Last week I attended a special food tasting session at Republic of Noodles (RON), a pan-Asian restaurant at Lemon Tree Premier near T3, Delhi Airport .
Carefully planned and executed by Regional Chef Vasu Venkat Reddy and Corporate Chef Rajeev, a handful of bloggers and writers were invited to taste flavours from South East Asia (Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Burmese and Indonesian flavours). The setup was inside the restaurant looking over the hotel pool with a section reserved for us. The tables were taken up by a few food enthusiasts from Delhi and NCR.
I started the tasting with a small glass of coconut water (a welcome in the unpredictable weather of Delhi). Good thinking to cleanse my palette since what followed was a burst of strong flavours of Kafir lime in Spicy Spring Chicken Soup. It was a little too spicy for my palette but I liked it just as much. I think I’d love to finish a bowl of this when I am in a really cold place (or if its winters in Delhi).
I just happened to taste the vegetarian appetizers and I must say, the Chef had made sure the vegetarian choices were as interesting as the non-vegetarian apertifs. I never thought I could enjoy Celery (and Exotic Asian Greens) Dim Sums and liked the crunch of Spinach with Silken Tofu. The Chef used Mori-nu Tofu which is actually from California: Lemon Tree prides itself on using and sourcing best ingredients for their dishes.
For me, the winner was Prawn Sui Mai. The Prawn was fresh (or else I would have gotten allergies in 5 minutes!) and succulent and the steamed dimsums means lesser calories! Side note: I have to say the dips and sauces were a joy!
After many helpings and a pint of lager, I was stuffed. And then came time for main course. Despite a few choices, I stuck to a Thai preparation of a red snapper. The gravy was sumptuous without being too spicy, and the trail of peppers and tamarind was pleasantly complementing the Spiced Fried Rice.
There was traditional Asian dessert (Coconut Roll) but I didn’t mind a scoop of some good ol’ ice cream made of rose petals (exotic, right?). My tummy was happy and I too was satisfied.
If you’d like to enjoy a similar experience, you must visit Republic of Noodles at Lemon Tree Hotels (they have 8 outlets) especially during this food festival.
About Republic of Noodles
The restaurant is open from 12 noon to 15:00 hrs for lunch and from 19:00 to 23:00 hrs for dinner every day. An average meal for two (exclusive of drinks and taxes) is Rs.1800.
A big thank you to Team Lemon Tree for hosting me and a special thank you to Divya Agha for a warm reception.
