Celebrating food

It's Sakura's fifth year anniversary, and the Japanese restaurant in Delhi's Hotel Metropolitan Nikko is celebrating in style. Freelance journalist Sourish Bhattacharyya has even come out with a book, Sakura's Japanese Kitchen, which is to be launched on Friday.

"We're really going all out," says Bhattacharyya. "At the launch, after the book is released, we're going to have a traditional Japanese kagami-biraki, which is a sake barrel breaking ceremony. There's also going to be an orchestra, with a Japanese conductor flown in especially, and an eight-course buffet."

It is an achievement, no doubt, to remain one of Delhi's only authentic Japanese restaurants for so long, but there seems to be something larger that Sakura is celebrating. In a city that was until a few years ago devoted only to its butter chicken and, if it wanted to be adventurous, Punjabi Chinese food, the gastronomical leap that Delhi has taken is remarkable.

Dilliwalas are experimenting with food, and becoming more and more knowledgeable about world cuisine. This is why a restaurant like Sakura can remain popular for so long "" and this really is a reason to celebrate.

Ryuhei Kono, Nikko's general manager, waxes lyrical about Japanese food. "There have to be five different colours and tastes on your plate for your meal to be balanced," he says. "And it has to be fresh. One of the things that everyone says about sushi is, how can you stand the smell of raw fish? And of course the answer is that raw fish doesn't smell if it's fresh "" only old fish smells."

The food at Sakura does look marvellously fresh, all pinks, greens and whites. When I lunched there, I had assorted starters made up of seaweed, spinach and carrot; moved on to pink and red sashimi (the octopus was a little more sinister looking, but still really delicious); had the main course in a bento box (a tray with compartments for different delights such as tempura, buckwheat noodles and grilled fish); and ended triumphantly on green tea ice cream. The food is not overly spiced like Indian food, the chefs emphasise the natural taste of the food, and complement it only slightly with traces of peanut, for instance, or the unexpected sharpness of wasabi.

On the surface, Japanese food could not be more different from Indian food. But if you look closely enough, says Bhattacharyya, there are many similarities. "The tempura is like a pakora; the yakitori like kebabs. Once Japanese food loses its novelty value, I think people will start appreciating it more, and it'll become really popular."

Sakura is planning food festivals over the next 12 months to further celebrate their fifth year, and to raise awareness about Japanese food (it's a pity, though, that all this sushi has missed Delhi's summer, which is really the best time to eat cool California and salmon rolls). Bhattacharyya's book should also do its fair share to raise awareness, since it not only contains recipes, but little tidbits about Japanese culture, and a glossary of dishes at the back "" "there's no way your Japanese associates won't be impressed".