First look: Inside Mumbai’s newest Japanese restaurant Akina

This is a contemporary Japanese restaurant. So expect a lot of western and Latin American flourishes in the dishes. But the highlight of the menu are the warayaki ("wara" meaning straw and "yaki" meaning grilled) dishes.

Warayaki is an ancient Japanese method of cooking from the Kochi region of Japan. It uses straw at very high temperatures to cook fish and meat. Straw-fired grill cooking technique is relatively uncommon, even in Japan.

At Akina most of the grills start off in the warayaki and end on the robatayaki. This helps to sear the meat evenly on the outside while also keeping the insides moist. 

The tuna from the cold plates is the good way to launch into the warayaki experience at Akina. The fish slices are placed on straw grills that touch 800 degrees Celsius before being laid on a bed of chili oil and dressed with fried garlic. The fast, high-temperature cooking of the fish sears the outside but leaves the inside juicy.

Another hero dish is the baby grilled chicken where the burning straw adds a delicate smokiness. The flavouring is gentle but decisive and the miso corn butter elicits an "aha!"

The showstopper though is the coal-fired black cod. There is much to love about this dish – with the right amount of char, crispy skin and an understated miso sweetness.

Seared Salmon at Akina

Apart from the warayaki cooking, Akina also experiments with crowd-pleasers like tacos. Instead of a corn tortillas, Akina uses deep fried nori as the shell for chili garlic chicken and pineapple tacos. The dish has just a whisper of heat and a crunch that can be heard at the next table. The vegetarian version comes with spicy eggplant and tomato salsa in a fried nori shell.

Coconut Curry Ramen

Most dishes at Akina have a playfulness, and don’t reach for the chili-and-umami hose at every juncture. Like the guacamole which arrives with a sidecar of fried nori sheets and banana chips for dipping. This, along with the salt and pepper squids and Akina’s malty, bittersweet Boulevardier is enough for a good night. 

However, there are also some flatter moments. The much-hyped tuna pizza with tomato salsa and truffle aioli would be a better threesome if the tortilla base weren’t burnt to a bitter aftertaste. The Tokyo Wing yakitori was rendered unremarkable by over-seasoning and a few extra seconds on the grill. I’d like to blame it on teething troubles. After all, who visits a restaurant before the formal launch other than over-zealous food writers? 

Robata grilled tomatoes and silken tofu

Quick Guide to Japanese cooking techniques 

Robatayaki

This traditional Japanese cooking technique literally translates as fireside cooking. Fresh seafood and meat is grilled over hot charcoal in front of guests. Imagine a large, fresh shrimp sizzling on a grill, and you can smell its rich aroma and see the juice dripping... 

Tataki

Meat or fish is seared quickly on all sides, then placed in an ice bath to halt the cooking. Lastly, it is sliced into thin pieces and neatly arranged on a plate.

Tataki cooking technique (Picture via Unsplash)

Teriyaki

This is arguably one of the most popular Japanese cooking techniques and a favourite all over the world. The word teriyaki is a combination of two words: teri, meaning luster, and yaki, refers to grilling or broiling. Here the ingredients are broiled, roasted or grilled after they have been marinated in teriyaki sauce, made with soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Teriyaki is traditionally used to cook beef, chicken or pork.

Tempura

This batter-coated and deep-fried approach to food is often used to cook shrimp, scallops, squid and small crabs, or vegetables such as shiitake mushrooms and asparagus.

Karaage

This simply means dry-frying. In karaage, chicken or fish is first lightly coated in arrowroot starch, then deep-fried. Arrowroot starch preserves the natural water content of fried foods and produces a super crispy outer surface.

Karaage chicken. (Photo: Shardar Tarikul via Unsplash)

Yakiniku

Yakiniku is similar to eating Korean BBQ. Typically, a tray of thinly sliced raw meats and vegetables is delivered to the table for diners to grill it themselves on a tabletop griddle. Since meats are usually not marinated beforehand, yakiniku is usually served alongside numerous dips and sauces. These include miso, soy sauce, and garlic oil sauce. 

Nimono

In this technique, food is first parboiled or blanched and then slow-cooked in a stock until the liquid has almost fully evaporated. Once the ingredients have absorbed the stock, they are then simmered before serving. Tender and full of flavour!