The illustrious career of chef Yutaka Saito, head chef of the celebrated restaurant, Megu at The Leela Palace New Delhi had humble beginnings. At the age of 11 when his pals were having a good time in the field, Yutaka was washing dishes in a local restaurant. Somewhere in his heart, kitchen was to be his destined ground.
He says, “My ties to the kitchen go back to when I was 11-years-old. Whether it be cooking for family or starting my first job in a restaurant as a dishwasher; cooking has remained my ultimate passion. Japanese kitchens demand a great deal of sacrifice and an inherent passion to excel. It is this passion that has fuelled me, in the last three decades, to excel every day.”
Through his sheer hard work and devotion to cooking Saito made his name, first as a sushi chef at Fujiya in Tacoma, Washington, and then at his eponymous restaurant in Seattle. The gourmet lovers of the Capital have been fortunate to have him at The Leela, where one of his first daunting tasks was to create exclusive vegetarian dishes in Japanese cuisine.
Cooking in India
“The opportunity to cook in India has been both a challenge as well as exciting. One of the biggest challenges is to please vegetarian guests, as India is known for its vegetarian cuisine and Japan hardly has any vegetarian food. Another challenge is the spice acceptability of the Indian palate. If I make it according to their taste then I may be compromising on the authenticity of my Japanese food, which is not fair. I want to keep my preparation authentic and that disturbs me sometime,” says Saito
“But I am proud to be associated with Megu as it is the first modern-Japanese restaurant in the city to offer an array of vegetarian options. Since I have worked with a Shiojin Zen restaurant, which under Japanese cuisine is entirely vegetarian, the experience helped a lot,” he adds.
So with his well crafted creation of exclusive vegetarian menu, Saito has proved that Japanese vegetarian cuisine can be lot of fun.
For example, his Oriental curry is truly outstanding. It is an organic vegetable curry which is only prepared for Megu India. This curry is flavoured with Kanzuri. (Kanzuri is a unique chili paste from Arai, it literally means produced in the chill). During the autumn season selected chili peppers are pickled with sea salt and rather than hanging the chili peppers in the sum they are left in the snow for 3 to 4 days to refine and sweetened. After adding malted rice salt and yuzu they are left to ferment for three years. Kanzuri does not take over the flavours of the dish but acts as a catalyst in enhancing the flavour.
Curry flavoured potato steak is another dish which chef points out, has been a big hit among vegetarian guests. Here Potato is rolled with kakinotane rice cracker and served with Japanese sauce.
Another vegee delight is his hit item, shira ae, a simmered dish made with blanched spinach and tofu.
Presentation as crucial as cooking
Chef Saito pays great emphasis to the plating of his dishes. For him artistic plating adds to the eating experience. “Food is eaten and enjoyed through different senses; taste, smell, texture and presentation all play a vital role in providing a memorable dining experience. The first sense that is touched upon is vision and that makes it crucial for food to look beautiful. Here at Megu, we respect these senses,” says Saito.
The presentation of each dish proves the point. For example, one of the signature Megu crispy asparagus comes on the clay brick. It’s a play on textures and made memorable by the wonderful clay ‘brick’ that is part of the decoration.
Signature dishes of Megu
With a well researched and a thought-upon menu with vegetarian options and highest quality ingredients, highly talented chef Saito has proved that there is much more to Japanese cuisine than sushi and sashimi. There is an impressive list of his innovative dishes with some of the highlights as:
Megu original crispy asparagus : aspragus rolled with kakinotane rice crackers flash fried in soy bean oil . Tuna tartare with Ossetra caviar: Tuna Tartare garnished with pearls.