Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Tigers Experience - at Tres - Summer "Global Flavor " Menu - New Delhi


Finished the summer in two different occasions - never done this before but yes managed to try all the dishes on the summer menu - Once with a Dear friend from chennai kavita and then on Father day with my better half my son Amer . And you are most welcome to take me there yet again more than happy to eat at Tres anytime .Was actually not aware of the Summer Menu - landed up with kavita - because  I wanted to Show off the Delhi Fine Dinning scene compared to chennai , wanted to be in a classy yet casual place which stocked good wines , had great chef interaction and of course a place where u can swear on the food to be nothing less than awesome , so Tres it was.

Kavita - A Lady of Leisure ,an adventurer , a traveler - she just climbed the Mt Kilimanjaro, been tio the base camp of the Mt Everest, at one point of time she decided to chuck her job as a marketing manager and become a pilot .....  has done all kinds of adventure sports and now the last of her desires is sky diving - she is a stylish foodie (she returned two classes of red wine at Tres - swirl the wine sniff it sip it and nose up and say sorry no like hehehehehe, I was so angry with her for wasting red wine hehehehehe ) and the prime reason for that is that she and her hubby or alone also she travels to soem great distances to dicover everything about the cultures which includes wine food religion clothes etc  - she experiments with food all the time and is a temperamental chef Lol . Kavita  was over from chennai and decided to bless me with an evening at Tres .

Amer my 19yr son -  doing his honors in Economics from Delhi University - a foodie . I am actually impressed with his knowledge of cuisines and his capacity to grasp the names of these funny dishes/ wines  from Europe ...  amer loves food follows up with Masterchef of course and discuss the same regularly with Seema - who together prove me wrong on the pronunciations .Amer is a perfect example of the generation to come - they are so aware about cuisines, chefs , ingredients that the restaurants better gear up to cater to this Millennial Generation of tomor . Had to actually force him to come for fathers day lunch - and when he heard Tres he was like wow super duper i love European cuisine . made my day.. the older they get the tougher it gets to get back into their lives lol  . This was fathers Day Lunch . 


The Summer Menu - From a foodies point of of view what should a summer menu be - Colors to engage with you , to make you feel cool , to make you fresh and refreshed . Smells lemony , cool with a tinge to make you jump back refreshingly , ingredients which spell cool , taste and textures which leave a crunch of freshness in your mouth, the food filling and not just a stomach filler  and the plating which makes you drool and your head connect with the word cool . Net net a summer menu is challenging as the ingredients are scarce - specially for salads , the meats have to be thot about , the dressings have to be lemony and tangy .... not easy to handle a menu keeping all the above in mind. People are actually a bit scared about eating out in the summers , they all want to keep it light , tangy and delicious . The tres Menu was every interesting - they have actually done a lot of r n d on the dishes and their ingredients - they have watermelons , mangoes , white meats , lemony tangy dressings .. great job .
in General Tres serves cuisines from Europe , infused with Asian styles and relies mostly on the readily available ingredients at the point of time . They use a lot of organic stuff specially the greens.

Chic Cosy Interiors
This is my idea of a perfect chef Run Restaurant 40 covers , comfortable sitting ,soothing music , dim lighting , small outdoor unit where u can sit opposite the chefs watch them do magic and enjoy a meal. Simply done , a well stocked bar , subtle interiors tastefully sourced artifacts , comfortable chairs , good space between two tables allows movement - everything is always under control in such small quaint places .  Have been following Tres for the last two years and trust me i have seen their food evolve , the team increase , the hands on affect of the chefs cum owners , the passion growing  Julia looking better , Jattin getting naughtier lol . 

Chef Julia Carmen Desa 

Isn't She pretty - can you see the years and years of hard work behind the lady ... no you cant .. the smile just tells you everything about how a person can be content in life ... Julia, Chef Julia , is the mother figure of Tres rather of the food industry - she shares her warmth , her anger , her disappointments , her shahbashee to the boys - they all love Julia . So Do I.. in open public forum i admit my love for the Mommy of the Food Industry . Julia explained to me the concept of Tres and its food - in one a couple of  words she said it all " GLOBAL FLAVOURS " thats it.

As per Chef Julia - Vision is the key to everything in cooking - every dish that they plate at Tres was visualized , Conceptualized , flavors derived at , then tried in the kitchen - she has two volumes of recipe scrap books - used for penning down all flying thots about new dishes .Chef Julia has been a Chef De Partie or a Station in most of the top Hotel kitchens and the last she worked was at Zest . She has taught bachhas in the  Goa Culinary school , where she belongs . Holds master chef shows at prestigious institutes , is on the board of judges for the culinary academy. 25 years behind Chef Julia and it shows . 




Extreme Left - The mean machine from UK - Chef Abhimanyu .... Centre the Manager Ashutosh extreme right top Chef Anuj and bottom right the New kid on the block all the way from Uk - Karam  .
Actually they al are the new kids on the block ... they drive Tres most amazingly.

Chef Abhimanyu Chauhan Head Chef Abhimanyu chauhan’s culinary adventure began, like many of the world’s most famous chefs, in his mother’s kitchen. It was then he realised that food was not just fun eating but cooking too .  Brought up in hills of Himachal, he quickly had lot of wild flavours being tasted and know too.Diploma holder from IIHM Kolkata , he enrolled at the University Of West London to further finish his hospitality masters  .For Abhimanyu , United Kingdom was a food journey. Bada mast banda hai.

Ashutosh Rai Hotel management which he did from NIPS school of hotel management, Kolkata.Worked in various positions with leading hospitality majors such as ITDC, Carlson Group & Galaxy Hotels & Spa in revenue management and operational. Competent in assessing and implementing effective CRM solutions with an aim to improve Guest delight and consequently Guest loyalty, repeat and referral business. Distinction of steering improvement initiatives with focus on streamlining & managing operations with proactive planning, introducing new concepts.

Karmjeet Kaur Restaurant Manager MBA degree holder from London, Karmjeet is a highly enthusiastic and passionate professional. Studying in London gave her an exposure to the international hospitality industry, where she got an opportunity to work with very successful and renowned chef’s like Chef Atul Kochhar and Chef Sriram. She gained the experience of “front house operations” for 4 years in The Michelin starred restaurants i.e. Quilon and Benares restaurant. Now she is back in India. Yes of course she wil spearhead the Tres Experience even further.

 Chef Anuj Chaudhary knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life when he turned 18, attended NIPS school of hotel management, Kolkata  Anuj has worked with the  Hyatt Regency. The Oberoi, Pastry Sous Chef at Amici Italian Cafe, Yo china, Yo china cafe, Dimsum Bros. & the wine company now with Tres restaurant & bar . Anuj offers an approachable menu while incorporating some unexpected ingredients and flavour combinations for an element of surprise. Highlights include the mango plate: - mango lime & mint terrine, hot mango tart & mango spaghetti with coconut foam,  Sous Vide Apples, olive oil biscuit & ginger custard, Banana tiramisu with parsley dust, etc...

Chef Jattin Malik

15 years of  Global Experience . Uff What to say about this handsome most eligible bachelor in town , talented Chef Jattin Malik - while i write this blog the man is celebrating his birthday today .. Jattin has Travel , experience , guts , Hard work behind him and that is what makes chef good at what he does ... Jattin is Hands on , passionate , adventurous with his ingredients - is a good chef entrepreneur managing al aspect so Tres extremely well and yet taking out time to cook .Jattin educated me about chefs in the world as per him there are - Culinary Chefs / TV Chefs / Kitchen Chefs /Author chefs / R n D Chefs and Catering Chefs - Julia and Jattin are R N D chefs - seen them sitting over cup of kofi and brain storming first amongst themselves and then with the team ... super . Started from the Taj , went to Intercontinental , went abroad , came back to Zest and now with Tres . He has  had the privilege of cooking for celebrities like Anil and Tina Ambani, Pooja Bhatt, Adi and Parmeshwar Godrej, Vikram Chatwal, Gautam Singhania, Roman Abromovich (Chelsea team owner), Andy Giles (lyrist for Led Zeppelin) to name a few and of course TIGER

He is trained from the Culinary Institute Goa - that where he met Julia - his guru , mentor , instructor - ever since his training days he has been connected with Chef Julia and worked together at some very prestigious places in the country and eventually became Chef Entrepreneurs together .

Chef Jattin work on a Salad 
Dont know if u guys have noticed the beautifully designed kitchen ... well laid out service decks , floor super clean (Julia watches over this ) but im upset with Jattin for enclosing al of it - we used to love sitting outside under the open sky and enjoy our wines .. but as he says post rains it wil open again ... relieved . It is certainly a chefs pleasure also to cook in a clean environment - the food comes out better the ingredients remain fresh and the patrons love it too ,compact and effective. You can see chef Jattin the entrepreneur making the tomato salad for me .. takes pains for sure .

Chef Abhimanyu in Action 
Chef Abhimanyu laying the canvas of the pan seared sea bass - getting the colours right is the art for any chef - the guy si 6 ft something has to really bend over to ge t the dish right hehehehheeheh.  The my friend Jattin joins him in plating ... and u can see below what a gorgeous looking dish they presented ... i cud frame it .


Together Jatin and Abhimnayu work on the Sea Bass
Perfection Galore and nothing less . Have described the dish below and it deserves all the praises .


The Coolers
Tigers doesnt drink during the day , but these coolers were more than welcome ..  Amer loved both of them .


Melon Thrust  To suit the season, the drink has the sweetness of melon & basil, which is balanced with a hint of balsamic. It is one of the top most refreshing summer mocktail to sip in the menu. To amp up the refreshing factor, a bit of lime is added. So refreshing to dive into a cold watermelon drink.

 Honeydew Ginger A very mysterious tangy summery drink has freshness of honeydew melon, crunchiness of green apples and spiciness of ginger. A dash of Barcadi would have done the magic or maybe soem good vodka - hahahahaahah , great summer refresher . A must have . 

Tres Made Breads with Salsa and Herb Butter


If you must eat bread - enjoy Pasrty Chef Anuj's creation -all breads are made in house -  lovely crust , soft inside, topped with some nice salsa and herb butter . Garam garam is the fun of it . Honestly speaking i a m not able to describe the difference between freshly baked bread at the restaurant and the one which is sourced from outside and micorwaved...  but fresh bread the flavor is so so different the outer crust also has flavors and the center is so soft ... together with the salsa or the butter it is rhythm in divine.




Marinated Salmon Tartare


Amers favorite dish - the dish he would like to go back for - taste hai bhai .... (he calls me Bhai ) .. beautifully marinated pink salmon tartare with sesame ,ginger tuile taco - had a wonder crunch to it and the ginger flavor adds to the marriage ,mango and red pepper salsa - sweet sour mild chilly lovely bite . So very summery this is a no fuss taco , lift and eat - the salmon marries the other ingredients beautifully - a must have dish . A bit about Tuile - a french word for tile - supposed to be identical to the tiles used on the rooftops in France .. this is commonly made with dough or cheese - they need to rolled on top of bottle to curve them or they break ... lovely crunchy biscuit .
As per Ashutosh description while serving us " salmon is marinated with thai spices and served like a Taco with a shell made put of tuille. Served along with mango relish ,organic lettuce and raddish."



Seabass Ceviche
This was the first time i was exposed , confronted by ceviche lol raw fish marinated in lemon juice ,had red bell peppers coriander onion to add to the spice , laid on a bed of pickled cucumber and cheery tomatoes for the freshness . Ceviche is always prepared fresh ... a wonderful dish .. the first bite was tough one for me but then finishing it off in a jiffy was not a problem at all , kavita laughed her head off when she saw my expressions changed from fright to happiness hhahahahaahhaah mean she is .. lovely dish spelling summers so beautifully.

As described by Ashutosh"A typical take on chillian dish with refreshing coconut and lemon dressing  makes a unique flavour combination for fish lovers . the Carpaccio of seabsss marinated in fresh lemon juice and coriander cures it self just fine and when served with the julienned peppers, tomato and onion tossed in coconut dressing  , it just gives a sense of fusion of flavours from around the world but balanced to perfection for it to become a delicacy .

The Tres "Sundae" All Tomato and Cheese Salad
Let me deconstruct this tower of flavors for you - Rocket leaves fresh , sundried tomatoes, raw cherry tomatoes, plums, grapes fennel all dressed in light lemon sauce , goat cheese and cream mix, topped with nuts .  A wholesome Salad for the summers - juicy,crunchy ,ful of nice fresh flavors and of course filling. 


As Per Ashutosh"salad of marinated tomatoes, seasonal leaves, grapes and plums with sundreid tomato pesto, hazelnut and feta infused sour cream."


Chicken and Shrimp Tortellini
Chicken and Shrimp tortellini with spaghetti of vegetables and lemon grass infused tomato juice . Normally you hear of crab and shrimp , fish and prawns but chicken and shrimps pounded together is something unusual and trust me it works beautifully ..pink meat - only thing i found was that  the fillers were a bit dry . Yet again a very thought about dish from J N J for the summers .. loved the textures in each bite , the taste of the lemon and tomato sauce left a delicious flavor behind . 

Double Cooked Chicken 
    Chicken breast cooked two ways( poached and grilled) served with creamy corn infused with mustard , crispy potato - well well i saw this aloo being cooked - big one , made crisp in the pan then put between two steel plates and pressed - then taken back tot he pan tomake the skin even more crisp, asparagus and roasted peach relish. = I loved this dish complete meal perfect blended flavors super textures and it kept me busy . 


Pan Seared Crispy Sea Bass


OMG Experience - first visual orgasm and then a riot in the mouth with favors .. The crispiness  of the sea bass skin , the beautiful semi pink color of the fish , the marriage of fish lettuce purie, olive tapenade ,wilted spinach and  croquette... eat them individually each has a peculiar taste to drive your taste buds crazy ....  a lovely summery dish  light flavors and beautiful colors to make the canvass complete of a perfect dish . im stil drooling about the crisp skin ... a delightful experience . A beautiful picture taken by tiger - for the wall for sure , just loved the colors used , the magnificent plating .

As Explained by Ashutosh " A unique concept of using lettuce, which comes in a form of puree and lined along with kambucha flavoured (Fermented Tea) olive and caper tapenade just gives a dish a unique flavour

Mangoes Three Ways 
Mango terrine with Coconut foam ,Mango Spaghetti, mango Sorbet and Hot mango tart .


     In this dessert all four components are made with mangoes & served with coconut foam & balsamic caviar It’s contain mango terrine which is being layered with fresh mango thin slices flavoured with lemon & mint. Then it contains mango spaghetti which is made of jellified mango soup using sodium alginate. Then it contains mango sorbet made from water, sugar & fresh mango puree. And at last its contain hot mango tart made with thin slices of mango wedges arrange on puff pastry & baked with mango glaze. Its season time fellas go for it while the flavors of the mango's last .


Red velvet Slice 
Red velvet slice with Cream cheese frosting ,Balsamic Caviar and raspberry sorbet. - hmmm Red velvet cake - was quite fed up of this fad cake - they insisted that i indulge in the same once more and yes i did , infact Amer who doesn't fancy deserts took a small bite then another and then says the combination of al three is amazing - i was like achaaa. 

As described by Ashutosh" It is our take the traditional dessert of red velvet, which is set like a terrine and cut like a pyramid. It is served with cream cheese frosting and balsamic caviar( molecular gastronomy…..process of specification)

Death at Tres
Rumble in the Jungle - this desert reminds me of the osibissa song - Olive sponge cake , coconut foam  and litchi ice cream - this varies as per the season , red wine jelly , poached apples .- Old days reminded - trifle pudding at home - what fun it used to be to make it and the whole family used to relish the same - infact at every family dinner two bowls were made , one for the adults and then for us the kids lol. This was attacked by the father son duo and wiped out lol . 


Special Mention : Besides being generous to our palates their is a Even more nobler side of Tres - they support a couple of NGO's - at present they have a boy who is getting trained as Chef and a very sweet girl who is learning service - I think it is a great gesture and wish them all the good luck . Payback to society is very important  in todays world - train them keep them . 

Overall Tigers Experience : Too Good - the summer menu rocks - the standard menu is also there with the all time favorites like pork belly , steak etc but this was a refreshing change - just right for the weather .I feel they shud keep these dishes throughout the year . Costed  us appx 1500 per head each day , which is fair enuf (equation as i understand it goes is - Ingredients + Effort +Over heads = Price)

Food : Anything freshly prepared is awesome for me . The ingredients , the textures , the marriage of the ingredients and the sauces was fantastic , no boat missed ; the deserts and bread are to die for ; the starters had this nice lemony flavour and a tinge which stayed back on the palate . Love the R Nd done of putting flavours together . 

Service - The dish may look gorgeous but it has to keep looking pretty ton my plate also - correct .. yes Ashutosh the manager is an expert in the same . The boys are well versed with their wines and the food - means someone takes pains to train them on each and every element . karam the new chic on the block has a fantastic background to ensure that each customer goes back happy and comes again happier . They have a Team A .

Ambiance : The signage outside needs to changed - guess its some ndmc issue - you enter into a beautiful restaurant with yellow lighting and wood furniture - well dressed team of servers .. no smells , nice music in the background - so if u want to read your book with kofi its perfect , you want to do a ladies noisy lunch its super and if u r on a date its even better . Lol .



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