Tum Tum Asia is themed on pan-Asian street food but it does its bit to Indianise the dishes with its tadka and kala khatta, says Chahak Mittal

Call it hawker stalls, noodle carts or street cafes, these are the same when it comes to Asian street food which really have a lot to offer. While walking down the streets of Singapore or Thailand or any Asian country for that matter, do you have any idea what would you might come across? There is a pool of Asian dishes at all nooks and corners which offer varied delights to feast on.

Tum Tum Asia, a pan-Asian-based cuisine restaurant offers a similar experience. The warm ambience of the place is enhanced by the graffitied walls which are splashed with images of Asian streets and hawker carts.

Being a vegetarian, I am always on the lookout for places which have a fair share of greens. The menu fulfilled the requirements as the entire first half had ‘greens’ and the second part was dominated by ‘reds’.  With such a menu, one doesn’t have to go through the hassle of going through the entire list and reading all the ingredients. And guess what? The vegetarian meal didn’t disappoint me. The menu presented a refreshing take on the street food cultures of Asia.

First, we decided to grab the dimsums. First in line was Peak-A-Boo, which were traditional Chinese open-faced dumplings stuffed with juicy mushrooms and silky soft tofu crumble. Moving on, we had steamed Curry sum, topped with a spicy tomato curry and it was full of hand-pounded spinach blended with roasted garlic, cream cheese and finely-chopped soya chunks. The dimsums looked like green triangles in my plate with orange outlines. Then came Gogo pogo, a blend of exotic vegetables. With grated carrots, mushrooms, finely-chopped ginger, garlic and chestnuts, the dumplings did not fail to impart a blast of flavour in your mouth.

The non-vegetarian dimsums didn’t disappoint my companion either, except for one — Naked cactus. The steamed dish surely looked like glowing pinkish-red cactuses on the plate, filled with chicken balls dipped in rice pickle. Full marks to the presentation, but it didn’t go well with our tastebuds. Well, I wouldn’t recommend this one. However, the others that came up, left us craving for more. Nepalese Kothey, and Charcoal Lamb, the two dumplings — one, kidney-shaped dimsums filled with slow-cooked chicken tossed and curried with a twist of tangy tomato sauce; the second, black dimsums, juicy and filled with chopped lamb. These savouries filled our tastebuds with multiple flavours and are our top picks.

An Asian meal is incomplete without savouring on Sushi rolls. As we ran through the menu, we came across Tropical cucumber — which is just appropriate for weight watchers. There were maki rolls of cucumber and its peels, pickled radish and gari-perfumed with miso and flattened rice. The dish surely made its way to our hearts.

Moving towards the main course meals, we feasted on Oi Munchim. We zeroed down on this as the ingredients were one of our all-time favourites. And thankfully, this too did not disappoint. The dish was a blend of spiced raw papaya and cucumber salad with Korean dressing, and was served with bird eye chillies and peanut crumbles. The spicy noodle-like raw papaya and peanut had flavours perfect for the Indian eater.

While we were still gorging on the Munchim dish, the Singaporean soya noodles — noodles tossed in spicy tamarind oyster sauce, garnished with crushed peanuts, and was served with with soya strips, red and yellow bell peppers, finely-chopped mushrooms, ginger and garlic, were placed on the table. They were cooked well but but it was a tad too high on the spice-o-meter. One can only gulp down a lot of water or gorge on a dessert after such a dish.

As we ordered our mocktails, because a meal is  incomplete without a perfectly paired drink, we stumbled upon an Indian sounding item called the Kala khatta, and Watermelon shake. Both thirst quenchers were prefect with the sizzling dishes. The Kala khatta also brought memories of childhood spent running behind the gola-wala, a crushed ice popsicle sold on Indian streets with spice and jamun flavours.

What is interesting about the food at the restaurant is that the Asian food is sprinkled with Indian tadka, spices and flavours. A ten-on-ten for giving an Indian spin to the Asian dishes. While our tummies were full, our hearts kept wanting for more. Also, the place is certainly not for the college crowd as it is a bit heavy on the pocket. However, the flavours are bang on and it would be a great idea to savour the sumptuous food that would make you feel like you were roaming through the streets of Asia.