I in the Skye!!!

Gaggan translates the Sky in Hindi!! Literally the sky is not a limit, i'ts just the beginning for us chefs, especially Gaggan. I think being a good chef gets you the perks of being invited by dear friends Nachiket and Mangal from Cellar Door Hospitality along with 29 other hard foodies and great chefs like Manish Mehrotra, respected Chef Manjit Gill of ITC group to enjoy a delectable meal being cooked by G and his super talented team
from Bkk.

Gaggan is a chef with simple recipes made elegant by exotic presentation and futuristic cooking techniques. What he does with passion is translate those recollections of his roots into modern, innovative dishes; providing simple solutions that are authentically Indian, but also a success to bridge the culinary divide between East and West. In a whitewashed colonial-style wooden house set in the heart of downtown Bangkok, Chef Gaggan presents progressive Indian cuisine with traditional touches. Drawing on memories of the amazing cuisine he discovered on his life's journey in India - though that still make him nostalgic and emotional to this day - he is always looking for new ways to prepare and present them.

With trademark passion and limitless imagination, he presents his acclaimed modern cuisine - authentically Indian; globally inspired. The lounge was buzzing after the young Spanish bar tender started his alchemy with Yo Samurai, an instant frozen drink whipped up in a liquid nitrogen bath with sake, plum & yuzu liqueur served in a quaint Japanese wooden box kinda thing. I quite liked the Indian-style Cuba Libre with white rum, black salt, and thumbs up with a sweet sour foam..Nice!! I was quite famished and for sure it was time to dig in. An 11 course, yes 11 course meal awaited us. Started with street foods of India comprising of pani puri, dahi chaat and aloo bhujjia... was was street food /space odessey 2020 . A white chocolate egg filled with pani puri water and a sphere filled with yoghurt(dahi chaat) and an edible pouch, transparent filled with nuts. The second course was actually my fave "Sandwich"...Indian foie gras mousse, actually bheja cooked like foie but then blended into a smooth n silky pate sandwiched in between a onion water baguette made with gelifying agents, onion ka paani and dehydrated wasfor me the best innovation I saw in the menu.

His signature dish the Alchemists Cake was a Dhokla which was pumped out from a foam gun making it as light as air!! The coconut ice cream went down well. All the courses went down well. In between courses ,Gaggan gave us a schpeel about the course with some quirky wacky one liners was fun especially when he joked about his staff in a good way and some incidents about his life in Bangkok. It's amazing how the world of restaurants n chefs have evolved. Rated 17 in the world ain't a joke , it does take a lot (of all things ) to get there. Lamb Chops cooked in a Sous vide , slowly cooked at 62C and then finished in the tandoor arrived in a smoke filled dome.

This reminded me of my days at Aurus, Mumbai where I would light up a cinnamon bark to create some aromatic smoke with my NZ Lamb Chops... A lot of techniques were prevalent on that day. His young sous chef who orchestrated the dinner works as his R&D chef too. Definitely some day and soon I will be doing some cutting edge produce and technique driven menu in Mumbai and two other locations in the following two years... (will not let the cat out as yet) but there is something cooking inside my head. Infact a few good things. I love the pride and confidence in G, hes quite a "fella" The wine went down smooth as silk . A super Pinot Grigio & a fab Burgundy completely complimented the meal Dessert was quite freaky.

Cold Teppanyaki with matcha tea cake ice cream sandwich and freshly grated wasabi root. The cold teppanyaki was actually customized lil boxes which were filled with liquid nitro topped up with a stainless steel plates which was frozen instantly on to which a mixture of mascarpone and cream were piped but froze in a few seconds. This mixture was place atop the matcha cake quite a visual treat. I just made it for my flight back to Mumbai after that three hour food coma!!! Now am on diet (just kidding) until I reach Singapore again for the Epicurean food and wine fest at the Marina bay sands...Lots more next week.. Have a great week end and Don't stay Hungry...Bon Appetito !!