Grub Fest treated Delhi with a melange of fine dining and street food, says Kritika Dua
The Hawaiian Rainbow sushi bowl has nothing to do with Japanese but the island’s comfort food has Oriental derivatives. For those who came in late, it’s an age-old, traditional seafood dish made of various ingredients. Hot rice (sometimes mixed with sliced seaweed) in a round bowl, topped with cubed or sliced raw fish (sometimes marinated), vegetables (like avocado or spring onion) and a soy sauce dressing. A simple toss of fresh cuts.
If you are an adventurist then there’s the Game of Thrones — inspired The lannister Killed Me chicken burger. It has juicy roasted chicken, mayonnaise slathered with secret sauces and bursts with flavours.
Unique food concepts took the cake at the weekend’s Grub Fest at JlN stadium. So we got innovations like sassy salmon, salty waffles in flavours such as chipotle and cheese, pizza toppings, bun tikkas and nutella paan.
A melange of street food and high-end dining, there was a democratic array of flavours.
A new offering this year was Grub TV where viewers could witness live interviews and conversations with chefs and artists.
There was a healthy curiosity about organic produce as The Goodness Store saw a lot of footfalls. With growing awareness about the benefits of organic food free from pesticides and harmful chemicals, this was to be expected. Said Pankaj Mishra, its owner, “This is our maiden stall at this fest. We have organic honey from New Zealand which costs Rs 6,000, organic pulses, oil, flour and three types of millet among others. The Himalayan pink salt is flying fast off the racks for its medicinal value.” They also have everyday amla, jamun and triphala powder on offer at affordable rates.
Enoki Fresh Asian kitchen, a delivery kitchen from GK-1, coopted the Asian hawker market discipline of creating your own bowl, known in common parlance as the “poke” — you could fork in salmon, tuna, prawn, chicken and Thai. For vegetarians, there was dragon roll, sushi and Sichuan bites. Talking about his outlet’s USP, 23-year-old Mansher Duggal said, “My brand is three months old but the response I received from food enthusiasts encouraged me to put up a stall here. Our speciality is dimsums such as the Red curry prawn dimsum and the fact that people can create their own bowl as per their taste buds.”
While momos can be had at every street corner, the authentic Nepalese momos by Gharaima revised our sensibilities. The flavour would take you to Nepalese homes where food is cooked on mud stoves.
Iccha is a young home chef who recently started Gharaima. “I believe that Delhi is now ready to try authentic Nepalese cuisine. The taste of the momos is not like the regular ones but I can’t reveal my secret recipe. When one tries it, it doesn’t disappoint. I serve the momos with golbheda ko aachar (tomato pickle) andtil ko aachar (tangy sesame pickle).” The pickles have a Nepali spice called timur which gives it a distinct taste and creates a tingly sensation in the mouth. The chicken momos kept the crowd pouring in.
Bidya was a first timer at The Grub Fest. “I am excited to explore all that is on offer here. It has a pleasant atmosphere and is different as well. I did not expect it to be so good.”
There were food trucks plenty but the one that caught our eye was Biryani Mastani with the tag line Mazaa na aaye khane mein, report likhwaye thane me, which had people chuckling.
The Grub lounge was well-stocked with spirits. Shekhar Sharma of Brew District said, “We have good beer brands, both strong and light.” For whisky lovers, there was a Jameson stall known for their Irish whiskey. We liked their apple cocktail which had whisky, lime juice, hint of cinnamon cordial and apple juice.
There is also good news for people looking to quit smoking. There was an Organic Smokes stall at the fest. The youth centric firm started two years ago with a Ayush patent and offered an ayurvedic smoke therapy in three flavours— regular, mild and menthol. Twenty six-year-old Piyush said, “We have undertaken a tobacco-free initiative and ayurvedic smoking has various benefits as it relieves jet lag, stress, cold and is a mood uplifter. It is a tar secretor and is an ayurvedic smoke therapy. It is made up of rice paper, basil, green tea, rose, petals and spearmint leaves. I was a smoker myself and it helped me give up. Now I want to help others.” They also give a health advisory to smoke one in four hours.
We topped off with a gourmet paan stall called Banaras headed by Sanchi. It had paan lemonade, nutella paan, tiramisu caramel and butter scotch flavoured paan. For once, we loved the twist to tradition.
Photos: Pankaj Kumar