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Sazerac

What a cracker of a meal last night at Sazerac, I am still thinking about it. I love the other restaurants of the group (Pings and Jamun) and no wonder the food at Sazerac is outstanding. There were six of us with 3 being vegetarian, so we took recommendations from chef Abhi and ordered a few things from our own selection as well. One of the appetizers I really liked was the Queso bowl, gooey cheesy goodness served in a tortilla shell bowl.

The Tartufa pizza is a truffle lovers dream come true. Made in their wood fired oven wit a layering of mushroom tapenade and doused in truffle oils, the crisp garlic topping just hits the spot. We loved the Avocado Toast and even their Guacamole is quite good. Will delve deeper into the texmex dishes next time.

And then the Tenderloin came. I cant explain my feelings about steak, I get too emotional. Let the picture explain it.

I am normally not a dessert person but I found myself unable to stop eating the Peanut butter and chocolate dense mousse. It was like eating a really decadent Snickers Bar which I love. People who love dark chocolate will love the 90% Manjari chocolate bomb, delicious and goes amazingly with a coffee.

What made the food extra special was the wonderful hospitality and service. This is great new place for people who love food 🙂.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JAM gets PIKKLED

There are those who get into restaurants as a means for business and there are those who are passionate about feeding people. Secondly, I also feel great chefs have to be great cooks first. And thirdly, For any restaurant to survive i think understanding the local market is extremely important because thats where your regular business will come from. Jasneet Sahni and his brother, in their young years seems to have gotten all of these things right.

With the success of Lanterns the brothers were ready to take on a new challenge and because they understand this market they decided to keep their new venture Pikkle very close to Lanterns. They identified a gap in the offerings in the area and decided to bring an upscale mixed cuisine restaurant to west Delhi.

After seeing the attention they have received on social media we decided to go there this week for our JAM Session on Tuesday and see for ourselves what the fuss was about. We knew the food was going to be great and wanted to see the execution and the space.

Right from the part when we walked through the arched path to reach the elevator it felt premium and upmarket. This feeling only grew as we stepped out of the elevator into a beautifully setup space with a Panda in a mech suit welcoming us. Ok it was just a specially commissioned sculpture but it was cute and quirky at the same time. Its a large place with space for almost 200 people and a pretty large outdoor covered verandah as well. There is a small stage for live performances, something they are known for at Lanterns too.

Its always great meeting the super affable and super humble Jasneet who explained how they painstakingly put this project together. Its great to see the kind of insight and straight focus he has about his business and I think even veterans can learn a lot from him.

They have a pretty wide selection of dishes and we started with the Asian fare. There was a lovely chowder like corn soup that had a hint of chilli and a surprise element, popcorn. This added a nice unusual texture to the great tasting soup. We had a variety of Maki Sushi and dimsums. Speaking for myself, I thought the rolls were a little busy with too manny elements. The dimsums were good, the Prawn Sui Mai in particular was excellent.

The delightful food symphony really reached its crescendo once the dishes from their modern Indian menu started to arrive. There was a delectable Mutton Keema Rezala and hard to find items like the Safed Haleem which we enjoyed with super soft buns. Its this good that really hits the high note for us and was our favourite part of the meal.

Sadly, we were not able to take advantage of the large bar being a dry day. They are working on ageing and infusions of various spirits apart from the basic drinks, the pricing of which is very attractive.

So, PIKKLE got JAMMED and JAM got PIKKLED and we had so much fun that our lunch stretched to almost 5 hours JAM would love to get PIKKLED again, soon. If in the area, this is a great place for a meal and we will certainly be back. There are many other things on the menu that we just have to try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolute Thai - Absolute Delight

With the influx of expats from countries like Korea and Japan, over time Gurgaon has built up a great list of restaurants serving them a taste of home and there are some great Korean and Japanese food places there. As Spa’s are mushrooming all over NCR, Thai therapists are also moving in and I was hoping the same happens to Thai food. I am very apprehensive about trying Thai anywhere in India because most people just botch it up but a friend had done his recce and he recommended this new place in Gurgaon which he swore was great. I was going to be in Gurgaon today so I teamed up with two of the best eaters in town and hit this new place for lunch.

 

Today I think I ate what I would consider the best Thai food I have eaten in India. A casual eatery , Absolute Thai hit just the right note for me. The only other place that I feel, comes close is in a 5 star hotel and at 5 star prices. Absolute Thai is just like eating in a small restaurant in Bangkok. Located at the Cross Point Mall in Gurgaon, its small but well made and has about 20 seats and the pricing is very very good. As with food in general, this is MY opinion. I know there are many “Thai” restaurants serving some good food but I have my issues.

 

When I saw the container that the sticky rice was being served in at another table, I knew I was in for a treat. As usual, we got carried away and ordered many starters thereby foregoing the main course, and they have a pretty large menu to choose from. There was Larb Chicken, Pork Nam Tok, Chicken Wings, Stir Fried Morning Glory, Prawn Spring Rolls, Noodles with Pork and a perfect finish with some awesome Sticky Rice with Mango.

 

They have not really adapted their food for the local taste buds so its pretty potent when it comes to the heat. But its not just spicy. Thai food requires a perfect balance of multiple tastes and the flavours here we right. They still have to work with Indian ingredients so it takes something away from what would be an even better dish.

 

My absolutely stand out dish was , shockingly, stir fried morning glory. Now this is usually the only vegetable in the world that I find hard to stop eating once its in front of me and at Absolute Thai this was a 10/10 dish for me, amazingly crunchy and with oodles of flavour. Its the kind of dish that makes you weak in the knees. That certainly doesn’t mean the meat was not good.

 

I have yet another reason to visit Gurgaon now :). So if you REALLY like Thai food, head there soon.