The Orient comes a little closer with Mugen

The marauding colonisers didn’t manage it. China revealed only a few of its mysteries to the west. Dutch control over Indonesia was tenuous at most. And Thailand is the only south-east Asian country never to have been ruled by an alien power.

History has just been rewritten by Chef Sandesh Reddy. Heading Mugen (dream in Japanese), the newest Oriental restaurant in town, he coaxes the enigmatic Indochine to divulge its culinary secrets under one exquisitely decorated roof. Bamboo rafters, Thai scriptures and beautiful Indonesian artifacts set the ambience for amity and conversation.

Mix and match: Choose the Som Tam, a refreshing green papaya salad with crushed peanuts, from Thailand, a starter from Chong Quing. Follow up with a Siap Base Kalas, a tantalisingly different coconut-based curry from Indonesia, with steamed rice. Or set the taste buds on fire with the traditional Tom Yam, and douse the flames with Pag Manow, stir-fried veggies with a lime and coriander sauce. Keep space for the Trendy Taster’s fave dessert: Waterchestnut cubes and crushed ice in chilled coconut milk.

The Chinese menu is vast; the Indonesian one leaves one wanting more. But at the unique Chef’s Table — celebratory crockery set on lacquered tables — Reddy can cook up customised storms.

Come, be conquered.

Mugen. 3rd floor, 2011, 100 Feet Road (above Indigo Nation store), HAL 2nd stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore. Tel: 41481414/9945300004. Meal for two (without alcohol): Rs 900-1200.