Asian Glitch: a ‘stir’ of Pan Asian flavours

Love Sichuan (Schezwan) sauce, prawn dimsums, elevated levels of vinegar and manchurian? Well, Asian Glitch is the place to head to.  This new cloud kitchen serving pan Asian delights is located in Gurugram, Delhi NCR.  With a fine selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, the fare boasts specialities inspired by the flavours of Japan, Korea, Tibet, Burma, Malaysia, China and of course India.

As the name suggests, Asian Glitch pays homage to the eclectic culinary heritage of Asia and does so with a delightful twist. It seeks inspiration from an anomaly, a mistake, a disruption that sometimes results in something that is beautiful and positively unexpected. For example; it is a glitch that led John and Keith Kellogg to discover Cornflakes when they pressed stale wheat through rollers to sustain budgets. OR How George Crum invented Potato Chips by losing his temper and went overboard with a guest who insisted on having his potatoes thinner and more fried!

Similarly, Asian Glitch is all about exploring jasmine rice or spinach in Cantonian chilly dimsums and nothing screams ‘culinary twist’ more than the Indo Chinese cuisine that is not only quintessentially Kolkata but also a sensation worldwide. 

Indo Chinese food is synonymous with its  distinctive offerings like the Sichuan (Schezwan) sauce that is prepared using Indian red chillies as opposed to the original ingredient, Sichuan peppercorns.  The typical Manchurian technique of cooking which involves dipping meat and vegetables in a flavourful soy-based sauce before deep frying is another innovation of the Indo Chinese style.  Bold spices, soy and vinegar dance their way into local ingredients that are cooked using Chinese techniques. 

Taste of Tangra

While the menu is curated to include specialities from all over Asia, the soul of Asian Glitch is Indo Chinese or Tangra Chinese cuisine.  This cuisine traces its origins to the by-lanes of Tangrais which is a region in East Kolkata.  Tangrais was home to the Hakkas: a Han Chinese subgroup who immigrated from China.  They were mainly shoe smiths, carpenters and leather tannery owners who transformed Tangra, Kolkata’s second China town into a manufacturing hub.  But with the subsequent ban on tanneries by the Government most of these units were converted into restaurants serving the famous Tangra Chinese fare. 

Tangra Chinese is the unique ‘Indian’ spin to traditional Hakka Chinese cuisine.  Characterized by the use of native Indian ingredients that have been adapted to Chinese cooking techniques, Indian Chinese food is arguably one of the most popular cuisines in our country.  Originally curated to suit the Bengali palate, this cuisine has made inroads across the length and breadth of India so much so that it is an intrinsic part of our gastronomic culture. 

So, whether it is Hakka noodles tossed in Sichuan (Schezwan) sauce and vegetables or soy based deep fried chicken dishes, Asian Glitch celebrates the nuances of the Tangra cuisine.  From soups to starters, salads to main course and desserts, the dishes are distinctive, flavourful and incorporate niche ingredients like water chestnut, asparagus, and lotus root.

Team Asian Glitch

Asian Glitch is headed by Parvez Nasir who is the brother of UK based Dishoom’s Chef Director Naved Nasir. Naved is the culinary genius behind one of the UK's most successful Indian restaurants and most respected restaurant businesses.  Naved has provided creative and consultative guidance for Asian Glitch.  He has put together a brilliant team of chefs who have worked on the interesting mix of dishes with special attention to the Tangra Chinese section which is one of his favourites after the North Indian and Bombay cuisine which he has lovingly curated for Dishoom over many years to critical and popular acclaim in the UK.

“Food goes through glitches all the time: the butter chicken crossed the border to become Britain’s national dish, Chicken tikka masala. Welcome to Asian glitch where we are trying to capture the essence of this change where some really popular dishes from Asian countries have gone through a subtle, beautiful and delicious transformation: sometimes just due to the use of local ingredients and at others a lot more intentionally- just like Tangra Chinese” says Naved Nasir.

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