Bargain brunches

Amidst picnic baskets, green tea ice-creams, and wine buffets, Anoothi Vishal figures out this season’s laziest options to stretch your rupee.

Despite a tepid beginning, 19 Oriental Avenue at the Shangri-La, New Delhi, has gone on to become one of the best pan-Asian restaurants around. The menu has undergone several changes, become more elaborate, but the basic concept of different kitchens for different cuisines remains.

Sitting in the Thai section, basking in the sun streaming in through the glass windows, I peer down to see not just a surprisingly clean and traffic-free roundabout on a Saturday, close to the Republic Day, but also an unusual exercise in the garden below.

Members of the hotel staff are running in circles, part of their martial arts training being imparted to everyone in the hotel in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. It is a good beginning to what will be a long and leisurely meal.

The Saturday brunch at the Shangri-La is popular primarily with expats as also sundry Indian families. Good if you a) like Asian cuisines b) but not screaming, running kids who grace most Sunday brunches in India.

On the menu are Thai salads, Japanese grills, teppanyaki stir frys, dim sums, a predominantly Chinese main course, curries from the Thai kitchen and a rather lovely dessert counter on which you will find innovations such as star anise mousse.

Also part of the lavish buffet are homemade ice creams (try the green tea one), all this for Rs 1,500 per person, including a glass of wine or beer.

Winter is traditionally the time to enjoy Sunday brunches. Bask in the sun, spend time with the family, have a lazy afternoon pigging it out. For that reason, the Olive picnic brunches (in Mumbai and Bangalore too) and the superb spread at the sprawling Claridges lawns in New Delhi, not to mention the Oberoi’s long-standing dim sum brunches have been all-time faves.

But this year, the brunches are popular for another reason. With the downturn affecting eating out and corporate spending at a low, “family dining” is an area that everyone wants to tap. Brunches fit right in.

In fact, some spiffy new restaurants that introduced their Sunday brunches this year seem to have consciously kept the pricing “accessible” and thrown in a host of frills. Restaurateur A D Singh’s Ai, the contemporary Japanese restaurant, for instance, has a superb brunch for Rs 1,495 per adult.

Formatted like a picnic (outdoor seating on the terrace), it begins with you being presented with a picnic basket, with a newspaper, an activity book for kids, fresh fruit, baguette, and a bottle of wine. Once you find your table, the wine poured out and you can begin ordering from the al fresco counters all around.

These include those supplying pot stickers, Japanese-style omlettes that incorporate everything from crab meat to sweet corn, the robatta grill, tempura and so forth. The sushi buffet is laid inside but chef Saby (who used to man the original Olive in New Delhi) is at his creative best with the salads and the breads that bring together Western and Jap influences.

The salads use veggies as Icebergs, leeks,carrots with Japanese dressings — Sake, mirin, shoyo, yuzu, wasabi, teriyaki... Breads include a wasabi multigrain one. The unlimited fare is accompanied by unlimited drinks.

Al fresco dining has its own charm and for that head for the sunny brunch at Magique, with unlimited Grey Goose, Bacardi & Bombay Sapphire cocktails and European grills, New Zealand Lamb Chops et al. Similarly, if you are up for a drive to Sohna (some Gurgaon residents apparently do that), the lavish Sunday brunch at the Westin with many live counters, by the pool, may not be a bad idea.

Till about a year ago, it was unthinkable to find under Rs 1,000 Sunday brunches even at standalones. This year, there are many options. The one at the Ramola Bachchan-promoted Manre, for instance, is for Rs 850.

At Tabula Rasa, the basic price of Rs 750 includes 15 hors d’oeuvres, four live stations with sushi, pasta and dim sums and sumptuous “on the pass” dishes like pizzas, yakitori grill sand seafood dishes besides main courses. Add grills and it costs you Rs 1,000; add on spirits for another Rs 450 per person.

Chilli Seasons, one of the first restaurants to serve quality Thai food in Delhi, has reopened in Defence Colony and maintains its value-for-money ethos. The Sunday dim sum brunch here is a must with seven varities on offer, including crispy Vietnamese fish rolls and roast duck rolls. Fried rice/noodles, jasmine tea and unlimited beer are included for Rs 975 (Rs 775 without beer). A serious rival to the Oberoi brunch.

In Noida, the newly-opened Park Plaza too offers an elaborate brunch at under-

Rs 1,000 prices, incredible at a star hotel, even if it is a non-luxury one. Apart from a host of salads, kebabs, Indian, Oriental and Continental maincourses, the draw here is a section on Indian streefood, chaats and so forth, not to mention a sushi selection.

But brunches are not the only bargains you may get. At the Park, New Delhi, for instance — where the Sunday brunch has got enhanced from last year at Rs 2,200 — a wine buffet is on for just Rs 600 for three glasses of wine at the coffee shop.

In Mumbai, where the 3-6 pm slot has become popular on Sundays, entertainment is the value-add. At HAS juice bar outlets across the city, you can spend the afternoon watching a film with your choice of smoothies and fresh juices.

At Henry Tham, there is a 15 per cent discount at the bar and appetisers on the house every alternate Wednesday. At Sartoria, in New Delhi, there is a wine taster menu every Wednesday where, for an incredible price of Rs 1,200 per person, you can have a four course meal paired with wine!

At Rs 9,000 onwards (including stay), you can walk into Sahara Star in Mumbai before February 28, to unwind over the weekend with a flat 20 per cent discount at all F&B outlets. The Grand Sunday Brunch at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, is priced at Rs 1,700 and showcases over 80 different dishes from its various restaurants. It also features an unlimited selection of Grey Goose martinis.

Mumbai-based Renaissance Hotel’s new restaurant, Fratelli Fresh, has a Sunday brunch, Pranzo, meaning lavish lunch, with an exclusive Italian menu. Try the cocktails and finger food at the Wine Bar , followed by a contemporary Italian feast. For Rs 1,800, which includes martinis and unlimited sparkling wine.

Finally, if you are in Mumbai, you can’t miss the fabulous Indigo brunch: Eggs Benedict, two poached eggs on muffins, ham or smoked salmon... Indigo offers personalised omelettes too. Priced at Rs 1,800, it may not be strictly cheap but it is a treat alright. So, go ahead and enjoy! n

(With inputs from Priyanka Joshi)