The All New Menu at Guppy by Ai, Chef Vikram Khatri Has Done It Again

By Maneesh Srivastva @urbanescapades

I wasn’t a Japanese food fan until I was introduced to Guppy by AI when I was invited for a review. I have been trying to familiarize myself with Japanese cuisine and thankfully Guppy happened! Relishing sushi/shasmi is not easy for everyone as t has raw fish and it’s not easy to develop a palate for it. It’s also very important that you eat sushi at right place and perhaps guppy is the only place at least for me which actually made me love Japanese cuisine.
Last week I was invited to try their new winter menu that they were launching. Most of the chefs love winters, especially in north India as it helps not only to source seasonal produce but it’s little easy to preserve them as well. You get good variety of seasonal vegetables and other ingredients too. Japanese cuisine is little expensive as they use ingredients imported from japan and other parts of the world. Japanese are very fond of eating not only rice but are great fan of variety of fishes too. Hence I was expecting some really nice dishes along with their signature dishes to try.
The winter menu was designed in such a way that it will not only give you some traditional Japanese dishes but you will also witness some modern Japanese food in Guppy style. We started with Chicken suimono inspired by Dobin Mushi which is a traditional Japanese seafood broth - clear chicken soup served in tea pot. It was very fresh and very light and yet delicious. A great way to start your meal! Next in small plates came slow cooked beetroot with plump avocado tarter that was again a delightful dish and had an excellent presentation. I loved the mildness of the tarter. Next was Tofu and water chestnut and I am not a big water chestnut fan but everyone on the table just loved it. Crispy soft shell crab was another excellent dish and it was served with wasabi mayo.
We were served my favorite platter of sushi which was combination of both traditional and modern. As I said earlier I am big fan of sushi at Guppy and I simply loved them, and it is worth mentioning that they also added some American style sushi like California roll with black rice and it was delectable. I am a huge fan of Chef Vikram Khatri not only because he serves the most amazing Japanese food in town but also explains you about the dish which actually helps in appreciating and enjoy whatever we eat\consume.

I was bowled over by the curry which I ate in main course i.e chicken katsu curry rice. It’s also known as katsu kare which is traditionally served with breaded pork curry and rice. It is said that Japanese learn making curry only when Netaji Subhash Chandra went to japan and took along his cook who used to cook indian curry for him. Grilled sea bass fish was another superb cooked dish which we all loved. Chef Vikram knew how much I loved the pork belly and he graciously served and I finished all two skewers of itJ.
When it comes to desert I am someone who always prefers sticking to traditional Indian desert. However warm apple and prune pie was something which one shouldn’t miss. We finished it in no time. The Blue berry crepes and seasonal fruit flambé completes your meal. It was excellent! It was an evening full of excellent food, chatting with fellow Bloggers and what else would you want? All I can say is that it’s a great place to not only satiate your cravings for sushi but also to enjoy great Japanese main course, like the best ever port belly and black cod miso.