Indian Accent, Mayfair,London
Hey, Foodwala’s… The allure of the Gold paved streets of London proved irresistible yet again, and once again I was in the search of culinary Gold.
We have heard of Messrs Christiano Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar, they are the best footballers in the world, they are at the pinnacle of their field and their mastery of the ball is legendary. They get transferred to the best football clubs in the world and command eye-watering transfer fees.
Similarly, a select group of Indian chefs also fall into the same category of superstar status, they claim the same adulation with food fans, their devotees travel hundreds and even thousands of miles to pay homage to their culinary heroes. They too get transferred to glamorous restaurants around the world and command stellar salaries.
The superstar chefs I am referring to are Manish Malhotra of Indian Accent London, Rohit Ghai of Jamavar London, Atul Kochhar from Benares London, Vikas Khanna from Junoon New York and Gaggan Anand of Gaggan Anand Bangkok.
The enfant terrible of course is Manish Malhotra of the Indian Accent, and coincidentally who I visited.
We kicked off the proceedings with an amuse bouche, It was a delicate blue cheese kulcha with a Saffron and coconut shorba chaser. It was a fantastically delicious prequel. The Kulcha was delicate but the blue cheese notes lingered on the tongue like a pleasant memory and then bid au revoir with the coconut caressed shorba.
The next course was Aloo vermicelli koftas, placed on a haricot mash and topped with Apple infused yoghurt chutney, the potato chat was light and crispy and was balanced with the richness of the puree and the slight green apple tangyness of the yoghurt.
Next up was a tiny Naan with creamed Black Urid dal, the Dal was creamy yet earthy and spicy and the Naan was perfect for scooping up the delicious lentils.
The main act was Ghee Roast Lamb, the pulled lamb was cooked and spiced to perfection, and accompanied with four chutneys, In other words, it was a deconstructed Karahi Gosht and it was a very innovative concept, putting the sum of the karahi ingredients together was great theatre and fun the feather-light roomali rotis were perfect for scooping up the lamb.
The pre-dessert was a treacle tart barfi with vanilla ice cream, it was very similar to a shish Mahal Gulab Jamin and Ice Cream.
The calibre of the chef’s imagination was shown in this Mishti Doi Cannoli, the light fermented yoghurt and jaggery filling was wrapped in a cannoli, these bite-sized morsels were addictive and irresistible.
In Conclusion, Chef Mehrotra is definitely a master, a genius even, the ingredients he has chosen to work with are the same as any Indian chef in any Indian restaurant in the UK but what sets him apart from his mediocre brethren is the skill and imagination of using the ingredients to create something mind-blowing.
I was looked after by Miguel, he was attentive, polite and knowledgeable without being obtrusive and smarmy or stuck up.
Halal – Yes
Food –9 out of 10
Atmosphere – 8 out of 10
service – 9 out of 10
Cleanliness – 9 out of 10
Total score – 35 out of 40