By Sourish
Bhattacharyya
I HAD never considered Gurgaon to be anything more than a culinary
desert till the Cyber Hub came up and became Delhi's go-to destination.
My only Gurgaon favourite was Cilantro, especially because of
the wines on offer with its Sunday brunch, and then, in chronological order,
Spectra (Leela Ambience), MoMo Cafe at the Courtyard by Marriott, Eest at The
Westin (not my favourite!), La Riviera (which has lost much of its old glory
after the fire that broke out some months back) and Sen5es at the Pullman, and
Amaranta at The Oberoi gave me occasional reasons to cross the border to
satiate my curiosity about our neighbour's foodie islands. With the opening of
Cyber Hub, my jaunts to Millennium City have become frequent and taken me to restaurants
beyond India's answer to Clarke Quay, and I have discovered that Gurgaon has
well and truly evolved gastronomically.
When my friend Pawan
Soni announced the Indian Food Freak Awards to recognise Gurgaon's best
restaurants (indeed, a creditable initiative!), I decided to do my own quiet
recce, exchanging notes over FB Mail with certified foodies of the Delhi
Gourmet Club, F&B professionals and chefs. I compared their recommendations
with my notes and realised that my favourites more or less reflected the
popular opinion.
Here, then, are my personal awards, and if you find five-star
hotels being poorly represented on the list, it is because most of them haven't
impressed me. The future clearly belongs to standalone restaurants powered by
passionate entrepreneurs and powerhouses of young talent. I would have loved it
if the Indian Food Freak Awards were given out at Cyber Hub amphitheatre as a
tribute to the future of Delhi-NCR's culture of dining out.
Restaurateur of the
Year: Zorawar Kalra,
Massive Restaurants
He's a tribute to his father, India's first and foremost food
impresario Jiggs Kalra, and the tradition
of Indian fine-dining he upheld. After creating Masala Library in Mumbai, a Michelin
star-quality restaurant, Zorawar rolled out Made in Punjab, demonstrating the ease
with which he can operate across formats.
In his next project, Farzi Cafe, next door to Made in Punjab,
I believe he's marrying Masala Library's finesse with Made in Punjab's mass
appeal. It takes an imaginative and versatile entrepreneur to think across so
many formats. He may be younger, but if he maintains his standards and his
success rate, he'll be in the league of AD Singh and Riyaz Amlani.
Restaurant Concept of
the Year:
Sodabottleopenerwala
Marrying quirky ambience with food you can never tire of,
Sodabottleopenerwala, under Mohit Balachandran's able leadership, has made us
fall in love with Irani Cafe cuisine.
Discovery of the Year: Anahita Dhondy, Sodabottleopenerwala
She can land any international modelling contract with her
porcelain looks, but this Taj product believes in sweating it out in the
kitchen and producing Delhi-NCR's most addictive Parsi food. Bring on the
Marghi Na Farcha.
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INVENTIVE SPIRIT: Amaranta rewrote the
rules of serving rasam at a Stag's Leap
Winery dinner for the Delhi Gourmet Club.
|
Gurgaon's Pride: Bernardo, Super Mart I, DLF Phase IV
Crescentia Scolt and Chris Fernandes have had to wage a long struggle to keep Bernardo afloat,
moving from one location to another because of the real estate market's
vagaries, but their to-die-for authentic Goan spread, which is better than what
you get in Goa, has ensured their diehard loyalists keep following them
wherever they go.
Corporate Chef of the
Year: Ravi Saxena,
Dhaba by Claridges, Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City
I've seen him from the time he turned around The Imperial's
Tuscan restaurant, San Gimignano, and it's heartening to see his transformation
from an European fine-dining specialist to the creator of a growing chain of restaurants
that exudes youthful energy even as it serves the classics that have been responsible
for Dhaba's runaway success at The Claridges.
F&B Executive of
the Year: Varun
Duggal, Massive Restaurants
Zorawar Kalra's right-hand man, he combines sharp business
instincts, a deep understanding of the restaurant trade and a warm personality
that gets him friends and new clients with ease.
Best Modern Indian
Restaurant of the Year: Amaranta, The Oberoi, Udyog Vihar, Phase V
Here's a restaurant that has achieved the impossible by
consistently delivering the best fresh fish and seafood preparations from the
coastal states with a contemporary twist, despite being in the heart of India's
dusty plains. A tribute to the epicurean perfection that Executive Chef Ravitej Nath seeks to achieve in this
laboratory of creativity, Amaranta can never let you down.
 |
Sodabottleopenerwala combines a quirky design
with impeccable authenticity in its efforts to
popularise Irani Cafe cuisine and give it a
permanent new home in Delhi-NCR |
Best North Indian
Restaurant of the Year: Made In Punjab, Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City
It's often unfairly judged because of its buffet, but you
must order from its a la carte menu
to understand why Palak Patta Chaat, Salmon Tikka, Beetroot Tikki and Railway Mutton
Curry haven't tasted better anywhere else.
Best South Indian
Restaurant of the Year: Zambar, Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City
Arun Kumar TR's
return with an all-new Zambar has been the best thing to have happened to Cyber
Hub in recent months. The decor turns all notions of a South Indian restaurant
on thjeir head and the menu is refreshingly different -- dig their Cauliflower
Bezule, Andhra Chicken Vepedu, Squid Rings with Seafood Filling and Pork Sukka
to understand why.
Best Small Restaurant
of the Year: Pintxo,
DLF Galleria Market, DLF Phase
4
Besides introducing a new word into our vocabulary, which
means 'small snacks' in Basque country, Pintxo has proved that a restaurant can
be a hole-in-the-wall and yet have an army of admirers, because what really
matters is the food you're served. Can I have the bacon-wrapped prawns?
Best Multi-Cuisine
Restaurant of the Year: Spectra, Leela Ambience Gurgaon
International variety and goodness, when combined, can be the
recipe for a real winner, which is what this all-day restaurant with the best
view in Gurgaon has to offer.
Best Sunday Brunch of
the Year: Sen5es,
Pullman Gurgaon Central Park
Its crab omelette isn't the only reason I am in love with
Sen5es. The restaurant's Sunday Brunch, judging by the turnout for it, is
clearly Gurgaon's favourite because it goes beyond the obvious offerings and
makes an effort to do things, to borrow an expression from Pizza Hut, 'zaraa
Hut ke'.
Best Italian Restaurant
of the Year: 56
Ristorante Italiano, Vatika Atrium, DLF Golf Course Road
Located uniquely between two business towers, this restaurant
combines a good menu and wine list overseen by an Italian chef with friendly
and efficient service and a business-like atmosphere just right for corporate
lunches. It's the best dining option on Golf Course Road.
Best Chinese Restaurant
of the Year: Nooba,
DLF Cyber City, Tower C
Restaurateurs in Vasant Kunj may be complaining about how
their businesses have been hit because of the Cyber Hub, but this place bang
next to India's first food mall continues to be the favoured 'canteen' of
Chinese executives working at DLF Cyber City. What does it tell you about the
food of this silent star among Rahul 'Indigo' Bhatia's trio of restaurants?
Best Japanese
Restaurant of the Year: Raifu Tei, Dia Park Premier, Sector 29
Ask any Japanese expat where he hangs out with friends and he
would say 'Raifu Tei' without blinking his eyes (yes, if you go to a Japanese
hangout, as opposed to a horribly expensive restaurant favoured by desi
moneybags, you'd think all Japanese men are single!). If you wish to have
Japanese food the way the Japanese do, this is the where you can savour the
experience without burning your wallet.
Best Dim Sum of the
Year: dimsumbros,
Ambience Mall
A leap of faith by the Yo! China trio, dimsumbros dazzles you
with its array and quality of 'little hearts'. Ask for their Almond Prawn with
Wasabi Mayo, Laksa Crab Dumpling and BBQ Pork Pastry to find out what has got
me eating out of their hand!
Best Korean Restaurant
of the Year: Gung
The Palace, City Centre, Near Crowne Plaza, Sec. 29
Here's a restaurant whose only competition is itself, but it is
on this list because of the consistency of its offering and the authenticity of
its preparations, which is why it is the social magnet of Delhi-NCR's Korean
community. Its Beef Bulgogi will have you, like Oliver Twist, asking for more.
Best Pizzas of the
Year: Fat Lulu's,
Arjun Marg, DLF Shopping Centre, DLF Phase I
This is where your search for Delhi-NCR's best pizzas should
end. The base, sauce, cheese and toppings of each of the 22 pizza varieties are
textbook perfect. You can choose from an array of choices in each of the four categories,
making every order a new experience.
Best Comfort Food of
the Year: Eat@Joe's,
Cross Point Mall, DLF Phase IV
Joe Baath romanced the spotlight on MasterChef India, but
he's not the kind of guy who basks in past glory. He's an engaging fellow and
his Chicken Wings, Jalapeno Cheese Shots and BBQ Chicken Hotdog keep bringing
back his growing horde of loyalists. And his tie-up with Pradeep Gidwani's The
Pint Room keeps us well supplied with brews of the best kind.
Best Cocktails of the
Year: Cocktails
& Dreams Speakeasy, Behind Galaxy Hotel, Sector 15
This is the creative laboratory of Yangdup Lama and if it
doesn't serve Gurgaon's best cocktails, then Millennium City has no hope.
Fortunately, the maestro of mixology has been able to live up to his reputation
and keeps giving the world an unforgettable high.
Best Patisserie of the
Year: The Oberoi Patisseri
and Delicatessen, Udyog Vihar
From croissants, cakes and chocolates to sausages and
sandwiches, to freshly baked breads and olive oil, you get them all here, the
standards notches higher than the competition and the prices, surprisingly,
about the same as, and in some cases lower than, L'Opera.
