It’s wok-ing!

From immersive cafes and casual dining to luxe reinterpretations, pan-Asian remains a perennial favourite, with most new openings favouring the cuisine

- SUGANDHA MUKHERJEE

A DECADE AGO, India’s experience of Asian cuisine largely revolved around a narrow Indo-Chinese vocabulary.

Today, Japanese katsu sandos sit beside Korean bibimbap bowls, Xi’an-style noodles and Thai salads in neighbourhood restaurants, malls and hotel rooftops. The rapid expansion of pan-Asian formats, from immersive cafes and casual dining to luxe reinterpretations, signals a fundamental shift in India’s palate, shaped by global exposure, social media and a widening supply chain that has made previously elusive ingredients commonplace.

In Delhi-NCR, this transformation is most visible in three distinct formats that have gained momentum—neighbourhood ambition, lifestyle-driven spectacle, and youth-oriented cultural translation. Together, Zuki, The Flying Trunk and Harajuku illustrate how the centre of gravity in Asian dining has moved away from traditional hotel dining rooms toward younger, more elastic consumer markets.

For years, the city’s Asian offerings were dominated by heavily localised Chinese dishes, but Zuki’s arrival in Noida in October marks a shift toward a more regionally faithful approach. “Noida had plenty of desi Chinese but very few places serving genuine pan-Asian flavours,” says owner Deepak Gupta. Led by chefs Veena and Vaibhav, Zuki treats Japanese, Thai and Korean cuisines as distinct micro-restaurants, each with its own mise en place.

The model depends on supply-chain improvements. “Fresh seaweed, good sushi rice, proper Korean pastes, these were difficult to obtain earlier,” notes Chef Vaibhav. Today, better imports allow Zuki to move diners from familiar tempuras and basil stir-fries to sashimi platters and hand-pounded Thai curries, bridging comfort and nuance for a fast-expanding suburban audience.