Cilantro at Trident Gurgaon has an ongoing
festival- Hello Vietnam, which showcases Vietnamese cuisine to the patrons of
Delhi. With Chef Sandeep Kalra who curated the entire menu after
spending a month in Vietnam and understanding the cuisine, plus with the help
of two chefs flown down from Vietnam (one from the renowned Furama Resort, Danang), the food can be trusted to be every bit authentic. EazyDiner hosted
an evening here where
Started the evening with a Salad Platter that consisted of
Raw Mango Salad, Chargrilled Chicken in Betel Leaves with lemongrass and rice
paper, and Crisp Fried Crabs and Egg Nest Spring Rolls. The spring rolls were
my favourite though they were really oily. The filling was lovely and the crisp
texture just took the cake away. You could gobble up as much of the Raw Mango
Salad as you wanted and you wouldn’t feel sick. It had a beautiful balance of
sweetness and acidity. The Chargrilled Chicken was juicy in every sense of the
word! Damn nice, specially when you felt the crunch of the leaves and that
lemongrass hit.
Pho Ga- Vietnamese Chicken Soup with rice noodles, scallion
and basil. This was a very soulful delicious chicken soup with condiments on
the side to add to your soup as per the palette. Red chillies for the spicy
kick, basil and lime leaves with such fragrantic flavour, scallions for the
crunch. The soup became even better with all this.
Palette cleanser for the evening was a lime sorbet with
champagne. Exceptional stuff! The sorbet was so delicious that I could have it
as dessert too.
Main course was a Vietnamese Style Chicken and Coconut Curry
with Jasmine Rice and French Baguette. The baguette was a dream! It tasted
sensational with that gorgeous Vietnamese Chicken Curry and was every bit
soul-satisfying. The curry wasn’t overpowering with flavours, it was subtle in
all its entirety but had loads of flavour. Chciken, veggies and a coarse curry.
More than the jasmine rice, I couldn’t stop drooling over the baguette. A very
hearty main course.
Dessert was a dramatic affaire with some theatre happening.
Hoi An Steamed Layer Cake with pandan, mug bean and coconut flavour. Steamed
layer cake that blended so so well with the ice cream! What a contrast and what
deliciousness!
Complemented our meal with Prosecco and some damn fine
cocktails- the one with Gin, apple and kaffir lime was the showstopper for me!! And look at the pretty teacup!
The festival is truly delicious. The flavours are lovely,
the amalgamation of different things comes together so beautifully, the staff
knows the menu well and their recommendations really help you in choosing. Sure
as hell should everyone give this festival a try- for someone who’s getting
acquainted with Vietnamese cuisine for the first time, and equally for the ones
who love the cuisine.
Disclaimer: The review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. All views expressed are unbiased in nature but readers are advised to exercise their own discretion.
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