By now, she’s become the trouble-shooting queen. There isn’t one glitch that co-partner of Chi Asian Cookhouse, a recently launched restaurant in Janpath, Avantika Gupta cannot tackle with the efficiency of a pro—whether it’s a personal snag or professional. To make a new business work, an agile mind and a pair of nimble hands are required. She possesses both. Putting her coherent virtuosity to good work, she’s been able to attract a good number of customers to her restaurant so far.
The thought behind the name Chi is a pensive one. “Chi means natural energy and the etymological explanation of the Chi logogram is steam rising from rice as it cooks. “This is the natural energy that we want our guests to experience when they eat here,” says Gupta, with a little smile.
This minimalistically decorated space welcomes diners with an inviting array of choices created using traditional and modern Asian cooking methods, and brings in the best of Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean, Korean, Thai, Japanese and Burmese cuisines to the table. “We also offer an exciting section on oriental roasts, pancakes and rolls, skewers and new-age dim sums,” she says. Classics such as Angry Lobster, Goi Cuon Chay, Ikan Bunkus, Poo Ob Woon Sen, Bibimbap, Hainanese Chicken Rice, fiery Kimchi-based dishes and more have been selling well. Must-trys, Gupta tells us, are Hunan Pot, Nasi Goreng and Thukpa. “I look into the making and plating of most dishes. I believe that for something to turn out good on the outside, it must be great on the inside. We work hard and earnestly, and more often than not, the results speak for themselves,” she says.