. The cooking takes place in a specialised disposable ramen paper induction bowl.
Talking about the ramen, Gupta mentioned that these are served in eight flavours. They are neither fully Japanese nor completely Korean, but instead offer the best of both worlds! As you build your own bowl, you select your broth, the type of noodles you want (including udon, wheat and pad thai), and the proteins you may want.
Sushi, Dim Sum & Ramen FTW!
After the insightful conversation, I was totally ready to slurp and gobble! I started off the experience with Pokchoy Wrapped Chicken, Seafood Dynamite Sushi and Chilli Udon Ramen. These, as the good folks promised, arrived quick and steaming hot.
I instantly downed the Pokchoy Wrapped Chicken, which was absolutely juicy and packed with flavour. The dim sum wrapper, which was basically steamed pokchoy leaf, added just the right hint of freshness that you might expect from the dish.
Next up was the sushi, which included prawn tempura that was topped with thinly sliced salmon. For someone like me who is not fond of raw fish slices in sushi, these folks changed my mind! The crispiness of the tempura and the taste of the prawn totally overpowers the salmon. And it’s only after you’re almost done munching on the sushi that you get the savoury flavour and mild sweet undertone associated with salmon.
After this, we tried the soupy Chilli Udon. As expected from the name, the broth was spicy, but it had a refreshing flavour that kept making me go back for more. Complete with the bouncy udon noose and the creaminess from the Jammy egg, it was a delight!
A Delightful Round 2
For the second round, cause I just couldn’t get enough, I tried their Butter Garlic Prawn Dim Sum and Tonkatsu Classic. Perfect for seafood lovers, the dim sum was everything you’d expect from the name. Packed with flavours, this is every seafood lover’s dream dish. Coming to the Tonkatsu Classic Ramen, this was a spicy broth with just a hint of sweetness. I paired it with wheat noodles, which were bouncy and went really well with the chicken and the jammy egg.
What’s The Conclusion?
So, as you might have already gathered from all the gushing, this little eatery tucked away in the bustling lanes of Khan Market truly stole my heart. For someone like me, who really enjoys all things ramen, sushi and dim sum, it was truly a culinary heaven that I would want to revisit. And this time, I am pretty sure I will be taking along my foodie friends, cause good food tastes better when you’re with your fave hooman!
Where: PR Market, 14, Khan Market
When: 12 pm to 11 pm
Cover Image Courtesy: Anupriya Mishra
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