On a breezy afternoon, I walk into Origyn, a luxury restobar at Merlis Hotel, and the first thing I notice is the natural light that floods the space. It sets the tone for the contemporary lounge where people can slow down, and engage with thoughtfully crafted food and drinks. By evening, the ambience changes, with the outdoor decks overlooking the runway offering a spectacle of aircraft taking off and landing against the city’s skyline.
Sundeep Devarajan, executive director of Raj Park Hotels (Merlis is a unit of the same group) says Origyn was conceived as a traveller’s experience of Asia across cuisines, flavours and memories. “When we designed the place, we clearly wanted a concept that covers Asia as a continent,” he says, adding, “It is like travelling to different cities and exploring their food.”
Recreating the Asian experience with food and drinks
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
My first drink is the Leaf and Husk, a clear cocktail inspired by pandan, coconut and the aromatic notes of lemongrass and kaffir lime. It is pristine as water but packs a punch that is comforting. “Each drink is designed with an Asian influence, built around a familiar flavour or memory,” says Vignesh M, bar executive. “The pandan cordial is prepared in-house using sous vide technique that extracts the flavour without retaining the leaf’s characteristic green colour. So, guests expecting a green drink is instead presented with a crystal-clear cocktail, finished with tender coconut jelly. It is our way of throwing a surprise to our guests,” he laughs.
Madhusoodhanan Sugumaran, the general manager, says the private dining spaces at Origyn, including a 30-seater, allows guests to personalise the space with music and décor. Outdoor decks overlooking the runway offer another setting for private events. “ Each sip carries a story. Asia’s culinary and cocktail traditions are reborn with renewed flavours,” he adds.
Soon, my eyes are fixed on colourful handcrafted dim sums that take over the table. While the green dim sums come packed with the goodness of baby corn, aubergine and carrot, the delicate yellow ones are stuffed with mushroom, cream cheese and truffle oil. The yellow colour from saffron and the truffle oil adds a lingering umami flavour to this melt-in-the mouth delight.
Handcrafted dim sums and more
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The menu has South Indian and North Indian favourites, Japanese and Korean influences, and a contemporary Asian take on familiar flavours. The team spent over three months experimenting, testing dishes, plating, flavours and combinations. “We did tweaks and corrected the taste and flavours to suit the palate here,” says Sundeep. The city’s evolving food culture encouraged the team to look beyond conventional cuisines.
Kalai, the executive chef, says the process is driven by constant experimentation and the willingness to discard what does not work. A karaage chicken gets a sprinkling of sesame podi. Prawns are tossed with garlic and butter before being finished with karuvepillai powder. The idea is to make flavours familiar enough to trigger a memory while presenting them in a different form.
The idea extends to the cocktails too. Madras Noir is a spirit-forward combination of whisky and coffee. The inspiration came from Vignesh’s years spent in Bengaluru, where people would often walk into a bar after work and ask for coffee. The frothy filter coffee, paired with whisky, served on the ubiquitous brass coffee davara set is robust and goes well with a side of sabudana crunchies dusted with gunpowder. The bar menu is more playful. The cheese-stuffed Indian jalapenos get an Asian touch with soy sauce, sesame, fried garlic, togarashi and spring onions; the buttery paneer tikka packs a surprise with a peri-peri marination. The Lebanese-style chicken gets a creamy cashew marinade before going into the tandoor, delivering smoky flavours.”
The outdoor deck overlooking the runway
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The same idea extends to the cocktails. Madras Noir is a spirit-forward combination of whisky and coffee. The inspiration came from Vignesh’s years spent in Bengaluru, where people would often walk into a bar after work and ask for coffee. The frothy filter coffee, paired with whisky, served on the ubiquitous brass coffee davara set is a robust drink that goes well with a side of sabudana crunchies dusted with gunpowder. The bar menu is more playful. While the cheese-stuffed Indian jalapeños get an Asian touch with soy sauce, sesame, fried garlic, togarashi and spring onions, the buttery paneer tikka packs a surprise with a peri-peri marination. The Lebanese-style chicken gets a creamy cashew-and-yoghurt marinade before going into the tandoor, delivering smoky flavours.
A view of the interiors
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
I turn my attention on Anchan, inspired by the Asian butterfly pea flower, a drink that combines white rum with kaffir lime and lemongrass. I stir and enjoy the drink slowly soaking up the earthy flavours. For Dakshin Picante, Vignesh has added a hint of familiar flavours like ginger, curry leaves, coriander, and green chillies to whisky to create a spicy drink, finished with chilli powder on the rim.
A round of hearty sushi follows. The crispy avocado cream cheese that combines asparagus, cream cheese and avocado makes for delicious bites. The Ninja Maki brings together tempura prawns, thinly sliced tuna, and black sticky rice, with soy, wasabi and ginger pickle adding sweet, sour and pungent notes. I also pop in a soft and moist edamame galouti kebab, served on round sheermal bread.
The bar menu is more playful
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Sundeep says the hotel is seeing more walk-ins and stronger weekend footfall. The new Avinashi Road flyover, he adds, has made the property more accessible. With its multi-cuisine restaurant Mercano and Origyn already operational, the hotel plans to add a dedicated Pan-Asian speciality restaurant, along with another cafe with bar/ coffee lounge concept by the year end. The hotel is drawing travellers as a staycation destination, with pool, spa, Sunday brunches and child-friendly touches in rooms, from small beds and tents to toys, activities and cake-pop making. “ We want Origyn to be a lounge where people relax and have a good time over food, music, and conversations,” add Sundeep.
As I savour a bowl of velvety litchi rabdi biting into juicy bits of fresh litchi, I reminisce the memorable outing, spent in the company of good food, music and some great conversations.
A meal for two costs approximately ₹4000. Located at 61, Avinashi Road, Goldwins. For reservations, call 04224447777
Published – September 07, 2026 04:08 pm IST
