When I used to travel to Gurgaon via Rajouri Garden, I always used to get amused by the name – Wok In The Clouds, standing between Indian restaurants and MNC QSRs on the restaurant lane of Rajouri Garden. Though I had never visited the restaurant, so I could not figure out the ideology behind the name and also about its food. But a recent invite for the review of their Khan Market outlet was just the right opportunity to demystify all the theories.
On an fine hot afternoon when the mercury was touching mid forties, we decided to visit the Wok In The Clouds, Khan Market.While I was waiting for Maneesh, I decided to explore the menu. The first impression was that it's going to be a heady cocktail of Oriental, Indian & Continental cuisines. By the look of it, both the food and the bar menu looked huge. Once Maneesh came, we entered the restaurant and began exchanging our thoughts on the food and also the move of opening in Khan Market. As we came up in the dining area on the first floor, we were impressed with the wood and leather interiors as it gave a a very warm, cozy, upmarket feeling. It occupies two floors, the first floor has the sitting and kitchen, the second one houses the bar, live DJ desk and also has an outdoor sitting area.
We settled on a couch on the second floor and were welcomed with the Kanji Vada drink. A mustard and asafoetida based drink with a dal vada floating in it. The drink was refreshing and a perfect start to the lunch. The first one to arrive on the table was Cherry Chili Prawnsserved with Shanghai Sauce. We were quite amused by the size of the prawns. The floor manager told us that they always serve Tiger prawns and Jumbo prawns. The prawns were sauted with garlic, cherry chili and spring onion and were hot & sweet in taste. The cherry chili in it is a small cherry shaped red chili lending it a distinct aroma and the hot & sweet taste. The next on the table was Bhatti ka Murg - spicy, juicy, flavorful chicken perfectly cooked in clay oven. Tandoori Bharwan Paneer Kali Mirch was another excellent starter. The soft paneer had a filing of cashews, raisins, cheese & spices. It had a very sumptuous sweet & spicy taste.
Next in line were salads. We loved Watermelon & Feta Cheese salad for its freshness and brilliant presentation in a cut watermelon. The Fattoush salad was a disappointment. The bread was grilled instead of being toasted, the leaves had gone soggy, and the sourness was missing.
While we were savoring the starters, we were lucky that the consultant working for them was there at the bar and he prepared some brilliant cocktails for us. They have a brilliant mix of classics, as well as the Wok In The Cloud’s twist given to some cocktails. We had Lychee Daquiri, Brandy Crusta, Ramos Fizz, Raffles Singapore Sling, Negroni, WITC Belini, Malt Apricot Sour and the Vesper. Each one of them was brilliantly done and we loved the twists, especially the use of Glenlivet in Malt Apricot Sour. It was smooth, sour with smoky flavor.
The main course was a complete Indian show with Murg Makhani, Desi Ghee ki Chicken Curry, Rogan Josh and Dal Makhni in curries and a bread basket. The Desi Ghee ki Chicken curry was an excellent preparation and we loved it for its richness. The Rogan Josh didn’t turn out to be good, as the mutton was slightly under cooked but the gravy was good and had a nice consistency.
In the desserts, we were served Kulfi Platter and Chenna Payash. The Kulfi platter had a creamy coconut, rose and mangokulfies. The rose kulfi had rose petals nicely blended into it with a aroma of rose.. Mango kulfi was perfectly sweet for my liking and had a bits of mango in it. Coconut Kulfi had grated coconut in and a nice creamy taste.
The overall experience was brilliant and our perceptions were busted. We will again go there for their brilliant cocktails, kulfies, paneer kali mirch and much more.
