Executive Chef Manav Tuli brings India’s colourful and authentic roadside food culture to Rosewood Hong Kong

CHAAT references the Hindi slang for “savoury snacks”. At CHAAT, Chef de Cuisine Manav Tuli re-imagines his favourite traditional street snacks from his childhood growing up in central India. Utilizing a trio of authentic tandoor ovens, the colourful menu pays homage to the rich and varied culinary lexicon of India’s central states and Bombay coast, the northern Punjab and Kerala in the south.

Chef Manav Tuli draws from a wealth of experience over the past 18 years in some of the finest kitchens of London and India to create a menu of bold, inspiring renditions of much-loved Indian favourites. Manav began his culinary career in the southwestern coastal state of Kerala, where he gained a firm foundational knowledge of southern Indian culture and its cuisine. He then embarked upon an exciting opportunity at luxury hotel group Oberois in the princely state of Rajasthan, where he refined his technique and learned to adapt to a new style of Indian cuisine given the region’s dry and arid climate. After a short stint in The Oberoi Mumbai, Manav ventured out into the world to discover international cuisines, starting in the resort island of Mauritius and finally landing in the gastronomic capital of London. Manav worked his way up the culinary ladder and opened modern Indian restaurant Tamarind in 2019, where he achieved the first Michelin star for an Indian restaurant in London.

CHAAT’s gilded bronze accents references to traditional Indian brass bowls and cutlery. The focal point inside the restaurant is a custom-made wall mural by the Hyderabadi contemporary artist Kandi Narsimlu. His naive, giant figures on colourful, scenic backdrops tell a vibrant narrative of bustling Indian street life, where the ritual of roadside chaat forms part of the cultural fabric of towns and cities that transcends social  strata to unite people around the shared pleasure of eating.