A train ride on the Delhi Metro is the best way to reach Gurugram, cutting the traffic and pollution.
Convincing an auto driver to agree to a reasonable fare is another story. But this is the North-Indian charm that we are willing to adore (for a few days):
“Yeh Dilli hai mere, yaar. (This is Delhi, my friend),” our companion for the tasting invitation to Banng – the much-awaited collaboration between chef Garima Arora of Gaa in Bangkok and Riyaaz Amlani of Impresario Handmade Restaurants, reminds us. Our bumpy ride ends on Golf Course Road outside Two Horizon Centre in Gurugram. We spot the bright red Coming Soon sign board for Banng, right next to Whisky Samba.
Past the al-fresco, we step into a sea of pink and blue, with showstopper white lanterns dropping down from the ceiling, elevating the space with a touch of modernity. Hand-painted murals and yesteryear Thai posters adorn the walls around a comfortable seating of blue velvet sofa seatings. Day light brightens the 120-seater dining space during our visit.
Dressed in a black jump suit, Garima Arora is sporting a seven-month baby bump. There’s a steady calm on her smiling face, even as her team is tying up last minute lose ends. “Last year, Riyaaz ate a meal at Gaa and we got talking. I had never spoken to him up until then, of course I had heard of him,” she quips, joining us at the table.
A Thai restaurant in India was on her mind since a while, but she wasn’t finding the right partner, she tells us. “I'm based in Bangkok, and operationally, it's a big challenge. We just clicked, and here we are,” she smiles. The team was looking to open in Mumbai and Delhi at the same time. “We couldn’t find a location, and I am also expecting. So, one thing at a time,” she adds, hinting at an opening in Mumbai in the second-half of the year.
From fine dining Gaa to casual dining format of Banng, Arora plants the same approach to standard and authenticity of Thai cuisine. “We're having fun and taking more liberties with the bar snacks and appetisers. A little bit of India also comes in there,” she says, as we reach out for our first appetiser that has come on a ceramic white-and-blue elephant: a Thai Pani Puri stuffed with mushrooms, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaf. We pour in chilled Tom Kha Kai coconut soup broth. The flavour pop alerts our palate for the meal to come.
Before leaving us to savour the meal, she explains that the mains remain pure to the cuisine, to the point where the hand-pounded curry pastes are coming from Bangkok twice a week from their central cloud kitchen. “There is no room for Indianised Thai. It’s a chef-forward menu,” she says, listing her must-try dishes: Tom Kha Pani Puri, Seabass Ceviche and Grilled Chicken. They’re all my babies, you can’t make me choose!” she signs off.
We take her order, and dig into Seabass ceviche next. Generous with Thai chilli, it is fire on the palate with the raw fish strips drenched in the salty lime juice.
The bar program - curated by mixologist Attapon De-Silva of YOLO group that has crafted menus for some of the top bars in Bangkok, is inspired by the art of Muay Thai. The sections are divided into Flyweight, Middleweight, and Heavyweight categorised by its alcohol strength. The flavours, meanwhile, relate to Thai fruit cart: fresh, pickled, piquant, sweet and savoury.
We begin with Thai Teetotaler, a Flyweight with banana whiskey, lime nectar and Thai tea. It’s featherlight in its spirit, and overall, doesn’t fold in a punch (pun-intended). Our appetite is now craving more Thai food, and next is Toss My Yum salad. The bowl has neat parcels of sticky rice, pomelo fruit, toasted coconut shreds, beetle leave, ginger, peanuts, spring onions. Our server, neatly mixes the ingredients. We dig. This one is a knockout of a salad meal. The Ham and Cheese Toastie is a take on the snack from 7-Eleven, popular among both tourists and locals. A vegetarian version, inspired by the Mumbai toastie is packed with cheese and finely chopped red and green chillies. We dunk them in sweet mayo, sweet chilli and a well-balanced home-made sriracha.
One of our top pics is the mashed potato salad with a tangy sweet sour and spicy sauce. This dish is topped with roasted rice powder and green salad. An medley of textures and colours translate into a layered symphony on the palate.
We level up to Middleweight drinks with Buakaw Bua Loi - a hot-cold tequila and white wine cocktail which come with a warm white chocolate foam. We take a big sip, allowing the warmness to open into the cold sharpness of the drink beneath. The temperature change adds a playful layer to the palate, and we savour this drink, even as it merges, throughout the meal. It soothes our palate between spicy bites.
Head Chef Manav Khanna, who joined Garima as an intern eight years ago, will now helm the Banng kitchen. He brings us the Street Style Grilled Chicken with a street style nam jam jong dip which has flavours of tamarind, rice crisps, lime, chilli flakes and a fresh salad bouquet and sticky rice. Another sauce, eggplant Lahn, is coconut-based sauce with eggplant, tomato, onion and tamarind.
By now, we are Heavyweight champions, sipping spirit forward cocktails - Chatuchak Champa. The gin-based cocktail is infused with champa, and balanced with bitters, lychee honey, lemon and orange gel. The ice is garnished with a dried champa petal. It’s a knockout victory.
Between sips, we snack on Fried Squid with turmeric, a delicacy from southern part of Thailand. The Khai Jeaw or Thai Omelette (there is also a crab version to choose from) is an upturned classic dish holding a sauté of Chinese celery and onions rustled up in a balance of sweet, spicy and sour. It’s fluffy, filling and a complete Thai flavour bomb.
With our mains, we add an extra drizzle of Nam pla prik, a dipping sauce and flavour enhancer served instead of salt. Spiked with chilli peppers, fish sauce and lime juice, there is also a vegan version to go with the meal. The Lamb Pad Cha, a spicy stir fry with young peppercorn and ginger, we pair with fragrant Turmeric and garlic rice, we also appreciate as is.
The standout mains are the White Seafood Curry made in coconut milk with scallops, mussels, seabass, and fresh coriander and a velvety smooth Vegetarian Red Curry with kohlrabi and okra. The menu is a nuanced execution of skill with simplicity to make it a wholesome offering.
We end the meal with Coconut ice cream with Khanom bueang waffle shells. DIY dessert tacos which are overtly eggy. We fill them with maya de coco, palm seed candy, peanut butter and young coconut.
Storytelling comes alive in taste, and Banng serves it perfectly without much fluff.
All in all, Aroi Mak (very delicious)!
Address: Unit No. 105, Two Horizon Centre, T-2, Golf Course Rd, Harizan Colony, Sector 43, Gurugram