Now experience best of two different worlds under one roof, a new Chinese kitchen, Djinggs has sprung up at Veda in Gurgaon. By Unnati Joshi
In a city where Chinese food is increasingly becoming a food delivery staple, Djinggs from the house of Veda is attempting to get in the sit-down crowd. With flower and umbrella-shaped marble discs, dramatic floor lamps, huge striking mirrors and king size sofas, the restaurant gave us more British vibes than the Oriental. Perhaps it has something to do with it being part of Veda, the detailing of which was designer Rohit Bal’s baby. Veda and Djinggs share the same property but the kitchens are separate. You can have Chinese and Mughlai food in one stop.
Our first course started with Pokchoi spinach dumplings, the kind of crowd-pleasing dumpling that will reliably satisfy all palates. The skin was thin but not translucent, taut but not tough. And the filling was lush too. Next on our plate was chilli garlic fish, crispy as it should be. Yet the fish was tender in our mouth and has to be one of our favourite dishes. Then came Chi Sho Mai, top-open minced chicken dumpling, not impressive as it approximated the shumai range we are used to. We were then served prawn on toast, a thick layer of prawn mince laid over liberally on a toast that gave a pleasant crunch despite its disarming simplicity. Though not strictly Oriental, it went well with the purple haze and green apple-water melon martini with special curry leaves from Veda.
Moving on to the mains, we tried vegetable hakka noodles and squid kung pao, the latter giving our jaws a good workout. Next was stir-fried Chinese greens and chicken clay pot rice. Though bland, the greens had a fresh, comfort feel to them that whetted our appetite and primed our tastebuds for the spices. The rice was long, the chicken was tender, another great dish. Claypot cooking generally refers to rice with marinated meat and vegetables, cooked in one pot, then drizzled with a sauce. A perfectly cooked claypot rice has a great flavour of all the ingredients, including the grease of the meat, with nicely crisped rice on the bottom of the pot. Nothing should be undercooked or overdone and the delicateness shone through.
Next came sliced lamb ginger onion. Normally Indians are not attuned to lamb so much simply because it is too chewy. But we did not feel the meaty texture. Rather flavoured with spring onion, chilli and sauces, the gamey feel was gone and the morsels were incredibly smooth. This dish ostensibly takes little time to cook (apart from the preparation) and is an easy deal even at home. But stir-frying is an expert’s test, cooking quickly on very strong fire with very hot wok. And that skill is perfected by the best chefs. This version came well-balanced in our book. The way the onion was used in this recipe was different. It was loaded as the main ingredient, so the lamb was heavily influenced by its taste. The meat from the back legs of lamb made it quite a mouthful.
Following it was eggplant Szechuan and chicken mapu tofu. Personally we are not big fans of eggplant and, therefore, didn’t like it much, while tofu impressed us to the core.
Our sampling offered plenty of wonderful contrasting flavours and textures, as well as plentiful choice in starters. Service was smooth; from the waiting staff to the manager and the chef.