I had read about the extensive sushi offerings at PaPaYa and heard of  Sushi Tree (though the Sushi Boat is what I am going to order only for me next time) is something I wanted to try. Perhaps chef read my mind because that is what came out next. An eight piece set of sushi, ideal for two people.





Next up was the Prawn Hargao in a green curry prawn farce - Again a delicate hargao that did not take away from the filling in any way thanks to a great casing. The green curry was subtle, packed with flavours that are very reminiscent of our recent Asian holiday. Do remember to eat these as soon as they hit the table to be able to enjoy them at their best.



 Next up on the table was the Chorizo Takoyaki with Negi Tare and a Parmesan Tuille - an Asian style tapas dish if you may - this was a grilled octopus and chorizo takoyaki, made in a unique pan of its own, with a crispy parmesan tuille, and mayo. The idea is to pop the whole ball in your mouth in one go. Each element of the ball reveals itself slowly making this a dish you will truly enjoy.



Vegetarians don't have to worry because the menu does offer you a lot of interesting options. One among them are the Edamame and Chickpea sliders that are served to you on a miniature jeep, along with some homemade potato chips. Never really thought of Edamame and chickpeas coming together but they make quite a nice textured patty. Topped with a mix of Asian mayos, the home made crisps provide that necessary crunch to the dish.



 This last one, I wish I had the tummy real estate space to pack it all away. This beautiful plate came with Pork belly over which is poured a Yuzu buerre blanc, beautifully drenching the blanched greens over it. The quail scotch eggs were quite a crispy on the outside, soft on the inside deal and the potato tubes carried a sauce that complemented the meal very well.

We begin the journey with an Amuse Bouche called the Fake Egg - as the name suggests, what you see may look like a soft boiled egg in a cracked shell. The shell is a ceramic holder which holds a spherification of  mango in coconut water. Definitely not a combination you will expect. You are instructed to pick up the 'egg' container and shoot in one go. The coconut water buoys the mango for a short bit before it bursts in your mouth, into a mouthful of lovely mango. A very interesting way to begin the meal.

The next series of dishes that came to the table were titled Snacks and were accompanied with Kumala Chardonnay from South Africa 2014.

First out, representative of South was the Maddur Vada with Clear Lemon Rasam. Of course what you see here is definitely not the dish in the classic sense. The Maddur (though I personally felt it tasted more Medu Vada than Maddur Vada is a small, crispy orb over which is piped tomato chutney with a curry leaf tadka. This is place over a pipette that holds a consomme rendition of the lemon rasam. Karan tells us to pop the vada into our mouths and then hold the pipette to our mouth and gulp. The lemon rasam has all the flavour of a good rasam, right down to the hing tadka, yet it appears clear. Quite a feat achieved.

The next course took us to Goa and has Goan Pirada (perad as you might know it), lychee, Manchengo Cheese Poee (Pui Bread that Goa is famous for). Placed in the shell of the Rambutan is a lychee perad. The Manchengo pui has a sliver of dehydrated beet run through it. A mouthful of the perad, a squeeze of the lychee juice on it and then the bread. What happens is that you have a melange of textures in your mouth - from a crisp exterior of the perad, giving way to chewy fruit flavours to the heavier bread that is mushy to the touch but packed with great taste.

Next up was the Deconstructed Samosa - a baked base, with aloo puree, green chutney, peas, carrot puree and tamarind chutney. Each element was piled to create a delicate mound atop the base so that you have three perfect bites. What was very interesting was the fact that you get the experience of eating of samosa, yet what you see in front of you does not remotely look so.


Next up was the Activated Charcoal Onion Bajiya with a bellpepper dip. Now this is the first time I was having something that had activated charcoal as, well, an active ingredient. The bajiya, in terms of texture tastes just the way it should, crispy, searing hot exteriors, giving way to fried onion insides that had its flavour accentuated with the bellpepper dip. The activated charcoal gives it a lovely roasted flavour but that would be putting it mildly. The roastiness goes quite deep and in a good sort of way.

The tribute to Kashmir comes in the form of the Nadir Churma, - in this case, Thai lotus stem in a heavy dusting of Lal Mirch placed over walnut chutney. Break, scoop, eat, sit back with eyes closed and savour every morsel

 The next course is a Tribute to the farmers, particularly the Punjabi region, with a piece of Bajre ka Roti and house churned butter. This dish is the perfect showcase of how rustic Indian khaana can steal your heart away no matter whether you are sitting under a tree in your farm on a blazing afternoon or in the airconditioned, upscale environs of the Capital's best!

This heralded the end of the snacks. The next course was served with the Cosecha Tarapaca, Merlot, Chilean wine. Got to hand it to the sommelier, she does a top notch job.

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The highlight of the meal, for me personally is the (though by the end of the meal I will have mentioned "highlight of the meal" a few times more. This Mushroom chai is a tribute to the chai that is so widely enjoyed across the country. A variety of mushrooms are dehydrated and placed in a chai cup. Over this is added a generous spoonful or two of truffle powder (representative of dairy). And then is poured a mushroom consomme. It is all stirred gently together and then you sip on it. It is the stuff that late night cravings are made of... or as the case may be... anytime cravings.


Reams of paper and millions of bytes on the Internet have been dedicated to the Galouti Kebab. The rendition here definitely does not look like a galouti, though it is placed over a delicate sheermal. What you see a distinct swirls of meat that have bee piped through a piston over sheermal, giving it a distinct stringy look, but push your fork through and that soft feel of a good galouti is what you get.

An ode to Tamil Nadu is the Curry leaf Tadka Pepper Prawn with Thayir Sadam. The prawn is a generously sized one, with a glaze of pepper and tempering of curry leaf, making it irresistible instantly. The heat of the prawn is instantly caressed away with the spot of pureed curd rice - a slightly grainy texture, which adds some wonderfully to the picture in your mind of classic thayir sadam - mustard seeds-curry patta-hing tadka and all.

Now this was a dish that took a while to wrap my head around. The Chicken Tikka Cubed - It is served up in the classic form, a whole morsel, steeped in curd, chilli, ginger garlic and garam masala marinade and then placed in the tandoor. The same dish takes on a pureed for, with a glaze of a mint chutney and then, (I believed it only when I put it in my mouth), the same dish was converted into a crisp dehydrated version. It has to be eaten to be believed.

This was a dish that I was waiting for from the minute I read it on the menu. I have always been a fan of Northeastern food and this Naga Pork was a great representation. The piece of pork belly came with braised black beans and bamboo shoots. What took it to the next level was that it was smoked with Bhoot Jholokia. This is one dish that had all my favourite ingredients and one that came together so well. Rather than have the bhoot jholokia overwhelm, that subtle touch with the smoking is what made it just so good.

There are a lot of choices from this point onwards in the meal, yet Karan felt it best that we sample every dish that the menu has to serve and so that is what happened. Next up was the Braised Mutton Champ, Maple and Kokum Glaze - couldn't fathom how maple and kokum glaze would go together, but the balance in terms of sweet stickiness from the maple and the slight tanginess from the kokum gave the slow cooked meat some great nuances to think back on.

Tawa Kheema with pickled Bitter gourd - now here was a vegetable I abhor, but the pickling and the small flecks of pickled gourd mixed with a great tawa kheema made it something that I wouldn't mind trying, though in small batches. It will take a while for bitter gourd to grow on me, but hey, I recently converted to coffee, so you can never say!


We needed some breathing space at this point and these adorable little chuskies of raspberry came our way! The next courses were the mains and were served along with a San Miguel, San Medin Sauvignon Blanc 2015

Representative of the Northeast was the Mizo Stew with black rice and chicken. I have loved all things Northeast - from their fermentation techniques to their pickling and the use of indigenous herbs in all of their cooking. All of that, never more so evident than in this dish.

Langoustine Moilee, gunpowder mash, curry and bread - With a Kerala bred husband and of course the Mangalorean heritage a moilee is not a stranger in our home. This one was creamy, has a depth of flavour and did scream of the extensive green coastlines of God's Own Country. And the really fresh lobster, cracked and all beckoning added to the happiness.

Next up was the Radhuni Sea Bass with pui saag - The robust fish in a classic celery seed preparation made all the more delicious crisp cracking pui saag it is topped over. If we were giving out any signs of us about to split at the seams, well, it was not taken! Up next came the Trio of Dals and I happily took a spoon to each one. I seem to have developed this knack of miraculously developing some space when you just can't say no!

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We also had interesting renditions (in terms of presentation of Bhappa Doi, Chenna Payesh and Ashen Kulfi - I actually partied on the ashen dust and loved everything else off the platter. For a non-dessert lover, this is saying a lot.

And finally the Jalebi Caviar with Rabdi - crisp, boondi-like texture to the caviar with a sinfully indulgent rabdi spelt the end of this spectacular meal. What was supposed to be a 19 course meal spread out to much more thanks to Karan wanting us to try it all! I am so glad I did.

As we sat back to take it all in and rest our tummies before heading home, the Orange Tree came our way- Candied orange peel that I sucked and chewed on all the way!

Masala Library was truly an experience and one that does not break the bank at all. This 19 course degustation / Chef's Tasting menu was priced at Rs 2500++ per person. You can upgrade to a six wine paired menu for an additional Rs 2300++, which is seriously a fantastic idea.

The experience is truly representative of the diversity that India has to offer. All of it served up on a plate that may look extremely modern, but which does not take away from original flavours. In fact, in a recent interaction with Chef Atul Kochhar who was visiting Bangalore for a pop-up of his restaurants, he mentioned to me that Masala Library has elevated Indian food and presented it for what it really is - toning down on the excessive use of technique and letting the core ingredient do all the talking. I definitely agree with him. Karan mentioned that the menu was going to undergo a revamp soon and the degustation menu would feature all things new... another visit on the cards for me? Hell Yeah!

Masala Library
Cuisine: Indian
Address: 21A, Near Le Meridian, Janpath, New Delhi
Phone: 011 69400005 / 6
Click here for location

A friend and I, along with Little A, availed of the hotel's cab service to get to the hotel. It being a Saturday and still early days of the demonetization drive, the roads were relatively empty, with most of the crowd at the ATMs and banks. Arriving at the hotel a few minutes shy of an hour, the first thing you notice on entering the hotel is how the noise levels are instantly cut off. This despite being placed on a main road, next a large mall. The acoustics are brilliant and you feel instantly relaxed. We were served a litchi welcome drink and were through with the front desk formalities for check in a few minutes. The keycard provided comes with a WiFi password included on it. Take a look at the video tour of our room. This room is priced at Rs 7500++ inclusive of breakfast, WiFi and a free airport pick and drop.




Once we were settled in our rooms, we were taken a tour of the hotel, coupled with an interaction with Chef Bose, who took us through the thought process of the creation of the hotel as well as his specialty, the food. This conversation took place at a spot in the hotel that is now casually being called the Library. A lovely nook, with a skylight placed a few stories higher giving a lovely hue to the space. From the classic Victoria Station clock, to an old gramophone to the ornate dial pad phone - the space is a lovely one. Whether you are looking to read from the collection of books in the glass door wooden cupboard or play a game of chess with some really beautifully designed chess pieces, this is the space to do it. We were told that the area will soon be converted to a whiskey bar and I can't think of a better use for the space.

At this point, Little A got a little tired of hanging around with the grown ups and requested permission to go up to the room. Paranoid mum that I am, I hesitated, only to be told that the hotel is home to a lot of children, who are quite comfortable navigating on their own. So whether A wanted to go to the room or the restaurant or even the lobby, she would be safe, sound and happy. Nevertheless I did send her along with my phone, which I am happy to say she never used.

The hotel has a pool and gym on the campus but a highlight is Sohum Spa. A small outlet, with just 2 rooms, this spa offers massages and facials. Ever willing to surrender to experienced hands for a massage, I went in for a 30 minute back massage. The petite young lady who took me on has magic in her hands and I can say, for fact that I was reduced to a puddle of happiness, the glow of which lingered long into the night.

A lovely nook in the hotel is Chef Bose's little herb garden. Small it may be, but the staff, as does he, take great pleasure in coming here, picking up some fresh herbs for garnishes and to muddle in drinks. Of course there is nothing like a green corner in the hotel to retreat to when you need a break.

Next up on the tour was Nest, the 24 hour restaurant of the hotel. Walking up to it, you cross a little coffee shop to get to the reception table. Adorning the wall behind the reception table are engraved plates - each depicting nests in various trees. A very subtle and nice touch to the decor. In fact, the hotel is peppered with such small decor elements that give the hotel that classy touch. From the chandeliers in the private dining spaces at Nest, to the cove lighting above the bar at the in-house bar adjoining Nest, to the table tent that says "happily committed" instead of "Reserved", the decor at HoJo is subtle but very impressive.

Now coming to the food at Nest - We had the Saturday lunch buffet and the Sunday Brunch. Both times, the spread included a range of salads, meat and vegetarian, some served straight up, a few others with simple dressings. While the Saturday buffet gives you the choice of a vegetarian or a meat soup, on Sunday you will find a specialized soup such as a Laksa being assembled before you. Sunday also sees the addition of sushi to the spread - simple ones of salmon and vegetarian. You then have a mixed board of Indian, Chinese and Continental, this last being the strong suit of Chef Bose. The dessert spread also offers a mix of Indian and international sweets.

Sunday Brunch sees the addition of live counters serving up pasta, kothu paratha, kheema pao, and paniyaram. But with these counters placed in closed confines, the aromas can get a bit too heady. You will also be served a host of starters at the table - a really good ones was the Chinese Fish that was served which saw multiple helpings being called for. The kebabs were also quite pleasant.

The dishes that stood out for me on Saturday and Sunday were a superlative Baingan Bharta that I had with a simple Lasson tadka dal and rice. The Eraichi Kuzambu and the Fish curry were also quite impressive. In the continental section, the Chicken au Gratin stood out. The Kothu paratha and Kheema pav on Sunday were both really good. Among the desserts, the bread and butter pudding as well as the Chocolate Financier, though not in its classic version, were wonderful treats. Sunday Brunch also offers you drinks from the bar.

Overall, across both meals and the launch of the new menu, it was the Indian food that stood tall for me.

Howard Johnson makes for a nice getaway if you are looking for something in the city. It is also perfectly positioned as a business hotel, ensuring that you have everything you need close at hand. In fact, the hotel soon plans to launch car pooling facilities for its long term guests and will coordinate pick ups and drops to prominent business locations to also do their part for the environment. We spent a great weekend there and had a wonderful mother-daughter getaway.

Here is a link on how to get to Howard Johnson

 Top Left - the massive lobby of the Crowne Plaza that greets you on entry. Top Right - One of the sprawling lawns on the premises for those outdoor events. Bottom Images - our welcome nibbles. Loved the personal touch of a separate cookie platter for Anoushka. 

 One of the unique aspects at the Crowne Plaza Bengaluru is its rooms in the Quiet Zone. Two floors - the 8th and 9th, have rooms that are placed away from the humdrum of the streets outside (not that you can hear it from the rooms that we were in). These rooms have superior sound insulation, ensuring that you have the peace and quiet you need - whether you are working late into the night or are coming in after a late night of working and need your rest. Of course we did not need anything like this and were allotted the King Club Room (Rs 11,250 ++ for room alone. Prices subject to dynamic pricing).

One major grouse I have against most places offering a brunch is that they have no breakfast dishes on the menu in most cases. That is why I did a double flip when I saw the table tents proudly announcing waffles, pancakes and eggs made to order. Now that's a good start to a brunch.

The overall ambience of the buffet is created such to make the most of the glass enclosed restaurant. so bright light, lots of greenery, yet the comfort of air conditioned environs. The live counters except for the pasta counter is placed on the outside. But if you prefer the joys of being pampered at the table, everything can be requested to be brought to you.



In terms of entertainment for the little ones, there is pottery, there was a play section with colouring and craft but Anoushka did not find the person in charge despite checking several times. But she had fun making her own pots and of course with Alan, the Mentalist, who was doing the rounds of tables. What fun he is!

The Sunday Brunch is priced at Rs 1300 ++; the ​cocktail brunch Rs 1950 ++; for children, the buffet is priced at Rs 750 ++.

Crowne Plaza is a brilliant escape from the city. Here are the prices you can avail of (Correct as of time of publishing this post)
1. Room Only - Rs 6000 plus taxes (Single / Double same )
2. Room + Breakfast - Rs 6499 plus taxes (Single / Double same )
3. At Rs 6999 plus taxes (Room+Breakfast+ Lunch or dinner, it also has the below inclusions (Single / Double same )

Buffet Breakfast, Welcome Drink on Arrival, Comp Wi-fi, Either Lunch or Dinner, Bottle of wine, 25% Discount on all Food and Soft Beverages, 25% Discount on Sunday Brunch, 25% Discount on Spa, 25% Discount on Laundry, Complimentary Room upgrade subject to availability at the time of Check-in, Early Check-In by 12: 00 hrs and Late Check-out

Here is a link to help you get to the Crowne Plaza