In the evening when the breeze cools, plates at Asvah 24 are warm from lamb tajine. Bubbles rise up from glasses of rose wine seltzers and the sound of waves from the beach anoint the emerging night.
Chef Andrea Rubio, former executive sous chef of Israeli-British food writer and chef Yotam Ottolenghi, is in Chennai to imbibe a breath of fresh Italian air to Asvah’s menu. Ottolenghi is one of the most celebrated chefs in the world. At the beginning of his career, Andrea was working at a Korean restaurant in London called Hurwundeki. During his time here, Andrea’s Sicilian couscous salad got him noticed by Ottolenghi’s then head chef. Very soon Andrea was making salads at Nopi, a restaurant in London.
“In the first few month of my time in Ottolenghi’s kitchen I was only cutting salad. Nothing else,” says Andrea. “What I learnt from the seven months I spent there were some new cooking techniques and how to blend new ingredients together. For example, the burrata cuor di latte e pesca on Asvah’s menu is inspired from those techniques,” he adds.
The reason behind a reworked menu is simple says Ashvath Naroth, managing partner of Asvah 24. “Like we cannot wear the same clothes everyday, I felt that a change was necessary.”
He adds, “We went for a Sicilian menu because South Italian culture is very similar to South Indian culture. They live by the sea, have a similar mentality, in Chennai we love starchy food and the goal was to play with more ingredients and flavours from here and choose the right dishes to present to our guests. We had to give him a good food tour of Indian food before we actually put the menu together.”
On his first visit to Chennai, the chef-turned-musician was in Chennai from March 31 - April 2 to curate a new menu for Asvah 24. New introductions on the menu include arrancini di Chennai fried biriyani rice balls with paneer, and the burrata cuor di latte e pesca. The dishes merge the flavours of Sicily with local ingredients and the quintessence of Chennai.
The fried biriyani rice balls or the Biryani Arrancini is made of puff pastry. In the original recipe we use breadcrumbs and egg, this is a dish inspired by the biriyani prepared in the bylanes of Triplicane, says Andrea. The dish has a delicate and puffy coating.
We find the burrata again in the burrata cuor di latte e pesca. The dish comes with portions of burrata cheese garnished with paprika toasted pecan nuts that aches to melt with the caramelised peach.
What adds sharp freshness to each dish is the locally sourced ingredients. The sun dried cherry tomatoes on the Italian bruschetta procured from the Nilgiris were sweet, supple and tender. The bruschetta comes with a side of crunchy rocket leaf pesto, ricotta cheese and pecan nuts that add an extra zing to the dish.
The reworked cocktail menu experiments with drinks like the 24 Bourbon which comprises bourbon infused cinnamon and a swirl of campari and sweet vermouth. Cocktails like The Gigi are a favourite among patrons. A heady mix of homemade grapefruit puree, sparkling wine and gin, the drink is able to wash out the rough edges of a long day.
What steals the thunder from the cocktail menu is the ice cream selection. It has flavours like Earl Grey and lavender, litchi and mango ginger sorbet , chocolate and orange with kosher salt, vanilla made from pods procured from Pollachi, pistachio and kaffir lime and many more. Ashwath outlines, “We chose to make ice creams using the traditional French method. Our ice creams tend to melt quicker than normal ice creams because we have chosen not to use emulsifiers. These stabilisers are usually responsible for maintaining the temperature of the ice cream. The flavours are more delicate thanks to this in our ice cream.”
Taking a dig into the Earl Grey and lavender ice cream is like eating a perfume – its flavours are mild, fragrant and come with an aroma that remembers. While the chocolate and orange comes with pieces of rich wholesome chocolate, the salty kosher congealed orange kicks in only when the cream melts in the mouth.
The baba, a pastry from Napoli, is a rum-soaked delectable creation whose availability depends on strict calibrations – like ingredients and the cumbersome process of soaking them overnight in rum. If not done meticulously, Ashvath the owner, strikes it off the menu. “Unless it is made the way it should be, I don’t serve it. I don’t want disappointed customers,” he says.
Andrea’s menu at Asvah blends the flavours of the Italian seaside with the sizzle of Chennai’s East Coast Road.
For registrations call 8610225381 . A meal for two is priced at Price for two is ₹3,000. Asvah 24 is located at 4/24, Beach Rd, Sri Kapaleeswarar Nagar, Neelankarai, Chennai.
