Let’s get straight to it. There’s a drink called mouth wash on Fu Fu’s menu (in Alwarpet) that looks as ridiculous as it sounds. This sweet, tall, blue drink loaded with ice, is served with a toothbrush (a real one, alright) with an edible paste atop.
Mouth wash does exactly what co-proprietor Manoj Padmanaban says it does. It cleanses your palate between plates of nasi goreng, crispy lamb, that is loaded with onion, ginger, and garlic. It also gets people talking. “They say you can’t kiss after an Asian meal. Now, you can,” he says.
A sushi platter
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Special Arrangement
I did not think I’d write the word ‘mouth wash’ as many times in a food review but the drink sets the exact tone for the meal at Fu Fu. The menu with hand-drawn illustrations, is inventive, fun, yet familiar.
The restaurant, replete with tiger prints on their seats, covers, and walls, seats 94 and has a 12 seater private dining area. What is refreshing is the music and the energy. The place refuses to take itself seriously, yet serves delectable sushi with fresh fish and nasi goreng with perfectly flavoured fried rice and well-charred skewers on the side. Why tigers? “We want to embody the spirit of the tiger. We want to usher in that intensity but the only way to really be intense is to also enjoy the process of setting up new places with great zest,” says Japtej Ahluwalia, the other proprietor.
At Fu Fu, there is something for everyone. Manoj says that he and his partner Japtej got tired of restaurants ‘toning it down’ — toning down the garlic and the spice especially. It is why they are choosing to maximise the flavour profiles that Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese cuisines lend themselves to. “Chilli chicken has been sent to Jolly Indian [their newly-opened Indian restaurant one floor above] because it is now Indian but the rest is here. We want families to swarm this place, making it their spot for big get-togethers ,” he says, laughing.
A meal at Fu Fu
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Special Arrangement
We order a tom yum soup to test the waters. The soup, fragrant with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and chilies, does exactly what it is meant to do — captivate and clear the throat. Pieces of prawn that are cooked till tender float in the bowl, begging to be bitten into. Another bowl of the roasted pumpkin and truffle soup, a clear-ish broth, reminds one of the sweetcorn soups that one might order at a favourite Chinese restaurant.
A plate of maki soon arrives with pink, fatty salmon right atop the sticky rice. Saoirse-Monica Jackson, the lead in the Netflix hit show Derry Girls, says in her intense Irish accent that it is hard to mess up ‘cold rice with cold fish on top’. But the plate with four pieces is demolished in under four minutes so it is testament to sushi’s greatness.
We try the Cantonese bamboo shoot salad with beans and cherry tomatoes which requires a bit more acid to offset the bitterness of the bamboo shoot, while waiting on the main course. Yet, two other small plates — the okonomiyaki (cabbage pancake) and crispy lamb arrive instead.
Interiors at Fu Fu
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Special Arrangement
The fried cabbage pancake with kewpie mayo and ketchup “is a salad” argues Manoj, and says that it is a great way for him to eat vegetables. We do not complain. In this version with chopped prawns, the flavour of the fish comes through effortlessly. The crispy lamb on the other hand with an assortment of long-sliced onions and bell peppers, reminds one of every great fried meat in conventional “Chinese” sauces, making it to the future “must order” list.
There is also a Nobu-style buttery miso black cod for all the fish lovers to try. Manoj says that the intention is to be economical with this slab of fish so more people put their palate to test and see if they enjoy this style of seafood.
My favourite dish on the menu is the nasi goreng though. Topped with a perfectly round runny egg in the centre, this rice dish from Indonesia, served with a chicken satay skewer and a crunchy salad is satiating, and full of flavour from the soy, garlic and shallot-tossed glutenous rice. This and a drink would make it a perfect meal for one — just enough to people watch and sail through. “There are many solo diners here so we are trying to cater to that audience too,” Manoj says.
N*obu black cod
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Special Arrangement
There’s a variety of desserts and drinks with boba (including one with taro) that you could try but I’d recommend the light Thai water chestnut pudding. I will however be back to try the mochi someday. The drinks are good but can be skipped in order to eat more food.
People might ask why Chennai needs yet another Asian restaurant. Fu Fu though is exciting and deserves to be on your eat list because at the end of your meal, it is likely that you’d walk out of their parking mirror-filled disco entrance with your belly full and a smile on your face. Unless its a break-up or family-feud. Don’t ask me then.
Fu Fu is on the third floor, Born Restaurants, 61/45, CP Ramaswamy Iyer Road, Alwarpet. Contact 9600037124 for details. A meal for two is priced at ₹1,800.
Published – January 24, 2026 06:58 pm IST
