The Carnival of Memories at Carnival by Trèsind
The very famous and very well known, connoisseur of molecular gastronomy, Trèsind, has come up with a brand new venture which combines pre-modern and post-modern Indian cuisine in a nostalgia embedded concept known as Carnival by Trèsind.
Located in the financial heart of the city, in Burj Daman, DIFC; Carnival by Trèsind opens its doors to the public on 3rd September. I was honored to be invited for an exclusive preview of their 15-course chef’s tasting menu. Well, the menu listed 15 items, but I ended up trying out much more than that!
Before we dive into the deliciousness that I devoured, let’s take a look at the interiors of this chic restaurant and the concept behind it.
Carving a niche for themselves as an upmarket restaurant that combines the concept of a lounge as well as a fine dine space, Carnival has put in a lot of effort in the design of the interiors, where every little detail has been paid attention to, both in terms of décor as well as cuisine.
As manager Kevin rightly said; the idea is to create the feel of a carnival, what with the red and green balloons, kites, and colorful chairs; but at the same time keep it upscale with the golden tree decorations, dim lit ambience, fashionable masquerade masks as wall accents and modish music beats.
One of the very exciting elements of Carnival by Trèsind is their swanky bar which features a custom designed ceiling, created from 630 bottles – each carefully placed by hand – making this one of its kind layout, the major highlight of the restaurant (and the city).
Moreover, Carnival also makes places for an exclusive private dining area which is definitely going to be a hit among those looking to throw intimate parties, bridal and baby showers and large family gatherings – all that with the fun and food that the restaurant prides itself with.
Highlighting our experience at the restaurant, every aspect had a ‘Wow’ factor associated with it, which is exactly what the masterminds behind this restaurant have intended it to be. After being welcomed and seated, our host Samir came along with a bubble maker machine which blew out colorful balls of soapy water. Aptly titled “Bubble Bath”, this style of reception marked a wonderland-esque magical beginning to our gastronomical gala. So carnival like! Watch the video of this bubble bath on my Insta-blog. Click here
The table was set up with an antique silver ram showing off his horns. Placed alongside the ram were our menu cards neatly tied down with balloons. This very interesting way of presenting the menu has a theory behind it. The red balloon represented the non-vegetarian menu, while the green one had the vegetarian menu tied to it.
Let’s move on to the deliciousness of it all. Carnival’s indulgent menu is not just about taste or looks. It appeals to all the senses, and goes a step forward in taking you down the memory lane with all its interesting nostalgic influences that make each dish so unique.
We started off with two of the most memorable childhood flavors in the form of a soda – kalakhatta: the sweet and sour go-to baraf gola every summer; and aam panna: the tangy mango refresher during the aam ka mausam. Presented in a crate with dry ice, the bottles replicated the 90’s style marble soda where a marble bottle stopper needs to be driven down so you can enjoy the cool drink.
Watch the video of the presentation on my Insta-blog. Click here
Just before we started with the food, a cute little pumpkin with a candle bulb lit inside was placed at the corner of the table. It was to remind us that our “scary friend” will be joining us soon. Who’s this scary friend you wonder. We will get to that later, but for now, let’s start with the food.
The first course was amusingly titled “happy halloween”. Essentially a pumpkin kulcha, this was Carnival’s answer to the bread basket you receive at most restaurants. While the bread was replaced by a freshly steamed soft kulcha, the dip that’s usually served alongside was offered in the form of a creamy pumpkin mash stuffing that was perfectly warm and melt-in-the-mouth. To keep up with the ‘basket’ of it all, the kulcha was placed on a pretty leaf that was held together with a bead accented toothpick.
The second course was surprisingly delightful in so many ways; it is difficult to decide where to begin the praises. Labeled “makhan phal” which is also Hindi for avocado, it completed the butter part of the bread and butter basket. The bee-hive lookalike base was made of dense cocoa butter and was topped with creamy avocado and lime cream. Maybe I am using melt-in-the-mouth a little too often, but there couldn’t be a better way to describe this. This starter was presented on an antique-esque plate with a slim dish holding dry ice underneath, such that the smoke kept seeping through the patterns of the plate, justifying the restaurant’s artistic sorcery concept.
Watch the video of the presentation on my Insta-blog. Click here
Every proper meal needs a soup, and what better than a tomato shorba, right? But wait, this third course at Carnival was nothing close to what you would expect. The “la tomatina beverage soup” was a cold clear tomato soup – a class apart from the light red creamy blend that you have grown accustomed to. But it’s not just this cold tomato essence that fascinates, the presentation is what adds a sophisticated touch to this classic broth. Served in bottle green bottle, (hah!), over a bed of ice, it almost looks like a champagne ready to pop open. What would otherwise be croutons, is served as a breadstick. Accented with mozzarella cheese swirls and tomato ketchup, this cheese breadstick is like crunchy pizza in every piece. The cold and lightweight tomato beverage comes along with a shot glass that holds the breadstick while you sip on the delicious broth in the soup cup.
Watch the video of this soup beverage on my Insta-blog. Click here
Although not the first, but this fourth course sums up everything in just one phrase – “life is short eat dessert first”. Not really a dessert, not really a chaat, this unique creation is a combination of both. Starting with a chickpea base, it builds up with potatoes, then a layer of yogurt mousse and is finally topped with a jalebi. Now let me tell you, whether you are a jalebi fan or not so fond of it (like me), this is not your regular syrupy sweet. It is in fact not dipped in sugar at all. Prettified with tamarind and mint chutney, it is a burst of flavors – sweet, tangy, spicy – all of them, right in your mouth, in every bite!
While we were left amazed with the sweet and spicy chaat, Samir got the next set of absolutely unique drinks to our table. The “crazy frog”, a carved out drink holder, had a light placed within that brightened up the bittersweet drink placed on top of its head. Built so brilliantly, with the popping eyes and marble-look detail, the only thing better than this was if the frog would turn into a prince. The drink served along with the crazy frog was a hibiscus tea infused with the sour tamarind essence. The light pink concoction came with a frothy top and a sweet heart and was beautifully garnished with star fruit and hibiscus.
Remember when I made a mention of the “scary friend”. Well, here it was! So much scary, so much fun and so much creativity! This honey and apple potion was served in a skull look china mug, garnished with kumquat and berries. The exciting part however was the funny face ball that lit up as soon as it was hit with the honey dipper. Instantly, I cried “wow” in astonishment, and that, in Samir’s opinion, was exactly the ‘Wow’ moment this restaurant has been established for!
Watch the video of what happens when you hit the face ball on my Insta-blog. Coming Soon
Remember Indian weddings? Don’t we all just love the whole drama, madness, dance, music and of course the food associated with it. And when we speak of food, sweets always come first right? Which is the first sweet you can think of when I say Indian wedding? I know, Laddoo! All Indians, (even non-Indians with Indian friends) have at some point in their life experienced the magic of Motichur Laddoo. Carnival gave it a very post-modern twist with their fifth course of “indian fried chicken”. This simple chicken and cheese pakora was given a chic finish with bondi crisp, curried mayo and a petite gold leaf garnish, making it the perfect motichur look alike. Moreover, it was served in a charming basket with red paper et al; so wedding-esque!
The vegetarian fifth course of the tasting menu was a quirky representation of the term Phool, Hindi for flower. Where on one side, the vase showcased a rose, the other side featured fluffy fried pieces of cauliflower “florets” kempu. Served with a spicy-creamy chili and coconut chutney, what fascinated me most about this dish was the fact that these ‘gobi ke phool’ were set on top of rose stems. Extremely tender and soft, these made a great veg alternative to the fried chicken.
Time to make it an icy affair. An absolutely luxurious take on the classic street styled malai barfi, the sixth course of this gastronomic extravaganza was simply named “malai baraf”. Building up on a base of litchi granita, infused with raspberry rose water, this charming dessert was topped with milk skin and dusted with lots of golden powder.
Now comes the appealing bit. This sweet piece is actually presented in a glass that’s made entirely out of ice. Moreover, it is served in a dish covered with crushed ice all around. So cool (literally)!
I had the privilege of having quick chats throughout my dinner with Chef Himanshu and Chef Paritosh who gave me tons of insight into the menu they have created and the sweet impressions behind it. The conceptualization of the menu took over a year, and that reflected in every dish we sampled. There is a thought process behind every ingredient that goes into making the dish.
Let’s move forward to the next round of appetizers. Again, we were served with one non-vegetarian and one vegetarian version of the seventh course. Given my love for shrimps, “pulliinji” was undoubtedly something I had been waiting for all evening. And this one was definitely a coastal delight. Originating from the South of India, these ginger flavored prawns were coated with a palm sugar caramel reduction (albeit not a very sugary one), and garnished with a thin curry leaf crisp.
The vegetarian counterpart of this course was, wait for it, “games of corns”. A modish version of the bhutta, Hindi for corn, this dish brought together American sweet corn with a corn curd and coconut cutlet. The soft and mushy cutlet was topped with goji berry chutney and kewpie mayo.
Another addition to their list of coastal delight, this time from the Eastern part of the country, was “see food”. Presented in an oyster shell shaped shallow dish, this eighth soup course started with tender sous vide scallops topped with saffron threads. A very warm and fragrant Assam tea dashi was then poured over it to give it a beautiful texture and color. The scallops almost looked like pearls in an oyster; so well thought out!
Watch the video of this scallop soup on my Insta-blog. Click here
Since the eighth course in the non-vegetarian menu was scallop based, there definitely had to be a vegetarian counterpart to it right? Enter “vada pav service”. I think it is safe to assume that we all know what vada pav is. But what you don’t know yet is how creative Carnival by Trèsind gets in the making of this famous classic street snack. At first when Rahul walked over to our table with a hard hat and a toolbox in his hand, I almost mistook him for a construction supervisor who wanted us to leave the table to fix something. But it was only when he opened the toolbox, did I realize what magic he was about to unfold. While educating us on the conceptualization of this dish by Mumbai mill workers, he began constructing the vada pav right in front of us, adding a multitude of toppings and sauces that were hidden in the tool box.
He first placed the bread on a piece of paper and added the potato vada in between. This was followed by mint sauce, tamarind sauce, tomato, cucumber, onion, a squeeze of lemon juice, green chilies, mustard, curry leaves, fresh peanuts, garlic crumbs, potato sev, coconut, chili sauce, pepper sauce and vinegar. Wow! Right?! I have never, in the almost 28 years of my life eaten a vada pav with so much stuff on it.
Watch the video of the making of this vada pav on my Insta-blog. Coming Soon
Oh, by the way, if you haven’t already figured it out, that’s the reason Rahul was dressed up as a mill worker, and this street classic is Carnival’s tribute to the city that never sleeps.
Yes, Carnival by Trèsind combines playful wizardry and food theatrics and that just adds to the wonderful dining experience.
The ninth course – a palate cleanser – was again a trip down memory lane. Placed in a palm, yes in a mannequin hand, was the delicious drink in a stick ice candy “oranjee”. Remember those harsh summer afternoon and this ice lolly? Yes, this was it. Cool and refreshing, this really does make you want to go back to those 90’s wale din (the 90’s days).
Watch the video of the unveiling of this ice lolly on my Insta-blog. Coming Soon
Time for the main courses now! The tenth course from the non-vegetarian menu was “mutton dressed as lamb”. Confused? Let’s make it simple. This dish starts with a suveed lamb chop that’s wrapped with galouti kabab mince and then given a very sophisticated garnish with cucumbers, radish and onions dusted with gold powder. Dressed up! But that’s not all. A lamb jus nihari is elegantly poured in the dish, combining three of the most famous mutton fares while perfecting the gravy aspect of this dish.
Taking you through the streets of Old Delhi and to the famous food joint in Chandni Chowk is the “gol hatti”, named after the eatery. Served in a clay pot or matka, it features spicy palak chhole combined with a piece of boiled potato and served alongside a zesty carrot pickle salad that is sure to satiate your palate.
While the mutton is served with layered paratha, the gol hatti comes with soft steamed kulcha, the same one we had at the start, but this time without the pumpkin stuffing.
Do you think this is it? Or are we forgetting something quintessentially Indian? How can any desi meal be complete without dal? And but of course, the magician chefs at Carnival by Trèsind are bound to create their own version of this classic. Given a very simple name “dal phulka”, this eleventh course was served as a lentil cappuccino in a small coffee cup with all the café style knick knacks including a topping of lentil froth, truffle ghee glaze and a dust of cumin ‘cocoa’ powder. It was served alongside crispy miniature phulkas which kind of reminded me of puris from the Pani Puri fame. This dal soup definitely got a very classy makeover at Carnival.
To finally finish it off we were served four different desserts. That’s right, not one, not two, not even three, but four desserts. Well, I wouldn’t really call them all a dessert, but it was more a combination of ice creams, puddings, digestif and coffee.
Let’s start with the twelfth course. South inspired “go bananas” featured three different desserts in one. A toffee panacotta pudding, along with the pie tuile styled ilaichi infused banana ice cream – the Indian version of banoffee pie, and a caramelized banana. What’s more captivating than these desserts themselves is that they were all served in a wooden bowl over a banana leaf.
The thirteenth course was just spot on. And I do admit making a little pun out of it with all the spotlights this digestif was placed over. “the betels” was formed when your regular paan went to a ‘foreign country’ and turned into a rock star. Marrying the French pastry with the Indian version of mouth freshener, this digestif featured a betel leaf flavored macaroon which was sealed with a sweet paan gulkand filling within. The presentation reminded me of a high-end mithai box with all those glittery silvers and satin blues. To give it a second thought, it’s also something similar to the manner in which wedding stages are decked up these days, with floor mounted spot lights and all!
Enough with the weddings. Let’s get our dose of freshly brewed “kaapi” now. Well, don’t be surprised if you don’t find an actual liquid coffee in this fourteenth course. Paying homage to the South Indian filter coffee, this after dinner drink combined a large piece of white chocolate filled with melted dark chocolate inside, served in a cup full of chocolate pellets and roasted coffee beans. Oh my, the aromatic coffee beans are filled with so much flavor and crunch, I just couldn’t stop eating them. There’s also a side of caramelized lotus seeds, known as makhana in India, that complements this coffee dessert. Don’t miss the authentic stainless steel mug and the wooden plate presentation. These guys certainly put in a lot of thought in the packaging. They really do.
Now to end the show, there has to be a grand finale, doesn’t it? Here’s presenting the fifteenth and final course. Given a short and sweet name “rustom” lends a salute to the six decade old Parsi shop in Bombay and its famous ice cream sandwich. Presented in the terrace of a doll-house café that replicates the typical Iranian bakeries in Mumbai, this structure is built with utmost detail, right from the miniature tea cups and pastries to big windows and terrace.
Here’s a fun-fact: Imported from Japan, each doll-house took them 10 hours to assemble. So dedicated, aren’t they? Oh, and let’s not forget the actual food it brought along. The melt-in-the-mouth ice cream sandwiches sure did match up to the expectations, and that comes from a Mumbai-ite who has tried the original.
So that, my readers, was my gastronomic gala at Carnival by Trèsind. But wait, this is not all. The a la carte menu, which will be rolled out on 3rd September 2016, on the opening of Carnival by Trèsind, features over 40 unique dishes. These include the likes of ‘Airline Meal’ which will remind you of the classic meal tray with different items served in-flight, or the 90’s birthday party – with a piece of cake et al, or the OCD – Obsessive Chicken Disorder featuring mock meat. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Then what are you waiting for? Make your pre-bookings now! Take a loved one along and be among the first people to try their delicious cuisine or celebrate Eid at Carnival by Trèsind with friends and family. Just call 04-4218665 or 052-2424262 for enquiries.
