Comments on: Diya, The Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon

By: commie 2nd

commie 2nd — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:13:25 +0000

chef kunal kapoor sir please one chance

By: Goan Food at Diya, the Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon | Chef at Large - Delhi Food Blog | Restaurants in Delhi | Delhi Food Blog

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:50:37 +0000

[...] grouse the last time I wrote about Diya, the Leela Kempinski was that the spices in their food tend to be toned down rather drastically, probably to cater to [...]

By: Sid

Sid — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:33:40 +0000

@Neil: I forgot to thank you for your kind words – Thank you!

By: Sid

Sid — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:32:52 +0000

@Neil: This wasn’t a ‘paid’ review, though it was announced. We do two types – announced and anonymous. The announced variety happens when we’re invited to review or when our media partners (like SUBURB magazine) arrange reviews. All other reviews are anonymous and the food is paid for. The following review for example, is announced: http://chefatlarge.in/reviews/terroir-galaxy-mall-gurgaon.html

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:18:43 +0000

Nice blog! I am planning on following you guys regularly. Was this a paid review ie did Leela foot the bill?

By: Amit

Amit — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:06:21 +0000

@Siddhartha: right, it feels good to know the way Indian cuisine has spread its wings across the world, and the place it now holds! Will definitely look forward to meeting you in Noida.

By: Siddhartha

Siddhartha — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:02:09 +0000

Amit, as I had written to Sid earlier, I am moving back to India at the end of January, with Noida as my base. So will be going through your archives to pick places to eat, maybe get an opportunity to catch up with you guys.

I think it has been easier for chefs in London to experiment with Indian food – people are more familiar with Indian food than in other countries, without the benchmarks we in India would use (‘Tunde ki Galauti iske ek-chauthai daam ki aur kahin acchi hai’; ‘Isse achccha to Connaight place mein Kake ke yahan khaate’) – maybe ingorance of their clients is really bliss for the chefs! With four Michelin starred restaurants (albeit all with one star, and Tamarind losing its star this year), it is good to see Indian food moving beyond ‘beer and curry’ reputation with people paying 100 pounds per head for a meal at these places. And other nice aspect of it is the variety – Rasoi is innovative, Benaras a bit less so; Amaya is restaurant which has dumped the curry completely focussing on kebabs, and Quilon is South Indian coastal – so the world gets to know the Indian food beyond paneer makhani and butter chicken (or Chicken Madras and Vindaloo in UK’s case)

By: Amit

Amit — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:31:17 +0000

@Siddhartha: Thanks for the info. I think I agree with you, based on whatever discussions I have had with chefs and restaurateurs. Various cuisines have evolved on the basis of continuous innovations, and they will goo on. But its not very often that you come across someone who experiments with a cuisine so well. People experiment, and the results are not always as they expect them to be. But then, it goes on. I would admit I’m not too familiar with the Indian restaurants outside of India, so do I get a benefit of doubt? Surely, I’ll research on your comments. Thanks again, its really informative.

By: Siddhartha

Siddhartha — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:19:26 +0000

Amit, I am not sure if a different take on Indian food is anything new. Hemant Oberoi has made both successful (Varq) and unsuccessful (Masala series) attempts at the Taj group. Chefs in London have done for a long time – likes of Vineet Bhatia have brought things like asparagus into Indian kitchen, and his restaurant Rasoi in Chelsea has won rave reviews (and a Michelin star!) with things like Utappam Lasgna and Banigan Steaks. While, Benaras also has a Michelin star, I find their experimentation lacks any innovation other than playing to expectation of Michelin inspectors (things like plating with a moilee gravy and placing pan-fried or grilled fish on top, same with makhani gravy and chicken).

Still, good to see Leela which seemed committed to traditional Indian through Jamavar, dip its feet in these waters.

By: Amit

Amit — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:09:42 +0000

Completely agree. I am yet to come across such bold experimentation on the Indian cuisine. Kudos to Kunal. My favorite was Gosht aur Badam ka Shorba.