BENGALURU: If you are on a long drive on the highway or travelling to or from airport, pull over at Ambrosia, Clarks Exotica Convention. The restaurant serves global food, both buffet and plated meals. We try the spread on the buffet and some starters from the ala carte menu.
The shredded vegetable, served with chilli garlic and sauce, are crispy deep fried starters with vegetable fillings. They have a mild lingering taste of puff-pastry. The Aloo Pudina Tikki is little soggy and not too spicy. There is nothing spectacular about Lemon Basil as well. They are just battered fried corn.
The Egg with Cocktail Sauce was an interesting starter. The lettuce adds a crunch to the boiled eggs. The Gobi Methi Mutter Bhurgi is really good. It has well-cooked and big pieces of cauliflower. The methi leaves give a good tempering to the dish.
In non-veg starters, we were served Fish Purichatu, as an Onam special dish and Chicken Lazeez. Marinated with Indian spices and then steamed in a banana leaf, the basa fish has a South Indian flavour to it because of the strong tamarind flavour. The Chicken Lazeez is served with roasted papad with a filling of shredded vegetables such as carrots and cabbage. The chicken is grilled well and tastes tandoori.
Of all, the South Indian preparations are the best. Another Onam Sadhya special Pumpkin Elaseri won our hearts. It was the best of the lot, with the right consistency. The merging of sweetness of pumpkin and coconut transports your sense of taste to another level. Brown chana in it was a surprise but sits well with the dish, and makes you crave for more. It sides well with steamed rice.
The Cabbage Poriyal, a tradition Tamil Nadu dish, tastes fresh with generous spread of coconut shreds and green peas. It is a simple, healthy and flavourful preparation. It is bright in colour and appealing.
While the poriyal worked, Sofiyani Paneer didn’t so well. It is a Mughlai snack but seems like the chef experimented with it, preparing it in gravy. It is bland, dipped in some soy sauce like gravy.
The desserts include a regular variety of sweets such as Orange Panna Cotta, Chocolate Eclairs, Pineapple Upside Down, Mocha Mousse, Sandesh, Malai Gulla and Jalebi. As the name suggests, Malai Gulla is creamy and too sweet to taste. If you love milk, you will enjoy it. The Chocolate Eclairs is a small bite of chocolate filled pastry. The Orange Panna Cotta is good. Topped with Orange layer, panna cotta tastes light and smooth. The desserts are fine, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Cost for two: `1,200 (approx)