Duet, not a duel

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Duet, not a duel

Friday, 21 September 2018 | Saimi Sattar

Duet, not a duel

Chao Bella may offer two cuisines that pop up immediately on our consciousness but does not make a hash job of it, says Saimi Sattar

Italian or Chinese? For quite a few Indians, when they are eating out, the choice is often a toss-up between these two cuisines. And Chao Bella, which is a combination of two words (Chao in Mandarin means hello and Bella in Italian translates as gracious) offers just the place to give in to your whims. Dig into a plate of dimsums, follow it up with some pasta and pair up Chinese greens with some fried rice – and the combination does not seem to be a mish-mash.

Located in Crowne Plaza Today New Delhi Okhla, which is primarily a business hotel, the laidback ambience is best enjoyed at dinner. But a working lunch is what I had signed up for. The restaurant has come up with a new menu by cutting down on the number of dishes and focussing on quality over quantity. “Earlier there were 100 plus items from each cuisine. It confused the guests as to what would suit their palate. Now we’ve cut down and offer 35-40 of the best,” says Chef Saurabh Agrawal said.

What also makes the restaurant stand out are the fresh, organic ingredients, many of which are prepared in house. But more about that as we proceed. I started with Beijing chicken dumpling soup where the broth was light, the chicken inside the dumpling succulent and flavourful. Next up was the Prawn and chives dimsum, which did not score as high as the soup but nevertheless primed the umami senses.

But it was with the main course that the meal really picked up. On my own, I am not a huge fan of gnocchi and usually never order it while eating Italian but here it came as the chef’s recommendations and I am happy to say, I complied. The tomato sauce that Gnocchi Pomodoro had been cooked in was not run in a blender, rather simmered and cooked to the right degree of consistency, which brought out the flavour. Also rather than making it smooth like tomato puree, it was a bit lumpy which enhanced the flavour heightened by garlic and olive oil. The gnocchi on the other hand was fluffy and light. If I had to choose to make a meal of one dish on the menu, this one would be it.

“While this dish uses fresh tomatoes, even the sun-dried ones do not come out of a bottle. We slice tomatoes, string them and bombard them with solutions, cover and hang them to dry,” says Chef Saurabh.

Next up was Steamed jasmine rice with Homemade spinach tofu. What made the dish stand out was the silken tofu. The chef informed the secret behind it. “While most of the restaurants use store bought tofu which uses preservatives, we make it every alternate day. This makes it moist and succulent,” he said.

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