La Tagliatella

We

We wanted to have Italian during our visit to the Ambience mall in vasant kunj. We were heading towards Amici ( you cant go wrong with their Al funghi ) when we stumbled upon this gem at the mall’s entrance.

It was a weekday and the restaurant was relatively vacant. Impressed by the very European interiors, we couldn’t afford to give this place a miss.
This restaurant is spread over two floors with huge seating options.. 

At the ground floor, the seating is planned in a way that you feel a part of the buzz in the mall. We were however recommended seat on the first level..
The first level had a nice view of the mall and you could watch people through the glass while indulging in food.

The ambience was nice, the AC- super cool and music comfortably soft.

What caught my attention were the knives placed on the table. The restaurant was considerate enough to place real knives instead of the blunt knives found in almost all Italian restaurants. It is really an ordeal to cut apart the pizza slices with the blunt knife and in the process the pizza goes cold! This was an A+ from my side.

Coming to the food!

A plate of olives was placed on our table which was a total let down, considering the size and quality of olives. It could have been much better for the place we were dining at. 

We did not get the draught beer when we visited and were told they were out of stock. There was no good mocktail on the menu too.

We were hungry so we quickly ordered for a salad so that we can take time to decide for the main course.We ordered for  ‘Insalata di mozzarella gratinata’. This consisted of mixed salad leaves, mozarella, sweet corn, pine nuts, tomatoes and olives.

The portion size was very liberal and enough to stuff two of us.

The most striking part of the salad was caramel coated tomatoes. The tomatoes were ripe, juicy and firm and cut into two halves. Each half was covered with caramel which I discovered only when the caramel fell apart while cutting through the tomato.

 I was wowed by the innovation. The next good thing about the salad was the four thick slices of herb clad mozzarella. They were well seasoned and very filly.

In the mean time, we had ordered for focaccia too, which we later realized was our mistake.

We were served four pieces of the bread, two each of olive and onion garlic. They were nice but we were already full.

Damn! We had shortlisted a pizza to be ordered but we were stuffed! We changed our mind and settled for the dessert instead.

They have a very extensive dessert menu. I was happy because there were quite a number of eggless variants. We opted for coconut ice cream in pineapple soup.

We didn’t have to wait for the dessert to arrive. The presentation was sad and dull, the soup spilled over the fringe of the plate, however all this can be easily forgotten once you dunk your spoon into the dessert. 

coconut icecream in Bangkok

Heaven! The flavours were so nicely balanced and the combination was superb! This is the second best coconut ice cream I have had so far.

(PS: The best coconut ice cream was at a roadside stall in Chatuchak market in Bangkok.)

Overall the experience was good, the dessert and the candied tomatoes made my day and I would go again with a bigger group of people so that we can do justice to the food.

The olive bar and kitchen, Mehrauli

We went to The olive bar and kitchen , for our post valentine dinner. For us dining on the 14^th was too commercial and hence we decided to do it later when the restaurants are a little more peaceful and much more attentive to your needs.

On way back from work, we decided to dine there. A quick call to the restaurant for table reservation was a put down as we were told they were completely sold out for the evening.

Being stubborn foodies, as we are, we decided to still give it a try. Fervently believing that they will have a table for two for an early dinner we headed straight.

Away from the hustle & bustle of the city the place has a definite charm to it.

It is just the perfect setting for a candle lit relaxed evening.

The ambiance is not too expensive, but simple yet very chic.

Even for an early dinner at 7:30 pm, there was quite a no. of people in the restaurant.

We were being served by a very polite and professionally trained server who neatly took instruction with special care to the details.

We ordered for a minestrone soup, a wood fired pizza with truffle essence, a mocktail avalanche and a pie with red currant sauce.

Our order was taking a little longer, so we were served freshly baked multigrain garlic bread and Pumpkin cappuccino. The pumpkin cappuccino was mediocre while the bread was the show winner.

A pestle & mortar was placed on our table which had some roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs and loads of olive oil was poured over it.

This was effortlessly accompanying the freshly baked bread.

We were next served the avalanche which had very subtle notes of fresh ginger root and mint. The drink was enough to last our meal.

Later, the soup was served in a fire and water proof paper cup over hot charcoals.

The presentation was enough to warm you up. Especially me being very fussy over the hot quotient, I had no complaints. Next to it were placed two huge soup bowls with some broken pasta, chopped vegetables and parmesan bread over the side.

 We quickly pour the hot soup over it and were lost in the great depth the soup had to offer.

Next came our pizza, which was also very nice except that the toppings were not very generous.

Anyway, we were already 80% full so reviewing anything when you are above 40% full, is a crime!

Although we were more than full after the pizza, we couldn't resist ordering for the freshly baked pie with red currant sauce.

It was simply divine. The presentation was superb and the taste was fantastic! It was a delightful experience and food definitely was outstanding!

PS: You may have to wait for unusually longer times for your orders, but it is worth the wait as you get everything freshly baked and not just reheated crap.

Cafe Diva GK I, N Block

A visit to Diva is always eternal!
I rate it the best!
Taste: - 5/5 - They keep it very simple and very chic!
They make every effort to ensure that what you eat is their best. They use possibly the best ingredients and you get the same taste every time you visit them. The food which is supposed to be hot, is hot, always, the beverages always cold and the staff is very well groomed and courteous.

I love their Roasted Pumpkin & Coconut Soup with Crispy Seeds which is always served very very hot. Coming to the salads, the Roasted Beetroot Salad with Warm Goat Cheese and Candied Hazelnuts is superb! When you bite into the caramelized hazelnuts along with the roasted beetroot, you are transformed to a different world!
The wood fired pizzas are a class apart with a generous amount of toppings.
There is no egg-less dessert though.

Ambiance: 4 / 5 - It's clean,and with dimmed lights, the ambiance is very soothing.The place is always packed so its wise to have a table reservation. The waiting area is at the small bar where you can enjoy a drink and starters while you wait.

Service: 4 / 5 - Service is prompt, smiling and very welcoming.

An afternoon at The Oberoi Gurgaon

The pleasant weather coaxed me for a coffee in the pattiserrie at The Oberoi Gurgaon. I love their waterbody and the hospitality. If you want to have some real serious quality bakery stuff, Oberoi is the answer.
 I started exploring the eggless variants in the pastries and tarts.
Only two eggless variants were available, Belgian chocolate pastry and the classic black forest.

The Black forest pastry

The chocolate was toooo dark for me so made up my mind for the black forest pastry. This choice, led to ammendment in my original choice of having a cappucinno. Thinking that may be the cappucinno and this pastry wont pair well, I settled for green leaf tea and let me tell you, this was a wise decision...The delicate flavour of the pastry was not ruined by intense cappucino and in fact my freshly brewed tea accompanied it so verry well...Ah the rains! I soo louve you!
I did not return empty handed from there, but picked up the fresh focassia instead.


PS: This has already triggered the recipe creator in me and I sooo badly need to make a relish to accompany this focassia.
I consider it as being my responsibility to make a Tomato relish  for this mean foccassia :)