Tigers Experience at Tonino - 10 Years Celebration - MG Road, New Delhi

The Iconic Beauty of MG Road - Hidden Property with a gorgeous Mango grove on the side . Tonino.

Imagine this setting in the evening - Dim Lights , cool Breeze , sitting in a almost natural surrounding , with the moon following you around , a perfect glass of wine and your date across the table ... staring uselessly , silence talking , a lovely wood fired pizza on the table ... a typical scene out of Mills & boon - what could be more romantic in life . Thats Tonino for you - Perfect ambiance , the best wines and one of the most talented Chefs Delhi has ever seen . Chef Suman . The master curator of each dish plated in Tonino. The Decor of Tonino is so Tuscany based .. tiled, brick finish - out door and indoor seating for 120 covers . 

 A truth - wife and me have been here twice and that too to make up for a fight - ate in silence , filled tummy and then spoke to resolve .The crowd at Tonino is very distinguished , Expats , Lovers, Solace lovers, Wine lovers , Cigar enthusiast, Book lovers ... kind of exclusive Style

Was invited by Simran and Parmeet Sawhney for the 10 Year Celebration . Tonino is at a place which was known as Pyramid - a kind of a banquet place started by parmeet (The Owners of Plaza Cinema) and Sanjay Khullar of ITC Maurya fame . Sharing the table with Simran was delightful - She explained how they have given the chef a free hand to experiment to travel , to try newer areas of italy to discover what can go well with the Indian palate - and this includes the wines too . This is one of the prime reasons they have been able to hold on to the Super Talented Chef Suman and the team led by Mr Joshi .

The class of the Sawhney family shows very evidently in Tonino.... Khandaani Log hain Bhai . they have truly done it in style .. after the success of Tonino they plan to showcase the city with Tonino Cafes - should be interesting . The couple behind Tonino has extensively travelled Italy for sure - they discover new places , check out new dishes , send chef to educate and try the dishes out in Tonino New Delhi.

Chef Suman and his team guided me through each dish like the Italians would do - with so much passion romance and involvement with the ingredients , meats the cuts and the flavors. chef believes in ingredients , flavors , textures and Plating .

V ASpragi Bellavista 650

Fresh Asparagus dipped in Parmesan cheese , & roasted bell peppers with garlic crumbs - bland to chilly to acidic the dish takes you through the entire gamut of flavors on your palate. Event though im not very fond of a couple of veggies like Asparagus, Avocado , Artichokes as i have never been to grasp the flavor they carry - this version of asparagus coated with cheese was absolutely amazing , loved it .

My All time Favorite Sangria - A Spanish Spritzer - The special word for Bleeding , cool and packed with fruits , red wine brandy & triple sec, normally i refuse to drink during the day for a number of reasons but here took the plunge as it looked tempting and secondly eat the way the Italians do . then toh i shud have had the wines offered .... nah nah I love Sangria , She is my No1.

The Bruchettas

Goat Cheese Caramelized Onions---  Tomato Garlic Basil mozzarella --- black olive tapenade grilled marinated artichokes and grapes - My favorite or rather my vote goes to teh caramelized Onions and goat cheese , just amazing yet another a first for me . 

V Insalata Rucola Con Pere, Pomodoro Picoli e Caprino

Rocket Leaves with pears, cherry tomatoes,pinenuts with honey balsamic dressing - Lovely textured combination of watermelon , pears , crunch of the pine nuts and the rocket leaves - perfect acidity from the lime dressing . The rocket leave were a bit limp and drk in color but the basic elements were perfectly intact . I love salads and this was good for me .

V Toretelloni Di Spinaci Ricotta

Spinach Ricotta n basil tortellini with truffle oil n Parmesan - the flavor of truffle oil rules , smooth , beautiful texture is all i can say about this very simple yet artistic dish . The dish looks the easiest but is one of the most difficult dishes to make ... a dish where the sauce makes so much of a difference , the sauce pairs beautifully with the  ricotta . 

Salumi Piccante Pizza

Tomato, Mozzarella , Salami, piccante and Olives - Simple Tuscan style wood fired pizza with the very famous Piccante sauce - a liquefied salsa sauce - both made from tomatoes, onions, peppers and spices- Salsa is chopped and Picante is pureed thats it -  Basic simple pizza nothing can go wrong other than the tomatoes being a bit too sour .  And the joke behind salsa and picante s that Salsa is Sauce and Picante is Hot lol  sure was .

Costolette Di Pollo Con Salsa Piccamte

Chicken Chops with BBQ sauce served with grilled potatoes m vegetables - looks ordinary na .. No way it is an award winning BBQ sauce . Chef Suman's entry for the Jack Daniels BBQ competition and He WON IT . The special thing about the sauce is that it has 18 ingredients and Jack Daniels as a major component . You can imagine the tinge in it and the high the chicken must have got after the sauce is poured on to the simple grilled chicken - served with awesome grilled veggies .

V Tour of italy

Combination of Farrotto, vegetable lasagne, grilled zuchini and peppers - Farratto is simply a dish that use Farro in place of  Rice  and cooks just like a risotto . Farro belongs tot he wheat family it is  nuttier and more chewy though .. it has greater nutritional value - high fiber , a blast of vitamins ... takes abit long too cook is super product for veggies and health conscious freaks like Tiger ... this was the Winner Dish for Chef Suman . The Farrortta os accompanied with a veg Lasagne and grilled veggies.

Over all a great dish and im glad i ordered the same on Chefs recommendation . Apparently this is Toninos winning dish specially for veggies - people come specially for the same . Farro is not seen in most Italian places - Tonino is one of the first to have sourced this healthy grain . 

Filetto Di Sogliola Griglia

River Sole fillet (Marinated in Mild fennel) wrapped in Parma ham  served with grilled potato m vegetable - A dish never tried before fish and ham hmmmmmmmmm very interesting for sure . Perfectly balanced dish , great textures ..loved the grilled zucchini , grilled potatoes ... the sauce sprinkled on top of the ham was divine ...  I was truly amazed at the amalgamation of flavors on the plate .

Tirami- Su

A classic Dessert - espresso flavored mascarpone cheese cake - what a pretty presentation and equally delicious tiramisu - this IS my favorite desert .... you really need to get it right for the real flavors to come out - not excessive alcohol for sure .Popularly known as Pick Me Up  - A desert from the district of Veneto. The recipe has been modified in a number of ways but stil is my favorite as always - Rum , Liqueurs and cheese just yum .   check out the gorgeous plating - just amazing and so photogenic , commendable chef , take a bow - the best i have seen so far

Lasangna Di Cioccolato - chocolate Lasagna

Layers of Special chocolate cake with white n dark chocolate served warm - This is a Tonino invention - they had a lasgane festival where the great chef experimented with the dish and tried out - was an instant hit with the customers .

About Corporate Chef Suman Sharma - He has recently won the National Tourism award for the year 2012 - 2013 for the Best Chef . - a IHM delhi Grad has been with Tonino for the last decade . He has learnt to cook perfect italian food under the supervision of Restaurateur cum   Chef  Tonino  Generale from Italy  a true chef at heart who is known for his pizza .. Chef Suman has been very closely connected with the ICF also . 

Chefs Favorite Quote is "CHI MANGIA BENE, VIVE BENE!  WHO EATS WELL, LIVES WELL! "  well said Chef

Overall Tigers Experience :

Food : Well Plated really a winners style , maintaining the originals of Tuscany , "Cibo Incredibile"Service : Total fine dinning service , there before you look up - well aware of the wines , the pairing .Ambiance : If u r in love or you want to fall in love Tonino is the place for you tobe in ... No parking hassles , no noise , just u and your love .... perfect for stylish dinners, parties .

Ambiance: Need i say more , Its mind Blowing . 

Service : Staff well aware of the dishes , motivated , knowledge of perfect Wine pairing thanks to Parmeet Sawhney. friendly and full on alert. 

VFm : Dont Care . 

Tigers Experience - Le Brezza Jaypee Greens

La Brezza gives u every reason to build up an appetite on the long drive to Jaypee Greens  Greater Noida -  a perfect place to drive up with family for a meal or to stay the weekend - and yes if u have a business meeting that side of town . Located in the Jaypee green Signature Golf course designed by Greg Norman - The property is huge and huge means huge a Sprawling Six Senses spa with Watsu and Hamam several massage therapy rooms ,a cafe - got tired walking the spa lol . The Hotel has all the favorite Japyee Restaurants Patra, Eggspection  Ano Tai  The Matrix (Bar)and then Le Brezza which has a Wine bar called Enteca, this is  where we ate lunch . 

The resort gave me a feeling of a luxury resort we see in TLC - modern , classy , lazy ,comfortable and welcoming .

A well spread fine Dinning option at the Jaypee Resort Le Brezza - Manned by two amazing chefs - Chef Kain who is the executive chef of the full property and Chef Gomes who is the man behind Le Brezza - he has been trained by the parent company to deliver authentic Italian flavors . Bot the chefs come with solid history and experience in the food industry . Was Indeed a pleasure to sit with them eat their creation and discuss food . 

Chef Kain and Chef Gomes

The Singing Chef Gomes - He is just so amusing - sings fantastic , has been in bands and has brought his passion tot he restaurant - trust me it is a fantastic ,arketing gimic to have a signing chef floating around the restaurant , customers love it . He was jkind enuf to sing to songs for us .

Olive Oil Stand - sorry for the bad pic - they have different falors of oilive oil - incidently they grow there own herbs in the garden and keep experimenting wiht them . 

Variety of Salts - Rock , Lava etc 

Olive Oil with reduction of Balsmic Vinegar - found this very artisitc and good use of the reduction of balmisc vinegar .

Ground red chillies with olive oil

We Opted for a Set Menu .

Spuntini - Arancini - Deep Fried ,Hand Rolled Risotto Dumplings served with Spiked Tomato Sauce - the balls had a safform base with truffle oil . I love dissecting the dish to get all the flavors described - the concept was fantastic - the risotto was mildy flavored with saffron and truffle oil which is what i like .

Simple Fresh Mediterranean salad with vinegar and olive oil - This was my request - wasn't there on the set menu LOL - it was excellent , refreshing an perfectly seasoned.

Zuppa - La Ribollita -Tuscan Style Minestrone - simple yet nutritious broth and when i say nutritious it had all  the veggies and the beans required - this is was served with the Pizza Margarita with fresh basil form the garden nice crust not thin but just right .

Appetizer - Spiedini di pollo Marinated Corn Fed chicken on Skewers and Mozzarella in corrrozza Crumbed Herb Fried Mozzarella - Loved the flavor of the chicken - spiced with different herbs and not just oregano . The cheese hmmmm not really flavored like cheese not my favorite.

Main course - Branzino con Verdure - chilean Sea Bass on a bed of spring vegetable stew - let me tell u a secret im not a fish person lol  And the reason why i dont eat fish is becos of its smell so like a doggy i smelt the fish first - smelt nothing - so dug into this very gorgeous loking disd - trust me the fish was beautifully steamed no semll and the borth as a comnibation was mind blowing - tige r finiehsd the fish hahahahahah

Tagliatelle al Tartufu Nero - Homemade Pasta tossed with butter , parmingiano reggiano and flat parsley topped with shaving of truffle - now here what happened was that his dish came while i was eating my delicious fish - and so it got cold . But i dug in to get the flavor of the pasta - very nicely done home made pasta , abs  fine dinning quality.The shaving of truffle made it so delicious - my loss it went cold .

Mascarpone and lemon cheese cake - Deliciously flavored desert just right 

Tigers Overall Experience :

The Drive awesome as i wasn't driving LOL

Ambiance : Perfect 

Smells - none , expected the true Italian smells floating around 

Food - Yes Perfect fine dining

Team - The team is super well educated about the products and how they are to be eaten , they are backed by a super team of chefs and fn b mangers

Innovative : Yes indeed  

Pricing : fine dinning has no value

Improvement: Add more fine dinning meats , improve the pizza 

Temptation : Yes to play a round of golf , indulge in the spa , drink all the wine and eat at all the restaurants . 

Success factor: Chef Interaction , Ingredients .

Going Back there again - yes for sure .