There's so much said about the idea of comfort food, what constitutes comfort food? In my opinion, it is a meal that satiates the palate and the eyes, that's a good, hearty portion of food that invokes a sense of nostalgia. Food that's relatively nouveau with a sense of discovery yet familiar in so many ways. I found all of that after a really long time and I found it at Monsoon. It wasn't hard to figure out the connection between Monsoon and Cafe Lota because there was a shared sense of natural calm and the food was just a hint of modern Indian with all the flavours Indian food intact. The interiors are minimalist and chic, bright colours interspersed with neutral tones of taupe and cafe au lait. Service is polite and prompt which makes the meal all the more comforting.
We started with the Prawn Momos, which were perfect, light sweetness of fresh prawns enveloped in what tasted like house-made momo sheets in a spicy sauce that I wished they would bottle for sale. We moved on to the Keema Gujiya which was a pleasant surprise, mainly because I am always suspicious of dishes that sound like a dessert but are savoury, the gujiya dough was like unsweetened shortcrust and the filling was rich and fragrant keema, truly delightful. Even though a lot of alternate grains and forgotten ingredients have been used, the menu is far from overly experimental mainly because the food is outright delicious. Take the Buckwheat Pancake, for instance, served with mushrooms and Zarai cheese and the Bandel Cheese Salad, made from Bandel from West Bengal, both dishes are unique yet very satisfying. Though we chose from the large plates, our main course was as interesting, we had the Monsoon Fried Chicken, crumb fried and served with an amazing coconut and coriander chutney, again worth bottling. We couldn't help order the Chorizo Kulcha, because you know, Chorizo!! That's the best kulcha we have had outside of street stalls.
The dessert sounded iffy, to be honest, who would've thought of a Chocolate Torte made of an organic pearl millet base and locally sourced organic chocolate, Chef Udit did and what a job he did with it. Between the Torte and the Barnyard Millet Kheer topped with salted caramel made of jaggery, we remained wowed through the meal, all the while planning our return to try the rest of the dishes. Go to Monsoon for true discovery and a return to our culinary roots in the most delicious way!
We started with the Prawn Momos, which were perfect, light sweetness of fresh prawns enveloped in what tasted like house-made momo sheets in a spicy sauce that I wished they would bottle for sale. We moved on to the Keema Gujiya which was a pleasant surprise, mainly because I am always suspicious of dishes that sound like a dessert but are savoury, the gujiya dough was like unsweetened shortcrust and the filling was rich and fragrant keema, truly delightful. Even though a lot of alternate grains and forgotten ingredients have been used, the menu is far from overly experimental mainly because the food is outright delicious. Take the Buckwheat Pancake, for instance, served with mushrooms and Zarai cheese and the Bandel Cheese Salad, made from Bandel from West Bengal, both dishes are unique yet very satisfying. Though we chose from the large plates, our main course was as interesting, we had the Monsoon Fried Chicken, crumb fried and served with an amazing coconut and coriander chutney, again worth bottling. We couldn't help order the Chorizo Kulcha, because you know, Chorizo!! That's the best kulcha we have had outside of street stalls.
The dessert sounded iffy, to be honest, who would've thought of a Chocolate Torte made of an organic pearl millet base and locally sourced organic chocolate, Chef Udit did and what a job he did with it. Between the Torte and the Barnyard Millet Kheer topped with salted caramel made of jaggery, we remained wowed through the meal, all the while planning our return to try the rest of the dishes. Go to Monsoon for true discovery and a return to our culinary roots in the most delicious way!