Saket, New Delhi
It takes some courage for a non-Japanese to open a Japanese restaurant. Ai, the new venture by A.D. Singh (of Olive fame), is a brave attempt, but does not meet the challenge. For starters, the waitress encouraged us to try the marinated tofu and water chestnuts. She was right. Beautifully presented on a small shell, they were mouth-watering, with an unexpected combination of textures. But the Seaweed and Daikon salad (Rs 499) was tired, and I couldn’t distinguish the tastes in the Mushroom and Asparagus Dumpling (Rs 399).
We then moved to assorted Sushi (Rs 1,999), which is the real test for Japanese cuisine. Disappointingly, the rice crumbled in the chopsticks and the fish felt slightly warm on the tongue. We chose the Spicy Beef Tenderloin (Rs 599) in the Teppanyaki menu—delicious, with the sesame sauce softly permeating the unexpectedly tender meat. The roasted Shitake and Pumpkin (Rs 499) was also a success. This clearly was the section of the menu to focus on. As with other Olive restaurants, the ambience is attractive and includes an outdoor terrace and a jazz bar. But Ai needs to be more exacting in many dishes if it wants to be very good rather than average to good.
