Oriental Fusion at Magique - There’s just a hint
of delicious chill in Delhi’s dusk these days. The season to dine out,
under the stars, has just begun.
Queue
up for a table at Magique, culinary celebrity Marut Sikka’s daytime café
turned evening sit-down, where everything is magical. A winding path
fringed by fairy lights, leads to swaying paper lanterns, flickering
candles, and strains of lounge.
Sink into the cushioned garden chairs, and sip the
sparkling coolers, spiked with peppermint, camomile, cinnamon and a
splash of soda.
The food is strictly Oriental fusion. Sikka knows his
grilling techniques, the subtleties of Oriental flavours, and the art of
marrying these two. The succulent Tandoori Grilled Lemon Grass Chicken
starter, with a hot chilli pesto, is superb. To the horror of all
Bengali grannies, and delight of the discerning foodie, the tang in the
dip (that’s on each table with soup sticks and munchies) comes from
basic kashondi! And don’t mistake the zing in the mash, served with
well-done Char Grilled Lamb Chops, for a dash of mustard. It’s actually
wasabi. More fusion surprises in the dessert: the custard is replaced
with coconut cream, in the popular Cream Caramel pudding.
Our Trendy pick? The litchi and crab wontons. Crisper
than the autumn air.