It’s all about froth, fumes, foams and frills at the recently launched Farzi Cafe in Gurgaon. This gastronomic theatrical experience infuses the theories of physics and chemistry to transform the textures and tastes of food, popularly called molecular gastronomy. While English celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, one of the pioneers in this kind of food science, may wriggle at it being called molecular gastronomy, attributing to the words sounding elitist and complicated, the chefs closer home beg to differ. “Farzi Cafe publicises the concept of molecular gastronomy with pride. It’s new, un-experiented and unique. Exactly the kind of sensory experiences people are looking for these days,” says Chef de Cuisine Saurabh Udinia, who excitedly prepares some of his favourite dishes to present before us.
True to its name, most preparations at the cafe are farzi (fictitious). You order a Mishti Doi and Strawberry Amuse-Bouche, and what comes out is little dollops of the dish, floating in miniature bowls. You order Dal Chawal Arancini with achar, papad and chutney and what turns up on the table is sophicasted balls of well-spiced, cooked dal, coated in a crispy rice batter, served on a bed of aachari chutney and papad on the top. The Cheesecake comes tightly packed between two Parle G biscuits, floating in a milk custard. Two of our favourite innovations that we recommend are the Farzipan, a dehydrated sweet paan in a gujiya-shaped candyfloss, and Phirni Oxide, a phirni block made rock solid by a generous pouring of liquid nitrogen, which is then shattered with a spoon to make the huge chunk edible. ‘‘Expect the unexpected at Farzi Cafe. The twisted take on food will blow your mind,” says Udinia, who spent a lot of time thinking out of the box before launching the menu.
The efforts are tangibly visible in other interesting dishes as well. Some of them are Amritsari Fish n Chips with Desi Ghee Hollandaise, Tandoori Margherita Kulcha with Bloody Mary Ketchup, Tempura Fried Prawns with Nimbo Mirch Air, Roohafza Crème Brulee with fresh fruit Falouda, Bailey’s Lolipop and more. “No other restaurant in the city has a menu as unique as ours. After months of hits and misses, we’ve been able to put together a concept that is truly distinctive,” says the young chef for whom the greatest thrill of being associated with the cafe has been seeing the amazement with which guests tackle their food and indulge themselves in this auditorium full of culinary magic.