Sep 18: The 295th Dinner of the Delhi Wine Club was a private event organised at the scaled down version of the restaurant earlier known as Gulati Spice Market but now truncated to Spice Market, with the reduced space and good example of why the fans would love it even more as new finger-licking delicious dishes have been added, writes Subhash Arora who felt that the sparkling wines from Luxembourg and Italy matched very well with the dishes on the Menu
Photos By::Adil Arora
If some members missed the 295th dinner of the Delhi Wine Club at the Spice Market Restaurant in Saket, behind the Select City Mall a week ago, it was perhaps because they ‘googled’ and went to the Spice Market, the biggest market in Old Delhi for the top quality spices and a bewildering variety available at the best possible prices! But seriously speaking, it was a dinner that showcased excellent Indian cuisine, well matched with bubbles as well as a red wine.
The restaurant is a tried and tested venue in South Delhi where we have had a few wine dinners earlier in the past and always came back licking fingers metaphorically. The place in its new Avatar is as welcoming with excellent food, presentation and service - even the wet cleaning tissue they give after the meal is on an attractive little bowl-shaped container. Known for its heart-warming Indian cuisine with shades of Gujarat and Maharashtra because of Chef Chiquita Gulati, the owner Sumit Gulati’s wife and business partner is an excellent, though humble Chef like many single Michelin starred chefs. She hails from Gujarat but has spent her growing years in Mumbai which have given the shades of their culinary variety in her cooking style.
The restaurant shrank in size when it re-opening a month ago after renovations, due to some leasing issue. But the enterprising couple took some cues from the problem and added several interesting new dishes (70% of the dishes are new according to Gulati). We were kept busy with a string of unending starters that rained without letting up and if that was not enough, there were a couple of fabulous Luxemburg sparkling wines from Bernard Massard that went down like mother’s milk with food. They were both so seductive and inviting on the palate that one could not resist sip after another.
We followed up the bubblies with yet another bubbly- a Pink Spumante from Il Samone in Prosecco, listed at Rs. 3000 at the restaurant because of the slightly body and colour which made it go well with the Mains dishes. Some members preferred a red wine after 3 bubblies- for them there was Tribu Malbec-fruity and slightly sweet on the first attack in the mouth, handling the spices rather well. Personally, I have a special affinity for decent bubblies with Indian food since they tend to cleanse the palate with every sip and did not fail me today either.
Spice Market continues to find that special place in the hearts and palates of those who love hearty Indian food. It has gotten smaller in size but bigger for those who love their cocktails and liquor with their meals. The bar has interesting flavours of gins and a variety of whiskey and vodkas that make it a place to visit the restaurant for a drink with the delicious snacks. But the place now welcomes couples more than families with children due to space restraints.
Subhash Arora
Menu
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