After a nice long drive from Delhi, my friend’s stomach was growling so much that I could hear it, standing a few feet away. To save him the embarrassment, I quickly rushed him to Latitude (as per plan) to hog on a sumptuous meal.
We were greeted there by the Executive Chef of the hotel, Chef Mihir. We let him decide the meal for us. While waiting for the meal, we were served a fresh juice-carrot & celery mix. Chef Mihir (quiet a health freak himself) was flattering me by saying I prepared this specially for you, so that you don’t spoil your beautiful physique. {Well! well! Mr.Mihir, flattery shall get you no where and I am still going to be quiet critical with my review :p }. The juice was quiet refreshing and the best bit it was made fresh. That means no preservatives and you get goodness of carrots & celery (a big big thumbsup from my end).
Seeing my friends disappointed face (juice and him is a BIG NO NO), Mr.Sumit (Food & Beverage director) served us an exclusive cocktail called Desert Island Iced Tea. Now Mr.Sumit describes this drink as a “happy accident” which happened at their bar, one fine evening and this drink is an original invention of Latitude, Radisson Blu Agra. The base was made of apple juice topped with Johnnie Walker Double Black, sugar syrup, Ginger Ale and Beer. Now this drink is super duper truper strong, it gave my friend a slight buzz and he is that “hata-kata Gurgaon/Gurugram boy who lives on whiskey”. Call it the hunger or the cocktail mix, if the drink can give him a buzz, then seriously drink this cocktail at your own risk (:p). Overall the drink is quiet yum and you should definitely give it a shot because of its uniqueness.
Veg Dishes
Lets come to what we “famished duo” was eagerly waiting for- the food! Chef Mihir started off our meal with a garden fresh vegetarian pizza. It was very well cooked and the toppings such as Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Baby corn, Mushrooms, Broccoli worked really well together. What worked for me was the freshness & juiciness of veggies against the crispness of the base with the fresh gooey cheese- absolute HEAVEN!! Wood fired pizzas are Latitude’s specialty and it should definitely be given a shot.
We were then served a Corn sizzler. Crispy corn kernels, pan fried and tossed with masala. Such a basic dish but worked so well with our drinks. Then I was served Salad, the dish was like an art! It looked absolutely spectacular. It was an interesting fusion between a Caesar and garden salad, served with a garlic bread. I would have preferred a little more dressing with my salad but other than that the salad was quiet refreshing and worked well as a palate cleanser for my mains.
Corn sizzler
For my main, I was served Tofu with bok choy. Light golden in color with leafy bok choy made it look very tempting. Tofu as we all know, is quiet bland, the gravy of the tofu was made in a way that it balances the blandness of the tofu yet does not overpower the flavor & delicateness of tofu. The mildly spiced veggies with tofu was very satisfying.
Tofu with bok choy
Non-Veg Dishes
The Chilly Fish sizzler- expecting the dish to be super spicy, my friend was quiet excited but to his surprise the spices weren’t overwhelming. The delicate juicy flavors of Basa fish was maintained and one could taste all the ingredients put in to make a fantastic yet very simple dish.
The salad was similar to the vegetarian version but was served with pieces of chicken. According to my friend if he had an option, he would have rather just looked at it and filled his stomach, he loved the presentation so much!
Chicken Salad
The next course was the Baked Fish fillet in Thyme. After so many courses of heavy eating, the fish was a needed change as it was light and healthy. It was flavorful and the herbs and spices were mixed to perfection. My friend could not stop raving about this one and wished he had more space in his tummy for the fish!
Baked Fish fillet in Thyme
To finish it off, the Chef gave us a plate of desserts, it had an Apple Crumble, Tiramisu, fresh Kiwis and Mangoes. The Apple crumble was unanimously favorite. I like desserts that are not too sweet and this did it for me. The idea of a sugar free Tiramisu is brilliant for all the health conscious people out there.
Dessert platter at Latitude
To sum it up our favorite out of the entire meal at Latitude was definitely the wood fired vegetarian pizza, the delectable corn sizzler, a true example of a simple dish if cooked right works well and the Baked Fish in Thyme.
