The French Hotel giant AccorHotels, recently muscled with the acquirement of the Fairmont group of hotels celebrates it’s 100th Pullman hotel by unleashing it’s most recent beauties, Pullman and Novotel at the Delhi Aerocity. A trip around the two properties shows the minute differences with the elegant opulence of Pullman dominated with the Peacock theme while the chic yet vibrant Novotel dominated with the Lotus theme. We sit down with GM Delegate Tristan Beau De Lomenie at their contemporary European restaurant, Pluck over a lunch curated by Chief Culinary Designer Ajay Anand and Chef Ashish Dhar along with some regaling stories of Sommelier Kriti Malhotra with her new found love, the Enomove (it’s a portable wine dispenser).
The meal starts off with a Amouse Bouche of freshly plucked garden vegetables along with some cheese to create a beautiful burst of fresh, citrusy flavours on the palate. The Hor’s D’Ouvre include a Scallion Carpaccio with a drizzle of truffle along with Cauliflower. A first look at each of their impeccably plated dishes starts off the visual part of digestion. The fresh, crisp cut aromas start off the second part while the smooth slimy texture of the scallions goes like a dream with the earthy truffle and the cauliflower to finish off the third part. The Mushroom and the Chestnut soup appears next with it’s traditional earthy flavours offset with the creamy flavours of the Mascapone Cheese. We accompany these with Kriti’s recommendations of a fruity Orvietto and a Sauve with a salty aftertaste, both from Italy. We split across the mains with a Horseradish and Bloody Mary sorbet with crystallized Vodka. The perfect balance between the citrus, spice and sweet is what characterizes this sorbet.
For mains, we order out a Lamb Loin with a Bean and Mushroom Casoulette which was paired with a lovely Malbec from Argentina. A lot of earthy flavours on the plate which was beautiful contrasted with the lively Malbec. We finished off with a Yuzu Flan with caramelized bananas, white chocolate mousse and a Maple ice cream. The slight tinge of sourness of the Yuzu combined beautifully with the creaminess of the white chocolate and delectable Christmasy flavours of the Maple syrup.
Pluck plays a delicate game of contemporary European food along with serving up some Indian favourites too. The Chefs here play the role of artists which food being doled with all it’s bright imagery. Although the liquor licence is soon expected, this is one place to turn to for some photogenic yet tasty food. The duo of Pullman and Novotel still have some secrets to unravel as we keep a close watch on the twin beauties.
