The Pop Up, Brainchild of Jatin and Julia of Tres Fame

 “The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change”. Every industry is going through change and its evolving and I think our food industry isn’t far behind. It too is going through lot of changes and these are good sign for the industry. Our chefs are experimenting a lot and yielding amazing stuff! It is heartwarming that Chefs’ these days get good platform to showcase their culinary skills.
Last year, palate fest was one of such event, where we saw some great stuff by our chefs. Tres presented some exotic dishes and they were amongst few stalls that sold out quickly.When we got invite to review the much talked about “The Pop Up” at Asiad village, I was thrilled because had heard good things about the place and food.Pop up is relatively new term for Indian food industry. However, in western country this is one of the most popular things, along with food trucks. Pop ups which are also known as supper clubs are temporary restaurants which often operate from homes or private places for a very short duration.  Pop ups across globe are considered as an unique platform for chefs to showcase their culinary skills where they have the opportunity to not only do lot of experiments but also display their creative culinary!
Jatinand Julia of Tres fame need no introduction. They have established themselves as one of the finest European place in town. And I am very sure, that, after running tres successfully, now, like other people they have been thinking - what next? I asked the same question to Jatin and he smiled and said”we have been thinking the same and are looking for some place to start next”. Vidur of Circa 1193fame, coined the idea to use Tonic(bar/lounge in asiad village complex) for 90 days. Julia and Jatin came up this brilliant idea of pop up for 90 days as an experiment. And thus Pop Up emerged and to give it a riiliant start they got Josper – The world’s most celebrated Grill from Spain. I had heard and read a lot about Josper – “A Josper is a hybrid. It is first and foremost a grill but the secret of what it adds to whatever is cooked on it - whether steaks, chicken, fish, vegetables or anything enterprising chefs can turn their hands to - is that it has a front door which, when closed, ensures that none of the natural moisture or flavor escapes.
The Josper is an enclosed charcoal fired grill manufactured using traditional methods and the highest quality materials, aimed at the extremely demanding and professional hotel and catering sector (hotels, restaurants, bars, etc). The “oven grill” is fired by charcoal that is spread across the base, the charcoal burn speed and temperature are controlled using vents below the charcoal and a butterfly vent in the exhaust. The Josper grill allows greater heat control and faster cooking speeds than traditional grill with the addition of fantastic charcoal flavor. The quality and speed of cook are unrivaled by any other equipment on the market at the moment and the enclosed nature of the Josper means that not only the quality of the food is increased but the range of products is increased due to the multiple cooking levels within the cooking chamber”

Pop up has actually four sections.A)   The al-fresco is where you can see how josper works and enjoy your grill. B)   A very classy and very British style bar filled with best of the wines and alcohol. C)   Seating area with one long high table D)   Comfortable seating that looks like a classy drawing room. Now let’s talk about the food. We were five of us and we ate A LOT and gobbled multiple dishes and amazingly – I cannot say that there was even a single dish that I did not like. Everything had the right flavor, texture, and aroma and was perfectly cooked. A platter of Julia & Jatin’s special vegetarian crostini was something which should be your first dish, the moment you settle downJ. I never thought that chicken can be so delicious and juicy until I tasted Maple, kasundi mustard, chili chicken strips dusted with rice flour. It was crisp from outside and inside was full of juices and delicious. While we were still discussing about the juicy chicken, Pan tossed haldi chili Maharajah prawns with onions, garlic, kokum, and curry leaves left us speechless. Prawns were juicy and perfectly cooked and this south indian tadka gave a twist to the dish.
Grilled chorizo and Lemon grass marinated tuna is something you shouldn’t miss.  Tuna marinated with lemon grass and served with crispy papadams and raddish will simply blow your mind. It was very clear that though they experimented a lot with ingredients, the flavors were amazing and intact.Chilean pork belly was good. Grilled tenderloin tournados with potatoes was equally brilliant and slow braised lamb shoulder makes you crave for more!  The dish of the day Doh’nut burger,topped with crisped shards of bacon, is something which I never tried and now I am again craving for it. We finished our meal with Grilled homemade brownie, served with salted caramel and vanilla ice cream and Gluten free chocolate jar with ginger cream and caramelized pineapple. Both were excellent.
We spent more than four hours that day, during the Sunday brunch, tried lot of stuff, had good chit chat with Chef Jatin and now I can’t wait to go back again.If you have not been there, you are missing something amazing – interesting – mind blowing – gastronomical journey! It’s open for 90 days - HURRY!.

For more pictures please click the link below:

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Sunday brunch details:Timings: 1200 hrs to 1600 hrsPricing: Rs 1,500 (Plus taxes with unlimited salad, starters, soup, mains,dessert, soft drinks, mocktails and shakes)
Rs 1,800 (Plus taxes with unlimited salad, starters, soup, mains, desserts, soft drinks, mocktails, shake, IMFL drinks (Teacher’s Hi Land, Bacardi Rum,Smirnoff Vodka, Frateeli Sangiovese, Frateeli Chenin Blanc and Sangria)
Rs 2,200 (Plus taxes with unlimited salad, starters, soup, mains, desserts, soft drinks, mocktails, shakes, Imported drinks (J/W Black Label, Grey Goose Vodka, Bacardi Rum, Bombay Saffire Gin, Gato Negro Chardonnay and Bonfil Domaine Merlot and all cocktails and Sangria)