A SPECIAL PREVIEW OF FARZI CAFÉ, MUMBAI WITH EAZYDINER

MISHTI DOI SHOT

Farzi Café, a chic upscale eatery brand from the stable of Massive Restaurants by Zorawar Kalra already having presence in Delhi is debuting today on the Mumbai gourmet scene. Tales of its intriguing gastronomy abound among epicures of Mumbai and it was about time that the brand introduced its fascinating creations to the taste buds of Mumbaikars. So, when EazyDiner, an online platform reputed for curating special dining experiences and helping patrons with reservations to remarkable restaurants offers you a special preview of the Farzi Café in Mumbai, it is an invitation you cannot refuse.

It was a privilege to hear Vir Sanghvi, co-founder and lead critic at EazyDiner talk about this famed café and the experience that awaits scores of gourmands in this city. Zorawar Kalra, the man behind creation of the Farzi Café brand was also present at this preview to familiarize foodies with his notion and vision of creating the Farzi Café. The idea is crystal clear – contemporize the Indian cuisine and also deliver a classy Indian touch to popular Continental delicacies, which have become revered dishes amongst Indians today. The name ‘Farzi’ has been in fact been arrived at to elucidate an “illusion” created with the dishes using molecular gastronomy .The job of executing this enthralling “illusion” with food and beverages in the café has been entrusted to 28-year old Chef Saurabh Udinia.

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Ashish Milind, Food and Beverage Supervisor with Massive Restaurants jovially provided insights regarding various tapas and drinks for the evening. So, here is a glimpse of my gluttony at this special preview soiree:

START TO THE GLUTTONY
Since the café is all about creating illusions with food and using principles of molecular gastronomy to enthrall patrons, the palate cleansing MISHTI DOI SHOTS provide a befitting start to the ensuing tasting of various fares. These shots comprised of globules of the famed Bengali curd preparation mishit doi (jaggery sweetened curd). The membrane of the globules was thin and formed of the curd itself. A light bite into the globule collapsed the membrane to instantly exude the trapped delicious liquid curd.

TAPAS
We were served a host of delicious appetizers that involved an interesting twist to regular Indian and Continental dishes.

DAL CHAWAL ARANCINI PAPAD CHUTNEY

TANDOORI MARGARITA KULCHA WITH BLOODY MAY KETCHUP

VADA PAO #FARZIFIED

RAJASTHANI PYAAZ KI KACHORI WITH ALOO RASSA REDUCTION

DELHI’S FAVORITE GUPTA BURGER

MAC N CHEESE PAKORA BALLS

VEGETARIAN

• DAL CHAWAL ARANCINI PAPAD CHUTNEY: If one was to go by the name, the dish strikes a chord with its Italian twin that comprises a stuffing of risotto rice. However, the forte of this café is adding a twist to everyday dishes. So, a bite into this arancini reveals a humble stuffing of dal (lentil) and rice encased in a sphere having a crispy membrane of breadcrumbs. Favorite accompaniments with dal and rice are achaar (pickle), chutney, raw onions and papad (poppadum). Hence the arancini were served on a bed of achaari coulis, onion tomato salsa and were garnished with achaari mayonnaise, mint chutney and rolled papad. Thus, a simple, modest dish of lentil and rice was elevated to a refined, fine dine level dish.
• TANDOORI MARGARITA KULCHA WITH BLOODY MARY KETCHUP: This can be clearly labelled as a desi ode to the Italian pizza by replacement of a key component of the dish with an Indian element. A margarita pizza generally has a pizza dough laced with a yummy, tomato based sauce and toppings of mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves. In this intriguing appetizer, the sauce and toppings find themselves encased in a miniature version of kulcha bread (a kind of hollow, flat bread made in clay fired oven) instead of being spread out on a pizza dough base. A layer of flavor is added by lacing this stuffed kulcha with a Bloody Mary ketchup. All ingredients of the Bloody Mary cocktail minus the vodka are used to arrive at this tangy, lip-smacking ketchup. The dish was rich and oozing cheese.
  
• VADA PAO #FARZIFIED: When this dish arrived at the table and the server muttered the words vada pao, I was clearly left amused. This snack carrying the name of Mumbai’s favorite street food did not give away any sign of having the pao (bread) constituent of the dish since what was visible was only the vada (mashed potato fritter). The simple twist was that the bread was incased inside the fritter itself.  The fritters came adorned with the customary accompaniments of mint chutney, dried coconut-garlic chutney and fried green chilies.
• RAJASTHANI PYAAZ KI KACHORI WITH ALOO RASSA REDUCTION: In the cuisine of the state of Rajasthan, kachori is a flat bread stuffed with a lentils or mashed potato and deep fried until crisp. The Farzi Café version, however has an aloo rassa (a tomato based potato curry) reduction as stuffing. A popular dish in Rajasthan kathal (raw jackfruit) cooked in onion masala formed the topping for the kachori we were served and a quick morsel of this snack led to riot of flavors and textures in my mouth.
• DELHI’S FAVORITE GUPTA BURGER: A famous snack item of Delhi, the Gupta Burger comprising of aloo tikki stuffed in bun bread also finds itself recreated in a miniature version with a westernized twist in this café.  However, there was nothing extraordinary about the dish. The chutney in the bread was merely replaced by barbeque sauce which did not do much to add any flavor to the dish.
• MAC N CHEESE PAKORA BALLS: Pakoras are nothing but our Indian version of fritters served with a chutney. But, the twist here was making fritters out of a popular English casserole dish Mac N Cheese. The fritters were cripsy, creamy, delicious, and addictive and were served with a yummy chili sauce.

TEMPURA FRIED PRAWNS NIMBOO MIRCH AIR

BRAISED LAMB CHOPS MARSH WANGAN KORMA GLAZE, VERI GRITS

FFC – FARZI FRIED CHICKEN SMOOKED BARBEQUE CREAM

AMRITSARI FISH & CHIPS, DESI HOLLAINDAISE

NON-VEGETARIAN

• TEMPURA FRIED PRAWNS NIMBOO MIRCH AIR: This was the best appetizer of the evening with molecular gastronomy adding a delicate touch to the dish. The prawns were crispy on the outside yet succulent on the inside. They were laced with Sriracha and inhouse mayonnaise. Acidity was introduced into the dish by way of chili and lemon foam that brought a stylized appearance to the dish.
• BRAISED LAMB CHOPS MARSH WANGAN KORMA GLAZE, VERI GRITS: This appetizer entailed a juicy piece of braised lamb that had a superlative glaze of chili plum sauce and grits. This glaze imparted a subtle sweet and spicy flavor and a slight crunchy texture to the lamb chop.
• FFC – FARZI FRIED CHICKEN SMOOKED BARBEQUE CREAM: These were your chicken lollipops crumb fried until crisp and served with a barbeque flavored creamy dip. Even though the chicken was moist, I felt the dish lacked flavor and seasoning.
• AMRITSARI FISH & CHIPS, DESI HOLLAINDAISE: The English favorite Fish n Chips got a desi avatar at Farzi Café. The river sole was coated in a spicy batter reminiscent of Amritsar-style of frying the fish and was served with “Indianized” version of hollandaise sauce. The fish was crispy yet moist and the hollandaise gelled well with it.

FARZI OK

LITCHI PANNA DESIRE

BEVERAGES
The cocktails at this café have attention-grabbing names and make for a beautiful sight. However, since I was to be at the wheel, I restricted myself to two mocktails listed under the heading FARZI SHUNYA in the bar menu.

• FARZI OK: The OK in the name is an acronym for two key ingredients of this refreshing citrusy mocktail. The O stands for orange and K for kaffir lime leaves. Chunks of Californian oranges are muddled with kaffir lime leaves, vanilla syrup and orange juice to make this non-alcoholic beverage.
• LITCHI PANNA DESIRE: This drink too was very refreshing and was a play on sweet and sour flavors. The litchi juice brought sweetness to the drink that was balanced off by sour flavor from panna or raw mango juice reduction.

BAILEY’S LOLLIPOP

DESSERTS
The gluttony was wrapped up with a very tantalizing sweet delight, the BAILEY’S LOLLIPOP. This was a beautiful interpretation of molecular gastronomy where a milk reduction was endowed with a drop Bailey’s Irish Cream and the liquid was encased in a delicate chocolate sphere arrived by rapid freezing of molten chocolate.

Farzi Café is all set for a launch today in Kamala Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai and I extend my good wishes to the entire team of Farzi Café.

So, do try out this café and let me know of your experience.
Till then, HAPPY EATING…

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