Airport Diaries - Part II

The airport, for a lot of people (like me), is an incredibly happy place - families, friends, lovers, re-uniting, the fresh tan on people's faces, the ruggedness and jet lag, the excitement of carrying around gifts for the entire family, people waiting for their loved ones.

The Mumbai airport never fails to cheer me up. This Diwali, they made other millions of people happy. 

How, you ask. The answer is Delight-full Diwali. A number of stalls put up in and around the domestic and international airports, with various ongoing contests which led to people winning various prizes and gift vouchers. There were also lucky draws and distribution of gifts to random people walking by. Not a single soul was left unhappy or disappointed. This engagement succeeded in making the airport a better shopping destination as well as creating a hype and generating interest from the flyers.

Like the last visit, this visit, too, we got to visit the new outlets opened at the terminal by Devyani hospitality. The man behind this being, Mr. Jitendra Kumar. Kumar is the Chief Operating Officer with Devyani International-a subsidiary of RJ Corp and is responsible for the overall administration and operation of the Food & Beverage Division at the International Airport including the maximization of profits, establishment of quality standards, maintenance of high staff performance and customer satisfaction.

The domestic airport has revamped their entire look and introduced several new food outlets and a few from the existing ones at T2. The outlets we tried were -

• The Indian Kebab Grill
• Irani Cafe
• Nizam's
• Häagen-Dazs

We started off some refreshing raspberry sodas. Not much description is required when it comes to this drink. A good one is like a cold winter breeze on a summer day. And, that's literally how we felt after our first sips.

Raspberry soda

Then came the famous kebabs from The Indian Kebab Grill. Already a favourite amongst the fine dining crowd at the international airport, this one is more of a casual place with all-you-can-eat buffets and a more relaxed meal. 

Aloo kebabs

Kand ke kebab

Achari paneer tikka

The best part about all these kebabs is how incredibly well-cooked, yet soft they are. To turn something as boring as yams (kand) into something so succulent shows how experienced and well the chefs know their food. The best out of the three would be the achari paneer tikka. Melt-in-your-mouth paneer barbecued with a flavourful paneer making your taste buds jump with joy. 

Next we tried the much hyped potato roll from Nizam's. Nizam's, a popular chain in Delhi serving some of the best kathi rolls has been brought down by Devyani Hospitality to the domestic airport. The best term to give the roll would be 'al dente.' The flavours were not too overwhelming and were balanced really well. Thus, we realized what the hype was all about.

Potato roll

One of the most awaited openings at the terminal was of The Irani Cafe. Serving authentic Irani food, breakfast, tea, biscuits, this has been one of the major attractions since its opening. People of Mumbai love to experiment and with something not so heavy on the pockets and yet, offering you some amazing food, it makes way for a lot of happy diners. 

Here, we tried our hands on the soya kheema and sherin berry pulao. 

Soya kheema

Sherin berry pulao

Being a pure vegetarian, we couldn't try their specialties. But instead settled for the best options in vegetarian food. Soya kheema with freshly baked pav and sherin berry pulao are two things no vegetarian should miss out when visiting this outlet. Crispy soya kheema, pretending to be mock meat, bursting with a typical Irani smell and loaded with rich dry fruits; and berry pulao with various components cooked on different levels served potato crunchies and fresh vegetable salad. The berry pulao was the best thing we laid our hands on, that day and is making us salivate, just while thinking about it.

To end our wonderful meal, we had lustrous ice creams and sorbets from Häagen-Dazs. Need we say more?

Dulce de Leche

Raspberry sorbet

Mango Sorbet

    All in all, one of the best dining experiences till date. I would like to thank Mr. Jeetendra Kumar and Mr. Ajit for this one of a kind experience. 

    The next time you're at the airport and you hear your stomach growl, you know what to order!

    Any suggestions/comments/feedback is welcome. Do follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Zomato.

Airport Diaries

The next time you're flying abroad, leave out the boring, bland flight food and instead explore the numerous options at the terminal. 

I recently had the opportunity to try out 3 outlets there. 

The ones I visited - 

1. The Indian Kebab Grill
2. Olive Bistro
3. Cafe Indiana

All of these managed by Devyani Hospitality, under the nose of Chef Jitendra Kumar, who has worked with the likes of Taj, Oberoi, Radison, etc and has been a part of this industry for the past 26 years.

1. The Indian Kebab Grill - 

           As the name suggests, this is a place promoting all sorts of kebabs. A fine dining place, you can fulfill all your North Indian cravings with some sumptuous food here. Rich, authentic and delicious food without shelling out a lot from your pockets! Sounds perfect, doesn't it? 

Don't worry, all you people not planning to travel to any other country soon. They are coming up with a more casual branch on the domestic airport soon too! 

   

            One thing we really liked about this place was the inventive cutlery. They have come up with totally different plates which we feel might soon make its way into the market!

       

            The kebabs were so soft that despite the absence of knives on our tables (due to airport security reasons), we were still able to cut through everything so smoothly. Well, we guess that's what good cooking is all about. 

               We tried our hands on 4 dishes - shahi paneer rolls, broccoli badami tikka, tandoori aloo and kand kebab.

Shahi Paneer rolls

Cottage cheese, dry fruits in a mixture with the right balance of sweet and savory, made into royal rolls which are later fried and then served hot with a bowl of green chutney. Could we ask for anything more? 

Badami broccoli tikka

Broccoli tikkas? Yes, you heard that one correctly. Health + taste! 4 roasted broccoli tikkis served on a steaming sizzler plate with loads of veggies. I won't lie; we too were taken aback by the name, but the taste is something so new and will hit your taste buds! The tikkis were cooked to perfection and left us with a grin on our faces because of the ingredients. 

Tandoori aloo

This one is a better version of potato skins - with a filling of spinach and corn, toppled off with some pomegranate. Simple, yet so delicious; Firm on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside. Definitely one of our favorites. 

Kand ke kebab

Trust a good chef to turn such a boring vegetable into something so appetizing and tempting! Yet another sizzler, this one had a slightly chewy texture, but was so delicious nonetheless!

2. Olive Bistro

         

              This place makes you want to believe in love at first sight. The minute you see it from outside, you just ought to go inside. This bistro is one to make you fall in love with it just by the looks of it. Reminding you of a cute little place in Paris or Italy, this place has so much detailing that you just want to applaud the person behind it all. Not even a single thing feels out of place - the stools, chandeliers, little cages, mint doors, miniature parachutes, mint doors, centerpieces on every table - everything adds up to the homely feeling. 

               Another thing that we loved about the place was the fact that all the breads used in the kitchen were prepared in their kitchen, all the vegetables used were fresh and exotic, thus taking the quality of the food higher by another notch.

                   Here we tried the all veggies pizza, veg garden burger, risotto, fettuccine pasta, cranberry delight, masala iced tea, blueberry cheesecake, creamy caramel and walnut tart. 

Veggies pizza

 Wafer thin crust pizza, smothered with tomato sauce, loaded with exotic veggies and cheese, topped with some mascarpone cheese. Need we say more?

Veg Garden burger

Next we moved onto the Chef's specialty - the garden burger. Served with crispy potato wedges with a side of coleslaw, red cabbage and garlic mayonnaise, this burger boasts of attracting tourists here every time they're on the terminal. And just after a bite into it, we figured why. This whopping burger has all the ingredients for a perfect burger - freshly baked bun, warm crispy patty, a good amount of veggies (but not enough to undermine the patty) and a generous helping of sauces to balance it all out. This standout dish, is huge enough so as to be someone's entire meal. So guys, next time you go to the airport, make sure you build up your appetite!

Risotto

They say only a classic risotto's portion is enough for an entire person's meal. Well, we experienced it too! This rich creamy version with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkled with mascarpone cheese, had us wiping our plates clean, leaving no more room for anything else.

Cranberry Delight

 Simple and sweet, cranberry juice with a tinge of soda for a kick! 

Our favorite among the mocktails would be the masala iced tea. One sip and your mouth bursts with flavors of a 'kadak masala chai'. Perfect for the Mumbai weather - cool and refreshing!

Now lets move on to our favorite part - Desserts!

Blueberry cheeesecake

Creamy caramel

Walnut tart

              Salivating, are we? These 3 desserts, were presented so well, that we just didn't have the heart to break into them. But well, we gave in to our temptation in a few moments and wiped off all 3 plates clean. All 3 were plated in the most beautiful manner and must've taken some solid amount of time for the same. Our favorite among the 3 would be the creamy caramel. Caramel so soft it melts in your mouth and so delicious it leaves you asking for more. The ice cream chosen was vanilla so as to not overpower the caramel custard taste. The walnut tart with blueberry coulis and ice cream, was a bit hard on the outside and made it a bit tough to dig into. Nonetheless the efforts were worth it. The blueberry cheesecake was served with the yummiest whipped cream and blueberry compote. Both were so decadent, we wanted to lick it off our plates! Would've preferred the cheesecake to be more fluffy and creamy. 

3. Cafe Indiana 

                 At our last and final stop, we dropped by to finish off this delectable meal with some good old cutting chai and English delicacies. 

Steaming hot chai, freshly baked Shrewsbury biscuits, mawa cakes straight out of the oven and some khari biscuits to gulp down the tea after the heavenly meal. And last but not the least, we headed off to have some good old paan.

Overall, it was a brilliant experience. Never had we thought that the airport would have such amazing restaurants with such delectable food. The entire experience was so good that even as I reminisce, my insides whimper with ecstasy. The service was even better. The people are so warm and friendly and will leave no stones unturned to make sure you have the best time and make the most of your meal, and the chefs know their stuff. The detailing put in every place simply cannot be explained in words and will leave you speechless.

To put it in numbers, I would give this entire experience a 4.5 on 5.  I surely cannot wait back to go again!