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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  Lounge review: Honk, Delhi
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Lounge review: Honk, Delhi

With this plush, warm and elegant Asian eatery, the Pullman hotel has another winner on its hands

Caramel Chocolate & Peanut Parfait.Premium
Caramel Chocolate & Peanut Parfait.

Walking into the new Asian restaurant at the Pullman hotel, one is struck by the sight of cane lamps casting beautiful criss-cross shadows across the ceiling. It is roomy—a 122-seater (84 indoors)—but the copper, gold, brown and red across the restaurant make for a warm feel.

We settled down to an elegant table setting with a burnished gold wood show plate, overlooking an open sushi counter anchored by tall Thai artefacts. We were offered Veen water from Bhutan plus little glasses of flavoured rice crisps—wasabi, togarashi and spinach—accompanied by a tart bowl of pickled julienned papaya, daikon, carrot and cucumber.

The good stuff

We started with the Edamame & Shallot Dumpling ( 600), a pretty little treat, topped with three whole blanched beans: They made for art and added bite to the six steamed dumplings. The Tuna Tartare ( 900) sat on a bed of diced avocado in creamy pepper aioli, garnished with orange, lime and grapefruit segments and shavings of fried garlic and balanced on a thin ponzu jelly disc. Two netted potato crisps stood tall on its sides. It was a perfect amalgamation of raw and creamy and the citrus cut through to provide an acidic balance.

The Softshell Crab rolls ( 900) came on a stunning black platter, with pickled asparagus and an aioli with tobanjan, a spicy broad bean Korean sauce. It was covered with green tobiko, wasabi-flavoured roe, all with an appreciable hint of spice. The Truffled Salmon rolls ( 800), dressed in a fragrant truffle oil, had the typical Philadelphia cream cheese but also a welcome panko crunch.

The Caramel Chocolate & Peanut Parfait ( 500) got its dramatic accentuation with a pour-over of hot chocolate sauce, which melted the tempered sphere, revealing a praline-peanut butter parfait with a caramel base. A raspberry curd and a caramelized hazelnut crunch completed the plate. Stunning.

Another great restaurant near the airport.

The not-so-good

The Hainanese Chicken Rice ( 800), which comes with miso soup and pickled vegetables, was a tad tough. The complicated blanching process needs a revisit. The Matcha Green Tea Donuts ( 500) also need work. While beautifully plated, the doughnuts were terribly chewy. When cut, they spilled a beautiful yellow lemon curd, which one could top with the matcha tea cream. Not flavours that gel.

The drinks took forever to be served—ours came after the starters—and were not great either. The Kappatini ( 650), gin with cucumber and cilantro, and the Tamarind Gingertini ( 650), vodka with tamarind and gari (pickled ginger), both stopped short of hitting the sweet spot in terms of flavour.

Talk plastic

A meal for four (two appetizers, two rolls, two mains, two desserts and four cocktails) cost 13,000, all inclusive.

Honk at the Hotel Pullman New Delhi Aerocity, Asset 2, GMR Hospitality District, IGI Airport, New Delhi (46080839). Open from 7pm-midnight.

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Published: 20 May 2016, 07:28 PM IST
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