Thai Xperience By Tatha is located on the ground floor (lobby level) of Hotel Hindusthan International. It is a compact space with two therapy rooms. “We have our own aromatherapy retail stores called Vedic Collection in Forum (as well as in Ghaziabad and Jaipur), so the next step was to open a spa,” said senior aromatherapist and founder of Vedic Collection, Divita Kanoria. In 2002, when her husband Sujit suffered an accident, Divita was introduced to aromatherapy in a bid to find natural methods for healing him. She has never looked back since. Vedic Collection is part of the SREI group, and Divita is from the Kanoria family that owns the Westin hotel in Rajarhat. So will we see Tatha open in Westin? “It’s too early to say... fingers crossed,” Divita told t2 from Delhi.
KIDDIE SPA: Aromatherapy oil massage with stretching is done for children aged 1-10 years. “Soybean oil is used, which is excellent for bone strengthening,” said Sakshi. It costs Rs 1,250 for 45 minutes and includes a body sponge.
... AND THEN INDULGE IN SOME MANGOES AT THE PASTRY SHOP!
What: Aam Er Jalsa, a mango festival
Where: The Pastry Shop, HHI
On till: June 5, 10am to 10pm
Mango Choco Pyramid @ Rs 95
The crushed nougat is actually a combination of oats + chaar magaz (four seeds/nuts like almonds, pumpkin seeds, cantaloupe seeds and watermelon seeds) + cashew nuts. It is baked and caramelised into a slab and then crushed over the sacher sponge. Inside the pyramid, there’s chocolate mousse and mango mousse.
Mango Ball @ Rs 95
The fun part is breaking the white chocolate ball, so the cardamom-flavoured mango pulp and mango cream can ooze out. “Alphonso mango is used because of its sweetness and it’s a good combination with white chocolate,” said executive sous chef Indrajit Mukherjee.
Red Velvet Mango Delight @ Rs 100
This was one of t2’s faves. Fresh mango pulp is added to the cream cheese of the red velvet. The pastry has just the right amount of sweet, thanks to the Chaunsa mangoes which are naturally less sweet. Beetroot juice is used as a natural colouring agent. The best part? The giant portion — easily shareable by two.
Mango Foam in Tulip Basket @ Rs 95
The mango foam is made using the process of “nitrogen-blast”. “Around 5g of cream becomes 15-20g, so in reality one is not consuming too much cream. Plus, the texture is nice and light,” said Mukherjee. The mango used here is Gulab Khas as it’s not too sweet, not too sour. The Tulip Basket — or the pastry case — is made from a batter of egg white, flour, milk and icing sugar.
Creamy Mango Cake @ Rs 800 per pound
Four types of mango cake are available at The Pastry Shop. The chef recommends the Mango Fruit Cake, layered with chocolate, fresh fruit, mango and truffle.
Text: Karo Christine Kumar
Pictures: Pabitra Das
