时间：2022-10-24 02:57:52
Circa 1193， New Delhi
The delicate flavours of subtle Asian cooking are often lost in Delhi’s obsession with spices. Circa 1193， the new Asian restaurant on the upscale Qutub-Mehrauli Road， therefore， comes as a welcome change. Named after the year the Qutub Minar was commissioned for construction， the restaurant overlooks the iconic monument. The beige and earthen décor， the neat lawns and the artificial cascades immediately put you at ease.
The seating area on the ground floor can accommodate 20 people and has a well-stocked bar. The first floor has the chef’s special table for six. Spread over two floors， Circa 1193 also serves a special Robata grill on the terrace and patio， where the meat is grilled even as you stir your cocktail and admire the Qutub Minar. The best place is of course the terrace， with the best view. The next best is a table by the window， overlooking the Qutub Minar. That’s where we choose to dine.
The menu consists of specialities from Korea， Vietnam， Thailand and Japan. For starters， we order the delicious Pineapple Wrapped Grilled Foie Gras with Teriyaki Jus， Smoked Salmon Ravioli and Asparagus Ravioli（I highly recommend it）. The only thing that rivalled the sumptuous Edamame Gnocchi and Baked Black Cod， our next choice， was the view of the illuminated minaret. The generous helping of Braised Spare Ribs with Ginger Soy threatened us with no room for desserts. We， however， managed to tuck in the Chilled Orange Cheesecake and the superlative Green Tea Caramel Cake before deciding that we’ll just have to come back for the rest.
Zune， New Delhi
As West Delhi gradually inches its way on to the fine dining map of the capital， Zune， the Indian restaurant at hilton， gives it a much-needed push. Its menu is a medley of recipes from Purani Dilli， Kashmir and Punjab， culled by Karen Anand and honed to perfection by Chef Iqbal Ahamad. So you have a fine selection of kebabs， kormas and biryanis， though we stick to the green side of things. Our meal began with a delicately flavoured khus drink， followed by a platter of vegetarian kebabs that， though delicious， left little impression upon the palate. The main course， however， made us sit up and exercise our taste buds—melt-inthe-mouth Keema Paneer ke Dulme and Gucchi Pulao. Since we’re pretty light eaters， we decided to round off the meal soon after with dessert—the chef’s special Khumani ka Meetha and Tiranga Kulfi. The first， a preparation of dried apricots cooked in cream， was perfection itself. But what put us in culinary heaven was the superb paan-flavoured Kulfi.
Zambar， Gurgaon
Living in Bangalore taught me to appreciate and understand the nuances of South India cuisines—that a dosa from Tamil Nadu is different from the one from Karnataka； or even the fact that there can be dosas besides the paper dosa and ghee roast， was a huge learning curve. So when I hear of the opening of Zambar， a restaurant offering Kerala’s of Malabar and Syrian cuisines to the spicy Chettinad of Tamil Nadu， I see it as a symbol of Delhi’s culinary scene coming of age. It is a boat shaped space—an awkward but a rather pleasant attempt to recreate the atmosphere of the backwaters.
The Tamil Mutton Roast， Mushroom Pepper Fry and Chettinad Potato Roast are what we start with. All nice and peppery though slightly similar in taste and appearance. The inimitable Chicken 65 makes me nostalgic. The Tawa Fried King Fish is excellent and so is the Squid Chilli Fry. In the main course， we order Nilgiri Mutton， Vegetable Avial， and Malabar Fish Curry. Sadly， there is no unpolished rice. There are idiappams， kal dosa and Ceylon parottas to mop up the gravies with. There are also thalis， to simplify life for those who don’t know this cuisine.
Fat Cat Café， Mumbai
There are no cats， fat or otherwise， around Fat Cat Café. Nor did I spot any feline pictures among the several oil paintings of European bistros on the walls. A resolutely unstylish thoroughfare in Yari Road is the setting for this little gem. The menu has Italian， French， Spanish and North American influences. We began with refreshing Spiced Guava—guava juice， spices and red pepper. We dug into our starter of an assortment of breads and sauces and soup. The pesto had a just-ground， fresh nutty fragrance. The second appetiser—Chorizo Wrapped Pan Seared King Prawns—is a must-have. The Roasted Garlic Soup with Smoked Oysters was， well， smoky， but it was the Charred Tomato& Coriander Soup with Lemon Ricotta and Crispy Sage that knocked us off our feet. The tomato soup came in a wide-rimmed dish（reminiscent of a sombrero hat） with a swirl of the ricotta in the middle.
For mains， we ordered Smoked New Zealand Lamb Chops. Stuffed to the gills， we ordered a single helping of the cheesecake that is good without being special. The service was stellar and the presentation rivals the taste. Now， let’s hope Fat Cat Café does not succumb to Mumbai’s now-you-seeit-now-you-don’t phenomenon.