The Hundred-Food(s) Journey!

Starting a restaurant business is not for the faint-hearted. And yet Singapore-based entrepreneur Amit Khanna finds himself in the thick of things – bolstered by memories of dining on Delhi’s legendary dishes.

By Amit Khanna

Food has always been a quiet but constant thread running through my life. I still remember the smell of those cheese balls frying in the kitchen on Sunday mornings, drifting into the living room while Star Trek and Ramayan played back-to-back on our bulky television. In Delhi, food was never just sustenance. It was the soundtrack to family life. Later, as I grew older, food became the backdrop for countless conversations with friends—over butter chicken and garlic naan at places like Mughal Mahal, Moti Mahal or Havemore. In Delhi, food is rarely just about eating. It is about gathering, arguing, celebrating, and sharing time together.

Growing up in that city was a gift for anyone who loved food. Delhi has an extraordinary ability to absorb influences and make them its own. Street food vendors, Mughlai stalwarts, Punjabi kitchens and global cuisines

coexist effortlessly. Dishes like Chicken Manchurian or even Tandoori Momos are reminders that Indian food culture is not static; it is constantly evolving, improvising and adapting. For a long time, however, the global perception of Indian food did not reflect this richness. Outside India, the cuisine was often reduced to a small repertoire of familiar dishes—Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, naan and a few curries. Delicious as they are, they barely scratch the surface of what Indian cuisine actually represents.

Nearly four years ago, I moved from New Delhi to Singapore. Living outside India gave me a different perspective on how our culture—and our food—is experienced abroad. Singapore is one of the world’s great food cities, yet I often felt that authentic Indian cuisine, particularly from North India, was either missing or presented in a somewhat re-interpreted form.

That observation stayed with me and gradually turned into an idea: perhaps there was an opportunity to create restaurants that presented Indian cuisine in a way that felt both deeply authentic and globally contemporary. Restaurants that captured not just the flavours of India, but also the warmth and generosity of Indian hospitality.

Entering the restaurant industry is not for the faint- hearted. Almost everyone I spoke to before taking the plunge warned me about how difficult the business can be—thin margins, operational complexity, high employee churn, the relentless pace of daily service. In many ways, they were absolutely right. Restaurants are demanding in ways that few other businesses are.

But I also felt that the rewards of hospitality are unique.

There are very few industries where you can create experiences that remain in people’s memories for decades. A meal can become part of someone’s personal story—an anniversary dinner, a family celebration, a conversation that changes a relationship. I have always loved hosting people, bringing friends together over food, and seeing how a table can transform into a space for connection. In many ways, building restaurants is simply an extension of that instinct.

Over time, we hope to bring our restaurants to multiple global destinations—cities where diners are curious, adventurous and open to discovering the diversity of Indian cuisine. Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, New York, and Swiderland are a few places on our radar.

When I look at the broader movement happening in Indian cuisine today, it is impossible not to feel optimistic. The chefs who are redefining Indian food around the world are demonstrating that our culinary traditions are not only rich but endlessly adaptable. They are bringing Indian ingredients, techniques, and stories to audiences who may be encountering them for the first time. In some ways, I am reminded of the film ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’, in which a young Indian chef dreams of earning recognition in the unlikeliest of places. At the time, it felt like fiction. Today it feels like reality. Indian cuisine is no longer on the sidelines of the global culinary conversation. It is increasingly at the centre of it.

(Amit Khanna splits his days between Delhi and Singapore — chasing IRR by day, and good food and great art by night.)