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4 Oct 2009, 0250 hrs IST,
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: Reshmi R Dasgupta, ET Bureau |
Blue Ginger: Taj group’s first Vietnamese
outlet in New Delhi
It’s at times like these that I miss my
college-mate, colleague and fellow foodie, the late Sabina Sehgal Saikia
the most: Blue Ginger, the Taj group’s first Vietnamese outlet in New
Delhi (and second in India after its sister restaurant in Bangalore) is
about to open today and I would’ve appreciated a heads up on the
cuisine. No other Indian Food writer knew the intricacies and
differences of eastern food as well as Sabina and in her absence I’ve
had to depend on my own patchy experiences with ‘pan-Asian’ cuisine,
besides, of course, a personal preview by Taj group’s chef
extraordinaire Hemant Oberoi. |
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Hemant unerringly finds the dramatic elements of a cuisine, and
showcases it perfectly for the increasingly eclectic clientele in India.
He did it in Delhi in May 2008 with modern Japanese at Wasabi, followed
three months later with Varq’s modern Indian, both at the Taj on
Mansingh Road. By his frenetic but exacting standards, it’s taken a long
time (a year) for this new venture — modern Vietnamese at Blue Ginger —
where the august Tea House of the August Moon held sway for many
moons....
Not surprisingly, I think Hemant has a winner again. Like Wasabi and
Varq, Blue Ginger ain’t cheap, but it’s worth it! It is, in fact, a
generation apart from the conventional décor and food of its
predecessor. First of all, in place of one there are two outlets — the
60-cover
restaurant Blue Ginger,
and an elegant long bar simply called Blue.
And in case you look for either blue or ginger there — or indeed the
vibrant violet flower that goes by the name, blue ginger — you’ll be
disappointed. The colour scheme is eye-catching yet fashionably muted in
the current international style of dark, textured stone and bronze. Only
blue chandeliers provide a visual connection with the name; the
furniture has equally subtle eastern accents like mother-of-pearl inlay;
the crockery is custom-made by Bernardaud of Limoges, but the menu is
calculated to appeal to the modern Indian. Indeed Hemant drew my
attention to an all-important distinction between the first Blue Ginger
at Bangalore and this one — since the intervening five years had seen
cuisine evolving in booming Vietnam, the Delhi outlet would showcase
this new avatar.
The basics, however,
remain the same: lots of fresh
vegetables, ingredients
steamed, broiled and grilled more than fried, and plenty of aromatics
provided by herbs instead of spices, rather like Kerala’s Moplah
cuisine. But the presentation is modern, the mixing of elements more
varied, and the flavors cleaner. Its colonial association with France
has also given an edge to its
cuisine
- besides adding
baguettes to its daily fare, like pav in India courtesy the Portuguese.
Interestingly, Vietnam’s revolutionary preceptor, Nguyen Tat Thanh,
better known as Ho Chi Minh, was once a pastry chef in a hotel in
Boston!
Some elements guaranteed to appeal to Indian palates untutored in
Vietnamese cuisine (like mine in this case!) such as the piquant
combination of lime juice, chili flakes and sea salt flakes as a dry dip
for starters, besides the more familiar hot-n-sweet dip. The serving
staff who gamely explain each dish and how to best enjoy it, are also a
welcome adjunct to the experience! And at a broad level, the flavors are
rather like Thai minus the excessive lemongrass, galangal and chilies,
and Chinese minus the five spice powder.
The really outstanding starters in the varied grazing menu that Hemant
organized include the crisp raw mango salad (Goi Xòai, Rs 300), the
classic fresh summer rolls with shrimps, chicken and chives (Goi Cuô´n
Tôm Gà Rs 400), excellent crumbed tofu squares (Dâu Hu Sóc Muôí Rs 600),
Saigon-style grilled scallops (Sò Diêp Nuong Kiêu Sài Gòn, Rs 1200) and
super-juicy angus picattas on lemongrass stick (Bò Cuôn Sa Cây Nuong Rs
1200).
Where are the chicken and prawn appetisers, you would ask. They’re
there, and they’re very good – like crispy taro prawns (Tôm chiên khoai
Môn Rs 800), grilled chicken with black bean chilli in pandanus leaves (Gà
Nuong Tuong - Den Trong La Duá Rs 700) — but when more interesting
ingredients such as scallops beckon, why stick to the familiar?
The same applies to the main course....The star was undoubtedly the
delicate steamed sea bass with passion fruit puree, marbled eggs and
snow peas (Cá Vuoc Chùm Mên Rs1800) and the quirky stir-fried cubes of
angus in pepper sauce (Bò Nuong Ông Tre Rs 2400) theatrically flambéed
inside its bamboo container at the table! Which is not to say that more
conventional preparations like stir fried glass noodles with crab meat
nd greens (Miên Xàò Cua Rs 600), red chicken curry with okra (Càri Gà
Dâu Bap Rs 600) mopped up with sliced baguettes or stir fried haricot
beans with crushed garlic and coriander (Dâu Dua Xào Toi Rs 500) are any
less flavorful; it’s just that they are safe choices instead of
adventurous!
A brilliant addition between the appetizers and mains was Vietnamese
roast duck (a hefty Rs 4000 or Rs 2200 for half portion), that had a
very different spice rub from the Peking version and was served with
rice paper rolls instead of crepes. Sadly, there was no space for
Vietnam’s famous soup-meal pho or the steamboat lao, or the many
vegetarian dishes. But the dessert of taro, coconut and jaggery fritters
with mung bean ice cream reaffirmed my view that the only eastern people
who know about sweets are my compatriots — the Bengalis!
Still, Blue Ginger’s food on the whole tickled my taste buds very
pleasantly indeed, so epicurean Delhiwallahs should appreciate it too —
even if they fashionably crib about the rarified surroundings being so
removed from the heat and dust of the Indo-Chine... But I do wish Sabina
was here to put it in perspective for all of us.... |
