Chef Garima Arora Is Naughty But Nice At Her First Restaurant In India, Banng

Chef Garima Arora is best known as the chef-owner of Gaa, a modern Indian restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand for which she earned two Michelin stars, making her the first Indian female chef to helm a two-star restaurant. With an illustrious culinary journey, Chef Garima confesses that once she takes up a project it is very difficult for her not to give it her everything!

In 2018, Garima Arora became the first Indian female chef to earn a Michelin star at the age of 32, just one year after opening Gaa. The following year, she was voted Asia’s Best Female Chef 2019 while her restaurant Gaa officially entered the ranks of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, debuting at No. 16 with the Highest New Entry Award. In 2022, Chef Arora won the Michelin Guide Young Chef Award.In December 2023, Restaurant Gaa received a second Michelin star in the 2024 Michelin Guide.

 

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Expectedly, there has been huge anticipation about her opening a restaurant in India. This demand went up considerably since she came as a judge on the cooking reality show MasterChef India Season 7 in 2023, making her a household name in the country. She has finally taken the plunge with her Thai restaurant Banngat the swanky Two Horizon Centre, Gurgaon, in association with Riyaaz Amlani, founder and managing director of Impresario Handmade Restaurants.

Chef Arora has been a strong advocate of the diversity of Indian cuisines and cooking techniques, being based in Bangkok for the better part of a decade has also given her a deep insight into authentic Thai food. Speaking about her debut restaurant in India, she shared, “Returning home to open Banng feels incredibly special. I’ve drawn inspiration from Bangkok, its rich culinary traditions, and its vibrant energy while honouring India and Thailand’s shared cultural heritage. Every dish on the menu reflects this journey—a harmonious blend of bold flavours, innovative techniques, and heartfelt storytelling.” Her India partner, Amlani, also shares his excitement, “we are thrilled to bring two Michelin-star Chef Garima Arora’s cooking to the city in a style that is uniquely Impresario. With her unparalleledexpertise in Thai cuisine and her deep understanding of Bangkok’s culture, Banng delivers an experience that’s bold, authentic, and distinctly unique. We’re thrilled to bring the energy, flavours, and spirit of Thailand’s culture to Gurgaon.”

Banng’s menu features a cornucopia of dishes with ‘banging’ flavours, covering specialities from the north to south of Thailand. You can start with Tom Kha Pani Puri, a delightfully crunchy puri filled with chilled coconut broth, mushrooms and herbs. The playfulness is further evident in salads such as Toss My Yum, a delicate salad of rice, aromatic herbs, sour n’ sweet tamarind dressing, or the Yum Seabass, an equally refreshing salad hitting all the flavour notes leading to a punchy party on your palate. There are, of course, a range of curries that are light, flavourful and sans coconut cream, including a subtle white curry that you won’t find anywhere else in India (for now!).

The showstopper, however, is the Banng’ing Omelette. The quintessential Thai crab omelette is topped with a crunchy salad of Chinese celery, and onions with a sweet, sour and spicy dressing. This dish alone showcases the mastery of skill and the perfect balance of Thai flavours in every bite. There’s a lot more fun to be had on this extensive menu, including a DIY ice cream taco cart that makes for a sweet finish to a delicious meal. You can fill the Khanom bueang waffle shells with your choice of fillings that include maya de coco, palm seed, peanut butter and young coconut meat.

Banng’s sprawling space is thoughtfully curated to create distinct experiential zones, including a dynamic bar with a Thai lantern-inspired ceiling installation and cosy dining nooks. The bar at Banng has two personalities – one that follows the rhythm of the day, as a fine dining restaurant for the most part, and moving with the pulse of the night the space transforms into a buzzing nightspot post 11 pm. Warm red hues that adorn the walls, quirky signs on the wall, Insta-worthy photo spots and electrifying music complete the vibe. The cocktail program is inspired by the Thai martial art of Muay Thai – divided into Flyweight, Middleweight, and Heavyweight, the drinks range from refreshingly light to bold, spirit-forward concoctions. They are an ode to the vibrant energy of Bangkok’s fruit carts, combining innovative techniques, bringing local Thai flavours with a precise balance in each glass.

As we enjoy a special preview of Banng, it’s a great time to indulge in a tête-à-tête with Chef Garima Arora.

Edited excerpts:

1. As the first Indian female chef with Michelin stars, what are your thoughts about this much-deserved recognition and did life change for you in any way after you received the ‘star’?

Of course, the first star was life-changing and the second even more so. It’s a great recognition to have; but it’s a recognition not just for me but for my team. I’m not always around—I’m busy raising an 18-month-oldand I’m also expecting a second baby—so, I wish I could take all the credit for the restaurant doing so well, but it’s actually a fantastic team that I have; they’re always there to support when I need them. So, as much as I’m happy and glad about it, it’s really about the people who’ve been at Gaa for the longest time actually (we have been together for almost nine years since day one of the restaurant), and I think that shows a lot.

2. Do you think the F&B world in India is evolving, both, in terms of offerings as well as demand? If so, how?

Oh yes, definitely. I was surprised to see such authentic versions of international cuisines in Gurgaon. Growing up in India it was always Indianised Chinese or Indianised Italian—those were the only two options that we had. But this time, I had some amazing ramen;some great Korean food and I had some really amazing coffee. So, slowly and steadily India is getting to where everybody else in the world is.

3. Congratulations for opening your first restaurant in India. What made you finally take the plunge?

We’ve been waiting to do something in India for a long time. We had been working on getting the right concept and finding the right partners. So with Impresario and Riyaaz, we were able to find the right partners. I always wanted to open a Thai restaurant that in India, and so did he, so it was just a match waiting to happen. After we met last year, one thing led to the other and here we are opening a restaurant together.

4. What sets Banng apart from other Thai restaurants in the country? 

I think that’s for the diners to decide. But in my opinion, what we’ve tried to do is try to be as true as possible to the original flavours. We did have a lot of fun with the menu—Thai food, in general, lends itself to some naughty twists. But when it comes to the mains, the curries and stir-fries, I’ve remained a purist. In fact, we get our curry paste fresh from Bangkok twice a week to make sure that we are as authentic as possible to the real curry.

5. While we would have expected you to open your first restaurant in India either in Mumbai or Delhi, you went with Gurgaon. Any particular reason for this location?

Mumbai is also on the cards, but Gurgaon just happened to happen first. And I think it’s because of the location—we’re very, very happy with the location that we’re in (Two Horizon Centre). Gurgaon itself is so cosmopolitan, there are so many restaurants serving very authentic cuisines whether it is Korean, Japanese, or even Thai. People from this part of the NCR are well travelled, are gourmands, they understand flavours from different countries. I think all in all, it was the perfect place to start.

6. Why do you think Riyaaz Amlani was the right partner to work with for Banng?

I think most importantly, we have the same sensibilities when it comes to food. Riyaaz was very clear he didn’t want to compromise on the flavours, or the authenticity of Thai cuisine, and for me, that was the first green flag. We don’t know each other for a very long time, we just met last year for the very first time but I think our sensibilities match. He has a fantastic team at Impresario, very talented, humble, hardworking people; I think that says a lot about a person as well. Riyaaz always knows the pulse of what’s the next big thing. He’s created some amazing concepts ahead of time and has called on future trends ahead of time and he’s very good in delivering and packaging a good experience for diners so I think there could have been no better person to do this with other than him and Impresario.

7. Attapon De-silva has created some fabulous cocktails to complement the food at Banng. what was your brief to him?

We wanted to work with a local bartender to curate the drinks, but we wanted the drinks not only to be standalone good but also to pair well with the food. The first thing we did when we met Attapon was to get him to try the menu. He was the first person to try our R&D menu, which is about right because he’s the one curating the drinks; he immediately got the flavour profiles that we were going for, punchy and banging, and he delivered that in the cocktails so well. It’s been such a successful association with him.

8. Now with Gaa and Banng, how do you plan to divide your time between Thailand and India?

I’ve always been a very hands-on person. So, we don’t partner with a lot of people. I’m just the kind of person who can’t not be involved. For now, I plan to spend at least a week every month in Gurgaon and then the rest of the time in Thailand. But, like I said, I’m expecting my second baby so I won’t be able to travel for the first quarter of next year. But once I’m ready, that’s the plan—to equally share my time between the two places.

9. With Banng all set to make waves in India’s restaurant scene, what are you looking forward to next?

We want to consistently make Banng good, standardise the experience for our guests, and make sure anybody who walks in gets the right experience and the right food. That’s the only thing on my mind, that I want it to be an extension of how we do things at Gaa, where guests are the priority and experience is the priority. So first let’s get that done and then we’ll see what we do next.