16th June, 2014
Thai Food Festival, MoMo Café
Courtyard by Marriott, Gurgaon
By Pranay Arora
At last some much needed respite from the scorching 47 degree torture, the Thursday rains sure were welcomed by everyone. With a lovely breeze in the evening, the night beckoned, there was good food waiting to be devoured and I was on the move. All I needed was a peaceful place to revitalize and let off steam after a week of heat that was getting to the nerves.
I headed over to MoMo Café at the Courtyard by Marriott to sample some refreshing Thai delights being offered at the Thai food festival. With a table waiting for me, I was greeted by the Executive Chef Ashish and Expat Chef Rungta who has a prowess with the flavours of the South East. Beautiful décor and ambient lighting combined with the colourful uniform of the servers, this certainly looked promising.
I started my Thai journey with a Pomelo Salad, the Pomelo, much like your Indian Mosambi fruit, only bigger. The salad was an interesting mix of citrusy Pomelo, peanuts, chilli flakes and had an amazing sharpness to it. I was presented with the Pineapple Peanut dumplings next. The pineapple gave an instant sweetish tangy burst, coupled with the almost crunchy texture of the peanuts with shades of sweet chilli, vinegar and honey shining through. Just when you think it might be a little too sweet, one little sliver of red chilli gives you the fiery kick and cuts through the richness of the peanuts to achieve just the right balance.
For the mains, I had quite a spread on my table – starting from the Chicken in Red Chilli sauce, Thai green curry, Jasmine rice, Phat noodles and some exotic vegetables prepared in Thai gravy and what better a complimenting beverage to this meal than a fresh chilled mojito? I’d definitely made the right choices. The chicken was soft and succulent, sharp yet delicious with heaps of flavour from the garlic, ginger and lime leaves. The green curry didn’t fail to impress either – with delicate sweetness from the coconut milk and some fresh exotic vegetables, this dish was a winner. The mushrooms, my personal favourite and the highlight of the exotic vegetable gravy, were perfectly flavoured. The jasmine rice, gorgeous and fragrant, were the perfect accompaniment to all the curries.
With so much yumminess in my tummy, I couldn’t help but want a little sweet ending to this Thai culinary expedition. I was served with a glass of water chestnuts immersed in sweet coconut milk. It wasn’t perhaps my favourite but the water chestnut sure had an interesting texture and the coconut milk was really fresh and light with a silky consistency.
I had a wonderful time sampling these sweet and savoury delicacies – warm, earthy, fervent and robust flavours served in the form of some lip smacking concoctions. If you wish to relish this appetizing marriage of the eastern and western culinary pasts, head to MoMo Café at the Marriott.
