Shh....Silence, by Big Bandha

**********************SPOILER ALERT**********************

When you decide to try something new to eat out, you'd probably think about what cuisine you feel like eating. Maybe you'd go to a number of food discovery sites and look for options. Check out menus. Get overwhelmed by the choice and then maybe not go out at all and just order the food home. Spend a few minutes in silence for paying higher price for the same dish in exchange for 'free delivery' and binge on the food.

And then there are those who would pay top bucks without even knowing what they are getting. No idea of cuisine, meat, flavour. Some top chefs do that even after you are at the restaurant and tease you with a emoji menu. Some give you options. Anyway, thrill seekers will tell you that more often than not, the risk pays off.

Manoj, a businessman with more than just a flair for cooking, winning a few contests, started Big Bandha a few years ago and his pop ups are getting crazier. Inspired by his recent trip to Japan, his latest pop up is Silence! The sound of good food. Apparently in Japan, when food is good, people are so engrossed that there is absolute silence at the table. So this 8 course pop up whips up a flavour packed meal, that is currently sold out! They are still taking reservations for wait list, though. A preview meal showed us a peek at what was to hit us.

An entirely vegetarian first course, dressed in Japanese was testimony to his inspiration. Watermelon, sliced to look and feel like tuna, served with ginger and wasabi. On the other side, a parmesan tuile taco with varying balances of sweet and savoury from the spices and jams.

A salad course with all the greens and cheese, but dressed like mini sliders. Yeah, sliders themselves are mini burgers, so mini sliders on soup spoons packing a plateful of flavour was exciting next course.

The best two dishes followed suit. With mushroom cappuccino being in fashion, I expected a lobster mushroom soup of sorts, but was pleasantly surprised to get an orange seafood broth with a brioche. Now this is a killer dish. The brioche is sized in a way, you can dip it in cup, so the sweetness of the brioche with the totally South Indian spiced crab podimas that reveals itself when you bite in, soaking up the rich crustacean flavoured broth was a total treat to the palate. It left me wanting more.

When the previous dish leaves you wanting more, the next course has to make it up. The chicken fried rice totally did. Just that it was a starter. STARTER? Yes, starter. In the middle of the meal? Yes, in the middle of the meal.  Fried rice stuffed in chicken wings, glazed to perfection satiated the craving left behind by the soup.

A smoked duck with yolk-oozing egg tempura takes you back to breakfast and the ravioli on the plate quickly brings you back to dinner!

To keep things interesting for the 80 people who have booked this meal, I'll keep the next course a secret! Psst...there is a bun with a juicy l.................boo!

You finish off with rose chocolate mousse served with some theatre, which, OK, I'll keep that a secret too and a cheese ice cream that brings things back a full circle.

The event is on for two days, Oct 5th and 6th at On The Rocks by reservations only and at the time of writing, its sold out.