When Dhamaka opened in early 2021, it instantly set itself apart from the myriad Indian restaurants spread across New York City by promising to serve food from the “forgotten side” of the subcontinent. The website of Unapologetic Foods, the name owner Roni Mazumdar and Chef Chintan Pandya chose for their unorthodox hospitality company, elaborates on this credo thus:
Our food challenges the conventional norms of what you would expect when you think of Indian food. Every venture is different, yet has its own unique fingerprint.
It will perhaps come as no surprise that their latest venture is so far outside the range of typical Indian food that the recipes don’t come from India at all. Instead, the restaurant, named Naks, will be “a soulful heritage Filipino restaurant.”
The kitchen at Naks will be overseen by Dhamaka Chef de Cuisine Eric Valdez, who was raised in the Philippines. As to what to expect, a representative from the restaurant is on record as explaining (via EV Grieve):
The menu and dining room will be divided into two sections: one serving regional dishes a la carte, and the other a tasting menu known as Kamayan, where the food is served family style on a banana leaf and eating with one’s hands is encouraged.
The name Naks, incidentally, is slang in Tagalog for an expression of surprise and admiration.
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