The molecular portions at Farzi Cafe
The interesting start to the Farzified journey with Amuse Bouche – yogurt bulbs topped with a hint of berry compote. Highlighting the very essence of Farzi Cafe and their molecular gastronomy specialty, these shots pop in your mouth, offering a burst of flavor and prepping you up for the highly anticipated molecular excitement that you expect. However, the culinary experience does not live up to the hype. It has a few highs and a fair share of lows.
The Farzified version of my favorite classic Pina Colada is served in a cat’s tail glass. The superficial dry ice smoke is just an addition to their marvelous presentation. The colada is the perfect blend of pineapple juice and coconut puree, but Farzi cafe’s twist is the addition of blue caviar-esque crystals that make this concoction a cross between a mocktail and bubble tea. The portion of this drink too, however, is really tiny. It’s difficult to make it last throughout the meal. But wait, the portion of other dishes might just make this glass-half-full look very generous.
As far as taste is concerned, these are definitely the best. The Tempura Dynamite Prawns are deliciously spicy, crunchy from outside and tender from inside. Coated in a creamy sauce, and topped with fish caviar and chilli foam, they are presented on a large stone-styled dish that reminds you of underwater pebbles from the Little Mermaid. The downside however is their tiny 4-piece portion size that left me wanting for more of this delectable creation. I take that as a cue to head off to PF Chang’s to satisfy my cravings.
Presentation: 11 on 10
Portion: well, you can see
Taste: let’s elaborate on that…
Server Anish very confidently recommended the Deconstructed Shepherd’s Pie after the non-vegetarian mezze platter we ordered “wasn’t available since the start of the restaurant”. So much so, he offered to have this dish on the house incase we didn’t like it. To be honest, we liked it. The meat was really tender, the fried potatoes (or aloo as I’d like to call them) were crunchy and crisp, and the potato mash was delightfully creamy.
Loved the dreamy crescent plate and the colorful garnishes.
And yes, we paid for it 🙂
Featuring classic biryani flavors combined with a contemporary presentation, this lamb shawarma biryani comes with extremely tender morsels of meat that fall right off the skewer. The aromatic rice, topped with raisins offers the perfect biryani taste. Served with a side of raita and baked papad, this dish impresses with its presentation but leaves you, yet again, wanting for more. Twice the portion would have been ideal I guess.
Ideally supposed to be the largest part, this cutlet sized version of the T-bone steak at Farzi Cafe sure disappointed my friend who expected a piece of meat 5 times bigger. The steak however was tender and succulent. Served with creamy potato mash, spiced rice, salad and gravy, it makes a perfect main course for someone with a tiny appetite or those who want to try a T-bone steak without committing to the large cut of meat. Definitely not recommended for steak lovers!
Maybe it was the decently sized portion or maybe I had tried too many items to notice by then, but the Cayenne Spiked Prawns with Lemon Rice were unexpected, both in terms of quantity and taste. Where the name ideally suggests something Mexican, this dish was a deliciously spicy Chettinad styled prawn curry served over a bed of fragrant tempered lemon rice, and topped with a couple of prawn crackers. The prawns were tender and crunchy and the rice was just perfect. Loved the South Indian twist. Keeping up with the Farzi Cafe trends, the presentation however, could have been slightly more creative. The taste was undoubtedly lip smacking, or maybe we were just too hungry and wanted to lick every inch of gravy and pick every grain of rice off the plate.
The delicious albeit unsatisfying lunch ended with the Lotus Cheesecake dessert. We honestly didn’t want to do desserts, but then what’s the fun if we skip on the last course right? Well, I especially should have given this one a miss but we’ll get to that later.
The craze of the phase: ‘lotus’ gets a Farzi Cafe twist in this dish. Cheesecake is sandwiched between lotus biscuits and served in a deep bowl with rabri. Dotted with dry fruits, the rabri is creamy and rich, and so is the cheesecake. The biscuits soften up when you drop them in the rabri, making them easy to break. I loved the taste of the sweet rabri as opposed to the slightly tangy cheesecake, but I guess it was too heavy for my system to handle, as I had my little “food poisoning” moment right after we settled the check.
I might go back to Farzi Cafe to try out some more creativity, but that’s just because it offers a good photo op. Like a lot of one-time-watch movies, Farzi Cafe is good for a one-time-try unless you are an unconventional food critic like me.
