INDEED A BEAUTIFUL KITCHEN @ LE MERIDIEN, GURGAON

 

In the quest to know more about Italian food, I have tried several diverse Italian restaurants in India over the years all with their individual style. I would like to share from my experience and conversation with chefs, genuine Italian cuisine is just too varied from region to region, the alterations are amazing with each Italian chef mooring his own region’s cuisine (it’s not easy to compare )and one thing is clear that Italian food is definitely beyond just pasta and pizzas !!!.

So what makes a good Italian restaurant in the Capital? Is it the authenticity, or is it merely how good you felt while eating there? I would poll for the second and say that there are many good Italian restaurants in the Capital which notwithstanding tallying that native touch, still make excellent pastas and pizzas. The winner hands down is one which is closely authentic, but there are confident tweaks here and there to suit the market (it’s purely business sense).

After all the Burrata, Handmade pastas and tiramisus galore, here’s the result of my latest tedious tasting !!

More light-hearted is Le Meridien Gurgaon’s newly opened ‘Bella Cucina’ which literally translates into Beautiful kitchen and trust me the wall-to-ceiling glass panoramic Molteni Kitchen is indeed any chef’s dream ( read it’s the Rolls Royce of kitchens); serving a pleasant contemporary Italian cuisine with a Northern touch in a fine dining setting.

The dishes at ‘Bella Cucina’ command Center-stage in its burst of colours and palates using only premium genuine produce which also means no effort has been left in the obtaining of the finest ingredients from overseas if need be for example the ‘Chilean Sea Bass’  and the ‘Australian Lamb’. The friendly chef-in charge Amit Kumar greets guests with a wide smile, offering the whole, ample Italian dining experience with an exceedingly individual touch. Chef Amit’s passion is evident as he delivers a most passionate foodie lesson of his dishes each time you are served. For example, the homemade Spinach and Nuts Ravioli served with a morel mushroom sauce is simple out of this world with its creamy cheesy flavours and the Spinach so soft and yummy, it’s unbelievable (you must dine her to understand how Chef Amit treats his spinach and I am sure he’ll share that with extreme gusto)! The Braised pork belly which comes with grilled leek, edamame beans and Washington apple sauce, is a great choice for pork lovers for its quality and affordability. 

To end on a sweet note, the decadent 8 layer chocolate cake comes highly recommended.

Italian food is generally known for its simplicity with a focus on high quality ingredients. What differentiates a good Italian restaurant is excellent execution in putting all of those ingredients together, and ‘Bella Cucina’ knows how to deliver the goods. With Chef Suprabhath Roy’s star pedigree behind it, it makes for an interesting contrast of very high-end and affordable dinner options in Gurgaon.

FAST FACTS

Bella Cucina is at, LE MERIDIEN, Gurgaon, Delhi NCR

M.G. Road, Sector -26, Delhi –Gurgaon Border

Gurgaon – 122002, Haryana, India

www.lemeridiengurgaondelhincr.com

IS SOCIAL AT CYBERHUB, BECOMING GURGAON'S LATEST ADDICTION?

‘Hang out Places’ have conventionally been the sanctuary of the really young lot, though today you need a lot more to it than it being just another drinking hole for it to become the ‘hang out zone’ for not just the youngsters but slick investment bankers and senior office goers alike. Clearly drinking is part of the culture of every city and it can bring people together. An entire cosmos of associations be it business, creative or starry-eyed can be made over a drink or two and more so if the food, ambience, drinks and service are one of a kind amazing.

At Social Cyber hub you can ferry right into the heart of the ‘cool Mumbai chawl themed hang out zone’ to the bartender, who’s quite like how Tom Cruise was as Brian Flanagan doing naff and brash in a way that only he could in the film, ‘Cocktail’, it stimulated many to prize a Boston Shaker (nevertheless traditionalists point out that Flanagan is possibly the world’s worst bartender…but at Social, the guy’s pretty good!); And just hop off and order an Old Smoke, famed for its mellow, pleasant notes of orange zest oil and the smoke. It bounces a complete fresh turn to existing in a fun way!!

To be honest, I did make a serious effort to shun this place for a while, thinking it would be just another brick in the wall amid the over hyped so called cool hang out places as discovering places that are this aggressively distinct is getting gradually tough in the capital. Particularly now, with ‘Gurgaon’ getting resolutely global and hip, as fast as it probably can. Which means it’s not so easy to find a ‘hang out place’ where you can have a conversation, have good food and drinks replete with efficient service, without being endangered to the fashion police in the formula of scrawny girls who are dressed to kill and a menu that spikes with all smoke no fire ( pun intended). Luckily, the few ‘hang out places’ around in cyber hub such as ‘Farzi Café’ and ‘the wine company’ are hugely popular that they are rousing other restaurateurs. Also Imperfecto, It’s inflexibly funky, designed to be a space for ‘hanging out’ with friends over good food and drinks.

And now the recently opened Social sitting under a roof of quirky chawl like features, cute stone tunnel passages that connect the restaurant to another seating area, which feels a bit like a secret garden is becoming Gurgaon’s latest addiction, perhaps it’s the beginning of a new trend!

All in all a destination like Social is worth walking to, so Here’s raising a toast to the coolest hang out place where you can even have a drink cross-legged on a sofa in agreeably drab jeans and have the most scrumptious Kebab platter, Parsi Dhansak, Bhai Benedict etc or even basic comfort food like Keema Spaghetti, Ghee roast mutton or aanda Bhurjee and pav!!

HOURS: 10:00 am to 1:00 am

FACEBOOK: /SocialOffline | INSTAGRAM: @SocialOffline | TWITTER: @SocialOffline

WEBSITE: www.socialoffline.in

ADDRESS: Ground Floor, Shop no. 04A, DLF Cyber Hub, Tower 08C, Cyber City, Gurgaon - 122002

NUMBER: 0124 4232734 | 0124 4232754