Qla introduces a gorgeous 7-course menu in Delhi
- Featured Food & Beverage
Arushi Sakhuja- 8 minutes read
Arushi Sakhuja
Qla is one of the more tony addresses of Delhi, known for its ambience and exceptional quality of food. While the restaurant is honed for its multi-cuisine menu, the chef’s special tasting menu is less explored. Located in the stunning complex of The Kila in Mehrauli, Qla opened doors almost 9 years ago. A fine-dine modern European restaurant with a beautiful indoor and outdoor space, it doubles up as a great venue for events and a culinary experience.
On April 26 afternoon, the restaurant organised a first-of-its-kind sit-down chef’s tasting menu. The menu offered a range of delicacies from vegetarian to non-vegetarian highlighting the beauty of fine dining. Curated by Chef Dipender Tiwari, the menu featured it all, from fish and poultry to vegan options, beetroot salads and summer fresh staples like watermelon and feta tart, amongst others.
With a focus on presentation and flavour, the seven-course menu features delectable and creative dishes from around the world. Each course is expertly crafted with fresh ingredients and creative flavour combinations to bring out the best of European cuisines in town. We will be highlighting regional specialities, as well as creative twists on classic dishes that you won’t want to miss. From savoury entrées to sweet and creative desserts, the menu has something for everyone.
Spread over 7 courses, the menu boasted options like tuna, salmon, lamb and chicken for non-vegetarians. And pumpkin, aubergine, beetroot and fresh vegetable for vegetarians. The highlight on the menu for me was the watermelon feta tart that was refreshing on biting into it, the horseradish aioli spiced smoked duck, carrot pure, caraway biscuits and the asparagus rillettes from the Amuse Bouche. To cleanse the palate we were served a passion fruit sorbet that was artfully presented in two layers surrounded by leafy greens. And so we began the 7-course meal.
While the crab meat served with the broth was fresh, the Candy tomatoes and berries with citrus coconut broth were vibrant and a visual delight. Yet another interesting dish was the seaweed cone stuffed with tuna tartare, yuzu mayo, seaweed for non-vegetarians and avocado, cream cheese, and European pickles for vegetarians.
For those who are hardcore non-vegetarians, we recommend the melt-in-your-mouth Atlantic cured salmon served with a unique combination of e sauce made with vanilla and pink peppercorn, and a flying fish roe on top. Want more seafood? Then try the perfectly cooked grilled Bekti served with a braised broccoli stem and fermented black garlic gel along with red pepper stew sauce that’s just divine, to say the least. Moving on to poultry the menu has the traditional corn-fed chicken served with salt-baked celeriac and chicken jus flavoured with truffle, and perfectly cooked lamb lion with aubergine puree, zucchini roll and charred onion and mint chermoula to give it a zing.
But what left me pleasantly surprised was the inventiveness when it came to the vegetarian options. From the perfectly balanced salt-baked beets, and raspberry salad served along with creamy burrata cheese to an aubergine mille-feuille made with thinly sliced aubergine stuffed with sundried tomato paste and parmesan cheese, served with a broth of parmesan and grated hazelnut; and the hero vegetarian dish for me was the double cooked pumpkin with a glaze of orange and miso, sauce of orange and mustard accompanied with mascarpone. A delight to the eyes was the green pea tart, topped with confit vegetables, and served with coriander sauce, and herb-infused olive oil. The swirl in the pea puree deserves a special mention!
