This hasn't been intentional but the last few posts have been around eating healthy and snacking healthy. This one's no different. Top chefs are waking up to vegetables around them and are cooking up a storm with the most exotic produce. This is #trending in the world of gastronomy. Suddenly vegetarianism is cool and Skeeter can proudly say she was always cool!
Guppy by ai has been revisited one too often: when Skeeter doesn't want to cook, when she wants to eat out but eat light and healthy or simply put, when she simply wants to eat at Guppy by ai. Guppy by ai also has this amazing team led by chef Vikram Khatri and supported by chef Saurabh, that reinvents its menu time and again, presenting food that stuns the senses. Their use of vegetables, both local and exotic, mesemerises. Take the Sakura wood smoked pumpkin soup (Rs 250), which is hearty with a slight smoked flavour and comes topped with healthy, crispy pumpkin seeds that make all the difference. You get all benefit that this humble vegetable has to offer at a go: the fruit to the seed. I tried the Water chestnut and Tofu Motoyaki (Rs 400) with a little reluctance. What I got was the Japanese silken tofu and water chestnut baked in a rich sauce. I could nibble on it all day long. Umami in a bowl.
The Seaweed and Mesclun salad (Rs 450) was up next. Young mustard, seaweed and fresh baby greens are served in tangy plum vinaigrette. Apart from the spectacular presentation and the sublime taste, the ingredients were a showstopper. Move on Nori, I got Tosaka on my plate. Yes! The wobbly tosaka seaweed (green and pink) tossed with other greens and a tangy plum vinaigrette made the summer outside so much bearable!
Salad was followed by some deep fried indulgence as Tempura was taken to another level with whole ladyfingers, nori and even coconut peeping out from the crunchy batter!
Oh and what is a visit to Guppy if you don't try their red rice Sushi?
But what really had my heart was the Hiyashi Tanuki Cha Soba (Rs 750), the Chilled green tea soba served with scallions, chilled soy flavoured broth and bonito. The green tea infused soba noodles are served on a bamboo sheet resting on ice in an earthen pot. Some places also serve it on Zaru, which is a bamboo tray that looks like a traditional sieve. The scallions, chilled soy flavoured broth and bonito are served alongside. You take the noodles in an empty bowl provided to you, add the rest of the accompaniments to taste, hold the bowl up and enjoy! If you like simple flavours Hiyashi Tanuki Cha Soba comes highly recommended. If not, you could try the very flavourful Tofu and exotic vegetable curry rice (Rs 900).
The Matcha pudding ended my meal. I've had Matcha icecreams and Matcha is undoubtedly my favourite Japanese green tea, the other being Sencha. This pudding is made from Matcha tea powder and served with house made toffee sauce (Rs 350). Lots of Matcha powder is dusted over the pudding to make you go mmmmm... Trust Guppy by ai to come up with something as delicate as this. No other flavour overpowered the star ingredient, Matcha. Yet I could taste and relish all other elements this excellent pudding was made of.
(This review was on invitation. The views herein are mine.)
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