4 min learnMumbaiAug 7, 2026 09:39 PM IST
Over time, chef Vikas Khanna has carved a spot for himself by taking Indian delicacies internationally. His New York restaurant, Bungalow, has grow to be an emblem of that journey, reflecting Khanna’s perception that Indian meals can inform tales of residence and heritage. What started because the journey of a boy from Amritsar has now taken him to the world’s celebrated culinary spaces. Lately, Khanna appeared on the discuss present Shekhar Tonite, the place he recalled what Shah Rukh Khan informed him after visiting Bungalow. The chef mentioned the phrases stayed with him.
‘A temple representing our wealthy tradition’
“There are such a lot of eating places on the planet, however Shah Rukh Khan mentioned, ‘Each restaurant I’ve visited till right now has felt like a store to me, only a transaction. However once I got here right here, it felt like I had entered somebody’s temple. It felt as if you had been making an attempt to characterize our wealthy tradition, our dad and mom, our ancestors. That’s an extremely tough factor to do.’”
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When Shah Rukh Khan visited Bungalow
In 2024, Vikas Khanna took to Instagram to share a deeply private account of Shah Rukh Khan’s go to to Bungalow. Recalling the second, the chef wrote that his life revolves round three folks. his mom, chef Sanjeev Kapoor and SRK. Khanna then recalled how SRK requested him to sit down with him throughout his go to to Bungalow. The 2 spoke about Khanna’s childhood reminiscences of watching Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. “When SRK visited Bungalow & requested me to sit down with him. As we spoke about me going to cinema on a regular basis to look at DDLJ with my sister and each film of his. He turned my hero for who he’s. His voice. His endurance. His confidence. His compassion. His friendship.”
The second turned emotional for Vikas Khanna, who mentioned he regarded in direction of the glass ceiling to carry again his tears and observed the crescent moon above him. “To carry again my tears I regarded up the glass ceiling & noticed the clear crescent of moon watching over me. Individuals who lose those they beloved essentially the most, all the time discover indicators of them watching over us.” Khanna then devoted the put up to SRK, recalling the phrases the actor shared with him about Bungalow and what the restaurant represented. “As we speak is devoted to you Sir. You holding my hand and saying, ‘Bungalow represents us. Our dad and mom. Our ancestors. Our India’. That is the whole lot to a scared-paranoid-failed little one from Amritsar.”
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Vikas Khanna has beforehand spoken to The Indian Categorical in regards to the private concept behind Bungalow. The restaurant, he revealed, is an ode to his sister, Radhika Khanna. “With Bungalow, I reside her dream. I preserve her alive by way of my work,” he mentioned. He recalled a praise from Jeff Bezos, who described Bungalow as “a spot of pilgrimage.” In accordance with Khanna, Bezos mentioned visitors don’t go to the restaurant; they make a pilgrimage as a result of it brings again the sensation of the houses they left behind.
For Khanna, familiarity is central to Bungalow. “Should you look intently, you’ll see that the restaurant isn’t nearly meals; it’s virtually like a divine intervention,” he mentioned, explaining that the house attracts from India’s values, ancestral houses and hospitality. “You’ll be able to spend hundreds of thousands on gold, extravagant decor, and dazzling lights, however nothing compares to the consolation of your grandmother’s residence. That’s the sensation we needed to recreate,” th chef added.
