March 8, 2013

Feature | International Womens Day…. lunch hosted at Casablanca, Double Tree by Hilton, Gurgaon

“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights”
Gloria Steinem

International Womens Day. A day to celebrate everything good about being a woman … a manager, an organiser, a mother, a home maker, a breadwinner, a worker … and sometimes all of these. A juggler at the best of times, someone to depend on, someone to turn to. The list is endless.

International Women’s Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year.[1] In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet bloc.

This world has produced some amazing women, role models we look up to. They might not necessarily be poster women. It could be the woman next door, the 70+ woman labourer who works non stop for 8 hours and still tends to her grandchild patiently, with love at the same time. She says that she will work by her husband until her hands and legs can support her. She smiled at me all day, not a single complaint, and even invited me to her village in Rajasthan. For me, a day like IWD celebrates a spirit like hers. I am fortunate to have met her.

To celebrate IWD, earlier today Double Tree by Hilton in Gurgaon invited about a 100 women from different walks of life to lunch at Casablanca, a Moroccan specialty restaurant. Inspired by Mediterranean style cooking, it exposes food lovers to a new dimension of flavors and aromas.

The hostess is an old friend Monisha Dewan, the General Manager of the hotel, a lady who is a celebration of everything woman. Beautiful, smart, intelligent, warm, pleasant, efficient and a wonderful host! By her side was Executive Chef Rajat Tuli, who I have had the pleasure of meeting earlier at the Garden Hilton. We were in good hands all afternoon, spoiled by their constant attention and made to feel extra special.

Rachid Choukki the Chef de Cuisine of Casablanca was in attendance as well. A Moroccan national, he set us of of a culinary adventure, lavishing us with amazing starters. Briouats, pastillas, preserved meat, also absolutely delicious vegetarian beet shots! The unanimous drink of choice was the Cosmo Martini … a beautiful blushing pink vodka with cranberry juice. That pink followed us women all afternoon!!Lunch was a buffet but we got the royal treatment and Chef Rajat set a personal table for us. The food streamed in, one good dish after another. Moroccan cuisine comes with interesting dips and sauces on the side – a mild red harissa {just the colour fiery but the taste very pleasing}, a yum hummus and baba ghanoush, a lentil dip too.

Petite pitas, chicken and lamb skewers, the best chicken shawarma in town was on offer. We ate … and ate! Food is such a ‘connector’… good food a revelation! Parul, Avanti, Mukta and I chatted away non stop, joined ever so often by Monisha, Chef Rajat and Chef Rachid.

Time for tangines. I found the vegetarian one really interesting with fresh and light flavours teasing the palette. The others loved both the non vegetarian ones on offer, the quail tangine and the rabbit tangine. I am not fond of quail, and rabbit I don’t like to eat {after ‘meeting’ a rabbit pie in Moscow many years ago!!}. Neither held up to my favourite lamb tangine I had a while ago, one that I find difficult to forget!

Dessert was flowery! A fruit salad strongly flavoured with orange blossom which was really nice if you are fruitily oriented {I’m not}. The second option was an orange sorbet. That was really nice, creamy and full of flavour.

Casablanca, Double Tree by Hilton, Gurgaon 8 The meal was wrapped up with traditional mint tea, a most welcome cuppa after such heavy duty indulgence. It tasted even better as Chef Rachid personally poured each of us a serving!

Casablanca, Double Tree by Hilton, Gurgaon That was something I enjoyed about the hotel. Impeccable staff, friendly, attentive, efficient. It’s things like this that make a difference, and Double Tree have certainly got it right! Thank you Monisha for having us over!

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Posted: March 8, 2013 by Deeba @ PAB |Filed Under: blog event | blog event, Casablanca, Double Tree by Hilton, Gurgaon, India, International Womens Day, restaurant review 4 Comments

February 15, 2013

Food Event | Bloggers Night @ Dirty Martini, Olive Bar & Kitchen, New Delhi

“Happiness is…finding two olives in your martini when you’re hungry.”
Johnny Carson

Dirty Martini, Olive Bar & Kitchen, New Delhi It’s hard to say no to an invite from Olive at the Qutab. Always the promise of a fab fun filled time out, great hospitality, innovative food and drinks, relaxed company … all that jazz! I knew I couldn’t make it. It was midweek and I don’t do late night events on weekdays, both kids were under a flu attack, there were virtual floods in the city with incessant rains. Yet Olive beckoned, and I succumbed. It was time to visit Dirty Martini!

It was a perfect night out. How better to describe the ‘prohibition era‘ of the 1920′s so well captured by the immensely innovative and talented award winning Chef Saby and his team. {As dimly lit as a bar could possibly be, my low light camera skills were severely tested. I got a million shaky blurry shots, befitting of the 1920′s! The camera was soon abandoned.}

‘The Dirty Martini”, Olive at the Qutub is a 1920s speakeasy inspired bar set in Europe. The hedonistic 1920s encouraging you to enjoy the sweet seductions of the prohibition era when cocktails were served in tea cups; and where live bands, silent cinema and floor shows marked entertainment. An era of molls and gangsters, of flappers and flamboyance.

The menu offers a combination of “speakeasy inspired” concoctions and European cocktails which are twisted, tweaked and crafted for The Dirty Martini at Olive Qutub’. The Dirty Martini is India’s first “speakeasy inspired” bar and not a “speakeasy”.

The tradition of Speakeasies is rooted in the time of prohibition in the US. They were basically illegal bars which usually had a secret back door entry through dirty alleys, tricky doors and basements and access to which was screened or through passwords. A speakeasy brings to mind a smoky bar with bluesy music, dancing to a jazz combo, aromas of comfort food wafting out from the kitchen and a fun, relaxed celebratory atmosphere. Bars where drinks were served in tea cups and the bar could be hidden at the touch of a button.

It’s a beautiful recreation, a step back in time to capture the fascinating era. We were greeted by warm cups of mulled wine in mud glasses {Chef Saby’s stamp all over}. A typical back door entry {through the kitchen}, we ‘stumbled‘ into the dimly lit quintessentially ‘speakasy‘ ambiance. Extravagant décor accentuated with lavish mirrors, art deco furniture and lamp shades, a piano … and the beautiful Olga who crooned out 1920′s music !

A Smoking Gin made it’s way over, beautifully presented, and as always, perfect to the ‘t’. Very Olive & very intriguing!! Classic and contemporary martinis, beer bottles wrapped in brown paper bags, 20′s floral cups and saucers to clandestinely serve cocktails … every detail covered!

Dirty Martini is run by a team of young talented chefs headed by Chef Dhruv Oberoi who has just returned after training with Chefs Ferran Adria and Albert Adria of the El Bulli fame! The food is inspirational .. and of course ‘eat easy’! Classic sliders, hot dogs, finger foods, the menu focuses on fresh produce and easy to eat food. Finger licking good too with inventive names that do a merry dance in the head.

Dirty Martini, Olive Bar & Kitchen, New Delhi Big Boss Toast which kicks the taste buds with goat cheese, chili jam and berries, a Shebeen Sandwich with Harissa, artichokes, feta pate and apricot chutney … good food, fresh and flavourful! The TDM Chicken, batter fried and yum, served with chipotle mayo. Delicious … as was the Shrimp Jammer. Another huge favourite was the Gangster Slider … perfect flavours to the tenderloin patty!

One of my favourites was the soul warming and indulgent Godfather’s Stew. Casablanca was the vegetable version – seven veggies in there, and the non vegetarian version, the Starving Mafia, a slow cooked lamb goulash that hit the ball out of the park. Both outstanding! {Sangeeta managed to get the goulash recipe from ever obliging and large hearted Saby.}

Prohibition ended sweetly with desserts that warmed up the winter night! The Smoking Cigar … a chocolate fountain gurgled happily as ‘live churros’ were piped into a huge bowl of simmering oil. Little glassfuls of chocolate sauce were on offer. Nice, but what I absolutely loved was the Nutty Auntie ; charming little apple and walnut tarts with a drizzle of maple! ’twas a night to remember!

Thank you Saby, Astha and Dhruv for this fabulous journey back into time. No one can do it better than Olive!

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

February 10, 2013

Bloggers Table | An Oriental Dinner at Pan Asian, WelcomHotel Sheraton, New Delhi

“Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.”
Chinese proverb

Pan Asian, WelcomHotel Sheraton, New Delhi Yet another evening well spent with good food midst good company. This time around the Bloggers Table was hosted at Pan Asian for an oriental meal with Japanese Chef Hakamura. It was set to be an interactive dinner, hosted in a private dining room, a lesson or two in Thai/Japanese salads, and maybe a go at the teppan grill.
We battled New Delhi’s traffic to get there, resorted to the Google Gods to find the way … and walked in slightly late to be greeted by the very courteous and smiling staff at Pan Asian who escorted us to a private dining room reserved for the table.
The evening took off pretty soon with food, food and more food making its way to the table throughout the evening. I overate … really did. Again. The thing with small bites is that you lose control over how much goodness you can embrace; a definite way to overeat.
The starters were delicious. An assortment of sushis and tempura, dumplings, dipping sauces, pickled vegetables, boiled soy peanuts … the works. Could have been a meal in itself; should have been a meal in itself! We talked, laughed, giggled, wined and nibbled; ate till we were ready to burst.
Would have loved a live salad demo with Chef Hakamura but that didn’t happen for some reason. We did have a go at the teppan grill. Much to the chefs horror, we managed to char some silken tofu. We also dabbled at yakitori grill. That was fun, the end result of chicken yakitoris, amazing. The simplicity of Japanese street food, the subtle flavours came through beautifully.
And there was more! I did small taste tests from here on. The Miso Soup was so comforting. Then came duck. It was the first time my tastebuds met ‘duck’! Indeed a nice first meeting with Peking Duck served with Cucumber, Spring Onion, Pancakes And a Chef Special Sauce ending up in delicious rolls. Mmmmm…!

There was tonnes to eat, maybe more than we could handle, me at least. By the time the main course arrived, I could barely eat any more. The KaengPhak or Green Curry Thai Style was perfect. I loved it, and wished I could have had more. I also loved the Kung Phad Xo or Pan Fried Prawns With Thai Style Chili X.O. Sauce.

Crispy Hua or the Stir Fried Sliced Red Snapper Chili Garlic Sauce was the show stopper as it was flambéed at the table. Neither me nor Ruchira could take a bite as those eyes stared at us while the flames leapt high!

It was a sticky sweet end to the meal with Fig And Toffee Pudding served with Darsaan or crisp honey noodles. The dessert was absolutely delicious and I couldn’t have asked for a better and more satisfying end to the meal. The whole Pan Asian experience was very nice; the food, the ambiance and the staff, all excellent. Thank you Pan Asian for hosting us!