Month: June 2015

Guppy by ai, Summer Menu

This hasn’t been intentional but the last few posts have been around eating healthy and snacking healthy. This one’s no different. Top chefs are waking up to vegetables around them and are cooking up a storm with the most exotic produce. This is #trending in the world of gastronomy. Suddenly vegetarianism is cool and Skeeter can proudly say she was always cool! 
Guppy by ai has been revisited one too often: when Skeeter doesn’t want to cook, when she wants to eat out but eat light and healthy or simply put, when she simply wants to eat at Guppy by ai. Guppy by ai also has this amazing team led by chef Vikram Khatri and supported by chef Saurabh, that reinvents its menu time and again, presenting food that stuns the senses. Their use of vegetables, both local and exotic, mesemerises. Take the Sakura wood smoked pumpkin soup (Rs 250), which is hearty with a slight smoked flavour and comes topped with healthy, crispy pumpkin seeds that make all the difference. You get all benefit that this humble vegetable has to offer at a go: the fruit to the seed. I tried the Water chestnut and Tofu Motoyaki (Rs 400) with a little reluctance. What I got was the Japanese silken tofu and water chestnut baked in a rich sauce. I could nibble on it all day long. Umami in a bowl. 

The Seaweed and Mesclun salad (Rs 450) was up next. Young mustard, seaweed and fresh baby greens are served in tangy plum vinaigrette. Apart from the spectacular presentation and the sublime taste, the ingredients were a showstopper. Move on Nori, I got Tosaka on my plate. Yes! The wobbly tosaka seaweed (green and pink) tossed with other greens and a tangy plum vinaigrette made the summer outside so much bearable!
Salad was followed by some deep fried indulgence as Tempura was taken to another level with whole ladyfingers, nori and even coconut peeping out from the crunchy batter!

Oh and what is a visit to Guppy if you don’t try their red rice Sushi?

But what really had my heart was the Hiyashi Tanuki Cha Soba (Rs 750), the Chilled green tea soba served with scallions, chilled soy flavoured broth and bonito. The green tea infused soba noodles are served on a bamboo sheet resting on ice in an earthen pot. Some places also serve it on Zaru, which is a bamboo tray that looks like a traditional sieve. The scallions, chilled soy flavoured broth and bonito are served alongside. You take the noodles in an empty bowl provided to you, add the rest of the accompaniments to taste, hold the bowl up and enjoy! If you like simple flavours Hiyashi Tanuki Cha Soba comes highly recommended. If not, you could try the very flavourful Tofu and exotic vegetable curry rice (Rs 900).

The Matcha pudding ended my meal. I’ve had Matcha icecreams and Matcha is undoubtedly my favourite Japanese green tea, the other being Sencha. This pudding is made from Matcha tea powder and served with house made toffee sauce (Rs 350). Lots of Matcha powder is dusted over the pudding to make you go mmmmm… Trust Guppy by ai to come up with something as delicate as this. No other flavour overpowered the star ingredient, Matcha. Yet I could taste and relish all other elements this excellent pudding was made of.
(This review was on invitation. The views herein are mine.)

Kale chips by Green Snack Co

When health knocks at your doorstep, you jump at it! I’ve been nibbling on these Kale chips by Green Snack Co, off and on, at home, at work and have even packed some in my bag for those long road trips I undertake. 
Kale is a superfood of the West making inroads to India. It is a powerhouse of beta carotene, vitamin K, and vitamin C, and is rich in calcium too. By far Skeeter’s most favourite Kale dish has been a Phad Pak Kiew or Stir fried Kale with morning glory, pokchoy, soya bean sauce, garlic & pepper, that I enjoyed at Neung Roi. Besides its nutrition quotient, the curly-leaved vegetable that grows green and purple leaves has ornamental value for the gardens too. 
Green Snack Co have taken the best selling flavours from the world of crisps and are offering three most loved and well received flavours: Cheese & Onion, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Thai Sweet Chilli.
Sea Salt & Vinegar is Skeeter’s personal favourite flavour of the three. The goodness of apple cider vinegar is combined with sea salt and a hint of cayenne pepper. The apple cider lends a slightly sour/fruity tang to the Kale chips that is accentuated by sea salt and further enhanced by the subtle kick from cayenne pepper that leaves one longing for more.
Cheese & Onion comes second for Skeeter, and they’d surely be well received by most. They are flavoured with parmesan, along with a novel addition: cashews, garlic and onion. This well-balanced flavour is presented well by Green Snack Co and cannot go wrong ever.
Thai Sweet Chilli is a zingy, pick-me-up flavour and is coated with with bell peppers and Thai chillies for a punch. Add to that cashews and pineapple for sweetness and you have a very fine product. 
Nutrition
Kale chips by Green Snack Co are made using the dehydration technique. They have the additional benefits of having no added sugar, preservatives or additives. You can read more about the health benefits here.. 
Price and packaging
All bags come for Rs 200, which is somewhat steep but well worth the money. The pack is simple and resealable, so you can begin munching from where you left. You can buy Kale chips online here or pick them up from your nearest store.
(The product was provided by Green Snack Co.)
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