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