Ansal plaza at Khel Gaon Marg Delhi set the trend for malls in Delhi NCR back in 1999. What followed soon was malls coming up everywhere be it Delhi, Gurgaon or Noida. Buzzing with restaurants and various retail outlets the plaza wears a circular look with an amphitheater too. So many years of having sustained itself the plaza is bringing back its glory with many new restaurants opening there and Trend being one of the latest of them. What better place for Trend to open than at a plaza that itself set a Trend. The plaza is centrally located with ample parking space for visitors. Location and parking space are two very important features for eateries and to begin with Trend has both these positives.
The restaurant is the brainchild of restaurateur brothers Jaideep Singh Anand and Gundeep Singh Anand of Tamasha fame which is located in CP. With the success Tamasha has seen guests certainly would know what to expect from Trend. The restaurant located at the ground level of the plaza wears a fine dining look. When walking into Trend I knew I was walking into a spacious restaurant. It has a seating capacity of 60-65 guests indoor. Outdoor sitting always appeals to people and the restaurant has that too to offer with the capacity being about 120 guests. Personally I find that restaurants offering both options as more attractive. The place is open for lunch and dinner both and has bar services as well. Since the look is more of a fine dine the seating is couches with single seaters. The seating could have been a little more guest friendly as maneuvering these single seaters is a task although one does always have the staff helping you.
Trend had it’s grand launch party on the 2nd of August and has a menu that offers progressive Indian, Pan Asian and European cuisine. It is hot and humid day and one look at the mocktails menu made me and my friend to quickly decide on ordering Falooda a mocktail that has been introduced by Trend. Falooda consists of French Vanilla, Sev, Basil seeds , jello and rose espuma. Though I enjoyed having it and found it interesting to be converted as a mocktail I feel it would do better after the meal as a dessert.
The meal begins with black olive that looks like oreo biscuit with goat cheese (amuse boche) which is served complimentary to guests. A tasty start certainly with the oreo almost melting in the mouth variety.
For starters my friend and I chose to have Puffed Aloo chaat, Sol kadi Gazpacho (dhokla rolls in chilli caviar and served as a soup) and Kanjivaram idli Sambhar with Madras gun powder. The puffed aloo chaat consists of crispy airy aloo which I absolutely enjoyed till the last piece. The chaat has a mix of tandoori fruits consisting of green apple, pineapple, pear and pomegranate. An interesting chaat which would appeal to the taste buds of non chaat lovers too.
Dhokla in Marathi sol kadi had us craving more for the sol kadi which we had separately too. The combination though nice could have been balanced with more of sol kadi and smaller pieces of dhokla that would make it qualify as a soup. In its current form it was more of a started with little jus on the side. In Kanjivaram idli served with coconut chutney, gun powder and sambhar the sambhar was absolutely delicious with just the right consistency but the idlis could have been softer considering the technique that is being applied to make them. I would have also preferred the taste of gun powder standing out more as it was kind of mild.
For the main course we had Pizza Asparagi and Burrata Makhani. Pizza Asparagi consisting of caramelised asparagus, kalamata, young potato skin, grated parmesan,dressed arugula leaves. Absolutely tasty, well balanced and a perfect crispy base. Thoroughly enjoyed it and this is one dish that I would strongly recommend everyone to try. Burrata makhani consisting of burrata cheese, organic tomato makhani and tandoori aloo. To give credit to the Chef he has tried experimenting with various dishes and combinations on the menu. However this experiment did not ring a bell for us. Burrata which is an Italian Cheese was introduced on the Indian food scene a while back therefore not many would be accustomed to its taste and may not agree with everyone’s palate too. The combination of the hot makhani gravy with the cold cheese didn’t go well. Moreover the size of burrata was like a block of cheese has been put in the hot gravy and the two tasted as distinct dishes rather than adding to each other’s flavor.
One thing that no guest can give a miss is the presentation of each dish. Trend has worked hard in this area and everything that was served at our table was lovely in its presentation.Another example of an absolutely beautiful presentation is what followed next. One cannot come away without having something sweet and when we read the dessert menu Holy Coconut appealed to us and the Chef too recommended it. The dessert which is basically dark chocolate and coconut mousse had several sweet goodies on the platter. The presentation is so lovely that u get drooling just looking at it. It turned out to be a lovely dessert to have with each of the flavours of the goodies on the platter being one better than the other. Our meal ends on this sweet and holy note and frankly what more does one want.
We are living in a world that likes to follow trends. So go for it as …..who doesn’t like being Trendy?
Ratings (Out of 5)
Food: 4.0 | Ambience: 3.5 | Service: 4.0 | Overall: 4.0
Meal for two: Rs 2,000/- | Wheelchair Friendly: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Alcohol: Yes
Address: CG 2-3 , Ground floor, Ansal Plaza | Khel Gaon Marg | New Delhi
Disclaimer : This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant. Due judgement and care has been applied by the author to remain objective and unbiased in the review, but readers need to consider this review keeping this fact in mind.
