Growing up in Fiji, as the youngest child in the family, former Madame Hanoi and West Oak head chef Krish Dutt was responsible for frying up fish on the woodfired backyard stove when he came home from school.
He soon discovered that he loved it, and by 9 or 10, he was telling all his friends he’d be a chef. As an adult, his passion for cuisine set him loose around Asia, where he couch surfed, took notes and Instagrammed. Friendships forged during those backpacking years led him to a stint cooking for Jordan’s Royal Family. With his new intimate restaurant, Momoda by Krish, located inside Stepney’s The Maid Hotel, Krish brings an unrivalled life experience, fulfils his dream, and invites diners to forget everything they think they know about eggplant dishes.
Momoda by Krish’s design and menu reflect Krish Dutt’s rich life journey. Plates are designed to be shared, like they were in his family home, and, like the fish of his youth, are seared or charred on charcoal, on a robatayaki grill. Asian influences, like the Japanese barbeque grill, abound and draw upon his backpacking years, and his time at SkyCity restaurants MASU in Auckland and Madame Hanoi in Adelaide. There’s Korean beef tartare, an assortment of baos and dumplings, five spice marinated chicken and wok fried beef brisket.
Image © Kelsey Zafiridis Photography
Under his Insta , @krish_dutt_xoxo, Krish made lifelong friends as he ate his way around Asia, taking snaps and Google Translating his thoughts and questions. His next stop was working in New Zealand at MASU, under the mentorship of Executive Chef Darren Johnson. Krish quickly scaled the ranks, being promoted to sous chef within a year.
“I did not know anything about Asian cooking until I met [Darren]. He taught me from scratch what the difference is between a red miso and a white miso, between a one spice to two spice to four spice to seven spice. All the flavour profiles, I learned from him,” Krish says.
Krish was then meant to relocate for a short stay in Adelaide to help open Madame Hanoi, but after falling in love with the place, particularly the work-life balance, he decided to move there.
Image © Kelsey Zafiridis Photography
“I was getting told off for working too much; that’s not something that happens anywhere else in the world. [Also] the weather, being so close to everything. The beer, the wine, the food, the culture, everything,” Krish says.
Krish’s plan to settle in Adelaide was briefly interrupted by an offer you can’t refuse: being flown to the best restaurants in the world by the Royal Family of Jordan to learn their favourite recipes, so he could replicate them in their palace in Amman. The favourite dish he discovered while on reconnaissance was a jellified olive plated up at Washington D.C’s Bar Mini, owned by chef Jose Andres where 20 chefs worked from 7 AM to midnight in a restaurant that holds just 20 diners per seating, with 2 seatings per night.
Image © Kelsey Zafiridis Photography
Momoda is cosy too, but the chefs work a four-day roster, and cook with feeling rather than regimented precision. Instead of olive jellies, the signature dish is another homage to his early days: Open fire roasted eggplant, with smoked ichimi pepper jam, black vinegar and puffed rice.
“Since we were little kids, I’ve just liked the earthiness. Charcoal works really well with eggplant. We’d spice it up with garlic, fresh herbs. I use a mixture of chilli jam which is sweet, salty, spicy. It’s not overpoweringly spicy. We use a single chilli skin. It gives flavour without the spice.
“Every customer we’ve had, when they come out, they say to the waiters 'not another eggplant dish'. When they’re finished, they say they wish they ordered two of these.”
Momoda by Krish is at 1 Magill Rd, Stepney (Adelaide). You can share some plates at Momoda by Krish now, by booking at the website.
