Its been long that I have been the fan of Delhi Gourmet Club (DGC).
Exactly 2 years Back I attended the Made in Punjab event and then later again at “Dhaba by Claridges”. I also had the privilege of being on the jury of best “Best Dal Makhni Hunt” conducted by the group 2 years back.
During the Dal Makhni hunt we judged Masala Art at Hotel Taj Palace as the best Dal Makhni in Delhi.
And this week when I saw that DGC & Nearbuy (Groupon earlier) has tied up with Masala Art at Taj Palace to create “Gourmet Studio with Chef Amit Rana” then it was tough to resist trying it.
One should always give in to temptations, especially when it is related to food. No prizes for guessing that I did buy the deal. And not only for me but also for 2 of my friends Ashish Gulati & Ashish Khanna who had shown interest in the same.
It’s a 6 course Meal +Soft Drink Deal for Rs 1500 (All inclusive)
Today @ 12:50 we entered the Hotel and I got that familiar soothing feel. Some how I love the Grand entry of this hotel and the strong character it has. It could be because of the Hand picked Artefacts, Stylish but comfortable Furniture, Huge hand crafted Lights, Welcoming Staff or even with the flower arrangement as you see in the picture below.
At Masala Art, we were greeted with a smile and were shown our seats in the Spacious restaurant which was well lit by Natural light.
We had the option to sit next to windows, but then realised to sit in the center. I would suggest you to sit near window if you plan to visit the place.
Within a few minutes, there was a platter on our table with lots of Papads, Raddish Strips, Cucumber strips and Gajar ka Achar with Tomato Garlic Chutney.
The Menu for the deal looked great. Thora confusing tha ki milega kya, but still we had faith ki jo hoga accha hi hoga.
In a few minutes we were served the Amuse Bouche which included a Small piece combined of Collacassia Leaves (Arbi ke patte) coated with gram Flour and then Steamed & Shallow fried. Jo bhi tha accha tha. 🙂
Then we were served with a small scoop of Chilli IceCream which looked like Mini idly and I relished that too.
This gave us a good start and then we moved to a Dish called “Water Colors” which included some pieces of Crab along with Curry leaves cooked in Coconut Milk. The presentation was lovely and so was taste. And jo beech ka piece that that had some thing like caviar and the entire bite of that was heavenly. This was served with a small Kulcha piece and the stuffing as very Khatta meetha Aam paparr types. We actually requested them to get one more helping of kulcha 🙂
Uske baad we were served starters which included a Lamb Chop which was well cooked and I relished every piece of flesh from the bone. Somehow, whenever I have a Lamb Chop, I’m reminded of the one I ate at “Made In Punjab” (Both Delhi wala and Bombay wlala). I shared this with my friends and they insisted that I take them there in coming week. So agle hafte Ghar Waapsi to “Made in Punjab”
The starter plate also included a Chargrilled HUGE Prawn which was spicy and very soft.
I wish I could repeat them 🙂
After the starters came the Cooler shot jo dekhne mein hi itna accha lag raha tha ki peene ka mann hi nahi kiya. It was a Sharbat of Rose, Sandalwood, Saffron Extracts garnished with pieces Gold leaf that kept floating in the glass.
The sharbat not only freshened us up but also cleaned our palate for main course.
Will have to mention that the Service was great, the Servers very courteous and had full knowledge of the Dishes. (Unhone hi btaya ki Collacassia Leaves are Arbi ke patte)
Oh, I loved what they wore. 🙂 (No pics though)
Ab our server got a Stylish Tiffin in his hand and I was eager to see how it opened and what it stored.
He opened it from the centre vertically and we were treated to a sight of 4 bowls. They carried Chicken Ghee Roast, Baingan Achari Mirch Salaan , Hyderabadi Khatti Dal and Pulao with lots of small Cholle, some daal, and were garnished with fried onions. It was good to find some CHOLLIYAS too in the rice. Brings back many old memories. One of the best being Cholliya ko chhilna with my daadi and eating half of them in the process 🙂
Every Dish was great. I’m not a big fan of Chotta Baingan but loved the salaan too.
If you plan to got here then don’t go with a mindset ki pait bhar ke aana hai as in that case you may not enjoy it completely. Though have to say ki after I came home, I didn’t eat for another 3 hours. So while having Lunch, one may think quantity is less, but in real terms it was Rich and very wholesome experience.
The Menu said Final Touches/Dessert as Kesari Ghevar- Malai Kulfi Ice cream in 2 separate lines and I thought ki do meethe ayenge. However, Once the Dessert was on our table I realised they meant it as one.
No Complaints though as the Dessert looked awesome, tasted Super Good and I was yearning for more of it.
A small piece of Ghewar was topped with Rabbri and uske uppar they added a scoop of Rabrri wali ice cream and garnished it with a complete square of Silver Varq. To add to the beauty a Rose petal was added and that completed the meal for us.
While we were chatting and planning to move, we were asked to wash our hands in a bowl while the server poured Water with Rose petals.
This is the kind of closing one looks forward too. It’s never bad to get pampered a bit. Hai na? 🙂
Oh yes, Then again we were served Paan on our table along with a Churann/Saunf/Supari Tray.
My friends Ashish & Ashish tried all and loved it. I specially loved how a Clove was used to hold the paan.
Over all an amazing lunch. Awesome value for money as normally an Experience like these costs almost double than what we paid.
You can see more details of the Offer here
Please Note: The Coupon is valid till 20th Dec.
The deal is open both for lunch and Dinner & prices are different for Weekday & Weekends.
Remember to take a print out of the offer
Remember to book atleast 24 hours in advance
Accha laga ya Bura, bta dena Jee 🙂
