I recently
attended a workshop based on seasonal diets. Even though eating organic,
seasonal food is quite a trend these days, its roots lie in ancient wisdom from
across the world. This particular workshop drew a lot of similarities between
the principles of Ayurveda and Japanese cuisine. Not only the ingredients, but
also the cooking techniques are used according to the seasons. For example,
it’s no surprise that slow-cooked broths are ideal for winter, while dishes
that require minimal cooking time (read, salads) are more suited for summer.
This is not for the mere convenience of the chef, but longer cooking procedures
impart heat energy to the food, that in turn gets transferred to the stomach.
Even if one is not interested in
understanding how food impacts our health, everyone would agree that the
sweltering Delhi summer calls for cool, cool food and drinks. Ideal dishes for
this season are not only the ones that are cool on the palate, but those that
cool the stomach as well. The Hanami
menu at Guppy by ai is thus
ideal if you want to eat out. Chef Vikram
Khatri’s menu comprises
not just vegetarian, but vegan dishes as well, where the focus is on delicious
dishes high on nutritional value as it involves minimum cooking time. Salads,
sushi, sashimi and cold
noodles make the menu sound appealing even before you get to taste it!
 |
| Soup and Salads Top L-R: Corn and Avocado Soup; Hiyayakko Chilled Tofu. Middle: 3 Melon Salad. Bottom L-R: Tomato Edamame Ceviche; Smoked Pumpkin Salad. |
We start our
evening with the Corn and Avocado Soup
that is enriched with soy milk, served chilled with a hint of wasabi. This is
an underwhelming start to our meal because no particular flavour really stands
out in this soup. But the salads that follow more than make up for the soup.
The 3 Melon Salad features yubari
(sarda in hindi), musk and watermelon drizzled with a slightly tangy plum
dressing and purple shiso dust. Each mouthful is refreshing with the juiciness
of the fruits heightened beautifully with the dressing. The Smoked Pumpkin Salad is served with seaweed, palm hearts, crumbled
tofu and miso-mustard dressing. And I have had a version of the Tomato, Edamame, Ginkgo Nut and Konjac
Jelly Ceviche earlier; I loved it then and I love it now. The tomatoes are cured for three days,
lending them a sharp tartness that is balanced with the flavours and textures of
the rest of the ingredients. Hiyayakko Chilled Tofu are chilled
cubes of silken tofu topped with a citrus soy, momijoroshi radish, ginger
and sesame seeds. I like the simplicity of this salad, but the ginger and
radish is too strong for my liking. If it is for you too, simply remove
some of it from the top, and enjoy the tofu with the citrus soy
sesame dressing.
 |
| Sushi Top: Hanami Roll Middle: Mango, Avocado and Cream Cheese Roll Bottom: Eel and Avocado Sushi Roll. |
Then of
course, there’s a choice of sushi. The one that really stands out is the Mango and Avocado Cream Cheese Roll.
Slivers of alphonso mango are used for this one, and mango and avocado is
anyway a match made in heaven. It works quite well in sushi too. I avoid
dunking it in soy though. There’s a similar version with tuna too, but I prefer
the former one. The Hanami Roll is a
creative thick sushi roll with tuna, salmon, crab, yellowtail and cucumber. The
highlight is the sakura dembu (sakura being cherry blossoms, and dembu or denbu
being sweet, pink, fluffy fish flakes). This pretty-looking roll takes almost
25 minutes to make. Unfortunately, the cucumber overpowers the lovely seafood. Topped
with creamy avaocado slivers, and drizzled with a rich unagi tare sauce, the Eel and Avacado Roll is good.
 |
| Top: Sashimi Scallop Carpaccio. Bottom L-R: Cold Hiyashi Tantanmen; Pretty Flowers; Mango Liquorice with coconut ice-cream. |
The sashimi
of Scallop Carpaccio, with mentaiko
cod roe, is served with wasabi soy. This would be a winner if only the scallop is
sliced thinner. Then there’s a choice of cold noodles. While salads and sushi
are expected to be cold, this section makes it ideal for hot summers. I must warn
you, though, that cold noodles may require an acquired taste. We have the Cold Hiyashi Tantanmen that is
home-made Ramen noodles, served chilled with sesame flavoured pork broth, spicy
ground pork meat and fresh seasonal veggies. It has nice subtle flavours, the
pork is succulent and the best part is that they are cold. The other options
include Chilled green tea flavoured buckwjeat noodles and thin angel hair
noodles.
The icing on this menu is the dessert. Mango, Liquorice with
Coconut Icecream includes a liberal serving of sweet alphonso mango dusted
with sansho pepper powder. A wonderful end to a cool, summery meal.
And options of cocktails like Sendai (vodka, fresh kiwi, fresh
melon and lime), Plum Blossom (sochu, umeshu fresh plum and lime) and Umetini
(sake, umeshu and gold leaf) are as refreshing as the food on offer.
The festival
includes masterclasses as well. There is a Sushi
Master Class on 28th May where you can learn to
master
the different techniques and delicate flavour pairings essential in creating
authentic sushi with the chefs at Guppy.
Details:
Guppy by ai, 28, Lodi Colony, Main Market, New Delhi -
110003.
Ph
011 24690005/6, 9650185005
Timings Lunch 12 - 3.30pm; Dinner
7pm - 1am.
Prices Cocktails Rs 350 onwards; Salads Rs 350 each; Sushi Rs
650 onwards; Cold Noodles Rs 700
each; Dessert Rs 400.
