Review: At Ekaa Mumbai, A Regal Feast Is Now On The Cards For You

What sustenance would you need within the afterlife? For Historic Egyptians, who had been typically buried with an array of foods and drinks, bread was a standard alternative. As I chunk into Ekaa’s 110% Hydration Bread impressed by this civilisation, I’ve my reply to the query. Time and custom have been transcended… one feels that if any bread can provide new life to the lifeless, it will be one thing like this. We ourselves are blissfully rejuvenated with extra bites.

This beautiful bread is a part of Ekaa’s just lately launched Tasting Menu 5.0. By means of an impressively elaborate 10-course meal, Chef Niyati Rao and her group take you on a journey by (Earth’s) area and time. Chef Niyati explains, “We got here throughout so many dishes from the previous that we wished to reconnect to. We needed to create our personal variations of them. So we thought, ‘Why not compile them and curate a whole tasting menu primarily based on kingdoms of the world?’ There are a number of tales and legends related to every dish. Historical past buffs are positively going to take pleasure in it. However there’s different trivia as properly. Every course could be a dialog starter.”

Throughout my meal, I nearly felt like a gourmand Physician Who making foodie stops over the centuries utilizing the TARDIS. In any case, every course goals to move you to a area throughout a specific historic period. And if we had the possibility to embark on such a voyage, would not we need to feast like royals? That is how Ekaa hones its focus, utilizing storytelling to curate an expertise that includes regal delicacies from a number of world dynasties. This isn’t an easy, archival plunge into royal diets. There are signature twists within the story.

As an example, the 110% Hydration bread reinforces its Historic Egyptian ties with a date pairing. Nevertheless, the substances for the latter do not come from Egypt. As a substitute, you’re supplied Indian nolen gur and buffalo milk white butter. “The bread is flavoured with coriander seeds and unripened blueberries we’ve freshly picked from the farms,” Akshay Bhonsale, Ekaa’s Head Boulanger, tells us. Though the conceptualisation of Tasting Menu 5.0 requires a sure suspension in time and area, Ekaa finds methods to floor you ceaselessly within the current and the native.

_{The Kingdom of the Tzars course. Photograph Credit score: Ekaa}

Among the many different favorite overseas forays is Trout Roe with Smetana and Buckwheat – Ekaa’s tackle Russian Tzar Nicholas II’s beloved “eggs on eggs”. It’s served with beetroot cooked in terracotta, harking back to the famed Faberge Eggs. The cool softness of the roe, the creaminess of the garlic-infused smetana and the crunch of the buckwheat show how ingenuity and talent complement the storytelling right here. This texture deal with is adopted by a flavour delight. The Kingdom Of Qings course contains soup made with goji berries, tapioca pearls, spices, and mugwort-flavoured Chinese language lap cheong. The playful presentation brings to thoughts goldfish frolicking in a small pond, whereas the wholesomeness justifies the nod to the medicinal soups of imperial China.

_{Photograph Credit score: Ekaa}

Ekaa launched a brand new cocktail menu a number of months again and we had the chance to strive it alongside Tasting Menu 5.0. Though the cocktails are usually not a part of the identical narrative, they nonetheless have fun historical past. Curated by Head Mixologist Jishnu AJ, the bar menu highlights the wealthy heritage of Ayurveda by modern concoctions and lesser-known substances. We extremely suggest ‘Camphor’, a gin-based cocktail with edible camphor, jasmine syrup, supasawa, blue pea and jasmine leaves. One other gin and supasawa possibility is the fascinating ‘Mountain Pepper’. We additionally favored ‘Khus’, which launched us to smoked tequila and honey black garlic.

_{Camphor cocktail. Photograph Credit score: Ekaa}

Returning to our culinary voyage, we relished the soul-soothing mixture impressed by the Kingdom of Travancore. This course celebrates the straightforward, well-balanced flavours of Kerala Sadya by a horse gram thuvial, Ghandasale rice and a Nendran banana broth. It additionally supplied a much-needed respite from the richer choices. Every course launched us to novel substances and astonishing texture combos. Therefore, we can’t reveal what the Kingdom Of Siam, the Aztecs, the Marathas, the Rajputana, the Meiji Restoration, and The Vikings. It’s important to cease by to find their delectable riches first-hand.

_{Photograph Credit score: Ekaa}

Ekaa’s new menu promised to allow us to in on royal secrets and techniques and proceeded to offer us a style of them. Superbly illustrated playing cards prefaced every course, hinting on the treats to come back. As we collected them on the finish of the evening, we realised we had certainly drawn a profitable hand.

What: Ekaa’s Tasting Menu 5.0
The place: Kitab Mahal, 1st Flooring, D Sukhadwala Highway, Azad Maidan, Fort, Mumbai.