MASALA LIBRARY, By Jiggs Kalra - BKC

(This is going to be a LONG one)

So how many times have we walked into a restaurant hoping to eat something ‘different’? I am sure, Always! And how many times you’ve heard your friends say, ‘Oh there’s a new themed restaurant that has opened and we must go...’ and when you’ve gone there, you’ve realised that yes, the restaurant looks very fancy, but the food... hmm... is like what any other place offers!

I walked in to Masala Library thinking, well, how different will the Restaurant will be? By the looks of it, this restaurant looked like any other fine dining restaurants. Ok, so I was still thinking, how ‘different’ will the food be, or will I be able to take an experience back with me, when I finish my meal?

Once seated, I was given the menu and the dishes looked familiar but with a twist. So I scanned through the menu and decided my meal – Tandoori Prawns, Mutton Vindaloo (Well I hadn't heard of this combination before!), Dal Makhni, Herbed Naan and a dessert - Childhood Memories (I’ll come back to its description later). The staff there were prompt and friendly. And always with the right suggestions, while the bar hasn’t opened yet, they offered me a Star Anise mocktail. This was something that I’ve never tasted before. It has a strong but smooth taste, an interesting mocktail, must say.

While I was waiting for my tandoori Prawns to arrive, I was served with a lot of tastings by the young Chef's who've designed the menu, starting with the Speared Yoghurt. What’s interesting about this dish is that a round shaped yoghurt ball served in a baseless - conicle glass, that needs to be gulped. And when this round thing once in your mouth, bursts into a overwhelming taste of dahi chaat! Well that was an interesting start. The next thing that arrives on my table is ‘Bun Maska’ that is stuffed with Cottage Cheese, butter and herbs, looked like it was blended well in the batter – which was too heavy to consume. What comes in next is Pesto Kebab – a round green cutlet shaped kebabs topped with Parmesan cheese. Even though I am a fan of Pesto sauce, this combination didn’t go down well with me. It tasted a little dry and bitter. Finally, what arrives on my table is Tandoori Prawns, expecting it to be like the one served in any other restaurant, this one really blew my mind! It wasn’t red & black, and didn’t have the chat masala sprinkled over it, but instead what it had, was a tinge of coriander, melted cheese and tenderly cooked prawns that just melted in my mouth!

What followed was something incredible! The Prawn Chettinad: This is one of the MUST HAVES! Served in a huge shell, this was the perfect dish, with cold curd rice as the base and warm prawns cooked in curry leaves sprinkled with gun powder and spicy banana chips by the side – this dish is pure orgasm (pardon me for my language, but it definitely deserves a mention). After having relished this awesome presentation, I have been given a kulfi for blind tasting. With a dash of strawberry sauce this was Mishti Doi in the form of kulfi. One word – Delicious. Time for my main course – Mutton Vindaloo, Dal Makhni, Herbed Naan. The marriage of Mutton and vindaloo gravy is unimaginable. Tangy, spicy and tender lamb, slurrrp! And well Jiggs Kalra can never go wrong with the Dal Makhni.

Having stuffed myself with so much food, I dared to order my dessert – Childhood Memories. Wondering what that is? Well, it’s your childhood memories right on your plate. I am sure, most of us have eaten Mud, Chalk, Cerelac and Parle G biscuits during our childhood. This particular dessert is the edible representation of all of these with Chocolate Soil as Mud in a Pot, Mint flavoured edible chalks, cerelac in half moon shaped dessert and Parle G ice cream sandwich. Well that was not the end, there’s yet another dessert that I was supposed to taste and guess – It looks nothing less than the snow covered tree. Well it was the candy floss but the Pan Pasand flavoured!

So to sum up my experience: It was Delicious. Interesting. Incredible. Surprising.

Will I go back there: Ofcourse YES! I want to try the other dishes there too...

How much did I pay: The price is a little steep, but worth every penny to you pay; cost for 2 was: INR 3875/-

I entered the restaurant at 9:30pm and came out at 12:30am, so one can imagine the excellent culinary journey I’ve had here! They sure know how to keep you engaged with Food.