HariOm
My name is Hari Om, owner chef of RAANi, and I am from New Delhi, India. My grandfather and father ran an Indian restaurant in New Delhi called "Siyalkoti".
My career as a chef started at Siyalkoti, and I worked there for four years. I then worked at the Taj Mahal Hotel for three years as a trainee. During these three years, I was sent to work in Jaipur, Udaipur(Taj Lake Palace) and Mumbai (for flight catering). After three years as a trainee, I was promoted to chef and was transferred to the Taj Palace Hotel, which was owned by the same company as the Taj Mahal Hotel.
While I was working at the Taj Palace Hotel, I used to cook meals for Giani Zail Singh (ex president), Indira Gandhi (ex prime minister) and Rajiv Gandhi (ex prime minister).
When I left the Taj Palace Hotel, I moved to Hong Kong, where I was head chef at Indian restaurant "Mayur" for one year. In 1985, I moved to Japan and worked as head chef at restaurant "Akbar" for 11 years. During this time I developed a strong desire to introduce the most delicious Indian food to customers in Japan, and finally in 1998, I decided to open my own restaurant, "RAANi".
I always try to cater to guests' special requests such as, "I would like to have a specific regional Indian (or near India) curry that I ate when I visited India," etc... If you have a similar request, please feel free to contact us. We will try to accommodate your wishes, including arranging for necessary special ingredients. The flavor of our regular selection of 11 curries can also be modified to suit your taste preference. Please feel free to tell us when you order.