How to dine out like a food writer

"Can we go again, pleassee?”

At six, I was obsessed. It wasn’t a new cartoon or the latest “Mermaid Barbie” I was hankering for. It was a visit to a Chinese restaurant I just couldn’t get enough of.

Hong Kong Chinese, a Cantonese restaurant in Bahrain where I grew up, was the most glamorous, luxurious place I had ever been. Gleaming, gilded Chinaware, an aquarium full of koi fish, and goblets of ice water that would be refilled every 30 seconds. This was a place I had to go to again, and again. And so I did, after much pestering of the parents, to chomp on crunchy prawn crackers, gloriously greasy spring rolls that shattered with one bite, and soft, pillowy dim sum.

I have always loved restaurants and the sense of occasion and celebration dining out and dining well came with. Eating at restaurants that dotted Bahrain in the early 1990s allowed for family conversations to flow freely without my mother dipping in and out of the kitchen for refills or someone inevitably knocking over a bottle of water on the table. So torrid was my love affair with restaurants that I was told I ought to marry a chef.

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While I didn’t follow that advice, I found another way to be fed by the world’s best chefs—I began a career writing about food, scouring the globe for exciting places to eat and drink, while also trying to understand the people behind the pretty plates, and how food shapes our collective choices.

While the perks of the job are many, the downsides (apart from a rude shock every week on the weighing scale) include being used as a Human Zomato, often asked to tailor restaurant recommendations and score table reservations for friends, family and sometimes, totally random strangers on the internet. These days, it seems like all everyone wants to know is where to eat, what to eat, and if it’s worth the price.

Fuelled by social media, dining out has become somewhat of an overwhelming urban obsession: chefs are celebrated artists, Indian cuisine is haute couture and everything, from restaurant concepts to cocktails, are being clarified.

So consider this column a way to navigate “the scene”. You’ll find my picks of not just the hot new tables in town but also notes on the joys of eating out, dining well, sharing food with the people you love and the thrill of (re)discovering a new favourite flavour.

In the mess of securing a buzzy table and dealing with long waitlists, it’s easy to forget the magic of dining out. But what a joy it is—albeit a momentary one—to have your worries suspended for a bit and be completely pampered with either a favourite food, like a cheesy, carb-y cacio e pepe, or challenged by a bold new flavour in seaweed martini? And how miraculous is it that an entire team of trained professionals come to work daily to ensure they create the best part of your day? To me, dining out is an honour and a great privilege—an opportunity to learn about technique, rituals and food history, over a delicious spread.

To kick things off, here’s a list (in no particular order) of a few of my favourite meals at some of India’s best restaurants. Save this list and use it as your culinary compass, to help guide you to calorific heaven.

Roast Chicken at Americano, Mumbai: This dish gets a rich, dark and crispy crust owing to dry ageing that results in a perfectly crispy skin and a juicy, tender inside. It comes with a herb-sourdough stuffing and the crispiest roasted potatoes. It takes the kitchen 45 minutes to prep, so remember to place your order in advance.

Chilli Butter Wings at Blue Poppy, Kolkata: Chef Doma Wang’s delicate momos are a national treasure, but on a recent visit to the iconic establishment, I sampled a new creation at Blue Poppy by chef Sachiko Sheth. Coated in chilli oil and cooked in butter, these chicken wings are seriously addictive and pair perfectly with the house fried rice.

Chicken Biryani, Paragon, Calicut: Yes, putting just one biryani on this list is contentious, but trust me. Paragon is a Kerala institution. One spoonful of the fluffy, aromatic biryani with tender chunks of chicken will convert you.

Temaki Tacos and Togarashi Chicken Karaage, Naru Noodle Bar, Bengaluru: A seat at this 20-seater is always hard to score, so I recommend sampling a glass of wine at Wine in Progress, a wine bar that shares a wall with Naru and serves a small selection of small plates from the ramen bar’s menu. The curried crab tacos and spicy karaage pair well with a crisp Chardonnay.

Prosicutto Crudo Pizza, Camillo’s, New Delhi: It’s tough to be a casual café next to a fancy fine dining spot like Inja’s, but Camillo’s, a warm, friendly space in the garden courtyard of The Manor Hotel, shines bright. Go for the flavourful Parma ham pizza with an airy, 36-hour-fermented dough that stars arugula, bacon jam and generous helpings of Parmesan along with chef Sudeep’s take on the Caesar’s salad.

Other favourites include Chef Hussain Shahzad’s mushroom ceviche at Mumbai’s O Pedro, a textural delight starring lima bean mousse, crispy tempura and tangy pickled oyster mushrooms; the undeniable Panki and fresh green chutney at Swati Snacks, Mumbai, Yarkhandi Pulao and blood sausages or gyuma at Leh’s Namza; perfectly charred mutton chops at Hyderabad’s Telangana Spice Kitchen; crispy, caramel-ly benne dosas with blobs of white butter and zingy onion chilli masala at Vinayaka Mylari, Mysuru , and the flaky, buttery egg custard tarts at Panaji’s Padaria Prazeres.

While this list encourages you to explore just some of the country’s restaurants, I hope you will view this column as an invitation to discover new dining experiences with curiosity and respect, and to delight in the simple privilege of sharing a meal with loved ones, something often forgotten in the everydayness of home meals.

It’s a feeling I’ve been chasing since that definitive meal at Hong Kong Chinese, all those years ago.

Word of Mouth is a monthly column on dining out and dining well. Smitha Menon is a food journalist, India’s only 50 Best Tastehunter and the host & creator of the Big Food Energy podcast. She posts at @smitha.men on Instagram.

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