Food love is a powerful incentive, but it is a test of anyone’s patience if one has to drive two and a half hours — that too to cover only 25-odd kilometres — to reach a restaurant. The destination was the recently opened Over the Top in Janakpuri.
Once there, however, my struggle seemed to bear fruit. Specialising in North Indian and Chinese cuisine, Over the Top is a nice, spacious restaurant with comfortable seating. Chandeep, the managing partner, mentored me through my dinner. With some nice variations on the menu, Over the Top keeps it simple — not experimenting much to incorporate new dishes but presenting old home delicacies with a touch of finesse.
I started with the dim sums, which have become such a part of Delhi’s street food culture. The dim sum platter included chicken and almond sui mai served with honey pepper sauce, which was delicate and tasty. An in-house specialty, chicken kote are dumplings grilled only on one side, with a perfect crunch at the base. Thai lamb balls were tender marinated with traditional Thai herbs, with a hint of lemongrass.
From the Indian delicacies’ section, I tried the old favourite murgh malai tikka on Chandeep’s request, and I was glad I did. Not wanting to get rid of its taste by trying any of the other starters after that, I straightaway ordered the main course. Something as widely available as a butter chicken, which is probably made in every other house in Janakpuri, has a small twist here — a sprinkling of kasuri methi. Rara meat is a tasty combination of machine-minced keema and gosht.
Silver warq-coated shahi tukda made my dinner a royal treat.
