Dean family se apna purana rishta hai.
Connected with Rupali Dean jee way back 2012 when I read one of her articles in an F&B magazine. We somehow struck a chord and stayed in touch and then she was kind enough to invite me for a Food & Nightlife award night at Eros Hotel.
Uske baad we kept seeing each other at various events and pichhle kuch saalo mein rishta aur gehra hota gaya.
As luck would have it, while surfing Facebook one day, I chanced upon Chef Bakshish Dean Sir ki profile and got to know that he is Rupali jee ke husband as also my super senior from Bishop Cotton School, Simla and unse to gehra rishta samjho tabhi se ban gaya.
Akansha Dean is the adorable endowed daughter of the talented duo and I have been seeing her taking tiny steps towards in this gigantic world of food & beverage.
A couple of days back I was again lucky to not only meet Akansha but also relish some dishes created by her along with her team at this place called Shor. It is owned by the same Imperfecto group that has restaurants/lounges/cafes spread over Delhi NCR, with some of the prominent locations being Hauz Khas Village, DLF Cyber Hub, Ansal Plaza.
Though I have not been able to visit Imperfecto, but have always been a huge fan of the artwork that they display at their stall at Grub Fest every year. From then on, I associate Imperfecto with adjectives like Grand & Quirky!
Aaj Aerocity has become the new dining hub in Delhi NCR where every restaurant owner is vying to get some SqFt to showcase their brand. Par jagah to hai nahi!
Also Read: DIAL Changing the Face of Delhi Airport
When I heard about Shor, I also got to know that it has opened inside Pride Plaza Hotel and I told myself that it would also be just another restaurant/café/club inside a hotel property. But, how wrong was I?
A few days later when I had planned to meet the Deans at Shor, I walked down from Fab Café after a meeting and thought it shall be a long walk crossing the hotel porch, then the lobby area finally leading to the restaurant, Shor. Par nahi, it was right there, just next to Plum by Bent Chair.
Walk in just like you would walk in to any other restaurant in the Aerocity and there you enter a double-ceiling hall that takes you back to the Victorian era.
With a huge island bar and cosy sitting around it, it was nothing short of a dreamy place which is just perfect for a good meal along with some gup-shup.
I settled myself in a table for 4 and was joined shortly by Rupali jee and Akanksha and phir shuru hue gappe about the concept… thought behind creating this menu, about the association with the Imperfecto chain as a whole and many other things.
With all the conversation happening around, the SHOR-iness started to get absorbed by my mind and my heart.
Ab aayi khaane ki baari and what we got on our table was a beautiful colourful, The Imperial Crown Salad which was a wonderful mix of quinoa, avocado, bell peppers with honey and lime dressing. I simply loved the thought of adding lots of colours, just like in a crown and match the name and the theme of the restaurant. I polished it all off till the last morsel of quinoa.
Loved Clement’s Japanese affair including that of Chicken Teriyaki and Asparagus served with Sticky Rice. And then came the Royal portal, old-style Spinach Chicken Croquettes.
Ab isko dekhkar tabiyat khush ho gayi. This was Lonara’s Salvation which was basically bunny chow filled with lamb stew. Ab aap sochenge tabiyat kisliye khush hui, to apko bata du the three reasons behind… firstly, generally bunny chow is square but this was an oval bun. Secondly, while eating bunny chow, there is more bread in comparison to the curry inside. And ya to end mein bread waste ho jaati hai ya end mein sookhi bread khaani padti hai and in the last you have the taste of the bread and not of the tasty curry. Thirdly, the slow-cooked Lamb Stew served in it was amazing in all senses. Just Perfect.
Arre Haan, another reason is that all the breads are made in-house thus giving them the wonderful texture 🙂 Pakka try karna.
I was already full when I was told that they have lined another 10 special dishes for me. Maine to haath jod liye jee ki agli baar aaunga. But then I realised ki café food to ho gaya, ek baar Indian try kar lete hain. Because jab raat ko party ke baad bhookh lagti hai (3 ya 4 baje) tab Indian ki talab zyada hoti hai. Arre bataya hi nahi, Shor is a 24-hours open property, shaam ko 5 baje jaao chahe subah ke 5 baje.
While we were having our meal, we were joined in by Suresh Madan jee. Suresh jee is the owner of the Imperfecto chain with his family. And gappe shuru hui to chalti rahi. We found a common Karol Bagh connection too. Baatein karke samajh aa gaya that the empire he has created is not a windfall, he has worked for it, struggled for it and spends every day to ensure that every guest at Imperfecto has a perfect experience 🙂
Now I ordered the iconic Butter Chicken which at Shor they call as Shor’s Royal Murgh Makhni. Ab jitni yeh common dish hai utna hi isko banana mushkil. And most of the times cafés/lounges add this just to have a dish in the menu so that you don’t have to say NO to the customer. And in the process make a chalta firta version of the Butter Chicken.
Also Read: TanPaas Chicken Recipe by Mister Tikku
However, that’s not the case at Shor. Not only the Butter Chicken was perfect but also the Butter Naan complete with Sirke wale Pyaz. Uff, tabiyat hi khush ho gayi jee. And to end the meal we had the Quinoa Fruits Pudding. Akanksha jee highly recommended it and I have to say I had to order another serving of the same. Bahut hi badiya thi.
The place is a must visit and a repeat visit too.
Arre yeh batana to bhool hi gaya ki they have a huge party place within the premises that as of now is open only on Weekends and for Private Parties and is too chic.
In the end, I shall repeat what I said in the beginning, Yeh Shor Sureela bhi hai aur Swadisht bhi!
For more such delightful and interesting experiences, do stay tuned and check out our Facebook and Instagram for all the pagalpanti and masti that we keep doing!