KetelOne Vodka is a new high-end vodka launched in Pune. It is manufactured in Schiedam, in the Netherlands. It has a wonderful clean taste with a peppery and smoky finish. It's one of the few Vodkas I would love to have neat or just with some ice. But what it's best at is cocktails and they organized a wonderful event at The Cafe, Hyatt Regency to showcase the same.
Paired with beautiful Spanish and Peruvian cuisine, along with the Sunday Brunch, it was superb. The effervescent and super talented mixologist, Khushnaz Raghina was brewing up a storm with amazingly delicious cocktails as well as was teaching the guests to make some on their own. It was a fun experience.
I tried Mosambi, which was fantastic. Sweet lime juice, Elderflower, and fresh Basil. Fruity, sweet and really soothing. I tried the Barbeque Bloody Mary too, but I just am not a fan of this. Tasted like a health drink, spiked with vodka. Not my thing.
FOOD - The buffet at The Cafe, served Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern fare, which was fantastic, along with special Spanish and Peruvian specialties like Ceviche, Tacos, grills, and delicious Pallela.
To start with I binged on the excellent Sushi, which could probably only be beaten by Shizusan, Phoenix. I had to have some flaky-buttery Pistachio Croissants, some amazing cream-rose donuts, which made happy like a child.
The appetizers like Salt Crusted Chilean Sea Bass Charred Onions Vanilla Beurre Blanc were awesome. Savory, creamy herby fish on a crust of crispy potato and sauce. The Scotch eggs and Patata Bravas (Potato balls in spicy tangy tomato sauce) were excellent too.
Time for some Ceviche! Raw fish and scallops cured in a delicious tangy lime juice-based sauce. It's a very typical Peruvian/South American dish which, if you like sushi, you will love it! It was a bit low on salt and I would have loved for it to be a bit more tangy, though.
The cold cuts - Ham, Salami Napoli, and Cured Salmon were melt in the mouth delicious.
Time for the Grills - Juicy Sea Bass, Squid, Prawns (with the shell) and chicken in a creamy herby sauce grilled to smoky perfection. It was so good. I had two plates by myself. It was again a bit low on salt, but you can always add extra from the salt and pepper grinders on every table.
The tacos were mini hard shell tacos. They were quite nice. The salsas and accompaniments, though, could have been more flavourful.
MAINS - I just hogged on the delicious Lamb Pallela. I've tried Pallela many times before, but never found a really good one, until now. This was creamy, rich (almost like it had ghee in it), the rice was soft and fluffy with loads of saffron. It tasted really soul-satisfying. Helped massively by the succulent, fall off the bone lamb. So flavourful, meaty and subtle. Really nice.
DESSERTS - These were excellent too. Normally in Buffets or Sunday Brunches, even in star-properties, the desserts are average or good but never great. Not here. I absolutely loved them. The dense, gooey dark chocolate cake with cherries was sinful. The Black Forest Cake was literally the best I've ever had. Loads of cream, cherries and just the right amount of chocolate sponge and topped gloriously with heaps of high-quality chocolate shavings. So soft fresh and creamy. Perfect.
The Fried Banana in cinnamon mousse was incredible. So tasty like the Banoffee Pie from Zeta next door. The Indian desserts like Rasgulla, cham-cham, etc were nice too.
This was a seriously special Sunday Brunch. Absolutely amazing food, kudos to Chef Anirban Dasgupta and his team. The KetelOne Vodka cocktails were amazing and overall it was so much fun.
Paired with beautiful Spanish and Peruvian cuisine, along with the Sunday Brunch, it was superb. The effervescent and super talented mixologist, Khushnaz Raghina was brewing up a storm with amazingly delicious cocktails as well as was teaching the guests to make some on their own. It was a fun experience.
I tried Mosambi, which was fantastic. Sweet lime juice, Elderflower, and fresh Basil. Fruity, sweet and really soothing. I tried the Barbeque Bloody Mary too, but I just am not a fan of this. Tasted like a health drink, spiked with vodka. Not my thing.
FOOD - The buffet at The Cafe, served Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern fare, which was fantastic, along with special Spanish and Peruvian specialties like Ceviche, Tacos, grills, and delicious Pallela.
To start with I binged on the excellent Sushi, which could probably only be beaten by Shizusan, Phoenix. I had to have some flaky-buttery Pistachio Croissants, some amazing cream-rose donuts, which made happy like a child.
The appetizers like Salt Crusted Chilean Sea Bass Charred Onions Vanilla Beurre Blanc were awesome. Savory, creamy herby fish on a crust of crispy potato and sauce. The Scotch eggs and Patata Bravas (Potato balls in spicy tangy tomato sauce) were excellent too.
Time for some Ceviche! Raw fish and scallops cured in a delicious tangy lime juice-based sauce. It's a very typical Peruvian/South American dish which, if you like sushi, you will love it! It was a bit low on salt and I would have loved for it to be a bit more tangy, though.
The cold cuts - Ham, Salami Napoli, and Cured Salmon were melt in the mouth delicious.
Time for the Grills - Juicy Sea Bass, Squid, Prawns (with the shell) and chicken in a creamy herby sauce grilled to smoky perfection. It was so good. I had two plates by myself. It was again a bit low on salt, but you can always add extra from the salt and pepper grinders on every table.
The tacos were mini hard shell tacos. They were quite nice. The salsas and accompaniments, though, could have been more flavourful.
MAINS - I just hogged on the delicious Lamb Pallela. I've tried Pallela many times before, but never found a really good one, until now. This was creamy, rich (almost like it had ghee in it), the rice was soft and fluffy with loads of saffron. It tasted really soul-satisfying. Helped massively by the succulent, fall off the bone lamb. So flavourful, meaty and subtle. Really nice.
DESSERTS - These were excellent too. Normally in Buffets or Sunday Brunches, even in star-properties, the desserts are average or good but never great. Not here. I absolutely loved them. The dense, gooey dark chocolate cake with cherries was sinful. The Black Forest Cake was literally the best I've ever had. Loads of cream, cherries and just the right amount of chocolate sponge and topped gloriously with heaps of high-quality chocolate shavings. So soft fresh and creamy. Perfect.
The Fried Banana in cinnamon mousse was incredible. So tasty like the Banoffee Pie from Zeta next door. The Indian desserts like Rasgulla, cham-cham, etc were nice too.
This was a seriously special Sunday Brunch. Absolutely amazing food, kudos to Chef Anirban Dasgupta and his team. The KetelOne Vodka cocktails were amazing and overall it was so much fun.
