Not another Review!!

Not another review! What makes this different? Well, for starters, the person(s) reviewing stuff here are people who grew up in a world thats far removed from "the Reviews on Gruyere cheese and Asparagus..." In other words,
1. We love Amul butter - the salted yummy thing better than all the 'sophisticated' imported butter in the world!
2. We love the gooey, drippy sweetness of Indian sweets
3. We have, at some point in our lives, ate spoonfulls of Milkmaid conensed milk - right out of the can
4. We understand food and wine pairing (Courtesy the persistent lecturers in Hotel mgmt college), but would rather have chilled beer or the exotic looking potent cocktail with our spicy chicken tikkas or fish fries
5. Prefer to use words like 'delicate' for silks and 'sharp' for tools... NOT food!
6 Are dying find product which make lives easier for working mothers, wives, girlfriends or considerate (also read that as hen pecked) husbands and boyfriends!

So go on... pour your heart out about stuff you liked or hated!



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Amici Khan Market

My visits to Khan Market always sees me having a new adventure in food! And this time was no different. A colleague of mine insisted I was missing something if  I did not go with her to this 'cute' place for lunch. As if I needed much prodding for an Italian lunch....

Now, this colleague knows about my passion for food, and given her loyalties with Amici, she began on a defensive mode. She was of the opinion that anyone who likes creamy, saucy, cheesy Italian stuff will not like the 'authentic' stuff they served at Amici's. Well, I certainly like the sinful variety of pastas and pizzas, but was looking forward to the other renditions as well.

The ambiance first - as is with almost all outlets in Khan Market, one doesn't get to know the size or decor from the outside. In fact, I most certainly would have missed the entrance - it was from one of the back lanes, and the only proof of existence of the cafe was a narrow door with a guard standing outside. One had to climb a set of stairs to reach the outlet, It is spread over two floors; the first floor has traditional cafe style seating, with the patisserie and drinks section glaring at you when you step in. Good strategy!


                                 
But the exciting bit was the second floor. There is this glass enclosed baking section, which looks straight out of a fairytale - the white walls, the red brick kiln, and the long bakers' peel and white dusting flour all over the white counter. Also interesting in the second floor is the outdoor seating space. Of course, the outdoor space is comfortable only during mild winters.

The service left us with mixed feelings. The manager - a young gentleman by the name of Xavier, was pleasant and efficient. I don't know if it is a common factor, or if we were just plain unlucky with our server. The gentleman who served us was a tad strange when we asked him for his suggestions. His repetitive answer was "Everything is good here." When we asked him again if the pizzas were more popular or the pastas, I swear I saw the 'which-planet-are-you-from' look. But he stuck to his ground and said "Both sell well HERE."

Finally, we settled on a vegetarian Lebanese pizza, which seemed to have interesting ingredients. Aubergines, feta cheese in addition to the usual pizza ingredients. We also wanted a pasta dish with pesto sauce. (I now seem to have a thing for pesto thanks to a hotelier friend who is obsessed with pesto sauce!!) Interesting dude server asks "Penne, spaghetti, macaroni?" And though we knew the answer we would get, we asked him his suggestion anyway. He did not let us down... "They are all good." So we decided on spaghetti with pesto sauce.

The food : well, we were famished at the end of the server escapade. And we were told that pizzas take a little longer to arrive. But we were pleasantly surprised. The drinks came almost instantly, and the pizza and pasta were on our table before any significant wait. The pizza was exactly what one would expect of an Italian cafe to churn out - thin crust, coarse tomato sauce (not the ketchup version) and very little cheese. The topping, in our case was mashed aubergines, and feta cheese. The pizza had come together pretty well. The pasta was exceptional - in texture and taste. If you order cheese garlic bread, don't expect the pizza hut variety here. What you get is a split baguette with a generous cheesy layer.

A special mention here for the chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. We were tempted to order one, and between the three of us, we polished it off. The chocolate sauce was not too sweet, and the brownie was soft in the center, crunchy at the top - ideal!

When the food arrived, we were a little disappointed with the portion size. (Given that places like Big Chills kills you with the portion sizes!). But once we started eating, we discovered the portion sized were just right. You had eaten enough to fill you up, but were not writhing in agony after over eating - absolutely perfect for business lunches.

A meal for three cost us around Rs.2000 without beverages. Definitely recommended for people who prefer the healthier version of their Italian favorites, and for people who cannot afford to doze off in the middle of a post lunch meeting.

4 comments:

  1. Nice post !

    New to ur space and following u :)

    Do visit me as time permits
    http://comeletseat.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Nirvana, great review.

    Now I know how a real good resto review is written.
    U could try uploading the same for zomato.com's weekly review contest :)

    link here:
    http://www.zomato.com/contest

    All the best!! :)

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  3. @Mehjabeen ...... thank you so much for visiting! And yes, I shall look up your blog too.

    @ R-A-J .... I had been neglecting this blog - even though this is my first love! I love food and travel. Hotels are another one of my passions - and so each time I open this blog, I feel I would not be able to do justice to this blog, as I have very little time! But your comment has made me sit up and decide to write in it again!! Can't thank you enough for this little pep - comment!

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  4. Hey my pleasure, Nirvana .. glad that you're back to something that you are so good at and glad that at least somebody got pepped up by me, which is usually a big rarity :).. welcum back Nirvana..keep those great reviews coming!!! :)

    ReplyDelete