Dirty Apron’s Eurasian meal, gluten-free and superfood varieties make it a perfect spot for a leisurely meal. By Kritika Dua
Pleasant yellow lighting, minimalistic, chic décor — pristine white walls, wooden chairs and tiny flower pots peeking from the balcony — and classic jazz music set the mood for a lazy brunch. Dirty Apron will remind one of cosy English cafes. A vast menu curated by chef Ruchira Hoon and chef Manoj Pandey encompasses European fare with a pan-Asian fusion. Sounds too far fetched. Wait till you have tasted its pear and arugula flatbread. layered with Asian pesto, this crisp flatbread is served with fresh pears and arugula leaves topped with a balsamic reduction.
Cheese fondue, served with an option of sausages, steamed broccoli, sautéed mushroom and baby potatoes, is a mouthful of comfort. Dirty Apron is located on the first floor of the same building as the Piano Man. From the Asian region, indulge in delicacies like teriyaki chicken quesadilla, authentic Mexican quesadilla with teriyaki sauce. The spicy oriental hints of both have no problem blending.
Warm your hands with a bowl of broccoli and cheddar soup, a combination of sharp orange-hued cheese and sweet broccoli, one which we liked for not trying anything outlandish. But a word must be put in for the French onion soup with Miso sauce. The latter lent a wholesome flavour to the broth, the sweet onions and a thick layer of melted cheese almost tipping over with enhanced volume and taste.
Then came the steamed bok choy cups in a bowl with beetroot sauce around the edges. The tender leaves of boiled bok choy cups had a spicy krapow filling— red and yellow bell pepper, tofu, cashews and peanuts sautéd in soy sauce. The velvety texture of the peanut sauce, when merged with the crunchiness of nuts and flavourful greens with a generous dose of tofu, took the taste of the dish a notch higher.
The crispy and crunchy apple and fennel salad with diced green apples, cabbage, aragula leaves dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey topped with caramelised walnuts can be given a miss simply because the you don’t know where you are going with this dish.
What made up for this folly was the TPM nachos, again keeping to an easy fusion of ideas. What looked like a pizza had crispy nachos as the base and toppings were creamy, spiced kidney beans and chilli sin carne, an Asian Buddhist vegetarian spin on the chilli corn carne, baked to perfection with cheese. It was served with fresh salsa and sour cream.
There is a new movement in the Indian culinary market towards millets and healthier options for cereals. Keeping up with the trend, their Kodo millet risotto with mushroom and peas is made from Gobindo bhog rice and Kodo millets. They have also introduced gluten-free and superfood varieties — a Vietnamese sandwhich called Banh mi, gluten-free pizza and the star attraction Superfood Buddha bowl. This last one comprises amaranth porridge in the middle surrounded by grilled sweet potatoes, purple cabbage (tossed in salt, black pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar), lightly roasted broccoli, boiled sweet corn and aragula leaves. It is served with mango and blueberry sauce to make up for the blandness of the amaranth. A rounded palate pleaser within the health menu. Though I feel the sweet potato could be replaced with grilled pineapple for a better finish.
The Islander mocktail was a tad disappointing with more passion fruit syrup than the cucumber and lime juice. But I was lifted with the perfectly sweet coconut rice cooked with milk, topped with fried onions and crispy okra and tossed in in-house sambhal sauce, popular in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. My only complaint is that the sambhal portion could have been bigger. Also, a better call would have been to serve a decent portion size of crispy onions and okra in a separate bowl.
I ended the meal with one of the restaurant’s signature desserts — the Thai black rice pudding with pureed mangoes and coconut cream. Unlike the Chinese variety, also known as forbidden rice, the black rice from Thailand is variegated in color, with a nutty taste and aroma which has a sticky texture when cooked. It was perfectly made and the somewhat bitter-nutty taste of the rice pudding was neutralised with fresh mango puree and tender coconut cream. People who like to experiment with food can opt for this without a doubt as it was a sheer delight for tastebuds.