lights Camera Action is creating a buzz in town with its quirky Bollywood themed interiors and an amazing infusion of science and food in its out-of-the-box menu. Vaishnavi Singh savours some delectable dishes and feels that this eatery will be a hit
The world knows how madly we love Bollywood. Our actors are treated no less than a demigod and we love to gossip about them. It is for this reason that cafes in Delhi-NCR either host Bollywood theme nights or they come up with some interesting menus dedicated to the industry. But this time, it is a Bollywood theme lounge-bar that has recently-opened at Rajouri Garden in west Delhi.
Yellow studio lights fanned the ceilings while the bartender concocted a variety of drinks behind the plush bar situated at one end. As we stepped into the cosy embrace of lights Camera Action and were greeted by a flurry of activities — a party in full swing with the in-house DJ playing some foot-tapping Bollywood numbers and a party of six indulging in a thrilling beer pong game. Even though located on the second floor, the orange and black signage grab one’s attention. A six-foot tall Iron Man figurine standing at the elevator was a good reason to make us happy.
The place makes you fall in love with it at the first glance with its contemporary and fun ambience. From the tripod inspired tables, to filmi dialogues and graffiti lining the walls and quirky one-liners written on the back of the staff’s T-shirts, this lounge-bar exudes a Bollywood vibe. With one branch of this establishment already at Hauz Khas Village with the same theme, this Rajouri Garden one is for the west Delhites. Shruti Pawar, sales and marketing manager, said, “This part of the Capital doesn’t have many theme cafes unlike the much-evolved market of central and south Delhi. We also wish to introduce authentic gastronomical food. Our menu has an impressive array of experimentative dishes for everyone.”
The enticing menu offers a perfect blend of food and science delivering a bountiful of creative dishes. Pawar shared, “This lounge is a brainchild of Dinesh Arora, Varun Puri and Vivek Bhargava. They have put their experience and adept knowledge of food together to come up with this menu. You won’t find the dishes available here at any other place.” Reigning high on surprises, this Bollywood-theme lounge introduces us to sharabi glasses. She added, “These glasses are Puri’s idea. He wants customers to feel that they are high on food and ambience and think as if the glasses are dancing.” The base of the glasses have a triangular finish which gives the deception as if they are rotating or tilting on their own.
The real action started when the chef sent an amuse bouche. The chicanery used to serve this dish was pure genius. Served on a black platter as shots, with smoke billowing out from the sides, the dish looked like cooked egg yolks. But as soon as we put the yellow spheres in our mouth, we were bombarded with a sweet surprise. It was a deconstruction of Indian kesar pista and lassi. Meaning ‘mouth amuser’ in French, this appetiser certainly delivers on that. “The smoke is liquid nitrogen. The entire menu is sprinkled with such surprises for the customers to give them a magical experience,” she added.
The next dish to grace our table was Rajnikanth’s early morning tea, but don’t be fooled by its name. It is not tea but a south Indian soup made using rasam. To create an element of drama and thrill, the general manager, Daya, prepared it in front of us. He elaborated, “We serve it in the roadside style, with a kettle and small glasses. But the preparation is a complex process and uses maltodextrin, a polysaccharide used as a food additive.” We watched him prepare the tea which was nothing less than a spectacle. The moment we sipped it, our taste buds were on fire. With tantalisingly earthy and clean flavours, it’s a must-try.
The inside has a seating capacity of around 40 people while the air bar can hold up to 100 patrons. We were intrigued by the idea of an air-bar and we walk upstairs to check this side of the eatery. Passing by numerous framed selfie posters of Bollyood and Hollywod movies, we stop near a large mural of the famous Oscar selfie which created a buzz worldwide. “This is the selfie wall. The idea is for patrons to come and click a selfie with other selfies, seeing as they are in vogue these days,” Shruti said.
The watermelon, peach and ginger coolers were served in beakers and long test tubes. The staff also creates a vibe of a chemical laboratory by pouring liquid nitrogen into the mocktails. The drink had a sweet flavour, which was balanced by the fresh mint leaves and ginger. Next was rangeela corns, served in a loudspeaker shaped dish. Shruti pointed out, “Since patrons get anxious waiting for food, we serve them popcorn to munch on till the food arrives.”
Chef Aman Puri served us some of his signature dishes. With the menu filled with a heavy dose of Bollywood, the name of our next dish was a no-brainer. We were served Chamak Challo, an orange leafy salad with the chef’s own special dressing. This unique salad combined the richness of oranges, lettuce, red bell pepper and three different types of dressings.
The next appetiser to tease our taste buds was Hollywood nitrogen papdi-dhokla chaat. Chef Puri came out to prepare this savoury chaat in front of us. He explained, “We use liquid nitrogen to crystallise the curd.” He put curd on the plate which looked like little pearls. “We put the mint and tamarind chutneys next. We make wholemeal papdi that accompanies this dish, along with a rectangular wedge of frozen dhokla. A dollop of curd with coriander, pomegranates, mint and an array of chutneys are put next. In the end, we put two pieces of amuse bouche to add a new texture to the conventional papdi-chaat,” he told us.
Pyaar tune quesadilla was the next item. This sumptuous quesadillas is accompanied with with a salsa dip and aioli. The vegetables are mixed in five cheeses — white, cream, mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar — to enhance the flavour of the filling.
Next to dot the menu was vegetarian murgh tikka (soyachaap marinated in Indian spices and served with green pudina chutney). Cooked live in a tandoor, thechaap were succulent and sweet while the chutney added an element of freshness in the preparation. Non-vegetarians can also choose from a wide-ranging menu of chicken-e-chameli, what the fish, chup chap charlie and kukkad kamal da amongst many.
We also gorged on jhakaas maska bhaji pav. Delivering on its name, it was truly amazing. Served on a wooden platter, with toasted mini pavs on one side and steaming hot bhaji on the other, one doesn’t need plates to eat this dish.
For the mains, we ordered pasta with an Indian twist. The pasta arrived piping hot and wafting a flavourful aroma. The fusion dish is cooked in delicious makhni gravy with judicious toppings of butter and spicy Indian masala.
last but not the least, we tried the bole toh dessert. It was a perfect marriage of Indian and the modern. “A take on the traditionalrabri, it is paired with oreo to produce the oreo rabri cake,” the chef disclosed. The creamy rabri lent a Banarasi flavour of kesar and milk to the dessert. Semi-liquid rabri was poured all around the preparation with lots of oreo pieces to give an all-rounded flavour to the customers.
lights Camera Action is a hub of uniqueness and modernity. With winning dishes and a superb ambience, this venture is a must-visit.