Zuru Zuru

It’s 5pm, and the upstairs level at Zuru Zuru is quiet. The lunch rush is over, the kitchen tidied up, and the staff have eaten their meals, which they did huddled together at the other end of the shared table from me, laughing and gossiping.

Chef Kiran Tamang, a Delhi boy born-and-raised, is looking thoughtfully into the distance, preparing a riveting little TED talk for me on the formulaic beauty and infinite complexity of ramen and its five pillars. Downstairs, the 12-seater dining room is preparing to serve a menu of thoughtfully-crafted toasts and teas. 

As Chef Kiran and I discuss little details – ‘that translucent lemon with the prawn was fermented, was it not?’, ‘how do you guys get your black fungus to be so tender and innately flavourful?’, ‘did the tantanmen use a different noodle than the others?’ – it becomes obvious that the attention to detail at Zuru Zuru goes obsessively deep, but in a way that gets members of the team so excited they don’t mind chatting about it even between services. 

Founder-chefs Navika Kapoor and Hitein Puri have a big hand in building this culture, where almost anyone can pitch menu ideas ahead of ZZ’s 6-monthly changes. Guest care goes as far as tacitly serving thicker, heartier noodles during winter months.

Even without this context, it becomes obvious when dining at ZZ that it’s a special place. The amuse bouche teases the ingredients and flavour profiles of the season, and no two items that follow feel repetitive or uninspired. 

We begin with the negima yakitori which offers a perfect, bouncy resistance as I bite, which tenderly gives way, letting its umami glaze and Maggi masala-esque dusting (Chef Kiran later tells me they indeed call this ‘mast masala’) meld with the alternating pieces of chicken and charred spring onion on the skewer. The prawn kushiyaki is next, juicy and interspersed with little tangles of dressing-soaked lettuce, then ZZ’s highly-Instagrammed gyoza, which come fused to a lightly sweet, crisp tuile, and stuffed with a filling of your choice (we chose the mushroom, which beautifully blends cremini and portobello). 

Despite my skepticism, the seasonal sweet potato yakimochi turn out to be incredible, only lightly sweet and gently glutinous, not painfully sticky-saccharine, glazed with something resembling gochujang. If not for the three delectable-looking bowls of ramen now gracing our table, I’d be tempted to order seconds of all the appetisers. 

We choose two vegetarian ramens, in some ways to challenge both ourselves and ZZ – the mushroom-tomato-oatmilk paitan (a cloudy ramen, as Chef Kiran will soon explain), and the veg tantanmen. The former is remarkably rich yet light, the tomato element in the broth balancing the roasty-richness from the mushroom and oat, though if I were to nitpick, the tofu chashu topping does not leave much of an impression. The tantanmen, an explosion of sesame and peanut and sichuan spice in a mushroom-millet broth, topped with sundried tomato, turns out to be one of the best I’ve had, and the tofu-soy mince topping addresses my desire for a protein to chew on. The shio pork chintan, despite being our only clear soup base of the day, pulls no punches either – in fact, it may be the most aromatic and unique bowl of ramen I’ve had the pleasure of tasting, like a perfume made edible. 

A few spoonfuls in, I’m still trying to figure out how such a transparent broth carries such complexity, with its citrus-pepper top note, its vegetal middle, and its almost-unctuous base which remind me of Terre d'Hermès – but then I find myself pause, and just give into the experience until the very last drop. After all, a visit here would be incomplete without some ‘zuru zuru’, the slurping sound of satisfaction.

The vibe: A friendly, playful space with two little dining rooms and a balcony overlooking the road, within walking distance from the many other quirky establishments of Shahpur Jat.

The food: Impeccable, innovative ramen and Japanese-inspired small-plates during lunch and dinner service, and a speciality toast-and-tea menu in between – all built around a handcrafted set of ferments, sauces, and housemade condiments (many available for purchase).

The drink: The ginger sunshine soda (Chef Kiran’s creation), a housemade, zero-waste concoction – one of many creative brews on offer. 

Time Out tip: Almost every element of the ramen can be customised via the QR-ordering system, but it doesn’t let you pick how your noodles are cooked – if you’d like them al dente, request your server.