Tag: Fine Dining

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A Grand Affair

SXVIII – All Day Brasserie, Noida

The Radisson in Noida pops out of nowhere, between the busy streets of this burgeoning city. It does face the famous Mall of India, a prominent location but I stumbled upon it from one of the side entrances. The restaurant décor and design seem to be inspired by baroque architecture. It is a regal spread with gilded candle and lamp stands and pastel columns and curtains. The chairs are also throne like. We sat in a pleasant corner, as I usually do in restaurants, to eat without any disturbance and to people-watch from a distance.

The buffet looked inviting but we went for the lazy option, a la carte. First up was the Tuna Nicoise, a dish I had been meaning to try for a while. It is a salad hero-ing tuna, cooked rare along with potatoes, hard boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes and beans. It was a refreshing preparation and the tuna blushed pink just how I had seen it on TV.

The menu reflects royalty as well. It has a badge of the restaurant on the first page – SXVIII, which if you haven’t guessed already is S-18 (since it is located in Sector 18, Noida. I took a while to get that reference and the roman numerals. Maths has never been my forte). The badge features a scarlet crown over the letter ‘S’. The commitment to the theme is laudable.

After great deliberation, we decided on comfortable classics – pasta and pizza. We ordered the Penne Pomodoro Con Pollo (pasta with chicken in a tomato sauce), a recommendation by our waiter and their Parma pizza. Parma ham is a thin slice of ham dry-cured in salt to make the meat supple so it was definitely on the salty side. It was loaded with meat and garnished with ricotta and truffle oil.

We ended our meal with an array of little desserts to maximize our sweet consumption including Orange Chiboust, Banana Crumble and Cream Caramel. The restaurant was brimming with people even at 11 in the evening and waiters were zooming past. The newly renovated SXVIII seems to be attracting young and old alike in large numbers, offering them a grand fine dining experience to indulge on.

 

Location: Radisson Blu MBD Hotel, Sector 18, Noida
Meal for two: Rs. 4,000

Anjora Sarangi
Anjora cannot resist a good prawn preparation, finds home in Chinese food anywhere in the world but will eat almost anything if it looks appealing. She is a Potter head and has recently discovered pottery as a hobby (excuse the pun).
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Bringing Italy to Your Plate

Artusi Ristorante glitters, quite literally, with a trail of lights that follow you inside. It is inviting, warm and luxurious. The walls are adorned with paintings and there’s an actual fireplace with a live fire in the centre of the room! How often do you see lit fireplaces in Delhi*?

For me, the watershed moment in my love for Italian food was when Julia Roberts ate a plate of spaghetti while Mozart played in the background in the movie Eat Pray Love. I wanted nothing more than to devour that plate of pasta. After many unsuccessful attempts to replicate the dish, I have been on a lifelong quest to find the perfect spaghetti.

Artusi represents food from Emilia Romagna in Northeast Italy where pasta is the hero. They leave no stone unturned to perfect the dish. The pasta is entirely made by hand so the noodle is noticeably rough as compared to the smooth spaghetti cut by the pasta machine. This lends well to the spaghetti being ensconced in the tomato sauce, covering every ridge. It was not by chance that my plate was accompanied by crab. I would happily eat this spaghetti in a movie.

One of the finest dishes on the menu is a simple cheese with mushrooms and bread. Tomino is a soft cheese sourced directly from its motherland, Italy. It melts magnificently over the bread, sticking to the mushrooms, garnished with white truffle oil. Seemingly modest, the flavours are intricate and delicious. Try this dish even if you don’t love mushrooms. You will be converted for life. For dessert, pick the Panna Cotta. It is fluffy and soft, wonderfully offset by the crunchy praline, almonds and fig.

Do attempt to hide your shock when you don’t see pizza on the menu. I assure you that you won’t miss it. Pizza is a southern Italian signature whereas the northern regions have influences from countries such as Germany. Ask the owner, Oscar Balcon about the food from his homeland and he will passionately and painstakingly explain the regional variations in food across Italy. He’ll throw in a joke or two, staying true to his Italian heritage. This restaurant, he says is his retirement project. I can only hope that my retirement project is half as majestic or delicious someday.

 

Location: One Horizon Centre, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon
Meal for two: Rs. 4000

*Alright, Gurgaon

Anjora Sarangi
Anjora cannot resist a good prawn preparation, finds home in Chinese food anywhere in the world but will eat almost anything if it looks appealing. She is a Potter head and has recently discovered pottery as a hobby (excuse the pun).