Indian Molecular
Blurb: Molecular gastronomy for Indian food goes well with wine and can be fun too
Atmospherics: Four and a half months old and it is one of Cyber Hub’s more crowded restaurants. At any given time, it attracts the young, the middle-aged, those in search of novel flavours – or indeed traditional ones. There are first-timers, hesitant to take their first ‘shot’ of a spherified mishti doi globule and those who ooh and aah at the verisimilitude of a vada pao, desiccated coconut chutney and all. Molecular food depends for its success on its ability to accurately replicate flavours by modern methods. So if the asli ghee that is supposed to taste like hollandaise sauce fails to do so, you could say that the whole dish has fallen flat. If you are not enthused by the concept of making one ingredient taste like another, then molecular cuisine is not for you. On the other hand, it is a fun concept, this illusion business; there is much more interaction between the server and the guest, and unlike regular desi food, this stuff really does pair well with wine.
Table talk: The menu has a page each of vegetarian starters, non-vegetarian starters, vegetarian mains and non-vegetarian mains. Mutton, chicken, fish and prawns rule the non-vegetarian roost, with a single pork ribs dish. Prices are modest – Rs 525 for a main course featuring prawns. However, it is that which has attracted customers by the droves. Tandoor wild mushrooms with truffle and walnut dust (Rs 395) was the best dish of the meal, with button mushrooms and guchhis cooked so that their juicy bite was kept intact. The buttery appeal of the clinging sauce, bumped up by truffle oil made it a dish fit for a king. Khandvi spheres with green chillies and jaggery chutney (Rs 195) replicated exactly the popular Gujarati snack, except for the texture. However, the flavour was amazingly accurate. Prawn Chettinad with curry leaf fried rice Rs 525 magically tasted as homely as something your favourite aunt would make – at least, the lemon rice did. I’m not too sure about the prawns. In my opinion, Chettinad Chicken would have been a better fit than the prawns were.
Plus and minus: the service is way better informed than the average and the prices provide great value for money. Watch out for private parties that take over the entire restaurant though.
Must try: Amritsari Fish n Chips, Vada Pao Farzified, Bombay Bhel Version 2
Food: 3.50; Service: 3.50; Décor: 3.50
Shop No. 7 & 8, Ground Floor, DLF Cyber Hub – Gurgaon
Open from: 12 Noon to 11:30 PM
Ph: 0124-4922273/74, +91 8800690418/19
Meal for two: Rs 2000
Alcohol served; credit cards accepted
