The scanning of the food menu with utmost absorption while being guided by the food connoisseurs had almost become a ritual till this time when we were more intrigued by their avant-garde liquor section. Ambrosia’s mixologists offer interesting combinations apart from playing with seasonal fruits by adding veggies like spinach, beetroot, cucumber, chilli peppers like jalapeños, garden chilli and herbs such as basil. We were recommended the betel bliss by chef Param. It is a concoction of betel leaves, rose syrup, gulukand, cardamom in club soda and vodka which we at first were a little skeptical about but a sip was enough for us to declare it a winner.
Regaled with the hors d’oeuvres, we were served the Thai BBQ chicken in Thai curry paste and teriyaki sauce which had the perfect balance of sweetness and chilli heat and the tender creamy tandoori chicken roulade with dried fenugreek filling.
Tamarind tofu cups — tofu cubes tossed with chilli and peanuts covered in tamarind sauce served in small crisp cups — had different textures and the tanginess with a little health punch. Their smoky kebab-like mushroom galouti (pan-seared mushroom cakes) served on hand-made puff pastry was surprisingly delectable after our not-so-good experience of the same dish at other establishments. The chunky Pakhtuni paneer tikka marinated in spices was juicy and served with fresh curd and mint chutney.
We then embarked on a flavoursome sole fish-tasting expedition where we were served steamed sole topped with creamy laksa sauce made using fresh herbs and coconut milk, the turmeric and coconut steamed fish cakes. It was served best with soy sauce. We also got the stir fried sole fillet in Asian lemon sauce and the piquant sole in chilli and sharp-tasting mustard which managed to raise our brows because of its sheer deliciousness.
We got the Har Gau Chinese dimsums which was a let down since the prawn filling was bland and did not seem fresh but the translucent tapioca dumpling skin, which is not so common since the chalky wheat-flour is usually used, was soft and moist.
For the main course, chef Param brought out the piping hot Andhra fish cooked in coconut milk, coriander and green chilli paste served with steamed rice, the spice-infused mutton rogan josh and the vilaiti mix vegetable with zucchini, lettuce, broccoli, bell-peppers that have not been overcooked or seasoned too much. It was a nutritious treat.
Chef Param talked about the concept of Ambrosia Bliss. “We have a lot of tourists and people of all age-groups coming over, so keeping them in mind we created a universal menu. The menu has desi dishes keeping in mind the Delhiites, a pasta and a burger section and also food for the health conscious. The dishes are very familiar and almost everyone must have heard about them so nothing is experimental but the presentation is done our way. We do add our own ingredients which we do not disclose.” We agreed.