Oriental Aura by Devanshi Mody

Rather than looking for Oriental restaurants in the Orient – that would be too obvious – we thought we’d bring you some of the most striking specimens of Oriental décor from elsewhere around the world. One might be weary of seeing it written about over and over again, but there’s no getting away from it.

Inevitably heading any list of the most breathtaking Oriental restaurants is Dubai’s Buddha Bar. It makes the Parisian original seem paltry in comparison. Dubai’s most celebrated venue has become a byword for design with its swanky floor-to-ceiling windows and terraces that offer superb marina views.

The astonishing interiors are replete with dragon mosaics, dramatic staircases, stunning rest rooms, vaulted ceilings, themed dining areas, bars and a sunken private lounge with a four-metre Buddha statue. The roaring red interiors lure the international elite, and this is the place to see and be seen.

But, you don’t go there to eat, right ? You’d be pleasantly surprised. The Chinese stir-fries are as hot as the decor and sizzle like the glam young things adorning the restaurant-bar. The youthful manager, Marco, chatters charmingly, and the staff’s slick service makes for a heady experiance.

The latest Oriental design extravagances are surprisingly or not so surprisingly in India these days. The booming economy and Indian aesthetic flare come together to ensure ultra-astonishing design. These days, Mumbai has some of the world’s best designed venues.

China House at Mumbai’s Grand Hyatt has to be the show-stopper of the eastern world. And, keeping with its dramatic opening attended by the film set, the restaurant-bar continues to be where Bollywood romances are made and broken. Enter the dragon, and you’re transported into an Oriental designer space that can rival the world’s best. Exceptional attention to detail!

The almost Balinese feel of the immense open-air lounge leads to ornate doors concealing what might be one of the world’s most expansive restaurants, which encompasses interestingly themed private dining areas nestled amidst public spaces. Looking into the fabulous open kitchen, everything from chefs, staff and lotus stems are imported all the way from China. This no-expenses-spared restaurant is the ultimate extravagance.

Mumbai’s Shiro, meaning ‘Asian castle of sensuous indulgence,’ is sheer mind-blowing exotica and has been so popular that now it has opened duplicates in Goa and New Delhi. Rated amongst the world’s best looking bar-restaurants, this place integrates a lofty bamboo-thatched roof, low seating, eclectic lamps and mellow lighting.

Through a towering antique metal door flanked by flaming torches, you’re confronted with three imposing 16-feet-high female figures that drop water into a large moat with river pedals and lotus flowers. These figures guard a VIP room perched 10-feet-high, overlooking a zen spa-like enclave where rustic tranquillity fuses with the criminally crimson exuberance of sumptuous silk, chenille and velvet.

Intimate niches, each offering a unique experience of contemporised oriental mystique, are adorned with oriental statues, busts, heads and antiques as in a private castle. Castle cool indeed!

Seijo and the Sole Dish is better known for its stunning décor than its fusion food. Awarded “Mumbai’s Best Looking Restaurant” by the Indian Express, it’s a stone and bamboo extravaganza with a retractable roof, flowing waterfalls, lush Japanese-style gardens, pebbled waterways, gilded individual egg-shaped restrooms and other exotica.

India Jones at the Trident Towers is a fine example of minimalist oriental décor. Arty constructs standing in a body of water greet you at the entrance and lead you into light interiors. The Oriental writing adorning the walls contrasts as does the open kitchen with its Tepenyaki counter.

There is none of the flashy razzmatazz at Liz Hurley’s favourite Mumbai venue. Understated elegance and simple sophistication are the order of the day. Creative extravagance comes in the superb pan-Asian menu. The desserts in particular are getting rather daring these days.

Mumbai’s landmark Wasabi got the city hooked on Japanese cuisine, triggering a spate of hip new Japanese restaurants. Following its phenomenal success in Bollywood country, the restaurant opened its latest branch in New Delhi.

Conceived by Kuala Lumpur’s LTW Design Works, the restaurant integrates a sushi bar, the swish and dramatic Tepenyaki and Grill Counter and the intimate Tatami Room, recreating a Japanese home with jute work ceiling and rustic shades. An astonishing seafood selection is flown in from around the world for Chef Hemant Oberoi’s constantly changing, carefully conceived creations. This has to be not just one of the world’s best looking Japanese restaurants, but one of the best Japanese restaurants in general.

But, nothing can steal the glory from the Delhi institution. Internationally acclaimed as one of the world’s top restaurants, the Spice Route is poetry in design. Sheer mesmerizing sensuous exotica, Rajeev Sethi’s masterpiece took seven years to complete.

Designed to reflect the journey of spices from Kerala’s Malabar Coast through Ceylon, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia to Thailand and Vietnam, the restaurant is entirely hand-painted by mural painters brought from a Kerala temple with a tradition dating back 3,000 years.

Following Feng Shui, the Spice Route – a treasure trove of antiques (including 16th-century temple pillars) – is divided into nine different sections, each exquisitely depicting a stage in the journey of life with murals of the Kama Sutra (Lust Section), manuscripts of the Ramayana (Religion Section) and 24-carat-gold leafing (Wealth Section). The courtyard is embellished with Chiang Mai sculptures and Khantok-style seating.

Indochine, the elegantly exotic restaurant, is a veritable Amman institution. Palm trees, wicker furniture and slowly rotating ceiling fans impart a languorous and romantic air, transporting you into the rapturous sensuality of colonial Indo-China. From the open kitchen, the fragrance of fresh ginger and lemon grass tantalises, whilst the Vietnamese and Thai fusion food titillates the taste buds.

This restaurant, which possibly serves the world’s finest green tea ice cream, inspired a host of fancy restaurants, which have propelled Amman to the forefront of international gastronomy and design.

The recently refurbished La Chinoiserie occupies centre-stage in the lobby of Paris’s Hyatt Madeleine, yet somehow manages to preserve the quiet intimacy of a private club. More fascinatingly still, the sumptuous Oriental décor whisks you away on an exotic voyage.

But, from the glass roof above, you have quintessential Parisian architecture bearing down, watching you relish the young chef’s adventurous preparations. It’s obvious that the chef has worked under the best (including star chef Robuchon) when you savour his artichoke starter or the most ravishing ravioli ever: a massive, sublimely textured ravioli arrives concealing perfectly cooked asparagus within. Try the Esphahan for dessert.

From the suave décor, cool cutlery and table layout to the strikingly presented fare on the “dual personality” menu, Prague Mandarin Oriental’s sexy Euro-Asian restaurant, Essensia, oozes style. Forget the fancy modern European concoctions, and go for refined oriental cuisine with innovative twists. But, they also do the most luscious Thai Green curry. Who said you couldn’t possibly lavish four hours on relishing pan-Asian cuisine?

Glamorous, ground-breaking Zuma revolutionised London’s contemporary ethnic dining scene with Japanese fusion food and arresting design. Think ultra-swanky wood, granite and stone interiors. Since the Zuma sensation turned heads and set trends, London hasn’t had a drop-dead good-looking Japanese restaurant.

The new Nobu Berkley is more classy and suave than a riot of outrageous creative design. However, you can’t beat the Michelin-starred, world-famous Nobu when it comes to the best Japanese food in town by a long, long way.

Conceived by David Tang, the founder of China Clubs in Hong Kong, Peking and Singapore, as well as the life-style brand "Shanghai Tang", China Tang at London’s legendary Dorchester matches authentic Cantonese food (including the signature Peking Duck) with sumptuous interior.

Designed to evoke a romantic sense of the art deco of the Thirties, it abounds with chinoiserie, quirky objects d'art and traditional and contemporary Chinese art – all personally chosen by David Tang.

London’s hottest Chinese restaurant is Michelin-starred Hakkasan, known for both venue and menu. The sultry basement teaming with fancy fretwork oozes style and attracts a smart crowd sitting around the large dining room, which is divided into discrete areas by oriental screens of geometric design. The glitz and glamour compliments fabulous contemporised Chinese cuisine.