The pumpkin eaters

I’m cursed with a sluggish metabolism, but there are occasions when I decide to ignore it and take in all those extra calories for a greater common good. Mostly, to tell people about town looking for a good place to eat that I have found one.

Tucked in a leafy alcove of Alwarpet, Pumpkin Tales serves Asian, Continental and baked goodies, and is helmed by Bhuvaneshwari Ja, Rajarajeswari R and Chindi Varadarajulu. It’s a little over a fortnight since its opening, and the trio is busy around the restaurant that’s fronted by women staff and cloaked in the colours of Fall. The warm oranges, yellows and golds glow deep in the light of arty filaments, giving off the warmth of an old-fashioned fairytale, one that inspired its name.

The three women draw from their collective experiences across the globe. Varadarajulu, a self-taught chef, was raised in Singapore and launched the successful Chutney Villa at Vancouver, one of the Canadian city’s first South Indian restaurants. She now runs another successful venture in Mamallapuram, and brings to the table tasteful food topped with a generous sprinkling of humour.

Pumpkin Tales serves an elaborate breakfast — mostly Continental. Listed on the menu are the myriad ways it serves eggs — from the famed spinach and mushroom-encased one to an unusual dish with Himalayan salt and crushed black pepper. Sandwiches, eggs Benedict, miso soup, congee, grain-free bowls with yoghurt and smoothies round it off.

But, we’re here for lunch and the centrepiece is the pumpkin. The pumpkin soup arrives creamy, soothing and hearty. It’s more than a showcase for the cracking ingredients used in it; made by someone who has urged the vegetables to give the best of themselves. With dishes on the menu that address the vegetarian, the vegan and the non-vegetarian in equal measure, it’s a little difficult to choose.

First up is a seafood laksa with great coils of noodles swimming in a spicy coconut milk broth, a boiled egg and prawns playing hide and seek in its depths. It’s a throwback to the Southeast made by a chef for whom it’s been a childhood heritage. We next choose the Souvlaki with grilled chicken, tsatziki sauce, Greek salad and cauliflower rice. They are more than just flavours at the end of your fork. It’s comfort food but without the boring rhythm, and the way it’s plated and tastes has you staring at it with pleasure.

The hot stone bowl holds a treasure from the Korean peninsula. The bibimbap here has won reviews from Korean expats in the city and we can see why. It’s the merry dance of the sticky rice, chicken, gochujang chilli, spinach, carrots, mushroom, bean sprouts and cucumber that detains me. The vegetables retain their crunch, a sure sign that the ingredients are cooked separately as they should be for a traditional serving of bibimbap.

The rainbow bowl with its colourful veggies with prawn/tofu, sesame seeds, red pepper, spinach, carrot and brown sticky rice almost converts a vegetable hater like me. It’s fresh and invigorating, the edges are smoky, the heart is buttery. The prawn shatters with the fork, but I make only an occasional stab at it, saving space for dessert.

Be warned. Eating at Pumpkin Tales may make you feel flushed with both calories and the warmth of the hosts. They suggest what seem like two understated desserts. The first is a Nanaimo bar, a square of wafer, custard and icing that became the choc of a town in British Columbia. It tastes classy.

The second is the brown butter spiced pumpkin cupcake sprinkled with nuts and scalloped with chocolate sauce. My spoon dives in and a crumbling of cake and cream melts in my mouth. And, it tastes like a happily-ever-after.