Category: sushi

Tokyo Mon Amour

Guppy by ai has been Skeeter’s favourite over and over for its non-intimidating yet non-casual vibe and is the perfect spot for some afternoon Sushi hogging with the girlies before a movie date or a relaxed evening. Their new menus that give regulars something new every season are what Skeeter usually looks forward to – a new ingredient here and a new preparation there, is always welcome. This time round, they’ve turned their bar area and the courtyard into an eclectic pop-up bar called Tokyo Mon Amour or Tokyo My Love – the Tokyo connection being their tie-up with Le Bistro du Parc, a French bistro and Skeeter was invited for an experiential evening. What is served as a result of this collaboration is Japanese food with touches of French and it is starkly different from the regular Guppy menu. There are numerous small plates and a bevy of cocktails lined up on the menu.

But before we hop on to that, a bit about the look and feel. At Tokyo Mon Amour there are tall wooden tables with fresh flowers on each of them, candles spelling zen and some really good music – all elements that leave you feeling chipper. Outside, the courtyard tree is bound with a string of fairy lights, lighting up the space and giving it a new flavour. The pop-up has been designed by Naina de Bois-Juzan of Le Bistro du Parc and the food comes from the able kitchen of Guppy by ai’s Chef Vikram Khatri. This was my second different experience of the same space, the first being a La Compagna dinner. It is fascinating to see how they do something different with the space each time. From a sit down dinner to now a flattering pop-up.

We started the evening with a Wasabi Mimosa, a perfect summer drink, with the tang from oranges finding a friend in the sting of Wasabi. It paired well with a refreshing Cured Tomato & Gingko Nut Salad which is a three-day cured chukka tomato salad also starring palm heart, celery, grapes and gingko nuts with a ginger-citron dressing. Skeeter looks at it as an attempt at presenting a tapas (a la Japanese and French style) style menu which most restaurants tread towards warily as the smallish portions are despised (and criticised) by many. Skeeter’s take bing that Tokyo Mon Amour portions are apt for their format and well worth the dough.

The Cheese Korokke came next– deep fried, crunchy on the outside croquettes filled with gooey cream and gruyere cheese were served with Mayo and Worcestershire sauce. Curry Pan bread caught Skeeter’s attention too. This Panko crusted Japanese ‘Kare’ bread was made of a slightly sweet dough, filled with a spoonful of curry, panko crusted and deep fried. Though the server politely informed us, still do remember that the bread is hot enough to scald the palette.

It was washed down with the Ichigo Punch made with Sochu, mixed berry compote, fresh strawberries and topped with sparkling wine. But Skeeter’s second favourite cocktail was the Painap Flip stirred up with brandy, thyme, fresh pineapple, lime and sugar. Though Skeeter’s eyeing a white wine sangria pitcher for her next visit as it is summertime! For the eats, the Mushroom & Asparagus Gyoza came with an unusual combination of rustic tomato salsa, chives and cream reduction. They’re gluten free, crisp bottomed pot stickers and exude a melody of flavours. These certainly call for repeats. 

We were wise not to do that as a brilliant Home smoked brie, fresh figs, rice crackers & greens was to be had. Queen of cheese, the soft brie, smoked in-house comes seated on a black serving plate and looks as good as it tastes. Wonder why we don’t see many cheese platters on Delhi menus?

Skeeter could not end her evening without having the Black rice sushi roll with Avocado, Cucumber & Cream cheese finished with tempura crisps and sesame seeds. The only Guppy offering that makes an appearance at Tokyo Mon Amour. Gratifying, as always!

All the vegetarian dishes are priced between Rs 250 & 350 except the Home Smoked Brie & the Sushi roll. The cocktails carry a maximum tag of Rs 375. The pop-up is on till April 30.

Where: 28, Main Market, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi

La Compagnia – A dinner with strangers

It’s a strange feeling to go for a dinner without knowing anyone on the table and coming back with a few friends in your kitty. Skeeter experienced the same at La Compagnia: A dinner with strangers.

The concept

A dinner at a pre-determined venue with a specially curated menu will be held each month in various cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and more… There are no +1s allowed. You have to be a solo diner. You’d be joined by other such diners and would gradually get to know each other over perfectly timed courses that give you ample time to befriend and network with others on the table. The table could have people who are new to the city, people who are looking for work-related opportunities, or just a cool bunch to dine out with and explore a new cuisine, perhaps.

Dinner with strangers is a concept popular in the West, which people sometimes organise at their homes. Yes, they open their homes to complete strangers and sometimes even throw in a new cuisine for everyone to sample. The possibilities are endless. It maybe a potluck, or a cookoff, it only gets as fancy as your mind.

The venue for the debut La Compgania table in Delhi was Guppy by Ai at Lodhi Road. We arrived to a neatly laid table with fresh flowers, sparkling cutlery and our respective name tags. As all diners arrived we took our seats and began the introductions. The table was a good mix of entrepreneurs, start-up funders, start-up owners, journalists and writers. We all happened to share the table with Marryam Reshii, a respected food writer/critic, one Skeeter personally adores. Conversations, food, and alcohol did rounds, not necessarily in any order. Sometimes, the experience precedes the food and this was one such event. For the uninitiated, Guppy is Skeeter’s comfort food place, where she’d hop in for some Rock Corn Tempura or a Udon noodles and mushroom bowl. They do some great cocktails too!  
The meal included Amuse Bouche, appetizers, cocktails, main course and a dessert platter. 
Damages:  Rs 1850 per head.
P.S.: This was one of the better organised events that Skeets has been to in a long, long time! 

Guppy by Ai: talk of the town

To eat a different cuisine, and that, to a heartful doesn’t happen very often. It happened at Guppy by Ai. Chef Vaibhav Bhargava and manager Gulzar, our hosts for the evening explained that at Guppy by Ai they serve their take on traditional and contemporary Japanese cuisine with slight modifications to suit the Indian palate. The new menu, he goes on to explain, was a result of old favourites from Ai and the innumerable food tastings that happened at the restaurant before they opened doors to public. No wonder their menu is full of wonderful gastronomical surprises for the vegetarian taste buds. Skeeter for sure will be seen eating there more often. Chef Vikram Khatri who heads the kitchen was unfortunately not present on the night Skeeter visited.

Guppy is already the talk of the town as Skeeter spotted the who’s who of town on the night of her visit. Chilli garlic flavoured edamame kicked off our evening. The edamame bean pods are usually boiled and salted but the Chilli garlic rendition of Guppy by Ai lent it a different note altogether. A must try. Next, came, a very fresh Guppy house salad with Zucchini ribbons, carrot ribbons, thin slivers of beet, bamboo shoot, bits of broccoli and palm heart tossed in karashi mustard, finished with a sprinkle a roast sesame seeds.
Rice paper vegetable rolls which had shredded vegetables and lettuce, wrapped in rice paper followed with yuzu kosho sesame sauce. The presentation was what fascinated Skeeter. Caramalised onion slivers plated in a way that they looked like a leaf! Ask for the Rice paper vegetable rolls and the house salad if you are particularly watching your weight. Anyone who indulges in the Sushi is not vegetarian debate, MUST try the tempura Sushi here and decide for themselves. There is a Sushi counter in the dining area where you can watch all the action live.

Chilli lime dressed Agedashi Tofu was the next to have Skeeter floored. Agedashi Tofu is traditionally served after it is cut into cubes, dusted with cornstarch and deep fried. It is then served placed on hot broth. This one had a tangy chilli lime dressing and a little salsa on the top and was served aka oroshi (a Japanese radish condiment) and dashi sauce. I’ve had better versions of the Miso soup elsewhere about but the Crisp vegetable Harumaki was a relevation: Baked filo pastry with a stuffing of shredded vegetables. Crisp on the outside with tender, flavourful vegetables inside; this top notch dish was presented strewn with pearl-like corn. It can be served fried also, if one requests (but I wonder who’d do that and why?). Impeccable plating clubbed with outstanding flavours. A winner, this. The presentation of all the food we had matched the equally delightful decor. Origami paper used as lampshades, metal lion fish lights, Japanese dolls and other Japanese artefacts placed all over the restaurant showcase the effort put in for doing up the place.

The rock corn tempura stole Skeeter’s heart. It was served with a Sriracha spiced mayo that teased the tongue gently. The Teriyaki glazed artichoke and Tofu set made a good pair with the garlic fried rice which Skeety really enjoyed. End your meal with a Yuzu lemon cheese cake which has a splendid Kaffir lime glaze on top of it, or opt for a warm carrot cake with a cream cheese drizzle. The warm carrot cake was ethereal. Served at an excellent temperature, this sublime cake was spiced with cinnamon and was a great finish to a phenomenal meal.

I’ve also had people sing praises about Guppy by Ai’s gorgeous Black Cod plated on a hot stone, the Ramen that is served in a broth that take 72 hours to prepare and excellent Pork Belly. But more about that later.
Address- 28, Main Market, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi
Timings: 12 to 3.30 and 7pm to 1am
Lunch for two w/o alcohol: 1500 ++
Dinner  for two w/o alcohol: 2000 ++
For Reservation – 01124690005/6, +919650185005

That’s the way eet ees

Pea-NUT, Blazing boy and Nearly Headless Nick, all get embarrassed when dining out with Skeeter. The reason being that she takes out either the mobile (with the flash on) or the camera and starts clicking the food before eating, after eating and just about anytime she feels like. Now Skeeter makes an innocent face with a pleading expression (I will die if I don’t kinda thingy) and mostly manages to get a “kill you” nod from them to go ahead and shoot. In between, Skeeter also gets “stop-it” stares from them. And does she love it? She does and doesn’t. Loves it because she knows that she can have liberties with them around; doesn’t love it because the pictures don’t come out nice as they keep making her feel so conscious and guilty all the time. Period.
Today, I tell you about the much-awaited visit to Side Wok @ Khan Market. Now what attracted me to this place was the location apart from the so many reviews. The galli in which it is situated, is a sleepy, lazy one. So much so that I can almost hear it yawning. And for some reason I just love to walk down that place for the heck of it. This time, I walked up, up the stairs I mean. Attractive entrance that. The ambience was a welcome change from the regulars.
The food was decent. I absolutely loved my non-alcoholic Pink Mojito. They did a good job on that. The start with the Sushi platter (vegetarian o’course) was a disaster, no matter how lovely it seemed to the eyes. A birdie tells me that Side Wok is not ‘the’ place to try Sushi for the fist time. Point taken. Next came the Phad Thai noodles and the Stir Fried Chinese Greens with Roasted Garlic. Phad Thai noodles were regular but nice. I can go back for them. The stir fry was quite authentic and delicious.
Main course done, since we were in an indulgent mood, we ordered a dessert each. I ordered Crispy Nutty Rolls with Vanilla ice cream and Pea-NUT ordered a Chocolate Mousse. The Crispy Nutty Rolls with Vanilla ice cream were too greasy and spoilt the flavour. This dessert was not treated subtly and hence the result was bad. The Chocolate Mousse was okay.
The waiters are talented. Very. They are adept at playing hide and seek, hence resulting in customers being anguished over fetching them to take the order. Well, even if that is not done on purpose, the management should assure that a waiter is visible from every damn seat.
I have a second visit lined up to this place, because I couldn’t have enough of it the first time. Besides, the menu is dotted with dishes from Burma, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore. They could well get the South-East Asian Cafe (the theme which they had in mind while designing the menu and the place) status, if they pay some attention to the quality and authenticity.
Ah yes, you can view the Side-walk from Side Wok.