Spice Art, Greater Noida
These days, whoever wants to set up an Indian restaurant does so with a twist: traditional Indian food appears to have gone out of vogue. Infusion (short form for Indian fusion) also have a point of view, but they’ve done their menu leaving choices for lovers of straight Indian food too, albeit with nouvelle presentations. Tandoori Mussels (Rs 395) get you an unusual combination: mussels are not your standard ingredient in the region where tandoors predominate, so it is an interesting mix and match between a coastal ingredient and a tandoori marination. The mussels (5 of them to a portion) are served in the shell and were a tad drier than they should have been, but the out-of-the-box thinking outweighs the shortcomings of the texture.
My companion ordered Cheese Mousse Stuffed Seekh (Rs 325) because it sounded unusual. I found it in urgent need of re-working: the vegetarian seekh kebab had little in the way of either flavour or texture and in the bite that I took, there was not much cheese either. Both of us got a trio of chutneys, of which the finest was the cashew paste mixed with cream and smoked with a lighted coal. I found it promising that the restaurant should take so much pain over a mere sauce for a few starters.
While I ordered Aat Ghante Ki Nalli (Rs 695), my companion struggled with Pickled Besanwali Ladyfinger (Rs 225). My lamb shanks were well worth the price: there were three generously sized shanks in a delicious brown onion gravy expertly made and the meat itself was tender enough to eat with a fork. The only false note was the extra kewra essence in the gravy. Even the gravy itself was enough to fill a soup plate. Considering that the rice that we ordered came in a sauce boat (a really strange touch, that) there was too much gravy and too little rice. Unless there is something that the restaurant intends that I don’t understand.
My long-suffering companion’s ladyfinger looked impressive: a western-style presentation of vertical okras around a central mound of mashed potatoes. However, there was far too much mashed potato in the dish and the ladyfingers were not cooked through so that the besan marinade came across as raw. Not pleasant that one.
The Malabari Grilled Sole (Rs 595) that we ordered for my friend as compensation for her travails was thankfully, much better. A light dish that packs a punch of flavours in the sauce made from curry leaves and coconut milk, it is a great dish to order at lunch time. Neither was the sauce flowing off the plate!
Laung aur Adrak ki Dal (Rs 140) turned out to be a home-style dal of whole moong though the menu said black gram flavoured with cloves that had been added with a heavy hand. All was forgiven when I tasted my Masala Chai ka Mousse. No short of a masterpiece, it was served in a teacup and saucer, and even looked like milky tea, but it was a mousse with an unmistakable flavour of tea.
The staff has the “pamper the guest” approach. All our neighbours left their ordering to the servers, mentioned their preferences on the spice scale and appeared to be having the meal of their lives!
Vital Stats
Food: 2.75
Service: 3.00
Décor: 3.25
Site No. 4, Building 10A, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon
Tel: 0124-4223301-02
Open from 12 noon to 3 pm and 7.30 pm to 11.30 pm
Alcohol served; credit cards accepted
Meal for two: Rs 2,000
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