Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The monsoon takes your palate globetrotting

Every country has an especially delectable menu concocted for the rains. In India, the monsoons call for hot and spicy delicacies. Onion bhajiyas washed down with garam masala chai and aloo samosa with tangy pudina chatni. In Italy, it calls for hot oven baked pizzas with a fresh tomato base, followed by a generous covering of cheddar cheese. And like the Italians say Mi piace la pizza migliore, we at Gourmet City really like making pizzas. From the richly coated cheese Margareta to a sizzling Spicy Chicken Pizza and even the Pizza Indiana twisted to suit the Indian palette. And if not in the mood for bread there’s always some hot pasta in creamy white sauce like the Fusilli Alfredo with Mushrooms & Seasonal Vegetables that we serve and the very red Penne Arabiatta. Another monsoon essential is the Dimsums, a hot favorite from the eastern countries, made in artfully folded flour bags and served with chilli sauce. Also, not too far from there, the Thai red curry is an exquisite specialty especially tasty when we serve it with buttered rice. All served steaming so you can relish it in small bites while watching the rain wash the city furiously. 

Go on, keep it pouring

The monsoons have been a tease all week. And now that they’re finally here, they deserve a warm, no, a brimming hot cup o’ tea to make them stay. Yes, it’s that time of the year when the weather cools down and post work, the evenings are an ideal time to catch up with loved ones over ‘chai’ and ‘gupshup’. What makes it better is the menu of over a dozen varieties of tea GourmetCity has. The nutty flavored ‘Japanese genmaicha’ to a soothing ‘Darjeeling’ and even a ‘Chamomile with berries and mint’ concocted to help you calm down. All you have to do is choose yourself a spot, snuggle in and unwind with the rain, while GourmetCity keeps the tea pouring.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Know your Sushi


Most people think of sushi as raw fish. But, in fact, Sushi means flavoured rice - and rice is the key ingredient. It's how you present and dress the rice that makes all the difference.

There are many kinds of sushi, and they don't all involve fish. So sushi is perfect for vegetarians.

There are many types of Sushi but the main types of Sushi are Nigiri (the rice is moulded into a rectangle and a dressing added), Temaki (seaweed cones stuffed with rice and a filling), Maki (stuffed seaweed roll) and Chirashi (a bowl with rice with slivers of fresh fish scatter on top).

They are usually served with pickled ginger on the side, which is ideal for cleansing the palate between sushi, and bowls of soy sauce or wasabi (horse radish paste) for dipping.

Being delicate and delicious plus stylish to present, and easy to serve, Sushi is catching as a party dish. However, it’s difficult to find good Sushi in Mumbai. In fact, Gourmetcity has a special Japanese menu including a variety of Sushi. You can order Sushi by the piece. So you can try different types - all at once till you home in on your favourite. 

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

GourmetCity - Discover a world of food

You dont have to travel miles or wait for someone to get your favorite food from abroad. GourmetCITY is a destination where you can purchase ingredients from all over the world AND sample meals from across the globe

You name it and they have it. weather it is their freshly baked breads or cakes. The poster at the desert counter reads, “Say a quick prayer you may soon be tempted by the devils cake.”  The cheese from all around the world, the pastas and salads are great. You can’t leave without picking up a sauce to try  at home since their chefs are keen to share their recipes . 

What does Gourmet city have?

Freshly baked breads, cheese from around the world pastas, chocolates, sauces, spaghetti sauce (Rs 110 only) cakes, beer, wine and cigars too.

Live kitchen which servers pastas, salads, Indian cuisine smoothies which range from 150/- onwards. The special weekend menu planned by the chef from Dubai ranges from Chinese to Japanese, Lebanese just to name a few . 

A nice idea to gift people

Gourmet City has vouchers ranging from 100 to 1000 which you can gift to friends or you can  even make a gift  hamper of the choicest of foods.

Shilpa Chawla - Food critique

Friday, May 15, 2009

Shop and Dine!

A choice of wines

A fine find


From the usual ones to the rarest of ingredients. Fresh, exotic, tempting, welcoming. Enter Gourmet City, and a vast spread of fresh vegetables, olive oils, and a salad counter greet you. Breads like Swedish Limpa Rye, Astrd Dinner Rolls, Russian Roll Bread, Farmers’ Rye Rings, Swedish Jagger Bread, Ciabatta, French Palmiers, phew! Prepare to be perplexed as the range offers products from some of the best brands in the world. Oils from olive to sesame to organic virgin sunflower, macadamia to the ones infused by lemon and chilli, and what not by Rafael Salqado and Borges, chutneys and masalas and pastes. Good ingredients make cooking easy and fun. There are jars and jars of sauces and seasonings that help you do just that. Jars full of red chillies in white wine vinegar, carmelised red onions, garlic in white wine vinegar, and similar products. Don’t blame yourself if you are tempted to you pick each and everyone of them.

The goodies just get better as you go deeper. Le Cordon Bleu vinegars in sherry, balsamic from Modena, flavours like raspberry and Borges champagne style vinegar, and other wine vinegars like garlic, honey and tarragon. African sauces like mint jelly, apple sauce with calvados, apple sauce with cider and Tewkesbury mustard, salad dressings like turmeric lemon grass, mango and chilli, blue cheese and chive are all an innovators’ delight. Bouquets of herbs with fascinating combinations like thyme, marjoram, parsley and bay leaves; fennel seeds, aniseed, elderflower, chervil, chives and parsley; there are handfuls of garlic and rosemary, sea salt and seaweed, and tarragon and pepper. We One’s creativity is only enhanced with these flavourful combinations. But there’s much more to the store. The corn flakes are not just Kelloggs, there’s Gut and Gerne, Waitrose, there are oat flakes, dateflakes and couscous, Weetabix whole grain cereal, Kohinoor’s Brown Basmati rice- a dieter’s paradise. Even the jams are low fat. They’re made with whole fruits and come in flavours like rose petals, apricot and sliced almonds from a brand called Les Confitures ‘a l’ Ancienne, and of course fruit jams in flavours like strawberries and buckwheat. The list goes on. Come with your list of world food – you are sure to find it here.


A gourmet lunch

It's where the foodie meets his calling, the chef his dream ingredients, the gourmand his cravings for the best of global food.