A new Indian restaurant will open on Friday at a popular dining destination, named after an historic princely state in northwestern India which is famous for its cuisine.
‘The Mewar Indian Restaurant – The Royal Art of Indian Cuisine’ is being introduced to the kingdom under businessman Shabeer Dadabhai’s Cuisine Crafts umbrella.
It plans to add its own touch of spice to the growing Galleria Mall food scene in Zinj. Operations manager Fady Shawky Ayaid, who will be assisted with the restaurant launch by supervisor Masood Khan, said: “We will be offering a traditional yet modern interpretation of royal Indian cuisine. It’s sure to be a trendsetting concept.”
Mewar opens on Friday with seating for 100 diners on two levels and has been ‘tastefully decorated’ with elements ‘reminiscent of the royal heritage of the Rajwada region of the Mewar of yore’.
The aim will be to ‘truly transport’ customers into a dining destination of ‘grandeur and opulence once only the preserve of monarchs’ … but with affordable prices.
Some of the standout dishes include
l Badami Broccoli Shorba - an authentic curried soup flavoured with cheese at BD2.800
l Jheenga Za’atari - a palate pleaser featuring four giant prawns, priced BD6.200
l Gulab Jamun Saffron Cheesecake - a classic sweet dessert with ice-cream at BD2.600
There will also be a take-away, delivery service up and running to keep up with demand for the fare.
A team of top chefs has been recruited to deliver the delights with award-winning Amrita Mukherjee, taking the role of Chef-in-Charge. She received the title of Lady Chef of the Year from the Indian Chefs Association in 2011, an accolade which generated extensive coverage on prime Indian TV channel, NDTV.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in hotel management she went on to head a contemporary Indian restaurant and help set up dining operations at several hospitality enterprises, including a resort boutique property.
She trained under and worked alongside some of India’s leading names in hospitality, including one of Goa’s most prominent chefs, Vasco Alvares and, to gain more international knowledge, came under the wings of the late Antonio Carluccio, known as ‘the godfather of Italian gastronomy’.
To add even more heavyweight expertise to the Mewar operation, Executive Chef Rajeev Chowdhary has been retained as a consultant. He comes with vast industry knowledge having been involved in the pre-opening of numerous hotel restaurants, as well as conceptualising, setting up and running one of Radisson’s most successful Indian outlets, The Great Kabab Factory.
More Mewar outlets are set to be in the pipeline and franchising opportunities may follow its launch at Galleria Mall. But, in any case, it is just the debut of a series of eateries being unveiled by ambitious Cuisine Crafts. The launch of Marzipan, a neo-contemporary Parisian-style restaurant and café, will be opened shortly as well as a unique concept called The Bread Story, featuring high-end Arabic pastry and oven products.