A spoonful of Edamame Quinoa Salad will open up your olfactory senses. It’s a power bowl with fresh edamame, arugula, chopped red and yellow bell peppers and quinoa tossed in a citrus dressing made with tamarind and gondhoraj lemon. It’s so crunchy and tasty, you will keep munching on it.
The Tuna Tataki is high on protein and low on spice. An easy-to-cook appetiser that has pan-seared tuna slices, arugula leaves and edamame dressed in a citrus soy sauce, sesame seeds and Togarashi (a Japanese chilli powder). If you want a non-messy starter, try this.
If you like the meal-in-a-bowl concept, then Salmon Poke Bowl will satisfy your craving. This well-balanced wholesome dish is a riot of colours. Japanese sticky rice is accompanied by avocado and cucumber slices, nori (seaweed), shredded radish, diced salmon and gari (pickled ginger), making it look like sushi in a bowl. The best way to have it? Add some soy, mix all the ingredients and have it with a bit of wasabi. You can choose tuna instead of salmon. The veggie version has diced tofu with edamame, cherry tomatoes, kimchi, corn, radish and avocado.
New York Sour is a signature cocktail at PCO (Pass Code Only), a sister concern of Ping’s Cafe Orient in New Delhi. This Bourbon whisky-based sip has a dash of lime and sugar syrup, topped with red wine foam and garnished with a strip of mandarin skin with ‘Ping’s’ embossed on it! #Fancy
Summer is here and so are Tiki cocktails on the menu! We tried Caribbean Spirit (right), a rum-based tipple with home-made green mango puree, lime juice and triple sec, served with burnt rosemary leaves. There is a hint of chilli in the drink that gives the perf kick. The Forbidden Tiki is mild with passion fruit, orange and lime juice topped with rum and lots of crushed ice.
Aromatic and delicious, Red Wine Poached Pear with wine, star anise and cinnamon is paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with chocolate sauce and caramelised walnuts. A great dessert that you must not forget to Instagram!
If you are a pork addict, try Wok Sliced Pork Belly. Sliced pork with a balanced fat-meat ratio is cooked in a miso and plum sauce, dusted with sesame seeds and Togarashi on top. Slightly sweet, we loved this roasted delicacy.
Fluffy and soft like a sponge, these closed Pork Buns are stuffed with yum and sweet barbecued pork. Savour with a spring onion sauce, chilli oil, soy with toasted sesame and home-made black bean jam.
What: Ping’s Cafe Orient
Where: 2A Middleton Row, off Park Street
Timings: Noon to midnight (closed between 4pm and 7pm)
Menu picks: Philadelphia Cream Cheese Dim Sum, Charcoal Roast Pork Skewers, Chocolate Foam, Stir Fried Exotic Vegetables in Hot Basil sauce, Spicy Chicken and Spicy Wild Mushroom Dim Sum
Meal for two: Rs 1,500-plus (without alcohol)
After several failed attempts — since most of the time it was full and the waiting time was far too long — I was finally at Ping’s Cafe Orient off Park Street to try their new food and drinks menu.
The snug, cosy restaurant was filled with a young crowd; it was buzzing on a Monday afternoon. Only five months old, the 58-seater restaurant serving modern Asian cuisine has already made a mark in the city’s F&B scene and its owners are taking it slow and steady, with good reason.
“We were overwhelmed with the response we got for our Asian dishes and drinks after we opened in October. With that in mind, we now have more flavours of Asia. Since it’s summer, we have a light and fresh menu that won’t leave you feeling heavy after a meal,” said Drishleen Sethi, co-director of Ping’s along with Anshul Kumar.
