When Chef Noel Nalin Fonseka arrived in Delhi to do a trade test as the Corporate Pastry Chef at ITC Hotels, his interlocutors promised to get him the exotic ingredients he asked for “within two days.” He however, had no plans of working with exotic ingredients. He wanted to work with local fruit and come…
On a recent trip to Singapore, I made my way to the Mecca of Hainanese Chicken Rice: Purvis Street. Right by the uber fashionable Bugis Junction, no more striking contrast can be found. Purvis Street has started the inexorable change towards modernization, but when I first visited Singapore in 2002, it was an old-fashioned double…
“I am a failed trekking caterer”, Rohit Aggarwal of Lite Bite Foods tells me, with a woebegone look on his face. I assume he is joking, and guffaw appreciatively. After all, he and Lite Bite partner Amit Burman are among the three largest players in the restaurant industry currently in India, with no private equity…
Afghani restaurants abound in pockets of Delhi. They tend to occupy very specific locations like Bhogal, Jangpura, Lajpat Nagar on one axis, and the lane opposite Max Hospital, Saket on another. They are family eateries that offer a small variety of kebabs, a couple of biryanis and mantu: a momo-like preparation that is doused in…
He hails from, not one country, but two, and both are in different hemispheres. Chef Vittorio Greco may have been born in the North of Tuscany, but what shaped his culinary style was his move to Brisbane, Australia, where he cooked for a largely non-Italian audience. His live-wire energy is his defining feature, and in…
Vintage 31 Bistro and Cafe Cuisine: Mostly Italian Blurb: Treat yourself to two hours in this fairytale café Atmospherics: In that part of Meharchand Market that still has traditional mithai and general merchant shops, Vintage 31 is the hugely likeable venture of a couple whose passion it is. He cooks and she oversees the service.…
Indian, western, Lebanese vegetarian Blurb: An all vegetarian restaurant in an all vegetarian hotel Intro: India’s only vegetarian hotel is a 15 minute drive from East Delhi. The coffee shop serves all three meals buffet style only. Atmospherics: Being a Country Inn & Suites, this branch in Sahibabad is located on a main road and…
Progressive Thai food Beautiful interiors and modern Thai is a winning combination Atmospherics: On the ground floor of Sangam Courtyard, tucked away in a corner, is Delhi’s latest Thai restaurant, with a difference. It is not just straight Thai food but has unique twists to each dish. The chef-owner is at the range every day…
Vegetarian dining It is not the most fashionable dining space in this day and age of PR-led restaurants. It is pure vegetarian to the extent that you cannot get onion or garlic while you’re inside. And the chaat alone is worth a visit, especially if you want the taste of chaat in the 1960s, when…
Delhi’s first restaurant with African flavours Intro: An exciting, unique blend of familiar flavours and completely unusual tastes in this carnivore’s paradise. Atmospherics: A lift from the ground floor leads you to the second and third floors where Uzuri is situated. The animal theme is all around you: on the walls as leopard prints, more…