Guppy by Ai – Delhi Food Walks

Hanami Summer Menu

Japan’s Hanami festival celebrates the ephemeral season of cherry blossoms. Guppy by ai, the most celebrated Japanese restaurant in Delhi, recreates the magic of the Hanami Festival (25th April to 30th May) through its dishes by introducing a special menu that captures its essence. Known for his culinary expertise, Chef Vikram spearheads the kitchen at Guppy by ai.

Away from the sweltering heat of Delhi, the food journey started with cold sweet Corn and Avocado soup, enriched with soy milk. The soup is served with salt and a slice of lemon, which adde a distinct texture to the soup. It is truly refreshing.

The menu has been thoughtfully curated with soups and salads as special vegan dishes. The 3 melon salad with Yubari, musk and watermelon looks simple yet the umeboshi plum dressing makes it truly delicious. Umeboshi are fermented pickles made from young, barely ripe ume, a sour Japanese fruit that’s a cross between an apricot and a plum.

Japanese food would be incomplete without Sushi and Sashimi. For me, the highlight of the menu is the Mango and Avocado Cream Cheese Roll. Made with Alphonso mango, cream cheese, tanuki tempura fritters and kimchi, the roll is unique and flavoursome. The roll also has a similar variant with tuna. Another king size roll was the Hanami thick sushi roll combined with black and white rice with sakura dembu, tuna, salmon, crab, yellowtail and cucumber.

In the cold noodles – the 3 different variants are cold hiyashi tantanmen (home-made ramen noodles, served chilled with sesame flavoured pork broth, spicy ground pork meat and fresh vegetables), Hiyashi tanuki cha saba (chilled green tea flavoured buckwheat noodles, topped with tanuki tempura fritters, wasabi, grated radish served with a soy flavoured dashi broth. The Hiyash tanuki cha saba is the only vegetarian option in the noodles menu. The third option is Hiyashi somen (Japanese, thin angel hair wheat noodles topped with crab sticks, prawns, seaweed, cucumber and melon, served chilled with a ginger flavoured dashi broth).

The Hanami cocktail menu has excellent refreshing cocktails like Sendai a mix of vodka, fresh kiwi, fresh melon and lime. Plum Blossom made with sochu, umeshu fresh plum and lime and Umetini with ingredients like sake, umeshu and gold leaf.

The food journey ended on a Mangolicious note a dessert with fresh Mango, liquorice and coconut ice-cream!

Address- 28, Main Market, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi

Timings: 12 to 3.30 and 7pm to 1am

Lunch for two: Rs. 1300

Dinner for two: Rs. 1800

For Reservation – 01124690005 / 6, +919650185005

Websitehttp: guppybyai.com

Anubhav Sapra

Anubhav Sapra is an avid foodie! He is a Founder but proudly calls himself a Foodie-in-chief at Delhi Food Walks. He is also a street-food and Indian regional cuisine connoisseur and loves to write about street-food.

http://www.delhifoodwalks.com

KONNICHIWA JAPAN!

By Prakriti Bhat

Apart from its technological prowess, Japan is also famous for The Hanami Festival. This festival celebrates the ephemeral season of cherry blossoms. Guppy by ai recreates the magic of the Hanami Festival through its dishes by introducing a special menu that captures its essence. The name comes from ‘guppy’, a fish.

It all began with ai, which was a Japanese restaurant cum lounge in MGF Metropolitan Mall, Saket that was shut down due to certain reasons. Guppy by ai was launched in August 2013 in Lodhi Colony and has since received rave reviews. Guppy by ai runs under the patronage of AD Singh along with other restaurants within the Olive brand such as Olive Bar and Kitchen, SodaBottleOpenerWala and Olive Bistro.

The interiors are reminiscent of the original Ai with red hearts all across the walls. The place also seems to have been heavily influenced by the anime and manga culture which is quite evident from the walls and the few books that are kept on the window-sill. The Olive brand has a tradition of having a courtyard-like area in all its branches and Guppy by ai is no different. It has a separate patio which also acts as the smoking area.

I was greeted by Mr. Nishant Kr. Gaurav, the assistant manager who gave me a brief history of the place. Also, he was very patient with my incessant questions about each dish. Chef Saurav Sharan was kind and courteous as he introduced dishes from the special and the extensive regular menu. The kitchen is spearheaded by Chef Vikram Khatri who has won numerous awards for his culinary expertise.

Gari Punch is a mocktail made with mint, sugar, lime, ginger ale and the main ingredient, Gari which is the Japanese ginger. Gari is pink in colour and that is where the colour of the drink comes from, by muddling ginger in the muddler and shaking it with ice. Akane is a drink made with pomegranate, orange and mint. It has a very sharp, citrus flavor. I had asked for Miso soup, it being one of my favourite Japanese delicacies and it was made well with tofu.

Next came Edamame, a dish of steamed soyabeans tossed in sea salt. This was probably the only dish which I did not enjoy much. Tofu and water chestnut Motoyaki was very appetizing and reminded me of our Shahi Paneer in a peculiar way, even though both are quite different. It was baked well in an umami rich sauce. Assorted vegetable Tempura had an array of batter fried exotic vegetables like bell peppers, baby corn, potatoes, onions served with Dashi and spicy mayonnaise.

Next up was the much anticipated sushi- California Roll packed with crabmeat, cucumber and avocado. All the dishes were served with requisite sauces and dips. The California Roll came with wasabi and soy sauce. Prawn Gyoza and Exotic Mushroom Gyoza may look like innocent dumplings but are bigger, juicier and generous in their fillings. These were served with chilly Ponzu sauce, though one can eat them just like that to enjoy the taste of tiger prawns and the mushrooms and avocadoes.

In Salmon Nigiri, a small piece of salmon is placed on a tiny rice ball. One of the waiters flamed the salmon right in front of me. It looks so heavenly that one just can’t stop admiring the detailed designing on the rosy salmon. Salmon Tartare was a vibrant combination of avocadoes between two layers of salmon served on a carpet of cucumbers! The Chicken Udon Noodles were well spiced and had big chunks of chicken along with mushrooms. Among the desserts, I tried Apple and Prune Tart and Blueberry Crepes, both of which ended the meal perfectly.

Guppy by ai keeps the spirit of Hanami alive with its sakura inspired dishes. The detailing and hard work put into each dish is quite visible. However, everyone may not savour this cuisine because unlike Indian cuisine it is not laden with oil and spices and is comparatively quite bland. But for the rest, this is one place you must visit especially during the Hanami Festival to enjoy their special menu. The festival goes on till mid may.

What are you waiting for? Pick up those chopsticks and say sushi!

Address- 28, Main Market, Lodi Colony, New Delhi

Contact no. – 01124690005, 9650185005

Cost for two- Rs. 3000

Anubhav Sapra

http://www.delhifoodwalks.com