Eating like a Japanese on NH48

Much like it would happen in a surreal Haruki Murakami novel, chef and architect couple Siddharth Somaiya and Nikita D’Silva Somaiya came across a Jap restaurant, Kuuraku, with the freshest prawns ever, on a recent road trip

Mumbai-based chef Siddharth Somaiya and architect Nikita D’Silva Somaiya had been spending an idyllic time in their family home in Dehradun during the second lockdown, when work commitments compelled them to return home. Since the couple has a dog, flying down to Mumbai was out of the question. So, they decided to drive down to Mumbai taking the NH48 route, which goes through Rajasthan.

Kuuraku on NH48, near Neemrana

“We were on NH48, and passing through Neemrana, which is an industrial township now,” says Siddharth. They were crossing companies like Honda, Dyson, and Daikin—all Japanese, by the way. “We had heard rumours of there being authentic Japanese restaurants here, especially to cater to company officials, who must be coming here all the time.” It was then that both noticed a big red sign, one that spelled out Kuuraku. Being ardent foodies, they took a u-turn and decided to check it out. “We were hoping it was open,” says Nikita. And, it was. There were only two customers, the couple recalls.

“We met the general manager, who was a soft spoken Japanese lady. She told us that this was their fifth outlet in India. They are mostly in the North, with outlets in Delhi and Kolkata,” says Siddharth, who also noticed that the front of the house and kitchen had Japanese nationals. The menus were loud—with big lettering and pictures. There were different menus for sushi, ramen and tempura. “We got confused, so we asked them to recommend. They also had a lot of set menus,” says Nikita. The duo eventually settled on the eel sushi, prawn tempura sushi, pork ramen, and edamame. “I kid you not, these were the freshest prawns I had eaten. It was very tasty as well,” says Siddharth.

Siddharth Somaiya eats the eel sushi

The chef says he couldn’t believe that he was eating at an authentic Japanese restaurant in Rajasthan, and decided to check out the kitchen. “It was surreal! But the chefs were so lovely, and everything was spotless. I have a feeling that this restaurant is receiving a lot of patronage from the companies nearby. How else can they be so awesome?” Soon after, the two got back into their cars and drove to Jaipur, where they spent a night, before returning to Mumbai. Siddharth, who had once founded Goyaa, is now busy working on a personal project, and Nikita just completed work on the new Subko outlet in Byculla, The Craftery by Subko. But a piece of their heart is still at Kuuraku, and they can’t wait to go back. “It was quite a surprise and an experience. But completely delightful.”

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