The rooftop Dhaba restaurant of The Residency Tower has been transformed into a little piece of cowboy territory for the ‘Sizzlers and Grills' festival. Even the waiters are into the spirit of the fete and are dressed in cowboy (and cowgirl) attire complete with bandannas and jeans.
We start of with sips of apple juice flavoured with mint that has bits of apple floating in it. An appetiser of grilled prawns arrives. The prawns (on a skewer) have been marinated with lime and salt. We also get a hint of spice. Chef Vinoj John says that there are also crushed red chillies in the marinade. The prawns come with a side of cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, crushed black pepper, and a touch of tarragon. ‘Garlic Grilled Chicken' follows. It is lightly flavoured chicken chunks on a skewer. Also on the list is a ‘Barbeque King Fish' skewer – mildly grilled king fish chunks with a dusting of basil and crushed cumin seeds. We finish our foray into the grilled section of the menu with a ‘Ranch Hand Fillet' – a reasonably-sized portion of steak (well-done), accompanied by grilled vegetables and perfectly executed, crisp potato wedges.
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Ambrosial smoke engulfs our table as the waiter's ushers in the ‘Sea Hunt Mix Grill Sizzler' from the menu's sizzler section. The smoke clears to reveal chunks of seafood – prawns, King fish, squid, crab meat – glistening with brown sauce and seated on a bed of lettuce. A mound of butter-parsley rice is arranged on the side. Our French fries, though, have turned limpid with the heat. We're so eager to tuck into the sizzler that we actually burn our tongues! The seafood is perfectly cooked, not chewy at all, and the sauces do not overwhelm the dish, allowing the flavours to come out.
Next up is a ‘Chicken Sizzler.' Designed to appeal to those who love spice, this sizzler has been smothered in a red pepper sauce, a hint of rum and a medley of south-west flavours. Butter parsley rice makes a re-appearance, accompanied with grilled (not steamed) vegetables and mint-flavoured baby potatoes. The platter is so finger-licking good that we can't resist licking the last drops of sauce off our forks.
There are also several vegetarian options on the sizzler menu. The ‘Grilled Vegetable Platter' and ‘Vegetable Treasure Sizzler' are highly recommended and feature baby corn, broccoli, tofu and other vegetables drizzled with tantalising sauces.
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We end our meal with two well-planned dessert platters. The first consists of soft mango ice-cream, a strawberry roulette and fresh slices of pineapple with swirls of chocolate sauce. And the other has a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a freshly baked chocolate brownie, topped with Melba sauce.
Each item on the menu is priced between Rs. 200 to Rs. 400, and is good value for money. The ambience – the lovely breeze, good music and the smell of barbeque in the air – also enhances the feeling of perfect dining out experience. The festival is on till July 10. Contact: 2331661.
Anupama Kothari