Collage, The Hyatt, Ahmedabad

[Rated: 4.0/5]

My favorite mall in Ahmedabad is ‘Alpha One’. And the last time I was steering my jeep into the driveway of the mall, I noticed something different. The plaque outside the entrance was replaced with- the Hyatt instead of Ista. My dining experiences at Ista weren’t really overwhelming, and so I made a mental note to visit Hyatt as soon as possible. Two days later was a Saturday, I convinced the wife to join me.

We arrived at the hotel foyer, and were directed to the first floor for the restaurants. Hyatt has two restaurants- Collage, where they have a buffet spread and a multi-cuisine ala carte menu; and Nonya, which specializes in Chinese, Thai and Japanese cuisines. We decided to go for the Collage where the wife opted for the buffet, which was comparable to any other hotel’s spread in terms of the number of dishes, and I chose the ala carte. I was handed the menus by a smiling Sikh called Aakash. The first page of the menu, and my eyes sparkled like 24-carat diamonds!

Something that I had been missing in Ahmedabad for ages was- well, Pork. And there it was, right in front of my eyes, my favorite part of the pig, the ribs. No second thoughts and I ordered the dish straightaway. Compared to Delhi standards, they were simple pork ribs in barbeque sauce with mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables on the side, but I’ve so much been missing the meat in Ahmedabad, that this was an absolute delight. The buffet that the wife chose had an array of dishes, including Chicken Tikka and a Margarita Pizza as starters; Butter Chicken, Lamb Goulash & the usual Daal Makhani, etc in the main course, and of course, as in every Gujarati eating place, an huge variety of desserts. The Butter Chicken was nothing much to write home about- a spicy gravy, with no balance of flavors, the richness and the velvety buttery aftertaste was completely missing. The Lamb Goulash was somewhat above average — lamb well cooked, and the gravy had nice flavors. The breads included Naan, Parathas and Rotis, both of which were soft, and didn’t turn rubbery after getting cold. There were other dishes too, but I just couldn’t contain my excitement for describing the ribs.

The smiling Sikh brought the dish and I could not imagine pork this beautifully done in a place which is still hugely vegetarian, and this being one of the first places to be serving pork in Ahmedabad. The meat glistened with the glaze of the sauce- perfect; the meat was moist and delightfully soft and tender, yet retaining the bite. The accompanying mashed potatoes were nice and creamy; and for vegetables, I had asked for just mushrooms and broccoli. I mean, notwithstanding my desperation for the meat, this dish could not have been better anywhere else!

The chef of the restaurant came to our table and we had a nice chat about how the Collage came up with the meat varieties otherwise not readily available in Ahmedabad. According to him, they like to explore, and I guess they are going the right way. I could even spot a few beef dishes on the menu, apart from some more of pork that the chef told he could prepare if desired.