I like Central Delhi hotels as they have retained their old world charm that too while staying in the heart of the ever evolving fast paced city. They have been in existence since decades and their clientele mainly consists of bureaucrats, expats and diplomats. The Royal Plaza is no different.
Being in Lutyens Delhi it too enjoys patronage from old and distinguished guests apart from the influx of new guests that are adding on to the list.
This month Royal Plaza’s Asian restaurant Jasmine is celebrating Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival is one of the most important festivals of China where people visit their family and friends and celebrate it by exchange of gifts, fireworks and most importantly good food.
Chinese New Year is based on a traditional Chinese ‘lunisolar’ calendar whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. It falls on a different date every year. This year it’ll fall on 28th January on which date the celebrations at jasmine will also come to an end.
The dishes served in the festival are traditional and inspired by the ‘Schezwan’ and ‘Cantonese’ cuisines. The regular dishes on the menu have been there for a considerably long period of time and this festival has given the chefs a chance to create the dishes outside the regular menu and let their imagination take over. I must say they have done a commendable job.
In starters I liked Mandarin Prawns, Diced Chicken in Chilli Coriander and Fried Corn in Herbal Salt. They had a variety of dim sums and my favourites were Prawn Coriander and Spicy Chicken Ginger. Main course was not as exciting as the starters but I still enjoyed some of the dishes. Braised Lobster in Black Bean Sauce had diced pieces of lobster and was a bit disappointing as it lacked flavour. Sliced Lamb kung Pao was a bit chewy but tasted great and went well with Home Made Noodles. Stir Fried Pok Choi with Black Mushrooms was a fine vegetarian dish.
The highlight for me was the dessert i.e. Moon Cake with Jasmine Special Home Made Ice Cream. The cake consisted of the pastry and the filling, and it along with the Ice Cream tasted fantastic. Every bite was full of flavour. This festival is only for a limited period of time and I highly recommend the starters, dim sums and the desserts.
