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Photos By:: Adil Arora
 En is a Japanese Word for togetherness. Thus the restaurant En brings a new meaning to the word En-joy. The joy of togetherness! The food helps amplify that feeling. It’s not surprising that the Restaurant won the accolade as the ‘Best Japanese Restaurant in the stand alone category’ by Times Food Guide for Delhi NCR a week after our dinner-officially.
When I went to taste the food a couple of months ago, I was frankly a bit sceptical. The prices seemed to be a bit expensive though the fixed menu offered a small window and the Sunday brunches appeared affordable. But the beautiful view of the greenery around and the majestic Qutab Minar staring at me, made me relax instantly. So did Sherry Anne Sudan, the charming Communications Manager who knew about our restaurant launch event at the adjoining ‘Lavaash by Saby’ and was keen that we organise a similar event here.
 It did not take much to convince me, with the quality and authenticity of the food, backed by the philosophy of the management to serve the best Japanese cuisine in the Delhi-NCR region. The Chef is Japanese who speaks no English but the restaurant engages an interpreter in case someone wants to communicate with him. So is the General Manager. The special ingredients like fish are imported directly. Vegetables are procured from a Japanese lady who has an organic farm. In short, the place is quality and authenticity driven. I was quite sure it had the wherewithal to win the Best Restaurant Award and it would be prudent to organise a Delhi Wine Club dinner around when it happened.
Venue and options
The venue also created confusion in our minds because of the excellent option of a sit-down lunch on a Sunday. Although it is very comfortable inside the restaurant with adequate frills and decorations, and a beautiful view from inside, the option of al fresco dining outside and on the terrace with a captivating view, had all the ingredients for a relaxing Sunday afternoon to En-joy. One could start with a Prosecco and end with a dessert wine as the accompaniments with food. However, since more people opted for dinner, albeit early, we decided on the meal starting at 7:30 instead, being a Sunday.
 It was clear that very tannic or exotic reds won’t do, with a Pinot Noir perhaps an excellent choice for the red wine. I scheduled the dinner for February 28 so that the weather would be excellent to sit outside or on the terrace. Another important reason was that I would be travelling on the previous two Sundays. The restaurant also wished that I be present for the event. Besides, it is our internal policy that we must organise at least one dinner in every calendar month- a ritual we have followed since the first wine event on 19 July, 2002.
The weather played truant during the 3 days prior to the event. It got cold, very cold, rainy and warm at different times. One could not predict the weather even on the Sunday morning of the Dinner. So we took the call and decided we would have the dinner inside the restaurant but the ‘pass around’ with Prosecco could be on the terrace so that we could enjoy the view and the atmosphere and since the restaurant did not need much organisation for setting up a few tables.
Pass around and Prosecco
It turned out rather comfortable on Sunday morning-enough for me to regret not planning the Dinner al-fresco. The start of the evening validated my thinking as the view from the terrace was gorgeous. Although the view of the majestic Qutab Minar was pleasing to the eye it reminded us of the well-lit Eiffel tower at night in Paris and how it buzzed with tourists in the evening. Delicious Edamame and Yakitori (Japanese style skewers), though not spotted clearly on the table or served properly due to lack of enough light, were sufficient and helped by the San Simone Prosecco and were so delicious that a few members affirmed that the restaurant deserved to win the award. They were unanimous in recommending the terrace as the venue for one of the future dinners even as some marvelled at the venue being an ideal spot for parties.
Tempura, Sushi and the rest
I am a fan of Tempura, so even though the Kakiage served at the table in the shape of a bird’s nest was vegetarian and a bit difficult to navigate with chopsticks; it was delicious with the Moletto Sauvignon, the Italian crispy, fresh and fruity Sauvignon Blanc giving adequate support. I would have loved to ‘taste’ another portion but refrained as I was aware about the Sushi platter which could be tempting.
 Spicy Salmon Roll, Tuna and Asparagus Roll, Vegetable California Roll and the Spicy Vegetable Green Roll were plentiful and the wait staff was quick to replenish with extra portions without hesitation when requested. There were not many calls for refill of a Bordeaux white wine of 2012 vintage. A blend of Sauvignon and Semillon, it can be a lovely all-weather wine but somehow it lacked the freshness, crispness and the oomph factor. Japanese ooba herb leave and yuzu (Japanese Lime) Sorbet had all the characteristics missing in the wine and was a welcome change.
Perhaps another reason why members did not request refills was the arrival of the next wine with the main course. Colmello 2005 from Moletto is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Franconia (known as Blaufränkisch in Germany). It’s a very supple wine with soft and juicy tannins with a medium to full body making it an excellent choice for Teppan Fish in soya garlic butter sauce, Chicken with sautéed Ginger, Teppan Seasonal Vegetable, Tofu with Vegetable Black Bean Sauce all of which worked very well with the wine-as they would have with a Pinot Noir.
Baked Cheese cake with ice cream was delicious and adequate as a light dessert. The Fratelli Santo, a Late Harvest Chenin Blanc was a perfect match and the wine pleaded well its case to be imbibed with the dessert to enhance the sweet experience, a rather uncommon feature in the Indian Gourmet scene so far. People love to have tea or coffee with the dessert instead. It was a relief that the restaurant offered green tea and coffee too. I am not a fan of Japanese Brown Tea and dreaded that I might not have any other choice.
The event at The En Restaurant evoked many emotions, the most common and defined by a short word congruent with the name of the restaurant and put succinctly by one of the club members - ‘WOW’, describes it all. Congratulations to the Restaurant for winning the well-deserved, coveted Award. We hope to be back with a slightly different theme. Till then En-Joy and-Jai Ho!!
Subhash Arora
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