Restaurants that are part of a five star hotel are superb due to their exemplary ambience and culinary skills. The ingredients which are used are top notch as well as well executed. ‘Pan Asian’ is part of the Sheraton, Saket, New Delhi, so you can go with an easy mind knowing you will get the best service and best food. Situated on the first floor, the entrance to the restaurant is wide open and welcoming. First thing that strikes you upon entering is the elegance of the place with its open spaces glittering with miniscule lights. The chefs will be standing at the open kitchens waiting with a smile. Ask to be seated next to the window for great view of the garden. The lush garden will maximise the meal experience for you. A private dining area can be asked to be opened if you have a large gathering with you.
The menu is pan Asian spreading onto four regions Thailand, Japanese, Chinese and the rest of Asia. The menu opens again as ‘Jewels of Pan Asian’ which covers the classics and specialities. The appetizers include age-dashi tofu, teppanyaki scallops/prawns/chicken, ramen noodle soup, miso shiru, som tam, lab kai, prawns tempura, BBQ spare ribs and udon noodle soup vegetable. Delicious dim sums and sushi are prepared by Chef Nakamura, formerly of Sakura and responsible for bringing Kaiseki cuisine to India. For mains the menu presents Teppanyaki lobster, miso chicken steak, Kung phad XO, prawn thai yellow curry, claypot chicken, crispy chicken black bean sauce, prawn Beijing, shokado, mapo tofu, river sole black pepper and hao you ji pian. The restaurant is known for best peking duck in that part of the city. The jewels of pan Asian has guo ba, hibachi basil miso fried rice, miso tofu steak and hunan su cai gan guo.
Sushi and sashimi platter are a must have, also chef’s signature rolls. For desserts Pan Asian prepares fantasy platter, date pan cake, hot toffee pudding, New York style baked cheesecake, opera torte and melange of fresh fruits. The chefs are all experienced and trained to offer the best of culinary skills. The service is warm and very efficient. The portions that are served to you are big enough which is a good value for money. Comparatively to other pan Asian restaurants it is not very expensive but only slightly so. But that is what costs for fantastic food in a classy ambience.
- Nakamura is a sushi master in the grand Japanese tradition. For him, sushi is not about the fish alone, it is also about the rice pellet
- There are two ways of making peking duck. The Hyatt's China Kitchen does it in an open oven while Pan Asian uses a closed oven. The flavours are different but the Pan Asian version is good enough to eat without the pancakes
- The Chinese kitchen gets short shrift because of Nakamura's stardom but the food can be very good
