DWC Wine Dinner at Kofuku with French Wines

Located in Ansal Plaza, a no man’s mall near another shopping complex in South Extension, has been fairly inactive and considered unsuitable for restaurants due to limited footfalls. But lately, several new restaurants have started opening and the place is being touted as the new ‘Cyber-Hub’ of Delhi with several interesting restaurants opening their branches here. The full house seen often at this less than one-year old restaurant is s testimony to the high quality of the food; people drive specially to Kofuku (which means happiness in Japanese for the uninitiated).

Besides the normal and Japanese style seating in front of an open kitchen, it opens out at the back into an alcove open from two sides giving an interesting view of the greenery around. There are a few tables laid out and on an evening like we had chosen for the wine dinner, it is pleasant to sit outside too- a great rendezvous for members to have pre-dinner snacks.

Yaki Shitake mushrooms for vegetarians and  Yaki Tori Chicken were delicious starters to set the tone but the tempura really stole many hearts. Yasai Tempura Moriwase was a delight for the vegetarians but I could have eaten Creamy Shrimp Tempura all night long!. Hot and crisp, they were not oily at all and slightly spicy due to the magic Japanese ‘masala’ sprinkled subtly on top. Perhaps the presentation with 6 pieces in the shape of a tree is what made it very attractive looking too. (If you go to the restaurant, this is a must-order dish but to be eaten before it loses a degree of hotness).

All these snacks were a great match with Mionetto Prosecco doc Treviso Brut, from the producer in Valdobbiadene, a very important town of the Prosecco- making belt. With a residual sugar content of around 8-10 gms, it was just right for all the snacks which continued pouring. The Sushi Boat is a specialty at Kofuku with the OMG Shrimp Sushi making you scream ‘Oh My God’ with joy-not if you were Japanese though, I might add. But competing for the flavours was the vegetarian option- the avocado based variant. The Presentation was equally charming.

We moved to the main restaurant after our guest Charles Donnadieu, the French Sommelier who is a corporate sommelier at The Lalit Hotels, introduced wines from Chateauneuf du Pape (CDP). All wines served inside  were a couple of Cotes du Rhone 2009 and 2010 which were served after a Domaine Nallys white wine made from Grenache Blanc  and Clairette.  Past its prime, it was still drinking quite well after 7-8 years. Cotes-du Rhone were spicy, fresh and light on the palate; excellent wine that did not stand very well in front of the 2007-2010 vintages of Chateau Neuf du Pape which were more spicy, fuller and more complex.

An interesting aspect of the red wines was that they matched the main course dishes served at the dinner table. Tofu salad appears such a simple dish but the tofu in it was soft and the dressings made it one of the best healthy dishes at the restaurant.  Shrimp soup looked unappetising but delectable  thanks to the see weeds that changed the character. I enjoyed it with the Nallys white wine. Pork belly was much debated-many felt it had a tad too much fat while others loving it the way it was served.

New Zealand lamb rack is another signature dish of the restaurant. Tender in the mouth, it went very well with the noodles and rice served-and of course it was a classic match with CDP. The Balinese yellow curry would find favour with those who like Thai food as well.

Mochi is another of their dessert specialties-in fact there is not much of a choice but the mango and strawberry flavours are a must-try- they were perfect ending for a perfect dinner. In fact, it was a perfect dinner in many respects. The 20 or so number of guests was just right for conversation, and service. The food was delicious, even if a bit too much perhaps. Wines almost surpassed the food quality, though different vintages also gave the connoisseurs sample different past vintages of CDP.

Quite a memorable wine dinner, that!

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Subhash Arora

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