A meal at Hiatus can be an interesting experience. Thanks to molecular gastronomy and the chef’s innovations, each dish is served with a surprise element. By Divya Kaushik
If someone will try and tempt you to visit the new joint in the city saying it’s serving ‘world cuisine’, chances are high you won’t take it seriously. World cuisine has emerged as the most commonly used term in the restaurant business and sometimes what is being served in the name of world cuisine turns out to be a sheer disappointment, in case you know your food well. But trust Hiatus to surpass your expectations. The menu not only stands true to the definition of world cuisine but also offers surprises, interesting twists and flavours that will leave you wanting for more. The newly opened fine-dining restaurant at Clarion Collection-Qutab Hotel, Hiatus is a perfect place if you care for class and have a taste for luxury. The restaurant has been divided into four sections, each offering a different experience. There is H-Bar, designed stylishly with the selection of international spirits and some innovative cocktails and mocktails. In case you want to try something new, all you need to do is tell your preferences to the bartender and you will get your drink just as you like it. The space has been wisely divided with sections for indoor and outdoor dining. The patio is the perfect space for those who want to bask in the sun or enjoy the live grills during the evening. The most stunning and private part of the area is called ‘dine-in cellar’. Designed in an intimate corner, it is like a cellar, with one wall displaying the range of wines on offer. It comprises of a single table with selected number of plush, metallic gold chairs. In case you choose to dine here, prior reservation is recommended as the menu will be specially crafted by the chef with selection of wines as per the food. And in case you are fond of cooking and want to know everything about what’s being served, you better sit in the kitchen itself. Called ‘chef and you’ it is a cosy, little space in the kitchen offering you interaction with the chef.
Considering it was bright and sunny, we chose a corner in the patio. Executive chef Piyush Jain was ready with the menu and informed us that in less time their menu has got popular. “When we were crafting our menu we were sure that we wanted to be different. In the name of world cuisine we don’t want to serve popular dishes. We want our guests to experience and interact with the food. So you’ll notice that we’ve added a lot of new elements to even dishes that you may know of. We use molecular gastronomy to add a surprise to our dishes and presentation of food is of utmost importance. Since we are presenting the dishes in a different avatar, sometimes using different ingredients, we try to give a brief about the dish to each guest while serving food,” said chef Piyush. A look at the menu will reveal that attention has been paid to the use of herbs, seasonal ingredients, to keep the dishes healthy and fresh. We began our gastronomic journey with amuse bouche, sweet and citric watermelon. It looked like a slice of watermelon served with fresh basil leaf. The surprise was the filling of balsamic glaze in the watermelon cube. It worked like a palate cleanser with the mix of tangy, sour and sweet flavours. Tomato and jasmine soup was next on the menu. “We realised that both tomato soup and jasmine tea are popular with guests, the flavours blend well and it’s refreshing and healthy too,” said chef Piyush. It was surely refreshing with the topping of black truffle oil, and filling. In case you keep a count of your calorie intake, watermelon salad is perfect for you. These are small balls of watermelon mixed with rocket leaves and served with different toppings. You can choose from pine nut, feta, honey dressing, extra virgin olive oil and choice of parma ham and make your own dressing for salad. The next on the list was air bread with mini cottage cheese steak. It looked like a bread topped with paneer tikka, but actually it was more than that. “We use modern technique to make air bread and fill it with cheese fondue. It is topped with pickle marinated mini cottage cheese steak with tomato caviar and olive dust. The trick is not to take a bite, only then you will feel the surprise,” explained the chef. Mezze platter is a must-try here. Sundried tomato and basil hummus, eggplant salsa, Indian style tzatziki, Italian salad are served with Greek infused falafel and sumac dusted kulcha. It is difficult to find so many flavours perfectly blend together. For the main course we chose Goan tofu curry, served with sticky rice and wasabi raita. It was nowhere close to any Japanese dish or Goan curry but the result was worth appreciating. There was bacon wrapped chicken with paprika infused makhani gravy served with honey glazed vegetables with saffron and mix vegetable pilaf. It was a mix of Spanish and Indian cuisine. Chocolate, rum and coffee caviars and chocolate hazelnut napoleon with cardamom sorbet brought a perfect end to the meal.