Ever heard of drinking mouthwash and eating toothpaste? Fu Fu is the recent addition to the city’s expanding culinary horizon, largely dominated by Asian flavours. With inventive dishes and fun, playful beverage options, the diner stands out for its unique concept and flavours.
Before delving deep into the restaurant’s vision, why the name Fu Fu? “In Mandarin, Fu means good luck and prosperity. We wish to prosper and also spread positivity to others,” says Japtej Ahluwalia, co-founder of the diner. An initiative of BORN (Beyond Ordinary Restaurants and Nosh), the restaurant is the brainchild of partners Manoj Padmanaban, Japtej Ahluwalia and Gopalsami Mani.
The focus lies on different southeast Asian countries like China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. “I personally believe that, after Indian cuisine, we lean more towards Asian. We have tried to serve an elevated version of the flavours people already know, presenting a new version of the dishes. This applies especially for Chennaiites as we are exposed to Malaysian and Singaporean flavours due to frequent travels,” shares the co-founder.
Coming to the menu, we are taken aback by their impressive presentation of graphic images of the dishes on the menu. The extensive menu consists of sushi, nigiri, sashimi, carpaccio, okonomiyaki, soups, salads, dimsums, rice, noodles, curries and many more.
Not just that, the beverage menu also has something for everyone, ranging from traditional drinks to innovative ones. “Our signature and the first in Chennai is the miso black cod, a celebrated dish in Japan, featuring sablefish,” Japtej Ahluwalia adds.
Giving DT Next insights about the beverage menu, he notes, “Manoj likes to play around and experiment with drinks. So, he came up with the mouthwash mocktail, which is basically a refreshing, minty-flavoured drink. The toothpaste that accompanies the beverage is made of condensed milk.”
Though Chennai is witnessing a rise in the number of Asian restaurants, Japtej be- lieves that it is healthy. “There is always space for Asian cuisine in the city. I feel that we stand out with our unapologetic and bold flavours.”
As we sit on the seats at the spacious diner, which can accommodate more than 90 people, we start with the Tokyo drift, a not-sosour drink made with plum and lychee. We did love the mouthwash; however, the traditional Thai tea, tiger milk, made with condensed coconut milk, comes as a pleasant surprise.
The Japanese pizza, okonomiyaki, consists of cabbage, prawns, tempura crust and greens, offering balanced flavours. Then comes the Thai tom yum soup, both tangy and tasty.
The asparagus and pista dimsum is quite unique, but we love their sushi menu. For the vegetarians, the California avocado roll with soy sauce is appetising. The crispy prawn uramaki roll will definitely be on our repeat list. The must-try is definitely the lip-smacking creamy gojuchong prawns. The dish deserves a special mention for the juicy meat and subtle taste of sweet, spicy and fermented flavours. The presentation of American chop suey with flying noodles gets extra points. But we are not convinced by the vague taste of the sauce.
They say a few matches are made in heaven. Thai fried rice and kung pao chicken go by that saying, and we wholeheartedly love the combo and the way they complement each other, balancing the flavours.
For the desserts, though Thai water chestnut pudding is great, we lean towards the gooey and yummy Japanese mochi filled with ice cream. Located on the busy lane of CP Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet, meal for two at Fu Fu costs approximately Rs 1,800.