How Indian is fine dining restaurant Tresind in Dubai?

Tresind - which I'm assured is not tres-Ind (very Ind-ian), but, much to my disappointment, tre-sind, even though they're sticking with the same definition - is true to what it stands for. Barring the weird French guffaw, and I promise that's the last of that, it is what Indian food might one day transcend to, traditions (mostly) and customs (maybe) well intact for the modern, discerning connoisseur. And that's no mean feat, because, as many foodies, restaurateurs, chefs, and even the guy making pakodas on the street, will tell you, Indian food is just too bleeding diverse to stick on one single menu!

Located at the Radisson Royal Hotel on SZR, Tresind is devoid of all that snazzy Indian decor that graces many a banquet-style Indian restaurant. No maroon chairs with frills at the bottom; just clean white, modern interiors with a dash of colour here and there. It may seem a little bleak to those used to the riot of colours, but the food will distract you. The service is warm and attentive, and the head chef occasionally pops out to serve too, especially when it comes to one of the restaurant's signature takes on chaat, that ubiquitous umbrella of Indian street food.

But we start with a twist on pani puri, or gol gappa or puchka, whichever you prefer. I assure you, you haven't had it as an amusebouche and you probably haven't &realised the complexity of this masterful street concoction you've been cramming into your mouths until now. It's a bubble of the minty and sour tamarind liquids that the puris get dipped into, that explodes with the pop of the crunchy puri creating the same sensations, but in a whole new way.

Following this is another twisted take on the love of tea, more specifically, chai, in India. However, it's a mushroom soup, where morel mushrooms are the tea leaves, truffle powder the milk and a tandoori guchchi (an Indian fungus/mushroom) consomme forming the hot water. Describing it like this, of course, does zero justice to the actual thing, which is a must-try. A little overwhelming with the intense flavours of the mushrooms and truffle - nevertheless, quite delicious.

Trying to put India on a menu is not the easiest task, which is probably what makes a lot of Indian restaurants a real gamble. There's just too much diversity and, ironically, nothing that stands out as "Indian". Tresind manages to put all those diverse things in one place and does it so intriguingly innovatively that you can't help but rethink Indian food. But my biggest concern (apart from that name) is that you'd have to know your Indian food to really appreciate the subtleties that Tresind is trying to execute here. To most, it will look like fancifully repackaged Indian fare, but to the discerning lot, it's very, very Indian.