CaLDRON February 2014 - Valentine's Day Special | Page 16

REVIEWS - MUMBAI

PATRIOTIC INDULGENCE
at PONDICHERRY CAFE

A

When the Republic Day falls on a Sunday, restaurants are hard-pressed to
finds ways to include an element of patriotism in their brunch offering. Pondichery Café at Sofitel BKC Mumbai manages to pull this feat off by paying
resolute attention to the presentation of their food.

to tread this tightrope walk fairly
well with their Republic Day Sunday
chef ’s job is sometimes
brunch. The spread was extravagant
that of a conjurer. He has
– something that its brunches are
to keep reinventing the same dish
renowned for. And there were some
to make it appear and taste different
elements of Indian-ness too, if you
every time. Take Sunday brunch, for
paid close attention to your surinstance at a premium restaurant.
roundings instead of diving straight
There are counters after counters
into the food.
laden with food, but the chef needs
to present the same fare differently
Partisanship on your Plate
week after week. It’s not an easy task.
At the restaurant’s entrance, you are
welcomed with the sight of a tradiThis is especially so if you have to
tional brass lamp standing upon a
prepare a Sunday brunch menu that
tri-color flower rangoli. Each table
will meld well with the 65th Repubhas wine glasses layered with flower
lic Day of the nation. On one hand,
petals, again in the tri-color scheme.
you want to include enough Indian-ness without going overboard.
The brunch menu was inspired by
On the other, you have to tone down
dishes from seven regions of the
the over-indulgence that brunches
country – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
are famous for, because it is a time
Nadu, Goa, Punjab, Maharashtra,
when patriotic Indians are apt to
Bengal and parts of Central India.
rant about the diminishing moral
So one could choose ‘Bhendakai
values of a mature nation.
Pulusu’ from Andhra Pradesh, ‘Sopa
De Camaro E Batata’ from Goa,
The chefs at Pondichery Café at Sofi‘Kalyan Paneeri’ from Central India,
tel BKC Mumbai, however, managed
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‘Kumror Chechki’ from Bengal,
‘Nandu Masala’ from Tamil Nadu or
‘Oondhyu’ from Gujarat, amongst
other foods. The chefs had smartly
included popular dishes from these
regions and mixed-n-matched it
well to satiate the palates of vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.
Folks looking for a boozy brunch
could choose from the freshly made
sangrias and fresh fruit cocktails
made-to-order. We settled for the
non-alcoholic meal and enjoyed a
glass of fresh watermelon juice with
a dash of lime juice – a refreshing
choice to accompany what turned
out to be an indolent meal.
Sweet Everythings
Most people usually head to the dessert counter at the end of a brunch.
But having brunched at Pondichery
Café before, we knew that it’s best to
make a beeline to this section before
we became a sluggish mess after eating the appetizers and the main
CaLDRON February 2014