It’s usually rather quiet at Shiro in Hotel Samrat during lunch hours, but as soon as you make yourself comfortable around the warm iron griddle in the teppanyaki corner, the section instantly stirs to life. Though we had started out on a quest to sample a few creations from the recently introduced Asian Grill menu over a quick and quiet lunch meeting, the afternoon turned out to be unexpectedly loud and stretched out.
One always feels extra happy when they receive more than they had anticipated. That’s what happened when we decided to take up Executive Brand Chef Rahul Hajarnavis’ offer of hosting us over lunch to try his Asian Grill selections. The bonus was the treats from teppanyaki corner that we hadn’t initially thought of sampling, though glad we finally did.
“Though the Asian Grill menu is otherwise had on regular tables in the restaurant, we thought of giving our guests the option of enjoying them at teppanyaki corner with all the wonderful culinary tricks performed by the master chef to make it an entertaining dining experience. It would also give the guests the flexibility of ordering something from the special teppanyaki menu which is doing very well at Shiro,” says Hajarnavis.
Juxtaposing the subtle flavours from the live station with the strong and pungent flavours of the regular menu turned out to be an unexpectedly good experience and grills like the Pan-seared Tofu with Indonesian Ginger Sauce, Honey Black Bean Prawns, Sesame Grilled Chicken Wings infused with an Asian marinade, Chilli Miso Chicken Skewers served with a spicy chilli mayo, distinctly stood out.
Some of the other choices on the special menu are Grilled Mushroom Skewers (button mushrooms, flavoured with a unique blend of hoisin and oyster sauce and then grilled) Grilled Coffee Salmon (Salmon marinated with rustic coffee marination served on a bed of chilli hoisin vegetables), Spiced Yoghurt Fish (Creamy grilled fish, marinated with a blend of yogurt and sriracha sauce, served with chilli basil vegetables), Lemon and Soy Glazed Chicken (Pickled lemon combined with traditional kabayaki sauce, grilled and served with teriyaki corn kernels), Twice Cooked Chicken (Mustard and XO marinated chicken grilled, steamed and served with charred spicy baby corn), Seven Spiced Pork Belly (Caramelised pork belly infused with seven oriental spices and served on a bed of fresh red cabbage salad), Thai Curried Tournedos (Beef tournedos marinated with home made Thai curry paste and served with wasabi and scallion mash) and a lot more.
‘‘The food from the new menu is doing great business, especially among the expat community. Our busiest hours are early and late evenings as the food lends itself to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace with a few drinks,” says the chef.
Even though Hajarnavis himself visits the Delhi Shiro only once a month, he has been spending a lot of extra time in the kitchens of late to make sure the offerings are well executed and accepted. Whether his efforts bear fruit, you will only be able to taste and tell. On offer till December 8.
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