Indian cuisine in Hong Kong has a long history. Restaurants such as Bombay Dreams and Jashan in Central, on Hong Kong Island, and Gaylord Indian Restaurant, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon have for years, decades even, served high-quality fare.
But arguably, it was not until Chaat opened inside the Rosewood Hong Kong hotel in May 2020 that people started seeing Indian cuisine through a fine-dining lens – and that is thanks to its founding chef de cuisine Manav Tuli.
Under Tuli’s stewardship, Chaat has won a slew of awards, from its first Michelin star in 2022 to the Post’s 100 Top Tables best service award the same year. So it was a surprise to learn that Tuli would leave Chaat to start over again from scratch.
“I was presented with an opportunity to open my own place with shared ownership,” Tuli explains. “So it was a mutually beneficial agreement. I wanted something of my own, so I was happy to do that.”
The inside of Leela in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island. Photo: Leela
After leaving Chaat in spring 2023, Tuli partnered with Yenn Wong of JIA Group, which is also behind Michelin-star restaurants Duddell’s, Estro, Ando and Mono, to open Leela in Lee Gardens Three in Causeway Bay this November.
Designed by JIA’s long-time collaborator André Fu, the luxurious yet understated interiors are inspired by traditional palaces in the old town of Jodhpur in India.
The only member of staff Tuli brought with him from Chaat was restaurant manager James Sandberg, and they faced the challenge of training a new team. Just the day before our interview in preparation for Leela’s soft opening, Tuli had an issue with his brine recipe.
“If I prep the brine the night before, we would need two or three containers to store all 20 litres, so I suggested we make a concentrate and taught the staff the formula to dilute it the next day,” he says.
“That multiplication backfired and the whole batch of pork just did not have enough salt. It tasted very different than what it was supposed to.”
However, the award-winning chef expected teething problems. “My staff have worked in very different environments, some for 12 or 15 years. Taking that part out of them and getting them to do things differently and in my style, that’s the challenge, because while my recipe base is authentic, the way I treat my proteins is very different.”
Bone marrow biryani at Leela. Photo: Leela
It is this approach that is the secret to Tuli’s success. He wants to elevate the experience of Indian cuisine, not by adding superfluous dollops of caviar but by the use of top-notch ingredients that are meticulously treated to bring out their best qualities.
This spirit carries over to the spices that underscore the cuisine as well. “At least 90 per cent of my spices are certified GMO- and pesticide-free. It’s a pain to get my hands on them and to retain consistency. The size of the product is going to vary because it’s organic, but in general, it just tastes better.”
Tuli says he learned the importance of observing and adapting early on in his career when he worked at The Oberoi, Mumbai hotel, when he was a management-level chef who oversaw multiple venues.
“In the mornings, I’d be at the all-day dining, Japanese restaurant for lunch and the Indian restaurant at night. So I was able to observe how different cuisines treated their ingredients.”
Chukandar oxtail gosht at Leela. Photo: Leela
In his new post in Hong Kong, Tuli is on a different journey. At Chaat, he was known for explaining the historical references behind dishes on the menu; he once curated a feast of curries to illustrate the regional differences between the spices and methods used around India.
Now, at Leela, he is keen to feature dishes from the Mauryan empire (322BC-185BC).
“The Mauryan empire used to be one of the greatest empires of India, which reigned from [modern-day] Afghanistan to Bangladesh and even some parts of Myanmar,” the chef explains.
“That’s why dishes from all these regions have always criss-crossed around different parts of India, and we can still see this in dishes like Kandhari gosht [a type of lamb curry] and the Chukandar gosht, [which] are almost the same.”
Peshwari naan at Leela. Photo: Leela
This complex history is the thread that Tuli wants to highlight throughout his menu. “The Peshwari naan, Baida roti, Kandhari lamb chop, Chukandar oxtail gosht and biryani [a mixed rice dish] are all dishes that are common within what used to be the Maurya empire over 2,000 years ago,” he explains.
He points to the sweet naan as an example. “One story suggests it is over 2,500 years old and can trace its history back to Persia, which was overlapping with the Mauryan empire at different times.
“The biryani as well was said to have been developed in the royal kitchens of the Mughal Empire [1526-1857] and is a mix of the native spicy rice dishes of India and the Persian pilaf.”
At Leela, one of the more striking items is the bone marrow biryani, which comes with the bone piercing the heart of the pastry crust covering the rice as it cooks.
Tuli will showcase dishes from the Mauryan empire, which “used to be one of the greatest empires of India”. Photo: Lisa Cam
At a time when the world is seeing wars over borders and sovereignty, it seems that the organic connections between people and culture are what lasts for thousands of years.
While people may be hard-pressed to recall or name rulers of the Maurya empire, those hailing from Afghanistan, Pakistan or India can appreciate a good gosht. Now residents of Hong Kong can as well – and, should they so wish, find out more about the rich heritage behind it.
“Geopolitical boundaries have changed over the millennia, but these dishes still sing the songs of olden times,” Tuli says.
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