Category: garlic

Guppy by ai – a weight watcher’s delight


If there is one restaurant in Delhi, I visit again and again, and again, it is Guppy by ai. For their vegetarian Sushi, ofcourse. The Japanese vegetable rolls at Guppy are a favourite and the fact that they now use black rice (which they source indigenously) for the rolls, makes them taste better and a tad nutty. A recent visit on an invite to taste their winter menu left me wide eyed. Their food is always spectacular, but what I’ve always appreciated about them is that being a vegetarian is no hindrance at this restaurant. They do full justice to vegetarian diners by coming up with a fair menu. Veg Sushi being an oxymoron for some, is a way of life for Skeeter. 
This time round, they had on offer a Nasu Dengaku inspired grilled aubergine. It is one of the better dishes I’ve tasted this year. It is their version of Nasu Dengaku. An aubergine shell is scooped out and filled with aubergine pulp, onion and cherry tomatoes cooked in miso. It is then baked and topped with crispy garlic flavoured panko. Panko crumbs are a favourite and when used well, they accentuate any dish dramatically. The mushy aubergine and the crusty panko made for an excellent textured combination. The sweetness of the cherry tomatoes came through well. This Nasu Dengaku version had me hooked till there was none left. A must try for those belonging to the ‘I hate bharta’ club. I washed it down with Akane, a winter special Guppy cocktail made from Vodka, beetroot, strawberry, sugar and lime juice. You drink your fruit, you have your superfood (beetroot), and you enjoy your dose of alcohol. A mixologist once told me that use of fresh fruits and vegetables in cocktails is the way trends are headed. After having Akane at Guppy, I am sure he was right. 



The other stars of the evening were a Beetroot and Plump Avocado tartare. Slowcooked, tender beetroot and avocado tartare in a citrus dressing. A weight watcher’s delight. I also had my usual fix of Sushi.

Blueberry crepes and seasonal fruit flambe made my dessert. Bite sized crepes filled with marshmallows, sitting besides a bed of seasonal fruit, in brandy and berry sauce and flambeed on the table. You can ask for a weight watcher’s version of this dessert and they will happily remove the berry sauce. 
Weight watcher’s please note!
Japanese food is known for its fresh, raw ingredients and is easily one of the healthiest cuisines served in restaurants. Pickled vegetables, light broths coupled with superfoods like matcha make Japanese food popular across tables world over. I am not sure of calorie counts and other stats, but the food I had at Guppy, could be consumed by any weight watcher and they’d walk out with a full tummy and a non-guilty gait. A superfood and fruit cocktail (read beets and berries), Sushi, salads, baked vegetables and loads of them, and a dessert sans a sweet sauce.  Wash it all down with a cup of Matcha, if you must. What more can you ask for? 

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.