First in MID-DAY>> With playful interiors, cuisine-agnostic food and an expansive bar menu, Zorawar Kalra's latest outpost is deliberately outre with the aim of staying relevant
Zorawar Kalra and Saloni Kukreja
His five-day stubble glistens like scattered mercury from a broken thermometer. The slapdash hair and loose shirt are an anomaly compared to his regular suited-booted look. Had the dappled light from the bright neon fixtures on the walls not shone on Zorawar Kalra making his presence apparent, it would have been hard to believe that he was inside a place like this.
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Artificial plants hang idly from the ceiling over a teak wooden floor, colourful high stools and plush sofas. Joker masks, Stormtrooper helmets, tiny bots carrying shots and a life-size bird cage — are we at Party Hunterz? Nope. This is what Younion, Kalra's latest endeavour in Kamala Mills, looks like.
Opening its doors to patrons this Saturday, the place is an incredible departure from his sophisticated and modern establishments. Sitting inside the jazzy space with the music thumping, Kalra himself looks out of place. A bright smile lights up his tired face, drained perhaps from the stress of launching a labour of love.
Meatball Maggi
"Can you believe this?" he exclaims with childlike curiosity, pointing at a tray containing an assortment of shots served in quirky ware, and cocktails that come in oddly shaped crockery, like a disco ball and a strawberry. This youthfulness permeates through the entire menu, be it the chickpea chakhna served in tiny little cones called channa koliwada (Rs 120); the Andhra chilli chicken (Rs 199), tossed in a spicy green sauce along with veggies and tempered curry leaves; or the tangy meatball Maggi (Rs 210), where the instant noodle gets an Italian makeover with a piquant tomato sauce. The drinks menu — curated by Barnaby Ingram and Dino Koletsas, who have worked with famed bars in London — comprises oddball concoctions as well, such as the tequila-based el diablo (Rs 495) and a refreshing strawberry daiquiri (Rs 345); or the community cocktails like the spiced pineapple (Rs 2,800), which comes in a wooden box comprising 24 shots made with pineapple rum, chilli vodka and fresh juice.
The bar menu boasts of 200 shots and a range of cocktails. Pics / Ashish Raje
However, elements of molecular gastronomy and the characteristic opulence associated with Kalra's restaurants continue to linger in the form of the panko crusted mussels (Rs 230) made with Thai spice-marinated and deep-fried mussels. And the affinity towards modern Indian cuisine is retained in delicacies like the zunka bhakar kendra (Rs 345), a Maharashtrian curry made with besan and served with bajra roti and steamed rice.
Panko crusted mussels
The wall behind the bar is emblazoned with a neon-lit slogan: "Youth has no age." Saloni Kukreja, a popular Mumbai-based blogger, is engrossed in taking pictures. "I have no idea why, but I'm told that millennials love neon lights," Kalra muses. "Yes, because when you apply filters, the pictures end up looking really cool on Instagram," Kukreja explains to the restaurateur, adding, "This cage is also a great spot for pictures."
Kukreja, 23, is an example of the millennial foodie who visits a restaurant with an appetite yearning for more than grub and drinks. They're looking for an "experience" and Younion has her attention with its relatively affordable prices (did any of us ever think a Kalra restaurant would be serving shots starting at Rs 50?) and Instagrammable interiors replete with catchphrases and pop-culture mementos. So, if that's the motto of the space, it's already working.
But for someone whose instincts and expertise are both tailor-made for premium restaurants, how did this change of heart transpire? "It was a culmination of many things — for instance, seeing guests coming to my restaurants, having dinner and then going somewhere else to party. I realised that millennials are going to become a very integral consumer segment. They have purchasing power and enjoy drinking outside more than eating," Kalra explains.
Strawberry daiquiri
Developed over the past eight months, when the late Jiggs Kalra, his illustrious restaurateur father, was grappling with ill health, this is perhaps the only venture that didn't see the famed gastronome's inputs. "He knew that I was working on a bar, but I couldn't share much with him as he wasn't keeping too well," the son shares, adding that his team is training "a responsible drinking squad" whose duty will be to ensure the well-being of inebriated customers, by not serving them more alcohol, and booking them cabs. Explaining why he suddenly revealed this facet, he says, "If my father was alive, he would have said, 'Do what you wish, but do it responsibly.'" Well, that's sound advice for everyone, millennial or not.
At YOUnion, Kamala Mills, Lower Parel
Opens on July 6, 10.30 am to 1.30 am
Call 9819830575
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