Not Your Typical Japanese Restaurant: Gaijin Brings Tokyo Vibes To Mumbai; Battleship Sushi (Gunkan) Finds New Meaning Here

⁠Gaijin translates to 'foreigner' or 'outsider,' and that's exactly how Chef Anand Morwani has approached the cuisine at his Bandra restaurant. Known as the chef "who respects the rules, but isn't afraid to break them," Gaijin is Morwani's "heartfelt ode to Japanese flavours, written with a slightly smudged pen."

An outsider's take on Japanese food

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"We're not trying to replicate Japanese food with textbook precision," says the chef. "We offer a respectful, considered outsider's perspective. What I want guests to take back is that one can engage with a cuisine deeply and respectfully, without it feeling intimidating or exclusive. It should feel accessible, something you can connect with, not something you have to understand before walking in."

Soy Cured Burrata Salad and Tuna Akami

Grab your chopsticks and dive in

When one mentions Japanese food, people think of sushi, ramen and matcha. However, there's so much more to Japanese food and that's what Chef Morwani wants to highlight. Your meal at Gaijin should ideally begin with a cold salad. Vegetarians can dive into a bowl of Soy Cured Burrata Salad. The combo of cheese, roasted pumpkin and bell pepper, cucumber sesame and wasabi foam couple up nicely for a vibrant summer salad. It's just the recipe you need for a bright mood.

Non-vegetarians can settle for the melt-in-your-mouth Tuna Akami served with caviar. "We import our tuna from Japan," reveals Chef Morwani, adding that their hamachi (yellowtail fish), uni (sea urchin) and scallops are imported from there as well. The salmon comes from Norway, the pork belly from Belgium and the lamb ribs from Australia.

In A Pickle

The drinks here almost resemble poetry in liquid form

Age-old tea rituals transcend into cocktails at Gaijin, and there are drinks inspired by midnight izakayas (Japanese pubs).

Sakura Fizz is a zero-proof, fruity, floral mocktail built on strawberry, sakura cherry blossom and bubbles. You can call it 'springtime in a glass'.

Soothing, savoury and extremely refreshing, In A Pickle gets its salty kick from the fermented cucumber, shitake pickle brine, and yuzu kosho that's layered over clean tequila.

Lavender and blue pea help the alcohol-free citrusy Blue Moon take shape, and every sip of the Midsummer Ritual featuring unaged brandy, green grape, musk melon liqueur, milk and matcha feels like a full-blown Japanese tea ceremony.

Truffle Corn Gunkan and Morel Mushroom

Dishes at Gaijin are not tweaked to suit but impress the desi palate

"Authenticity, for me, comes from understanding the foundations — technique, balance, fermentation, and not from replication. That's what we stay true to. Our flavours are built to stand on their own, but they're expressed in a way that feels relevant to where we are," shares the chef who developed his love for Japanese cuisine over time, through travel and exposure.

"Eating like locals, spending time in Japan, and observing how food is approached there are some of the experiences that stayed with me. It gradually turned into a deeper interest, and Gaijin is an extension of that."

Crab Temaki has sushi rice with crab meat stuffed in a nori shell. The soft, creamy, crab meat goes well with the sticky rice and the nori shells add a lovely, crunchy texture to the dish.

Crab done two ways! Crab Temaki and Crab Fried Rice

Gunkans have been one of the chef's favourite styles of sushi, and you can't make a trip to Gaijin without trying it out. Traditionally, they are prepared with a nori, but at Gaijin, the team decided to take another approach and replace the nori with other ingredients.

The Truffle Corn Gunkan is wrapped in takuan (pickled daikon radish), and the Spicy Salmon Tartar is encased in salmon with a delicate topping of fish roe.

Morel Mushroom, a bestseller, is one of those dishes that looks good but tastes even better. The spicy dark tare (Japanese dipping sauce) and smoked miso give it a woody texture, that almost resemble the bark of a tree. It's got bell pepper, zucchini, mushrooms, black garlic puree, soy beurre blanc (French butter sauce) and sprouts.

Sakura Fizz and Spicy Salmon Tartar

When cheese makes it to the dessert, expect the unusual

Presently, you'll find just a handful of desserts on the menu. "Honestly, we haven't found much that the Japanese aren't good at," admits the chef. "Desserts are definitely one of their strengths, and it's something they have mastered. Japan has a wide variety of iconic desserts ranging from mochi to hot taiyaki and icy kakigori. Other than this, they have some amazing cheesecakes, artisanal chocolates and of course a spectrum of French-inspired patisseries."

Expect a select but playful mix of desserts at Gaijin. The Brie Cheesecake was born out of the chef's core memory of eating a sizzling brownie with ice cream. The sphere of cheese encased in a crackling white chocolate dome is finished off with "black sesame ice cream, a sesame tuile for textural contrast and some dehydrated micro sponge for some additional crunch". It is so indulgent and good that you'll polish it off in a jiffy.

"I have gravitated towards desserts that have a sweet and savoury element to it and have always wanted to feature truffles, so I created a dessert that’s eaten like cheese, crackers and truffle. That’s how the Brie cheesecake was born," says the chef. Another spectacular sweet offering here is the chocolate-orange and matcha ice cream. Want to jazz things up? Opt for the Matcha Ice Cream Sandwich. It is basically a matcha ice cream sandwiched between two saccharine sweet macarons.

Matcha Ice Cream Sandwich and the Brie Cheesecake

What's next on Morwani's wishlist?

Trials in the kitchen are a regular affair at Gaijin, and the chef candidly admits that there are a plethora of dishes from Japan that could make it on the menu. Letting us in on his present experiments in the kitchen, he says, "I am currently working on specials around lobsters, uni (sea urchins), abalone (sea snails) and sweet potato." He is also contemplating introducing a chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard).

"Japanese cuisine is based on mastering technique, using it with precision to create balance but yet complex flavours," says the chef. "The key challenges lies in training your team beyond reproducing recipes. The other key factors are sourcing the best produce and making sure that it is available consistently, which can be a challenge in the current geopolitical situation the world finds itself in. Lastly and most recently, it is about adapting to tackle the recent unavailability of gas cylinders for cooking."

Address: Gaijin, Lotia Palace, Linking Rd, Opp. Citi Bank, Khar West, Mumbai, MH 400052

Price for two: Rs 2600 (approx. without alcohol)

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