brunch at Tamra, Shangri La : a deluge of delicious options
The season for Sunday brunches is back in the city. Normally we spend our Sundays either in the garden with pots of tea and some peanuts to munch on while we read newspapers and do some gardening, sometimes we even finish our pending work sitting with the plants.
And when there are a few great options for Sunday brunch closer home we feel like going for the experience sometimes.
So a couple of weekends back we headed for a Sunday brunch at Tamra, the expansive first floor restaurant at Shangri La Hotel that serves fantastic Oriental, Mediterranean, European and several types of Indian foods. Our plan was to do a quick lunch and be back to finish a few more chores that we had scheduled for the day. It turned out to be an affair that lasted for three hours, and not for a fraction of second we felt we are eating something too heavy. Though this became the only meal of the day for us as we ended up skipping dinner, but I am glad one can choose a big healthy meal out of a brunch buffet.
We love seafood and Tamra has a great seafood counter where you get one of the best sushi and miso soup and we never miss that whenever we are dining there. For the ongoing brunch at Tamra the sea food display is impressive and they now have a make your own sushi counter too.
It is an absolute luxury to choose from the seafood you like and dress it up with your choice of dressing or get it flambeed or stewed the way you like it.
Fresh lobsters, oysters, calamari rings and baby octopuses made our starters with Miso soup that is my favorite.
The cheese and salad counters are another indulgence that you feel like exploring slowly. And that is what we did. I avoided cheeses because I did not want to stuff myself with them, the display called for a picture of course.
The salads looked more promising by the way they were arranged in individual servings as well as platters of tossed salads. I tried almost each salad and loved all of them. My favourites were the pearl barley asparagus salad served in shot glasses and the coloured bell pepper crudites served with a blue cheese dip.
The pesto smeared bocconcini, the three beans salad and water chestnuts in oriental dressing were all really good. Six different types of mustard dressings and several other dressing oils and vinegars lined up to choose from is worth mentioning.
And a cold tomato soup in miniature bottles was a lovely idea for such an expansive brunch where we want to taste everything but avoid getting stuffed with just one type of food.
Chef Gagandeep Singh advised us to taste the Thai grilled chicken with som tam salad, the special of the day at the Thai counter. I tried it thinking why I have to eat chicken when there are so many great options available, but I was wrong in my perception. The chicken was grilled with basil sauce and was pleasantly charred and succulent, som tam was nice.
The other recommendation of Chef Gagandeep was the makki ki roti and sarson ka saag. Again my perception is that five star hotels don't do good regional food. I thought of giving it a try although I was planning to avoid any main course dishes.
Honestly, I was planning to have just one or two bites of this makki ki roti dipped in sarson ka saag but ended up finishing the whole damn thing. It was done really well, perfect sarson ka saag with melting white butter and makki ki roti done in tandoor. The Indian section started sounding really promising and I made a note to visit the India section in my next visit.
There should always be a reason to go back to a place like Tamra. A weekend indulgence that I can't refuse and I always find the kind of food I need from the elaborate spread. One can eat healthy and light if one chooses so and can indulge and go bonkers too. Every Sunday they have a new menu and I can imagine how they charm the diners totally. Although I am not too sure about the desserts as I rarely try them but the ice lollies made of fruit pulp I tried were really good.
The new brunch is much more fun. They have a few special things for kids too including an exclusive play zone for them.
Tamra is getting better and better I think.
And when there are a few great options for Sunday brunch closer home we feel like going for the experience sometimes.
So a couple of weekends back we headed for a Sunday brunch at Tamra, the expansive first floor restaurant at Shangri La Hotel that serves fantastic Oriental, Mediterranean, European and several types of Indian foods. Our plan was to do a quick lunch and be back to finish a few more chores that we had scheduled for the day. It turned out to be an affair that lasted for three hours, and not for a fraction of second we felt we are eating something too heavy. Though this became the only meal of the day for us as we ended up skipping dinner, but I am glad one can choose a big healthy meal out of a brunch buffet.
We love seafood and Tamra has a great seafood counter where you get one of the best sushi and miso soup and we never miss that whenever we are dining there. For the ongoing brunch at Tamra the sea food display is impressive and they now have a make your own sushi counter too.
It is an absolute luxury to choose from the seafood you like and dress it up with your choice of dressing or get it flambeed or stewed the way you like it.
Fresh lobsters, oysters, calamari rings and baby octopuses made our starters with Miso soup that is my favorite.
The cheese and salad counters are another indulgence that you feel like exploring slowly. And that is what we did. I avoided cheeses because I did not want to stuff myself with them, the display called for a picture of course.
The salads looked more promising by the way they were arranged in individual servings as well as platters of tossed salads. I tried almost each salad and loved all of them. My favourites were the pearl barley asparagus salad served in shot glasses and the coloured bell pepper crudites served with a blue cheese dip.
The pesto smeared bocconcini, the three beans salad and water chestnuts in oriental dressing were all really good. Six different types of mustard dressings and several other dressing oils and vinegars lined up to choose from is worth mentioning.
And a cold tomato soup in miniature bottles was a lovely idea for such an expansive brunch where we want to taste everything but avoid getting stuffed with just one type of food.
Chef Gagandeep Singh advised us to taste the Thai grilled chicken with som tam salad, the special of the day at the Thai counter. I tried it thinking why I have to eat chicken when there are so many great options available, but I was wrong in my perception. The chicken was grilled with basil sauce and was pleasantly charred and succulent, som tam was nice.
The other recommendation of Chef Gagandeep was the makki ki roti and sarson ka saag. Again my perception is that five star hotels don't do good regional food. I thought of giving it a try although I was planning to avoid any main course dishes.
Honestly, I was planning to have just one or two bites of this makki ki roti dipped in sarson ka saag but ended up finishing the whole damn thing. It was done really well, perfect sarson ka saag with melting white butter and makki ki roti done in tandoor. The Indian section started sounding really promising and I made a note to visit the India section in my next visit.
There should always be a reason to go back to a place like Tamra. A weekend indulgence that I can't refuse and I always find the kind of food I need from the elaborate spread. One can eat healthy and light if one chooses so and can indulge and go bonkers too. Every Sunday they have a new menu and I can imagine how they charm the diners totally. Although I am not too sure about the desserts as I rarely try them but the ice lollies made of fruit pulp I tried were really good.
The new brunch is much more fun. They have a few special things for kids too including an exclusive play zone for them.
Tamra is getting better and better I think.
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