SOUTH EAST ASIA ON YOUR PLATE AT THE SPICE ROUTE- IMPERIAL HOTEL, JANPATH

Located at The Imperial, Delhi, the Spice Route is one of the most enchanting restaurants in Delhi. The temple art that resides on the walls of the restaurant are inviting, beautiful and warm just like its food. We were honoured to be a part of the Asian Market that is being hosted by the restaurant. (the writer was invited pre covid days)

Chef De Cuisine – Chef Veena Arora brings the first-ever Asian Market at the restaurant. The menu explores the best of South-East Asian Cuisine and has been beautifully crafted to present native of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Kerala and Sri Lanka to its guests. The ingredients used are fresh, fine and piquant. The recipes on the Asian Market menu are traditional, unique, healthy and have diverse flavours. They are crafted to perfection and you may never have had such dishes before!

 Trust us when we say that the wonderful fragrance is just the beginning to the delicious food. Every dish that was brought to the table had a unique fragrance and created a certain amount of anticipation.

We were welcomed with a refreshing green colour drink made with Khas Khas and Mint leaves. The drink set the tone for the delectable dishes that followed.

The menu features many scrumptious local dishes such as PLA NIL KROB – CRISPY WHOLE TILAPIA SERVED WITH RAW MANGO DRESSSING. The mangoes used in the dish were being preserved by the chef since summer! The fish was soft and cooked perfectly. With every bite you could taste the flavours and the mango dressing went perfectly with it. The flavour of the dressing complemented the fish.

Another interesting dish was a pre-dinner snack called KHAO TANG NAA TANG- CRISPY RICE CAKE SERVED WITH SHRIMP SAUCE. We couldn’t stop snacking on these, the sauce was refreshing and went so well with the rice cakes! The cakes were right kind of crisp and a wonderful appetiser.

 There was MORNING GLORY which is an essential part of the Thai meal. It was fresh with an authentic taste and just what was needed to complete the Asian Market plates on our table. 

Our plate also had a dish called VEG TEMPERADU, these assorted vegetables with Sri Lankan Curry Powder and Worcestershire Sauce added a nice touch to the menu. This subtle yet exquisite tasting dish also made it to our personal favourite dishes from the menu

Another of our personal favourite was the CHEF’S SPECIAL NODDLE SOUP, for which she did a small cookout session. The noodle soup which is a known part of the Vietnamese cuisine also happens to be loved by Thai locals. The soup was accompanied with roasted garlic, brown shallot, coriander, chilli flakes.

The sweet tasting broth and soft noodles along with other ingredients made the soup our personal favourite.

Just like other dishes the fragrance of the soup during the cookout was a trailer to its taste. The soup was so filling and delicious that we wanted a second helping but couldn’t go for one because we were so full. If you are at The Spice Route, it would be criminal to not try the chef’s special Noodle Soup!

While concluding the session, Chef Veena said, “Since Chefs have the power to contribute to the diverse future, I hope you relish this menu as my ode to the local culture of South East Asia and a precious gift to the progressive culinary scene of India.”

Text by Akshika Sharma