Food is a very personal experience, and this supper club is every bit an intimate creation of Jatin Suri’s passion for modernist cuisine, taking you on an eclectic and fascinating culinary journey spanning no less than 12 courses. Although we’d heard great things about Casa 21 prior to our visit, I still didn’t anticipate such a beautiful gastronomic flow of events to take place as there is no menu reveal beforehand, and this far exceeded our expectations.
You are welcomed into the Casa 21 home with a complimentary gin cocktail that is a showstopper in itself. The printed menu is a pictograph which leaves you guessing as to what’s in store. It’s clever and most certainly unique. We were enamoured by the food to follow with influences from every corner of the world.
To start, an amuse-bouche arrives with a Thai-style glutinous rice cracker flavoured with pomelo, pineapple, coconut, lightly spiced, and garnished with roasted onion and spring onion. This was delicate but bursting with flavour which got us very excited to see what would translate next from the illustrated menu. An exquisite plate of assorted mushrooms was placed in front of us with daikon, truffle, and a wonton, and then the 12-hour mushroom consommé was poured in for immediate consumption. This French/Japanese influence was heavenly.
Next to follow, was the perfectly deconstructed burrata served with clementine juice, blood orange, cherry tomato, and caramelised pecans. What sorcery is this you ask? That of a very talented hand and distinguished palate! The plate was cleaned out by the time we were done with it. Next, the seabass ceviche, with a purée of persimmon and yuzu, miso, black cherry, chili, and topped with crunchy rice noodles. What a superb marriage of harmonious flavours this was!
We’re not even halfway through the menu yet. We then had the scallops with a butternut squash purée, coconut foam, coconut and yuzu jelly, and an intricate basil tuille. Another very tasty dish that keeps on giving. The prawn aioli linguine was a mighty course of pure joy that was unveiled from under its cloud of smoke when the glass dome was lifted. Topped with basil pesto caviar (note these are homemade), cumin, and coriander, and served with a parmesan wafer with brown flaxseed. Perfection!
The mango bomb, a perfect introduction to the art of ‘spherification’ for us, was absolutely fantastic! This is when you realise that Jatin’s kitchen must closely resemble that of a chemistry lab when you understand the process of this technique. It’s very modern cuisine in which the chef creates semi-solid spheres with thin membranes out of liquids. It doesn’t sound very romantic, but it is beautiful to see and truly packs a punch in flavour.
The chicken tikka! Marinated in crème fraiche and Japanese shiso leaf, it may have been the most tender chicken we’ve ever had. Again, another gorgeous plate of flavours. The sous vide duck vindaloo with coriander and cress was as beautiful in taste as its presentation.
Jatin then comes out with his tamales (Mesoamerican) for his next dish which he chars with his blowtorch before serving. They are tamales of seabass with barnyard millet, bell peppers, sundried tomatoes and hints of yellow mustard wrapped in a corn husk. Simply delicious. The last of the mains, is one of my ultimate favourite Indian vegetarian dishes cooked with Jatin’s twist. A fabulous 24 hour slow cooked daal makhani sprinkled with shavings of truffle and served with a caramelised onion and camembert kulchette. I admit I got to eat a second one of these! Always ask if there’s someone who has reached their peak to pass it on over. We won’t let anything go to waste.
The dessert finale was that of a gluten-free chocolate cake served with a scoop of black sesame ice cream sat on a bed of almond flour and sesame sable, and a berry jam with mulled wine spices. There were 2 very happy people at this table, that’s for sure.
Remember the name: Jatin. For some reason, I was drawn to look at the Indian translation, which is “The Auspicious One”, and it could not be more fitting. Jatin will tie many experiences for those of you yet to try an evening at Casa 21. We will not forget our first event, thank you both Jatin and Atifa for the exquisite hospitality!
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