What happens at buffets is a universal feeling. Either one will be too tired at the sight of all the food or one will end up over eating and not want to budge until the next day. At Novotel’s refurbished coffee shop, Food Exchange, you are sure to experience one of the two.
The walk by the buffet counter is never ending. By the time one makes a mental note of what to pick and what to indulge in, you realise you still haven’t reached the ‘dessert island’.
The struggle was real, even more because I was famished. So I came and sat at my table thinking of a logical way to tackle the bounty of food. As I settled down, my eyes fell on several stack of bread rolls — my weakness. I carefully leave out the multi-grains and ragi breads and pick a bunch of flour bread rolls. Of which one of them is a mini pizza sort of bread.
Having fed myself some carbs, I was ready to take on the buffet. Luckily for me, I was told a la carte is also an option. At this point I requested the chef to come to my rescue. Result: A few non-veg starters, a lovely portion of keema-pav and a fantastically done Guntur chicken pizza. Of which if I am asked what I would reorder, it has to be the keema-pav and the pizza. I will not mind it as main course either. It is the perfect keema-pav that you would eat at a restaurant. Guess what makes the pizza so perfect? The traditional south-Indian garnish of roasted dried lentils.
The twist to the meaty starters was in the garnish, marination and the dip. The chicken satay was mind-blowing to say the least. Chef Gaurav Malhotra lets his team do what they enjoy most, “Each one of them are stars in their own field and the pastry team just knows how to win hearts,” says Gaurav.
Having had so much already, the soup was given a miss and I walked straight to see what I can pick for main course.
Food Exchange at Novotel is remodelled with a concept that allows bigger tables, better and easy exchange of food within the table. Since the executive chef’s forte is western cuisine, the buffet reflects that. Each dish looked inviting but I chose to try some Indian breads and dal. Biryani lovers were seen relishing biryani, but I was too full to try anything more. Also because desserts were on my mind. So I loaded a dinner plate with fruit tarts, the apple puff pastry, the cheesecake, the gulab jamun and the red velvet cake.
No exchange happened at this course for sure.
Source- The Hindu