On the occasion of its first anniversary, The Gateway Resort, Damdama lake, laid out a chef’s table with the best dishes from its menu. Shrabasti Mallik took a trip of this Taj Group property and discovered that the place has more than its delectable food
Away from the cacophony of the city and nestled in the periphery of the rugged, yet majestic, Aravalli hills is The Gateway Resort, Damdama lake. True to its name, this Taj Group property boasts of 20 acres of land, complete with a miniature golf course, cottage rooms, rock climbing, a pool, hot tubs — everything that screams luxury, tranquility and peace.
But that was not the only reason why we visited this enchanting place. In November, the property celebrates its first birthday and in honour of catering the best services, and food, to their visitors and guests, executive chef Sumalya Sarkar set a special table for us.
Following the French tradition, we began with the amuse bouche. Well, you might guess our surprise when three items were served, instead of one. The first one was our very own golgappa, stuffed with saunt and potatoes — tangy and oh-so-delicious. The next two that we gulped down were lettuce salad in a parmesan basket and carrot and pistachio mousse in a tart. We loved the latter more because of its creamy texture.
It was quickly followed by three starters — crunchy broccoli and shiitake dimsum (served in wooden baskets), kebab platter and a veg sushi platter (with flavours of avocado, asparagus, cucumber, bell pepper and radish). The kebab platter was delicious with the mutton galouti kebab taking winning out hearts.
Chef Sarkar was quite mindful about the vegetarians, too. For them, he whipped up vegkebabs and made a unique veg galouti kebab with rajma. “There is a distinct colour of a galouti kebab and vegetables or lentils fail to give that colour. So, I experimented with rajma and the colour has come out beautifully,” he said. And so has the taste, we told him.
Rarely, at a chef’s table are you served something to change your taste before digging into a different course. We were served an Afghani anar and chilli shot which was spicy, tangy and left our tongues tantalised for a few minutes.
In a true three-course-meal style, we were served some delicious wild mushroom cappuccino (wild mushroom soup served in a wide-rimmed cappuccino cup). “The soup is finished with truffle oil which adds the mild, distinct flavour,” explained the chef, who followed the soup up with murgh Awadhi korma (chicken pieces cooked in rich, spicy aromatic gravy). We had it with zaffrani naan, which was quite tasty on its own.
The next dish was out of the kitchens of Bengal — kosha mangsho with luchi (poori made with maida instead of aata). We could not wait to try out the succulent pieces of lamb cooked in gravy of spices. “It was difficult for me to decide on what I would serve at the table. The dishes that I selected are the best of the menu here at the hotel,” said the chef.
As we awaited our next dish, having satiated our taste buds with the delectable lamb gravy, the chef served us baked gobi matar with tandoori foccacia. It was rather a very nice combination, we have to say. Paneer chettinad and followed next with lemon rice. Chettinad cuisine, from Tamil Nadu, is mainly prepared with non vegetarian food. “The food draws its flavour from the mixture of 12 to 13 different spices,” said the chef. The best part was that the gravy was very light and really tasty as no spice seemed to overpower each other or the paneer pieces.
Chef Sarkar prepared dal makhni and finished it with fresh cream and butter, and it was so good that we finished it off without even a morsel ofroti or naan. Needless to say that it was creamy and melt-in-mouth. We gave the dum biryani (basmati rice and lamb simmered with selected spices, finished in a sealed handi) a miss because we could not accommodate more.
like a grand closing, chef Sarkar wrapped up the meal with, again, three dessert options — blueberry kheer (with blueberry pulp as the topping), ginger and orange creme brulee (which had a very mild but pleasant ginger flavour) and chilli chocolate mousse. We loved the kheer as it was unique. A perfect ending to a perfect lunch, we would say.
Food apart, there are many other things one can see, observe and marvel at, at the resort. The property houses some unique and unconventional works of art. One stroll around the place and one will come across an installation of a village farmer, strolling his cows and bulls. The interesting part is that these art installations are all made from scrap metals and spare parts from vehicles.
All in all, The Gateway Resort is a place worth a visit.