I had the pleasure of meeting Rahul Sajnani when I was invited for a tasting at Moshi, and felt this young, debonair fusion-chef deserved a blog post on his own! How many of us have the courage to make a profession out of our kitchen experimentations? Rahul found his calling at university, when his unusual flavor combinations won over his roomies in the UK. Back home in Dubai, he is on a mission to convert as many people as possible into sushi-loving Moshians!
Moshi has enjoyed unprecedented success in less than a year of operation, but all this media buzz has not gone into Rahul’s head. A firm believer in giving back to the community, Rahul has initiated a philanthropic stance at Moshi where 5% of the proceeds of every Moshi bill goes into feeding Dubai construction workers.
Let’s have a chitchat with Rahul!
What did you qualify as in university? How did you get into fusion cooking?
Holding an honors degree in Business Administration. While studying in UK, my mates and I used to take turns to cook. Shortly after I realized I actually enjoyed doing it. I would come up with different types of sauces for chicken or pasta and cook fusion eggs; my dorm mates would be eager to try them out and they never knew what to expect.
What was the very first fusion dish you ever created, and what reaction did you get?
If there was one thing I loved cooking the most it was pasta. I once made penne pasta with Thai flavours and it turned out to be rather delicious! For Moshi, it was Cheesy Chips Oman; had to make this one for our childhood memories with our favorite crisps.
How did Moshi happen?
I was looking to get into the F&B industry and after a lot of research I realized a lot of people stay away from sushi because they either assume it’s raw or they don’t enjoy seafood. Being a sushi lover, I came up with some vegetarian and chicken options for a delicacy that should be enjoyed by everyone. I fell in love with momos during a trip to Nepal. I realized authentic Nepalese momos were missing from the Dubai scene; I figured it’d be quite a unique combo to serve moMO and suSHI under one roof. Thus, MOSHI was born which also means Hello in Japanese!
What is your absolutely favorite Moshi creation till date?
Personally, everything is a favorite but being a Dubai kid I love the Cheesy Chips Oman and Falafel, Hummus with Cucumber.
Can you give us a glimpse of some of the new flavor combinations you are working on for 2016?
There is something coming from two different parts of the world soon 😛
Tell us about an absolute fusion disaster. What flavors, in your opinion, should never be seen together?
Noodles, potato and sausages in one dish…oh boy!
Have you converted many sushi phobics into sushi munchers? Tell us a happy story 🙂
The smile people give when they try sushi for the first time is something I love. When I see them return, I know they are truly hooked and are turning into Moshians 😉
Happy story? My 5 year old niece called me up the other day and asked if I was at Moshi so I could bring her some cheesy chips maki.
Moshi is located in Al Barsha (Dubai), right across the road from City Max. For more details, call 800 MOSHI. Enjoy!
I had the pleasure of meeting Rahul Sajnani when I was invited for a tasting at Moshi, and felt this young, debonair fusion-chef deserved a blog post on his own! How many of us have the courage to make a profession out of our kitchen experimentations? Rahul found his calling at university, when his unusual flavor combinations won over his roomies in the UK. Back home in Dubai, he is on a mission to convert as many people as possible into sushi-loving Moshians!
The Tezzy Files 