Scene 1: A railway station (Gurgaon Junction), with passengers who have just come out from a train and looking for eatables. Just that this railway station is much cleaner than any other I have seen in India.
Scene 2: A hawker selling certain drinks from a small box he is carrying. Here is another surprise element; he is not selling soft drinks or mineral water but potent Tequila shots.
Scene 3: The coolies break into a jig more on the lines of flash mob on the popular Hindi songs – Chal Chaaiya Chaaiya, Saddi railgaddi aayi, Chennai Express and others making everyone seated smile.
Don’t be surprised. Above is not a scene from a movie that I am trying to shabbily recreate, but it is what I witnessed at beautifully planned and organized food festival at Barbeque Nation – Kitchen Carnival Express. Food took a back seat while I was busy grasping what all was going around me. A magician meantime turns to our table to entertain my kids. Seeing my predicament and delay in ordering the starters, my kids were served their favorite french fries to keep them occupied; a thoughtful gesture indeed.
The menu was made on India’s map depicting a train covering the length and breadth of the country and showing famous delicacies from each region. I could not resist asking for ‘Tharra’ from Punjab as my starter drink. It is Barbeque Nation version of LIIT where Gin replaced with Whisky and topped with Limca instead of Cola. A very potent and brilliant start to the evening!
The live grill is set up on the table and various cuts of meats & vegetarian starter are kept, which is a common feature at Barbeque Nation. The Chicken Tangri that was served was nice, Corn on the cob brilliant and equally good was nawaabi mushroom. What I loved was Malabari fish; flaky, soft and beautifully marinated. The prawns though fresh were small; perhaps ‘Itne paise mein itnaich milega’.
The main course offered many more delicacies from the various states, and instead of going through all, I settled for Biryani, Goan fish curry, and Nomboo aur Makhan ka murg from Delhi. My vegetarian family chose from vegetarian options and busy eating I did not pay much heed to them. Like every other buffet, some dishes weren’t as great. Like Saoji Murg failed to bring that heat expected from a Saoji preparation, still overall it was an excellent fare so far.
Desserts were limited but nice. Pastry, gulab jamun, and mango soufflé are regular but the festival had specialties like sheer khorma and double ka meetha.
Kids were the first one to finish their meal and they went to paint artist for free tattoo while we continued to enjoy our few moments in peace and sipping on drinks.
So while buffets are normally ordinary and festivals are created only to create some excitement without actually working on the menu and theme, Barbeque Nation managed the show really well, and I will mince no words in calling it ‘King of Buffets’.
Rating (out of 5)
Food: 4.0 | Ambience: 4.5 | Service: 4.0 | Overall: 4.0
Meal for two: Rs. 1500| Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Timings: 12 Noon – 11PM
Pricing per person (Veg/Non-Veg): Mon-Sat Lunch: 553/614, Sunday Lunch: 675/798, Mon-Tue Dinner 614/737, Wed – Sun Dinner: 798/921
Early bird incentive/Late Bird Incentive: Avail almost 20% discount if you are seated before 7.30PM or after 10PM on dinner
Address: Barbeque Nation, Ground Floor, Ansal’s Sushant Plaza, Sushant Lok, Block A, Phase-1, Gurgaon | Phone: 0124- 6060000 / 6456297
