Bloggers Table | Café G, Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon – real food, great ambience!

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
Virginia Woolf

Time for the Bloggers Table and this time it was a cozy little do at the beautiful Café G at the Crown Plaza Gurgaon. The moment I entered I was hit by a feeling of déjà vu. Such a familiar, almost Ottolenghi like atmosphere, quiet, open, airy. This was one culinary experience worth the visit! Live cooking, real food, authentic flavours … and ‘silently attentive’ excellent staff!The Café offers fine dining with a daily buffet that changes regularly. The interiors are aesthetically done, wood and beige neutrals, nice lighting and a wonderful ambiance. A salad bar greeted us as we walked in …So much variety, loads of colour and attention to detail. The cheese platter looked slightly bare, like someone had made  a meal out of it. Maybe they had! The cumin cheese and pickled olives beckoned loudly! We sampled 4-5 salads. Nice!Moving on, a central island of sorts tempted us with live cooking for the buffet {which is truly excellent by the way}. Le cruesets filled with worthy dishes added to the temptation. The menu for the day was Italian … Small portions cooked fresh and laid out … Lamb Osso Bucco {reminds me of my lovely friend Meeta in Germany}, Melanzane Parmigiana, Hassle-back Potatoes {I♥ those}, Fresh Lasagna, Sea Bass Baked in Parchment …. The question … what to eat and what not to! The main course set up is divided into different cuisine zones. Alngside, nested in a little corner is a popaddum stand with little earthen jars presumably full of pickles! These little personal touches make the place feel warm! The cafe appears to be particularly popular with the ex pats as they began at saunter in by 8.30pm, the stream growing steadily as the clock ticked! Since it’s a multi-cuisine restaurant, there’s something for everyone here …Back to the layout … the central island had a bread counter and once again the passion shone through. A variety of different breads, bread sticks, ‘amul’ butter, crisp thin cracker breads… And if that wasn’t enough to gladden the heart, the next step took us straight to a dessert bar – it blew us away! It was dessert heaven. I have yet to see such an extensive variety of desserts under one roof here. Each one created with a lot of thought, detailing and love. The pastry chef Chef Ayub Quereshi and his magic weaves a spell – fruit desserts aplenty, mousses, cakes, panna cottas, pies, eclairs, compotes … individual portions each!Then came the signature dishes specially prepared by the talented Chef Arup Sarkar and Chef Prashant … compliments to them! Salad of wine pickle tomato and buffalo boccancini, toasted pine nuts and basil and Stir fried shitake wonton  and baby spinach with pok choi , red pepper, tomato and Asian condiments. The latter was simply amazing. Flavours, textures, warm salad, cold dressing – such a treat! You must try it if you visit the cafe! MUST! We were also served a watermelon, feta and rocket salad … this one too pleasing, light and flavourful!By now we were kind of feeling full. Then, along came the show stopper, a main course signature dish that will be remembered for a long time – Moroccan lamb tagine with chick pea and mint couscous. We begged for small portions each … it was so good. A nibble here, then another … and soon the tangine was all gone! The lamb cooked to perfection, melting in the mouth, falling off the bone, the flavours beautiful, the tomato balancing the tangine in a delightful manner with the pine nuts, the chick peas, the couscous! Happily it was time for dessert! Baked Yogurt Mousse, Panna Cotta, A Passion Fruit Mousse, Mud cake {excellent truffle on top}. You know what I missed though – a coffee dessert! Sadly there was none. {Thanks to the sweet knowledgeable Parul, we were served some drop-dead delicious coffee ice cream on request!}

Thank you Mr Oswal and your team for having us over. Café G is an absolute treat! The food excellent, the staff are impeccable and the ambiance wonderful!

Others on the table that night
Himanshu @ The White Ramekins
Parul @ The Shirazine
Ruchira @ Cookaroo

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India